LETTER FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR
Growing Together
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n each issue of Chatham Magazine, we focus on one or two broad themes that inspire the stories we tell. This winter issue highlights holiday traditions and gift ideas (page 58) and also focuses on our local educators and students. But when I look through the pages, an interwoven thread emerges from among the articles. Even the cookie recipes on page 42 carry special meaning. On page 76, Woods Charter School student Ayana Lupoli-Rojas, 14, shares how she gained a fresh outlook and sense of self by navigating the streets and culture of France’s Occitane region. Another high schooler, Chatham School of Science & Engineering sophomore Mark Crabtree, 15, achieved a new level of self-confidence during his monthslong service project for his Eagle Scout badge. Snapshots from his ceremony start on page 60. One of Mark’s Scoutmasters, Mack Thorpe, earned his Eagle Scout rank decades ago and strives to live up to the honor, including via his transformation from Scout to Santa. Read about how his role as the iconic Christmas figure brings him joy beyond measure on page 50. In another long-standing local ritual, nearly every fourth grade student in Chatham County Schools visits the historic courthouse in downtown Pittsboro to enact a fictional case – Goldilocks v. The Three Bears – on a field trip that’s taken place for the past eight years. Turn to page 78 for their lessons in civics and civility. Sometimes changing your point of view means shifting your position, literally. About 200 fourth and fifth graders at North Chatham Elementary School did just that as they imitated the movements of professional dancers during a three-day visit to the school as part of an artists-in-residence workshop made possible by the Chatham Arts Council (page 82). The most inspiring story to me is on page 70, where Chatham Central High School history teacher Amy King describes how another teacher she had not met before prompted her to apply for a fellowship that forever changed her life and the way she leads her lessons. There are more stories inside that may inspire you in different ways, but they all speak to the importance of growing as a human by experiencing another’s perspective. CM
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Anna-Rhesa Versola rhesa@chathammagazinenc.com THE COVER Photo by John Michael Simpson Recipe by Ronda Bowman.
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CHATHAM MAGAZINE
WINTER 2022-2023