PA News Flap, Winter 2012

Winter 2012

The Official Newsletter of the R-MA Parents’ Association

Volume 4, Issue 2

MOTTO: We want to be the voice of every parent, especially those far away.

PA Officers for 2011-12 President’s Letter Our sincere appreciation goes to the following Parents’ Association officers for their willingness to freely give of their time this year:

With Christmas behind us, and a New Year beginning, it is a time of reflection. This year, like every year, has been both successful and challenging, but in the end it was worth it; that is, just to see smiles on the students’ faces.

Being a part of this community allows me to offer kindness to the students who are missing their parents, siblings, and home. Overall I can sum up this year as something new to put in the books, something that will have a different face next year, and the year after.

President Angie Williams, P’11, ’13, ’16 angie@wbdoors.com 540-636-4444 (work) Treasurer Dean Borden, P’12, ’14, ’16 deantpu@gmail.com Secretary Glenn Schoonover, P’15, ’16 glennsch@live.com Upper School VP Susan Funderberg, P’14 Middle School VP Peg Melberg, P’16 melberg.margaret@gmail.com

I find myself dimly looking over the PA history I have been a part of, and I find that the challenges it has brought me have both heightened my character and allowed me to understand people R-MA Parents’ Association President far more then ever before. I have learned that Angie Williams P’11, ‘13, ‘16 serves children are not people that can be overlooked, a hungry customer some food dur- but given a chance to be heard, seen, and recing the Homecoming football game. ognized of their worth. In the world that we are in today, it is important that not only adults, but our students, are looked at as young people on the verge of life, and with this in mind, we must all remember it is for our kids.

I appreciate all the help I have received this past year. To name a few, I would like to thank General Hobgood for his constant endeavors to support the PA. I would like to thank all volunteers! I am pleased and happy that many volunteered this year, and I hope that next year we will only get more. I really do appreciate everyone’s help. I also appreciate all the donations the PA has received this year. I look forward to another great year.

Sincerely, Angie Williams President, R-MA Parents’ Association

In This Issue Behold...The Football Moms..................p 2 R-MA Celebrates Annual Homecoming.p 3 The Audition/Pre-production.................p 4 Inaugural Parents’ Council Launched....p 4 Upcoming Events...................................p 4 2nd Annual Fall Book Fair......................p 5 Thank-You Notes From Our Students to the PA....................................................p 5

PA Meetings All meetings take place in the Fulton Hall at 5:00 PM on Sundays unless otherwise announced. Our meeting schedule is as follows:

February 19th

March 18th

May 20th

Time will be set aside at the June meeting to plan for the 2012-13 school year.

Behold...

The Football Moms This was the season of “The Football Moms.” At every game, be it home or away, The Football Moms would be seen and heard. There they were, all in matching # 12 jerseys, vigorously waving their spirit sticks, being the best cheerleaders the players ever had, never sitting down and always chanting throughout every game, “Defense! Defense!” and other standard cheers.

The best were the ones made up by family members or echoing popular cheers some only knew because of the movie “Bring It On.” “Behold the Black and Gold!” never failed to raise spirits and pride, while “Brrr...It's cold out here. There must be some Jackets in the atmosphere! I said, Brrr... It's cold out here…” ended frequently with laughter.

At many away games, the cheers and food set-up were positively remarked upon by the opposing spectators. This started four years ago with a supper on the field after the last game. This year during the train-

ing camp the team had a cookout each weekend at the houses of the Vaughans, Gillettes, and Sullivans. At each away game the players had a hot meal. When Lynn Spearman (mother of Matt Spearman P’12) found out that the players went hours without eating before away games, lo and behold, the players had a meal to take on the bus with them. This all came about with the help of many parents through donations of food, money, and time.

Special Thanks to: Maureen Sadler P’10 for the wonderful cookies made for each game.

Kim McCabe P’12 who watched each and every game through the lens of her camera. The professional quality of her photos allowed us to see our children play in a way we could never catch just watching the game normally. All photos were always posted on Facebook for everyone to enjoy.

Pam and Coach Frank Sullivan

“Behold...the Black and Gold” was a popular chant instilling pride in the fans and the players.

Suzi and Joe Gillette P'12 David Brandt and Lori Garver P'15 Michele and Wally Vaughan P’12, '15, ‘18 Juanita and Darryck Farmer Sr. P'12 Myra and GE Branch P'12 Michelle Taylor and Gary Goode P'15 Doug and Ellen Cochran P'12 Tom and Katje McCabe P'12 Casey and Miah Usmani P'12 Brig and Lynn Spearman P'12 There is one Mom who deserves a very special Thank You! Lynn (Spirit Mom) Spearman, please take a bow!

It was Lynn's spirit that helped build the trust needed with Coach Sullivan that allowed us all to blossom into what we will always call the

The Football Moms cheered at the top of their lungs during every game, whether the Yellow Jackets were winning or losing.

Season of The Football Moms. 2

R-MA Celebrates Annual Homecoming Homecoming 2011 was a “coming home” for many of the R-MA alumni who reunited for a few days and shared their fondest R-MA memories. Since Homecoming is a closed weekend, boarding students are not permitted to leave the campus during this time. One of our roles as the Parents’ Association (PA) is to bring a few of the “comforts” of “home” to the campus family throughout the weekend. The generosity of our volunteer parents was instrumental in making this year’s event a success. Parent volunteers like Susan Cochran P’15 drove from as far away as Maryland to help conquer the challenges resulting from the rainy weather throughout the preceding week. Our volunteers were easily identified by their new “PA Volunteer” t-shirts, along with name tags printed by Glenn Schoonover P’15.

Parent volunteers began preparations early in the week in support of several student activities that kicked off with the Movie Night on Friday. The soggy grounds left behind from the rain forced the outdoor movie to a dryer setting in the Middle School gymnasium. The PA responded quickly by relocating several carloads of food and beverages to the Middle School cafeteria so that the students could still enjoy Susan Funderberg’s P’14 delicious homemade chili, hot dogs, nachos, and assorted baked items. Heather Grossman P’16,’18 and Susan Douglass P’14 donated several types of candy to round off the menu, not to mention the wide variety of beverages and associated condiments donated by the Grays P’15, Grossmans P’16, Christina Flanagan P’16, and Cindy Lester P’16. Our serving team, (Angelina Wright GP’15, Linda Crafton P’15, Ken and Susan Funderberg P’14, Gracie Gillis P’14, Christina Flanagan P’16, Susan Cochran P’15, Angie and George Williams P’11, ’13, ’16, Dean Borden P’12, ’14, ’16, Mindy and Lyle Alexander P’14) kept the hot food coming for the next two and half hours. Our clean-up crew (Jonathan Bunker P’14,’16, Susan Gawalt P’14,’16, Richard Mebane P’16, and Peg Melberg P’16) helped restore the indoor concessions back to the original cafeteria setting in record time.

On Saturday, Parent Volunteers arrived by 7 a.m. to prepare warm beverages along with a variety of homemade pastries and baked goods. The volunteers who arrived early to set-up were greeted by Michelle Vaughan P’12,’15,’18 who was already on campus with her team clearing the area of leaves in addition

Parent volunteers transformed the dining hall into a haunted dance hall for the annual Homecoming dance. to setting up tables and tents for the concessions. Visitors who arrived early on campus and found their way to the campus Concession Stand were kept warm with hot coffee, tea, apple cider, and freshly baked apple-cinnamon donuts from the Apple House served up by Leah Lee P’15.

By late morning, the ground around the concession stand had become quite slippery from the morning foot traffic. The ingenuity of our PA team, led by Dick and Pat Gray P’15, Heather Grossman P’16,’18, Debbie Torrence P’17, quickly reverse-engineered the concession stand set-up so that safety issues were quickly mitigated. The Concession Stand was quickly retrofitted from a “coffee house” setting to a mini-café with a menu of tender pulled-pork sandwiches, mini-hamburgers, juicy hot dogs, cheesy nachos, double-chocolate brownies, a wide assortment of cookies and bars, not to mention a full selection of candy sweets, treats, and cold beverages. Our servers from the previous night returned and, thanks to the generators provided by the Grossman family, were able to keep the food hot throughout the windy afternoon.

R-MA has gone completely

social!

R-MA Blog: info.rma.edu R-MA Athletic Blog: info.rma.edu/athletic-blog Twitter: R-MA: @RandolphMaconA R-MA Athletic News: @RMAAthletics And Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/Randolph.Macon.Academy.VA

After the football game, the day was not over for the Parents’ Association. While students were getting ready for the Homecoming Dance, Parent Volunteers took over the Upper School Cafeteria. The Cafeteria was transformed by Miah Usmani P’12 and her team of volunteers into a spooky, shadowy, light-flashing, dance hall complete with a wide variety of snacks and refreshments that kept student energy going for another 3 hours.

Thank you to all the Parent Volunteers who bring the “comforts of home” not just for special events such as Homecoming 2011 – but throughout the year as well!

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The Audition/Pre-production

by Louisa Stanwich ‘12 The Drama intramural has been preparing for their production since early September. The fall show “The Audition” premiered on Friday, November 4, 2011 at 7p.m in the Little Theater. Mrs. Kim Cramer, the director of the show, has been working with the cast to create a work of art. The chaotic process of putting the show together during the first quarter was stressful at times.

However, working with a talented and dedicated cast made it an exciting process.

finished the process. During tech week the actors and Mrs. Cramer finally saw all the hard work and dedication come together.

It truly is a magical experience to be part of!

On my first day I did not know what the play was about or the personality of the character I was auditioning for. When I finished auditioning, my fellow members in drama were very supportive. When the cast list was posted, all the members crowded around to see what part they were assigned. The cast was ready to take on the challenge of acting. We attended rigorous rehearsals every week for an hour. Through unscheduled tours, scheduled appointments, and absences we were able to pull a comedic and musical performance together.

“The Audition” is about high school kids auditioning for their school musical and the difficulties they face in the process. For the actors it was a relatable theme to build on since we had just

The “Stage Manager” (Samantha Kelley ‘13) and “Yuma” (Bianca Clement ‘13) each try to outdance the other during “The Audition.”

News from the Development Office

Inaugural Parents’ Council Launched Randolph-Macon Academy has launched its fall/winter Annual Fund drive and created the inaugural Parents’ Annual Fund Executive Council to help in the efforts.

An offshoot of the Annual Fund Executive Council, which has met with success in its first two years of existence, the Parents’ Council also focuses on educating the Academy community about the importance of the Annual Fund. R-MA Trustee Eric Anderson ’88 who oversees the larger Annual Fund Council is excited about the extra help with the Annual Fund.

“Every dollar given to R-MA has a very real and tangible impact,” Anderson noted. “Tuition does not cover the total cost of running the school. It actually covers only about 86% of the cost of educating a cadet at R-MA. Without the Annual Fund, we would have to raise tuition, putting R-MA out of reach of many families.”

All gifts to the Annual Fund are tax-deductible as allowed by law; and gifts at all levels are greatly appreciated.

“The values-based, academically-challenging and structured environment at R-MA helps each class of graduates enter the college or university of their choice,” Anderson added. “This educational excellence cannot be sustained without Annual Fund support.”

If you have any questions about the Annual Fund or would like to join the Council, please contact Christine Meyer, Director of Development, at (540) 636-5485 or cmeyer@rma.edu.

Members of the Parents’ Annual Fund Executive Council are Ruth Camp, Carol Dodson, John Dullahan, Peg Melberg, Glenn Schoonover, Jane Silek and Michele Vaughan. These volunteers will be calling fellow parents asking to join them in supporting the Annual Fund.

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2nd Annual Fall Book Fair R-MA students love to read! At least it appeared that way during the 2nd annual Book Fair held at the Upper School during Fall Family Weekend. This year $3500 in retail books were sold, giving the PA a profit of $700.

Before we even opened the doors to sell, students began to stop by to see what we were unpacking. They love to drop in over and over during the course of the three-day fair to browse, make their lists or just to talk. It’s always a joy to hear comments from them wishing the book fair was a permanent fixture on campus.

We received kudos from teachers, students and parents who all agree the selection of books we bring in from Bookworm Central is outstanding. Mr. Davies, chairman of the English Department and recipient of a grant from the PA this year, was helpful in providing us with a wish list of books he wanted to see represented.

While unable to have all of the books on his list, the ones we did have flew out the door. All of the English teachers took the time to bring in their classes and talk to the students about the titles they recommended. The grant money Mr. Davies received was shared with the teachers so that they could purchase a few books for classroom libraries.

Among the titles proving popular this year were The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Son of Neptune [The Heroes of Olympus Book 2] by Rick Riordan, Eon by Alison Goodman, and several books written by Sarah Dessen. Also sold were numerous games, calendars, and bookmarks.

Join us in April at Spring Family Weekend where we will be set up and selling in the Middle School Community Hall (formerly the Media Center).

Thank-You Notes from Our Students to the PA

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Thank you for your support of Randolph-Macon Academy Parents’ Association! r $1,000

r $750

r $500

r $150

r $100

r $50

r $350

r $250

r Other________

r I enclosed my check payable to Randolph-Macon Academy Parents’ Association.

Charge my gift to

r Visa

r MasterCard

r AMEX

Mail to: Randolph-Macon Academy Attn: Audrey Koch/PA 200 Academy Drive Front Royal, VA 22630

Card # _________________________________________ Expiration Date__________ Signature_______________________________________

To give online go to www.rma.edu and click on Giving.

(Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.)

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