Roll up your sleeves! Feed the Need coming September 29th
ARE YOU READY? We are excited to have our third community event that will help Feed the Need and put 60,000 meals on Treasure Valley tables! We will once again partner with Homestead Ministries of Colfax WA, and the Boise Rescue Mission to package 60,000 (or more!) meals to be distributed to those in need throughout the Treasure Valley. Homestead Ministries purchases or procures donations of locally grown grains such as beans, peas, lentils, wheat, and barley from farmers and processors, along with spices, bags, and labels. These items will be brought to the school on Friday, September 29th. Stations will be set up in the gym and teams of students will come throughout the day to mix 10,000 1 lb. soup packages – enough to equal 60,000 meals. We had our last Feed the Need event in February, which we found out is not the best time of year to find supplies of grains available. It was also a treacherous trip down to Boise for our friends at Homestead as they endured snow, ice, and flat tires all along the way. So we moved our event back to the fall to hopefully avoid these issues. Homestead Ministries began in August 2014 when friends Tom Riedner and Greg Nolan saw an opportunity to help reduce the hunger problem in the Northwest. Their desire is to use locally produced agricultural products to feed the hungry efficiently and generously using Christian values. Most people do not realize grains have different grades. Homestead purchases (in some cases grains are donated) these rich resources that do not make the exceptional grade for the marketplace but that are equal in nutritional value from the processors at reduced prices. A soup mix recipe is then created with the appropriate spices, and all the supplies are brought to volunteer groups for assembly. This process has provided thousands of meals that are distributed through local shelters, churches, and food banks. According to Tom Riedner, “At Homestead Ministries we try to plant a seed for compassion. We have one mission that stands out from our other goals and that is to spread Christ’s Love and Understanding, one soup packet at a time. By developing a soup recipe using locally grown commodities and distributing the product to the hungry across the Pacific Northwest, we feel Homestead Ministries is doing just that. Our desire is to help people feed their families by providing a delicious, nutritious protein-based product to improve their lives. Our intent is to feed all that are hungry so nobody is turned away.” Boise Rescue Mission will be one recipient of the finished soup mixes, which they will use both in food boxes for families, and daily meals at their four area shelters. “We sincerely appreciate Homestead Ministries and The Ambrose School of Meridian for making this generous gift of much needed food. As we continue to serve over 1,100 meals each day and provide over 400 safe nights of shelter daily, this gift insures that the mission will continue to meet the needs of homeless and hungry people,” says Jason Billester of Boise Rescue Mission. Kirk Vander Leest, Headmaster of The Ambrose School says, “Part of what makes this program so successful is the volunteer manpower – or kidpower, as the case may be. Although monetary donations are always vitally important to any charitable organization, we as a school are able to provide 500 willing and able students in one location to produce a huge amount of food in less than six hours. This is not only extremely efficient, but a great opportunity for our kids to serve others in their own backyard.” 7.3 percent of Idaho’s residents are food insecure — 274,230 people or 1 in 6. More than 23 percent of Idaho’s children are food insecure — 96,090 children or 1 in 4. Of the 274,230 food-insecure people, about 120,429 have incomes that make them eligible for food stamps. Around 56,200 have incomes which make them eligible for WIC and reduced-price school meals, but not food stamps.The other 90,991 have incomes which make them ineligible for public assistance, according to the Idaho Foodbank. These people rely on private charities, such as a church food pantry or the Idaho Foodbank. (source: Idaho Foodbank) Learn more about Homestead Ministries. Photos from Feed the Need February 2017:
New Parent Orientation September 7 & 9
Session 1: Thursday, September 7 @ 6:30 – 8:00 pm Session 2: Saturday, September 9 @ 8:30 – 10 am New parents! Be sure to sign up for one of our new parent orientations. There is a lot to learn at a new school, and we want to help ease that transition with these orientations designed to welcome and inform you. Childcare is available from the junior class (suggested donation $5 per child). Please be sure to RSVP to Michele Vernon. Let her know which session you are attending and if using childcare, how many children you are bringing. Welcome to Ambrose!
August 21: The solar eclipse & first day of Upper School
A note from Upper School Dean, Chris Browne, regarding the solar eclipse: Dear Ambrose families, As you may have heard, there will be a solar eclipse on Monday, August 21st. This is the first day of classes for our Upper School (7-12), which provides a really exciting opportunity for us to experience the eclipse as a school community. Northern Meridian is just outside the path of “totality.” Initially we had discussed taking a school-wide field trip to either Emmett or Horseshoe Bend to get within the path; however, we have learned more about what “totality” means, and there have also been apocalyptic traffic predictions about the morning, including several counties declaring various states of emergency. Here’s what we know: From our site in Meridian, we will see 99.5% of a total eclipse. The eclipse will occur at just before 11:30, and will last for roughly four minutes. There is expected to be somewhere in the range of 500,000 to a million people commuting to Idaho to see the eclipse; tens of thousands of those will be in the Hwy 55 and Hwy 16 corridors. Given all the above, we have elected to remain on our campus and structure our morning around an interactive eclipse observation lab. Here’s how the morning will go: Students meet for their regular classes in the morning. At 10:00 am, they will transfer to the gym for our annual back to school exordium. From 10:30 to 11:00, Mrs. Westcott, one of our science teachers, will do a lesson on the eclipse. After the lesson, we will go out on to the field and observe the eclipse together as a school community. We have already purchased ISO certified glasses for all upper school students to safely view the event, and we are working on a few additional ways to make the day memorable. As always, we partner with parents in the education of their children. Parents are welcome to come on campus and observe the eclipse with us on our field. We recommend that you bring your own viewing glasses, but we may have a few extra pairs for those who need them. For those parents who want to make it a family event and travel that day, you have our support as a school to make that decision. Gratefully, Chris Browne
Join us at the Back to School Picnic! Thursday, August 17th, 6:00 pm
Our annual Back to School Picnic will be held Thursday, August 17th, at 6 p.m., on The Ambrose School field. The picnic kicks off the school year and is the perfect time for K-6 students to meet their teacher, and parents to meet their child’s homeroom parent. You can bring a picnic dinner, or order from a food vendor here. K – 6 students meet your teacher. Parents meet your homeroom parent (HRP). Bring a picnic dinner or order from a food vendor. Ambrose T-shirts will be available to purchase. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket. Bring cash or check to buy food, snow cones, or a t-shirt! Although there will be no structured activities for upper school students, upper school families are also welcome! No pets, please. Questions? Call the office at 323-3888 or email office@theambroseschool.org.
The Upper School Retreat: What A Fun Way to Kick Off the Year!
When Ambrose students reach 7th grade, they are inducted into one of our six houses. Incoming 7th or new students learn which house they will join at the annual Upper School Retreat. The retreat also orients students to the new year and the upper school’s culture and expectations. Camaraderie is built within the houses and among grade levels as students compete in house games and tackle important topics together, lead by the upper school teachers and house governors. Far from the distractions of the city and in the beautiful mountains of McCall, the setting for the retreat is key to helping students focus in on their role as part of a house and the entire Ambrose School community. Students return with closer friendships and clear goals in mind as they begin the school year. This year’s retreat is set for August 16th – 18th. School begins August 21st. 7th grade and new students need to let Mrs. Hughes know their shirt size by August 4. Learn more about House. Watch the House Video to learn more about the Upper School Retreat:
Lacrosse Senior Night May 3rd at 6:00 pm
Come support our senior boys as we recognize their contributions through the years of building our lacrosse program. Presentations will be made at halftime of the game Wednesday, May 5th, at home at 6:00 pm as we take on the Borah Lions. GO ARCHERS!
Come celebrate the arts with us on May 12th!
Come enjoy the Spring Music & Art Festival! Be sure to mark your calendars! Friday, May 12 from 5:30-8:30 PM Peruse the art gallery in the auxiliary gym to see the accomplishments of our K-12 art students. Attend the concert in the main gym to hear our 5th-12th grade students (and beyond) perform music in a wide variety of genres from classical to classic rock. Come hungry and enjoy a barbecue dinner beginning at 5:00 PM. Proceeds help the class of 2019 offset costs of their senior trip. Two ways to order: Use this Spring Music Festival Order Form and turn into the office OR If you’d like to order online, submit your payment HERE and be sure to describe your order in the description box. Don’t miss this evening of fun for the entire family!
PROTOCOL: Redeeming the Dance
On Friday, May 5th, our high school students will gather for their yearly dinner and dance called “Protocol.” Protocol is a formal event that all students are invited to attend. Young men are assigned a young lady to escort to dinner, where formal dinner etiquette is practiced. Everyone then proceeds to the dance portion of the evening where group style dances such as the Grand March, Virginia Reel and Posties Jig are enjoyed, and the traditional “dance-off” takes place. All dances, including Protocol, are designed to encourage participation by all, serving each other, manners, and fun! This year, all but five students out of about 150 attended. Below is an “Insights” article written by one of our former House governors, Ms. Anna Gibson, about the structure and intentionality of dances at Ambrose. . . Redeeming the Dance by Anna Gibson Upper School Mathematics & House Governor In a day and age where “dancing” requires the invention of new words to define its absurdity (i.e., twerking) and “music” has plummeted from the lofty heights of ingenuity and craft to auto-synthesizers, it may seem dangerously ambitious to try and hold a school dance within the walls of Ambrose. But as our classical efforts are to recover the lost tools and our Christian desire is to redeem what has been broken, such an event actually finds itself at the very crossroads of our labors here. Mr. Tucker and I firmly believe that the “extracurriculuars” of this school can often be as character-defining and character-revealing, if not more so, than the academics and tasks of a usual day. Dances at Ambrose are atypical in today’s culture. The dress code is formal and modest, and strictly enforced. The music is a hodgepodge of current, classical, forties, soundtracks, and classic hits (who doesn’t love the YMCA?) Almost every dance is choreographed, complex, and requires focused attention. Older students dance with younger students, as well as help lead the dances for everyone. Many of the dances are “mixers,” meaning the partner one begins with is only theirs for the first round, before they receive a new one. From a young age (grammar school), our students are taught the simple group dances, such as the Virginia Reel, and from there, they learn increasingly complicated dances, culminating with the Postie’s Jig, a favorite amongst the students. Our students love these dances because they are intentional, activity-filled from beginning to end, and just plain fun. Mr. Tucker and I work hard to bring something unique to every dance (last time, it was a House Lip Sync Competition) and we enjoy being there as much as the students do. We believe these kinds of events can be culture changers just as much as our day-to-day activities. They enforce our emphasis on deference to fellow brothers and sisters: for the men in asking the ladies to dance, for the ladies, in their modesty. They allow for the older students to lead and mentor the younger students. They give many students who rarely get the spotlight an opportunity to create and serve. They give girls a chance to feel beautiful, and gentlemen a chance to see that dressing up isn’t all that bad. They give the students a wholesome outlet in which to play and laugh and interact without the stress of academics hanging over their heads. They give Mr. Tucker and I the opportunity to redeem, if only in the smallest way, something beautiful that our culture has tarnished. King David himself danced with great joy…it only seems right that we teach our students to express joy in this way as well.
