DesertAcademy

UPCOMING EVENTS
HIGH SCHOOL DANCE
CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
SENIOR CLASS TO VISIT SAN FELIPE PUEBLO FOR CANDELARIA DAY
TELL YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY ABOUT OUR UPCOMING VISITORS DAY INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME INFO NIGHT
ROMANCE IN RIO, AUCTION & GALA EVENT
YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN PRODUCTION

ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM PARTICIPANTS
LEOS HOLIDAY RAFFLE A “WIN-WIN” FOR ALL!
ATHLETICS
DESERT ACADEMY PARTIES
NHS/NJHS MEETING
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
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UPCOMING EVENTS

HIGH SCHOOL DANCE
Tonight! Friday, January 28, 8:00pm-11:00pm
The student council will host a high school Sadie Hawkins dance tonight, Friday, January 28 from 8:00 til 11:00 pm in the big room at Desert Academy. This dance is for high school students only.
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CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
Saturday, January 29, 5:00-8:30
Desert Academy will host a Chinese New Year’s Celebration “Year of The Rabbit”, as a fundraiser event for the Spring Break trip to Taiwan. Come & learn to make dumplings, join in a traditional dragon dance, watch a performance of Tai-Chi, enjoy a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, and much more! This will be a potluck style event, so please bring a dish to share. We ask that you please park at NDI so that we can reserve the spaces around the school for outside visitors.

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SENIOR CLASS TO VISIT SAN FELIPE PUEBLO FOR CANDELARIA DAY
Wednesday, February 2
This visit is part of our “Getting to Know our Pueblo Neighbors” series, led by Tonia Umphrey.  Students will return to the school by 1:30 pm and should bring $10 to fund gift baskets to share with the Pueblo leaders.
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TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT OUR UPCOMING “VISITORS DAY”
Saturday, Feb. 5, 10:00am-12:00pm
Please help us spread the word about our upcoming Visitor Day event to your friends & family who may be interested in sending their child to Desert. Visitor Day is an opportunity for prospective students and parents to experience 21st century education in action!  After a brief opening presentation, parents and students will split up to get a taste of what Desert is really like.  Parents will attend panel discussions on topics ranging from the International Baccalaureate Programmes to extra-curricular activities and school culture, and students will attend classes offered by some of Desert’s dynamic teachers. Information about financial aid, merit scholarship, and college counseling will be provided.  A light brunch will be served.
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INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME INFO NIGHT Wednesday, February 9, 6:00pm, Big Room
All 11th grade students considering the full diploma or taking classes for IB certificates and their parents should attend. Any interested 9th or 10th grade family is also welcome!
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ROMANCE IN RIO, AUCTION & GALA EVENT
Saturday, February 12 @ Milagro 139
You should have received your invitation by now.  Please make your plans to attend and invite your friends.  We have plenty of extra invitations for you to distribute.  Also, we need volunteers to help make the event lots of fun.  And, we so appreciate business sponsors so please consider sponsoring.
Contact krice@desertacademy.org or 992-8284 ext 23.
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“YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN” MIDDLE SCHOOL PRODUCTION
Wednesday, February 16 & Thursday, February 17, 7:00pm, Big Room
Please save the date for Desert Academy’s first-ever middle school production, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” There will only be two Desert performances: Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 16 & 17 at 7pm in the Big Room. The excellent cast is so funny & has worked so hard. They’ve learned their music through hours and hours of rehearsals with Ms. Robinson and are now learning the dances from the choreographers, Alea Campbell and Camille Treaster.  The set is being built by our new technical director Juliana Peterson. Don’t miss this Desert Academy FIRST! Adults are $10 and students are $5.  Space is limited.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM PARTICIPANTS
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Desert Academy Science Symposium! The projects were truly reflective of the students’ curiosity, hard-work, and ability to think critically to solve global problems.   Thank you for your hard work and participation in the Science Symposium this year, Middle School!
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LEOS HOLIDAY RAFFLE A “WIN-WIN” FOR ALL!The Desert Leos Club thanks everyone who supported our fundraiser raffle. The families of our 15 intrepid student travelers worked really hard to get donations-in-kind for the fundraiser raffle to offset travel costs for each student. Some really amazing and generous gifts were donated, and a number of winners got some happy holiday surprises. Among them, eight of the winners were Desert Academy community members:

• DA junior Elliot Palestine won one of two oil changes from Beaver Toyota (donated by the Calavan family)
• DA freshman Felicia Tapia won the 2nd oil change from Beaver Toyota
• DA sophomore Madeline McDonald won an acupuncture with Mavrick Lobe, D.O.M. (Sananda’s dad)
• DA 8th grader Cassidy Hart won a $30 gift certificate to Roque’s Carnitas on the Plaza (DA grandparents)
• DA mom Katie Calavan won a hand-beaded bracelet donated by Blush Boutique
• DA mom Bonnie Eckre won a 1 month membership & 4 personal training sessions at Santa Fe Spa donated by Eddie Chavez
• DA teacher Stephanie Binkley won a massage donated by Carin Van Olst (Sananda’s mom)
• DA teacher Sheila Miles won a 2 night stay at Inn of the Governors

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ATHLETICS

DESERT SWIM & DIVE TEAM NEWS
Last weekends travel meet to Farmington was a huge success. In the diving arena, Stuart Sproul took first for the male divers and Annie La Flamme placed second for the female divers. The swimmers broke 7 school records and had 7 top 6 finishes in the meet. Boys and girls both placed 5th overall in their team scores.

This Friday and Saturday, the Wildcats are swimming at the Santa Fe Prep Invite at the Genoveva Chavez Center. Diving competition starts Friday at 5:00 with the top 8 divers competing again on Saturday during the swimming portion of the meet. The swimming competition is Saturday beginning at 9:00. We have several swimmers and relay teams that are very close to state qualification times and hope to get those times at this meet. The divers and swimmers would really love to have supporters stop by and cheer them on.

BASKETBALL

• Varsity boys will continue district play on Saturday vs Mountainair at the College of Santa Fe 3:30.
  Tuesday vs Menaul at the College of Santa Fe at 6:30.
• Varsity girls will play Mountainair on Saturday, 2:00 at the College of Santa Fe.
  Menaul on Tuesday at the College of Santa Fe, 5:00.
• Middle School basketball will complete their seasons this weekend. Please come out to support them!!!
  The middle school girls play Friday at 9:30 and the game time for Saturday will depend on how they do in the first two games.
  The middle school boys will play at 1:00.  Game two on Friday and Saturdays game times will all depend on how they do in the 1:00 game.

SOCCER
We have just been informed that the girls soccer team is now officially in a District!!!!
The teams in our district are: Pojoaque, Moreno Valley, Santa Fe Indian School, Taos, and Robertson

GO WILDCATS!!
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ANNOUNCING DESERT ACADEMY PARTIES

What is a DA party?

A DA Party is a party hosted by individuals. Parents and students, friends and families sign up to attend. The fee for the party goes to the school.

So it’s a win/win! DA parents and students get to go to a fun party while we raise money for DA!

Here is some information about the parties we are having:

Card Making Party at Susan Hart’s Saturday, February 26.  Cost $30 adults
Health Talk with various people & the Parent Assn. Thursday, March 31 Cost $10 adults
Progressive Dinner in the El Dorado area – Appetizers at the Lochners, main course at the Masoni/Ottavianos, dessert at the Gerbers.  Saturday, May 21 Cost $50 Adults. Limited to 30 people.
Pool Party at Las Campanas Friday, May 27 Cost $25 per student or their guest
Games Night at the Hallmarks Saturday, September 10.  Cost: $10 kids $15 adults
BBQ at the Calavans Saturday, September 24 Cost $50 adults
Christmas Tree Cutting in Pecos with the Rices Saturday, December 3 Cost $40 per family
Wine Tasting with Greg O’Byrne details coming!
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NJHS/NHS MEETING
There will be a mandatory meeting for all NJHS/NHS students Monday 1/31, all during the entire lunch period in the portable. We will go over introductions to inductees, scheduling new students for tutorials, etc.
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CALENDAR OF MAJOR UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS
**  Further details of all school events are also available on our website calendar at: www.desertacademy.org. To access information on our sports activities, please see the athletic calendar under ‘Athletics’ on the home page.

JANUARY
Fri 28  – High School Dance, 8:00pm-11:00pm
Sat 29 – Chinese New Year Celebration, 5:00pm

FEBRUARY
Mon 1 – 8th Grade River Trip, E Block
Wed 2 – Middle School Winter Sports Program
- Seniors to visit San Felipe Pueblo
Sat  5 – Visitor’s Day, 10:00am
Tue 8 – PA Meeting, 5:45pm

Wed 9 – IB Diplomma Programme Info Night, 6:00pm, Big Room

OPEN HOUSE # 2  – VISITOR DAY

Saturday, Feb. 12 10:00 am-12:00 noon

Visitor Day is an opportunity for students and parents to experience 21st century education in action!  After a brief opening presentation, parents and students will split up to get a taste of what Desert is really like.  Parents will attend panel discussions on topics ranging from the International Baccalaureate Programmes to extra-curricular activities and school culture, and students will attend classes offered by some of Desert’s dynamic teachers.  Information about financial aid, merit scholarship, and college counseling will be provided.  A light brunch will be served.

HONORS ASSEMBLY
Friday, January 21st, 9:30am
Desert Academy’s 2010-2011 1st Semester Honor Roll, High Honors, National Honors Society, and National Junior Honor Society Assembly will be held Friday, January 21th at 9:30am. Honor Roll students have received a 3.5 grade point average or better, with no grade lower than a C.  High Honors students have received a 4.0 or above. (Please note, middle school students’ report card GPAs only reflect the high school classes that the student is enrolled in, and not their overall GPA, as middle school classes are not weighted.  For the ceremony, however, we calculate the full GPA of all classes).

Students with an Incomplete in any subject are not eligible to qualify for the Honor Roll, NHS or NHJS.

National Honor Society (10-12th grades) and National Junior Honor Society (7-9th grades), have received a GPA of 3.4 or above, with no grade lower than a C, and have submitted a self-nominating form that includes the leadership and community service component of the nomination criteria. NHS and NHJS applicants are then reviewed by the committee and elected to the society corresponding to their grade. The full description of the NHS/NHJS nominating criteria and deadlines were sent in the 12/6/10 e-minder, and are also attached to this e-minder.

Parents and students will be notified of their Honor Roll status and the results of the NHS and NJHS. Everyone is welcome to attend this ceremony in honor of their students’ academic achievements for 1st semester.

Please contact Tamara Rossi (trossi@desertacademy.org), regarding the Honor Roll and Jocelyne Comstock (jcomstock@desertacademy.org) regarding NHS and NHJS.

UPCOMING EVENTS
RESTAURANT NIGHT AT EPAZOTE TONIGHT!
HONORS ASSEMBLY
COLLEGE PARENT NIGHT
CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
ROMANCE IN RIO, AUCTION & GALA EVENT
**REMINDER: NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, 1/17 (MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAY)

ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SPELLING BEE WINNERS!
MIDDLE SCHOOL WINTER SPORTS PROGRAM
HIGH SCHOOL DANCE
PASATIEMPO AD CAMPAIGN
IB STUDENTS ATTEND COUNCIL FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LUNCHEON
STUDENTS FROM ART OF TEA INTERIM VISIT SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY
DEBORAH MADISON VISITS DESERT ACADEMY
GET YOUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS ALBERTSON’S CARD
YEARBOOK ORDERS
PROJECT G.U.T.S. MEETINGS
ATHLETICS
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

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UPCOMING EVENTS

RESTAURANT NIGHT AT EPAZOTE TONIGHT!
Friday, January 14
Please join us TONIGHT for Desert Academy’s restaurant night at Epazote located at 416 Agua Fria.  They feature mole and a reasonably priced menu featuring signature dishes of Mexican and Aztec cuisine.  Owner and Chef Fernando Olea is originally from Mexico City.  Through the generosity of this fine restaurant, Desert Academy will receive 20% of the evenings sales.  So, invite some friends for a great night out which will support Desert!  Call 988-5991 for reservations.
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HONORS ASSEMBLY
Friday, January 21st, 9:30am
Desert Academy’s 2010-2011 1st Semester Honor Roll, High Honors, National Honors Society, and National Junior Honor Society Assembly will be held  Friday, January 21th at 9:30am. Honor Roll students have received a 3.5 grade point average or better, with no grade lower than a C.  High Honors students have received a 4.0 or above. (Please note, middle school students’ report card GPAs only reflect the high school classes that the student is enrolled in, and not their overall GPA, as middle school classes are not weighted.  For the ceremony, however, we calculate the full GPA of all classes).

Students with an Incomplete in any subject are not eligible to qualify for the Honor Roll, NHS or NHJS.

National Honor Society (10-12th grades) and National Junior Honor Society (7-9th grades), have received a GPA of 3.4 or above, with no grade lower than a C, and have submitted a self-nominating form that includes the leadership and community service component of the nomination criteria. NHS and NHJS applicants are then reviewed by the committee and elected to the society corresponding to their grade. The full description of the NHS/NHJS nominating criteria and deadlines were sent in the 12/6/10 e-minder, and are also attached to this e-minder.

Parents and students will be notified of their Honor Roll status and the results of the NHS and NJHS. Everyone is welcome to attend this ceremony in honor of their students’ academic achievements for 1st semester.

Please contact Tamara Rossi (trossi@desertacademy.org), regarding the Honor Roll and Jocelyne Comstock (jcomstock@desertacademy.org) regarding NHS and NHJS.
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COLLEGE PARENT NIGHT
Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm, The Big Room
College Night for parents of juniors (and parents of sophomores are welcome too!) will be held Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm in the Big Room. We will be talking about the college and financial aid processes (Mark Truman from Omniac Education in Albuquerque will lead the discussion about Financial Aid and Merit Scholarships). We recommend that all parents of juniors attend, if you can!
Questions?  Please contact Jennifer Dryfoos, College Counselor (jdryfoos@desertacademy.org) for more information.
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CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
Saturday, January 29, 5:00-8:30
Desert Academy will host a Chinese New Year’s Celebration “Year of The Rabbit”, as a fundraiser event for the Spring Break trip to Taiwan. Come & learn to make dumplings, join in a traditional dragon dance, watch a performance of Tai-Chi, enjoy a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, and much more! This will be a potluck style event, so please bring a dish to share. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

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ROMANCE IN RIO, AUCTION & GALA EVENT

Saturday, February 12 @ Milagro 139
We know you have a big red circle on your calendar for Saturday, February 12!  Invitation packets are coming your way soon.  You’ll see the different options for making the night perfect for you and your guests.  And, our tango dancers are ready to demonstrate and then dance with YOU!  We’re having a small, romantically-themed silent auction since Valentine’s Day will be just around the corner.  Auction items and sponsorships are coming in (Los Alamos National Bank, Post Net, and Beaver Toyota so far) and the parties are being planned.  If you would like to get involved as a volunteer that night or as a planner, please call Kay at 992-8284 ext 23 or krice@desertacademy.org . In the meanwhile, be thinking of friends you want to invite! And, visit our website www.desertacademyauction.com
Download the Response Card to Reserve your tickets!
Download Invitation
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** REMINDER: NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, 1/17 (MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAY)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SPELLING BEE WINNERS!
All participants of today’s spelling bee did such an outstanding job! Congratulations to our winner, 7th grader Savion Charbonnet and our runner up, 8th grader Nicholas Keller! Both will go on to the district meet at the community college on January 26. A special thanks to Meredith Madri for coordinating the event, and to the panel of judges!
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MIDDLE SCHOOL WINTER SPORTS PROGRAM
The Middle School Winter Sports Program began yesterday!  The downhill crew had a great day on the slopes, and the alternative sports program had loads of fun sledding.  Next Thursday, the alternative winter sports group will go ice skating.
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HIGH SCHOOL DANCE
Friday, January 28, 8:00pm-11:00pm
The student council will host a high school Sadie Hawkins dance on Friday, January 28 from 8:00 til 11:00 pm in the big room at Desert Academy.  Any high school student wanting to bring a guest from another school must fill out the appropriate form complete with a parent contact number for the guest.  One guest per student.  This dance is for high school students only.
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PASATIEMPO AD CAMPAIGN
We hope you have noticed our striking new ad campaign in the Pasa Tiempo!  Thanks to Doug Merriam for taking the fantastic photographs.  Look for new students to be featured each week.
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IB STUDENTS ATTEND COUNCIL FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LUNCHEON
4 IB Diploma Programme history students and their teacher, Rod Mehling, attended the Council for International Relations luncheon this week.  The featured speaker was Sieg Hecker, former director of LANL, who spoke about what’s happening in North Korea and his impressions of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.  We are excited about our connection with the Council for International Relations and we look forward to doing more with them in the future.
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STUDENTS FROM ART OF TEA INTERIM VISIT SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY
Two students from the Art of Tea interim program recently visited Santa Fe International Elementary School with Tonia Umphrey, their Interim leader, to put on a Japanese tea ceremony for the students there.  What a wonderful opportunity for our students to bring international mindedness to the students in our community.
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DEBORAH MADISON VISITS DESERT ACADEMY
Deborah Madison, founding member of the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market, author of numerous, well-respected cookbooks, and passionate slow food movement spokesperson, spent some time with Desert Academy students this week, speaking to our assembly about the importance of local food sources, the trouble with fast food, and the possibility of a school garden when we move to our new campus.  She also stayed and served a delicious lunch from her cookbook with Marja, our school caterer.
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GET YOUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS ALBERTSON’S CARD
You can help make a difference for Desert Academy by using your Community Partners card or key tag at Albertson’s stores.  We earn 1% of the sale each time our Desert Academy barcode is scanned with a grocery purchase.  Patty has key tags and cards at her desk.  Take some for other friends and family to use also.  It’s amazing how fast 1% can make a difference.  Thanks!
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YEARBOOK ORDERS
Yearbooks are now at regular price, $45. Don’t forget to order your yearbook now to ensure that you will have one to be signed at the party in May! Remember, yearbooks are cool now, but irreplaceable later! Order form attached.
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PROJECT G.U.T.S. MEETING
Project G.U.T.S. will begin meeting again and we have a really cool new semester project on climate change.  We will not be meeting on Thursdays for about three weeks due to the M.S. Winter Program.  I look forward to meeting during school and then afterschool on Thursdays with your students.
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ATHLETICS

DESERT SWIM & DIVE TEAM
Swimmers and divers had an awesome return to the pool after winter break this past weekend. Girls placed 4th overall and Boys placed 5th overall in the Horseman Invite. We had over 16 top 8 finishes between both the girls and boys teams. Top three finishes were accomplished by John Chilleri, Hayley Hajic, and Hannah Lochner. The girls medley relay team came in 2nd (Sananda Lobe, Hannah Lochner, Hayley Hajic, and Felcia Tapia). Stuart Sproul came in 1st in the diving and has been Desert’s first qualifier this year for the STATE championship. Anton Gress, new diver this year, placed an incredible 4th place, and also qualified for state. This is the first time ever that we are sending two divers to state which is very exciting!!
Many personal bests by swimmers and divers throughout the meet. And two swimmers, Karen Girdner and Gabe Purvis, competed in their first swim meet ever and swam fantastic. Congratulations to all swimmers and divers.

This weekend we have swimmers and divers competing in two different meets, the Albuquerque Academy Invite and the Taos Invite. Please be certain that your swimmer and diver checks in with their coach for bus departure times and location that they are competing at. Good luck to all!

BASKETBALL
Great job middle school basketball!  Boys got their first win last Friday against Evangel.  The girls beat NMSD.  They will play today at NMSD vs Evangel 4:30 and 5:30. On Tuesday, the girls will play at Evangel at 4:00. Both the boys and girls will play Waldorf at Fort Marcy on Saturday at 1:00/2:00.

Varsity boys and girls started district play.  They will travel to Alamo on Saturday at 2:00 and 3:30.
Play at Evangel on Tuesday at 5:00/6:30.  Girls will get a rematch against MDS on Thursday at GC3 5:00.
Boys will play on Friday against Temple at NMSD 7:00.
Both will play Waldorf on Saturday at NMSD 6:30 and 8:00.

PARENT VOLUNTEER NEEDED FOR TEAM COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
We are looking for a parent volunteer to be the communications coordinator for each sports team.  Please contact Natalie Passalacqua, Athletic Director,(npassalacqua@desertacademy.org), if you would like to volunteer to help keep everybody in the loop on practices, games, and sports news.

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CALENDAR OF MAJOR UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS
**  Further details of all school events are also available on our website calendar at: www.desertacademy.org. To access information on our sports activities, please see the athletic calendar under ‘Athletics’ on the home page.
JANUARY
Fri 14- Restaurant Night at Epazote
Mon 17- Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, NO SCHOOL
Thu 20 -  Middle School Winter Sports Program
Fri 21 – Honors Assembly, 9:30am
Tue 25 – Science Symposium, 6:30pm
Wed 26 – College Night, 7:00pm
Thu 27- Middle School Winter Sports Program
Sat 29 – Chinese New Year Celebration, 5:00pm

Deborah Madison, founding member of the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market, author of numerous, well-respected cookbooks, and passionate slow food movement spokesperson, spent some time with Desert Academy students this week, speaking to our assembly about the importance of local food sources, the trouble with fast food, and the possibility of a school garden when we move to our new campus.  She also stayed and served a delicious lunch from her cookbook with Marja, our school caterer.

STUDENTS FROM THE ART OF TEA INTERIM PROGRAM VISIT SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY
Two students from the Art of Tea interim program recently visited Santa Fe International Elementary School with Tonia Umphrey, their Interim leader, to put on a Japanese tea ceremony for the students there.  What a wonderful opportunity for our students to bring international mindedness to the students in our community.

IB STUDENTS ATTEND COUNCIL FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LUNCHEON
4 IB Diploma Programme history students and their teacher, Rod Mehling, attended the Council for International Relations luncheon this week.  The featured speaker was Sieg Hecker, former director of LANL, who spoke about what’s happening in North Korea and his impressions of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.  We are excited about our connection with the Council for International Relations and we look forward to doing more with them in the future.