The O'Neal Quarterly Fall 2017

The O’Neal Quarterly •

O’Neal and the Parents’ Association hold its annual Military Appreciation Assembly and Breakfast.

O’Neal Parent and Trustee Lt. Colonel John Samples was the guest speaker.

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Middle School holds a Halloween Essay writing contest. 1st place is awarded to Christina Acker (6th), 2nd place is awarded to Alyssa Furie(7th) and honorable mention is given to Kaleigh O’Leary (8th).

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The annual Pumpkin Chunkin’ conducted by the physics classes is held and team: Spencer Sullivan, Boone Hancock and Charles Bell win with a distance of 227 feet.

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The Kindness Club sells donated items, crafts and baked goods to raise over $700 for hurricane relief victims via Americares.

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Five Upper School students are elected to the Honor Council. Jenna Burns and Joseph Dailey are elected as permanent members. Mary Guo, Bryce Samples and Peter Seifert are elected as alternate members.

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The Moore County Pet Responsibility Committee recognize 2 fourth grade students as winners of the Speuter Bowl Essay contest: Taylor Graves and Lauren Goodridge.

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Lower School students tag and release monarch butterflies for their migration to Mexico. The tagging system is registered with Monarch Watch.

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Head of School John Elmore, Head of Lower School Angie Manning and Athletic Director James Franklin are “plunged” into the renovated pool by the 5th grade students in celebration of the re-opening of the Aquatics Center at Taws Hall and the 5th grade’s achievement having the most participation in the “Fill the Pool Plunge” campaign for the O’Neal Fund.

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Senior Sophia Renner is recognized as a Commended Student for the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program.

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Middle and Upper School Students embark on class trips.

-6th Grade: Camp Don Lee

FALL 2017 -7th Grade: Camp High Rocks -8th Grade: Washington, DC -9th Grade: Camp Caraway -10th Grade: Charleston, SC -11th Grade: Virginia /DC Universities -12th Grade: Nantahala

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Sixteen year old professional pianist George Harliano performed Rachmoninof’s 2nd Piano Concerto to MS and US students, thanks to O’Neal Parent and Carolina Philharmonic Maestro David Michael Wolff.

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Head of School Achievement Awards are presented to Sydney Maynor (10th), Maia Kantorowski and Augusta Smith (11th) Mary McMurray and Sophia Renner (12th) for their high academic average for the past school year.

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Senior Ellie Henry verbally commits to the College of William and Mary to swim for the Tribe’s women’s swim team.

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Junior Fulton Smith verbally commits to play golf for Wake Forest University’s Demon Deacons for the fall of 2019.

One-Act Play Success Refle

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he fall at O’Neal has been eventful, but two performances epitomized for me the talent and culture of our community. Our runners at the state cross-country meet set many personal records, O’Neal top-ten times, and Molly Kuzma set a girl’s school record and finished third. Determination was clear in all of the runners as was their joy in being a part of the team. The runners cheered each other and celebrated their teammates’ accomplishments whether competing for a state title or simply finishing with one’s best effort in last place. The team was committed not only to competing at the highest level but also to each other’s success.

by Henry Hamilton and Virginia Andr

’Neal’s One-Act Players recently competed in the annual regional NC Theatre Conference High School Play Festival at Union Pines High School.

Directed by Upper School English Teacher Henry Hamilton, the One-Act Players presented “Wit” by Margaret Edson. This challenging piece deals with difficult thematic issues, as the main character, a professor of English literature, faces her imminent death from ovarian cancer. The role of the professor was played by junior Jenna Burns, whose performance was honored at the festival with the Outstanding Achievement in Acting award, the highest individual acting honor given.

The team also received an overall rating of “Excellent”, a Theatre Arts Award for Excellence in Scene Transitions, and a Festival Spirit Award. The rest of the cast and crew include seniors Maddie Gutschmit and Andrew Martin; juniors Hannah Burns, Akari Kawasaki, and Ralayah McRae; sophomores Julia Darabont, Lily Gutschmit, Niasha Kodzai, and Sydney This year’s One-Act play was based Maynor; and freshman Ryann Perkins. on Margaret Edson’s play, Wit. The cast’s performances were outstanding, The One-Act Play Festival is one of many including Jenna Burns who portrayed efforts O’Neal has in place in pursuit Dr. Vivian Bearing and was presented of the arts. All students should have the the Outstanding Achievement in Acting opportunity to participate in the fine arts. award at the Moore County competition. Arts education is not a luxury; it is a The entire community was in the audience necessity as one strives to educate youth for for the campus performance - students, the future. At O’Neal, each child in every parents, teachers and friends. We had grade level is afforded that opportunity. come to see an amazing performance and O’Neal students learn to express their ideas to support the actors who had dedicated creatively. Whether it is fine art, music, or themselves to reach this level. theater, students are encouraged to grow and refine their creative abilities. The hope Both the cross-country team and the One- is to graduate students who have a life-long Act players demonstrated what is unique appreciation for the arts. Through theater about the O’Neal experience. Performing and choral performances, students hone at the highest level and striving to reach their public speaking skills. Through the one’s goals are part of the School’s fine arts, students learn to express their culture of excellence. Supporting others points of view and to appreciate a world and celebrating their accomplishments is view different from their own. an equally important part of our special community.

Educators seek to provide students with real world experiences in the classroom and to instill an understanding of the relevancy of each subject studied in school. So why are the arts important for a student who John C. Elmore dreams of becoming the CEO of a company, Head of School an aeronautical engineer, a professional athlete, or an educator? The arts are

about communication, the creation of a vision, and are a method of understanding the world. The arts require planning, collaboration, perseverance, and courage.

O’Neal’s arts classes provide students a place to hone these skills. Students practice methods of art critique and develop a discerning eye for visual media. Through dramatic performance students sharpen their communication skills. Our students have almost immediate access to so much information, so what becomes important is how that knowledge is pulled together, presented, and shared. The arts support that synthesis.

The O’Neal community is fortunate that the arts are celebrated and supported. O’Neal students create every day as the Falcons are not merely grades or standardized test scores. O’Neal educates not only the mind, but the spirit of the students. The arts fulfill the human need to create, to explore, and to discover. Noted educational researcher on the importance of creativity, Sir Ken Robinson, states: “The arts, sciences, humanities, physical education, languages and maths all have equal and central contributions to make to a student’s education.” The O’Neal School is proud to educate the whole child and to emphasize the development and support of creativity alongside academics.

ects on Arts

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Varsity Boys Soccer - 2017 EPIC Champions

Great Strides with Fall Sports

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arsity Cross Country had an outstanding season culminating at the NCISAA 2A Championship with 10 PRs (personal records) as both squads ran to 9th place finishes. The girls placed 9th out of 25 teams, an improvement from 11th overall last year.

Molly Kuzma, placing 3rd (All State), and Caelan McHarney rewrote the All-Time top 10 list. The boys placed 9th out of 29 teams, a jump from 14th overall last year. The team scored 260 points, a 90-point improvement from 350 pts at last season’s state meet.

Varsity boys soccer finished out the regular season on a high note with an 11-2 overall (9-1 conference) record winning the Eastern Plains Independent Conference (EPIC) Championships and were also named as the 5th seed for the state tournament.

The team advanced in the state tournament to play a fantastic game in their state quarter final match vs. Westchester Country Day School. The boys gave WCDS an almighty scare, losing 2-1, despite possessing the ball for most of the time.

Middle School boys soccer, coached by David Williamson, entered SEMSAC playoffs with a 7-1-1 regular season record and made it to the finals against Village Christian Academy to lose 6-5 in overtime with sudden death penalty kicks. The team finished with a 8-1-1 record and placed second in SEMSAC. Varsity girls golf completed their second season as a team by delivering a convincing victory over the visiting Gaston Day School 147 to 168 at Pinehurst No. 7. The Lady Falcons finished their season at 5-2 only dropping matches to Cary Academy and Charlotte Country Day. Sophomore co-captain Nicole Adam represented O’Neal as an individual competitor at the NCISAA Championship at Whispering Pines finishing eighth and earning all-state honors for the second year in a row.

Tiebreakers were friends and foes of the varsity girls tennis team. After winning their last match of the regular season 7-2 against Grace Christian School of Raleigh with a 3rd set 10-pt tiebreaker, the lady Falcons won an at large bid for the NCISAA 2A Tournament resulting in a 4-5 finish against Caldwell Academy after a heart breaking third set tiebreaker of the last match.

The O’Neal varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams demonstrated passion, resilience and a constant will to compete. The varsity squad compromised of a youthful and talented contingent and played their best volleyball at the end of the Molly Kuzma - Photo by Raleigh News & season, winning 2 out of their last three games.

Observer

The raised vegetable garden will serve as an ongoing project for 4th and 5th grade students and all produce harvested will be donated to those in need.

Upcoming Events Silent Night with Cookies & Milk Dec. 8th

Science Olympiad Invitational Dec. 9th

Homecoming & Dinner Dec. 14th

Winter Break

Dec. 18th - Jan 1st

Junior Class Pancake Supper Jan. 12th

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ecently, Lower School Division Assistant Suzanne Phillips was surrounded by students, friends and family to honor her husband John with the dedication of a raised-bed vegetable garden in his name.

Great appreciation goes to special donors, the maintenance department for building the containers, the Epstein family for providing the soil, special discounts from ACE hardware and other organizations, the planting from O’Neal 4th and 5th graders as well as outstanding coordination from O’Neal Parent and Trustee Lynda Acker.

The O’Neal Quarterly P.O. Box 290 Southern Pines, NC 28388