As a division, the Middle School set their growth mindsets in action earlier this week when students and teachers participated in the Hour of Code, part of the international Computer Science Education Week, that introduces students to coding through engaging activities in a low-pressure environment.

Read more about the Hour of Code in Middle School here! 

Ravenscroft basketball player Aliya Richmond ’21 was voted the News & Observer Athlete of the Week for Nov. 15-21. The recognition came after Richmond, a 5-foot-8-inch senior guard, averaged 17.7 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and four assists per game to help the Ravens get their season off to a 3-0 start.

But while those numbers spell success for Richmond as an individual, they’re part of a larger commitment she has made to the team. Read the whole story here!

As the season of gratitude and celebration begins, we’d like to thank our faculty and staff, who have done such a remarkable job this year. We’d also like to welcome a few new Ravens to our school community! We are so grateful they have joined us. Read about our newest faculty and staff members here! 

The District C Middle School class revolves around cultivating mindsets — specifically, analytical, design, collective and self-aware — that allow a team to be successful. The structure of the class also provides a variety of tool sets needed to be effective in working in a mixed group of students. The goal of each project is for the team, called a squad, to understand the context of the business’s problem and then provide solutions. Read more about District C here. 

Despite the many challenges around us, our Ravens took an opportunity to pause and consider our many blessings as we head into the Thanksgiving break. In lieu of our traditional Thanksgiving Chapel and Lower School Grandparents & Special Friends Day, the Upper School Spiritual Task Force worked across divisions to put together a virtual chapel (read the full program here). 

As faculty and students wrapped up their week in preparation for a week’s holiday in recognition of Thanksgiving, some Lower Schoolers learned how other cultures and communities express gratitude and shared what and how they celebrate. Read more about how first grade celebrated here. 

This week, students in the Upper School’s South Asian Affinity Group shared some of the traditions of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, with their teachers and classmates. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Students put up posters, created a table display and shared videos, including a dance demonstration, to explore the holiday.

Read more! 

Last year, Ravenscroft offered a new item in the PA’s Online Auction fundraiser: naming rights for the Fine Arts Circle for a period of one year. As active members and supporters of the Ravenscroft community, Lower School parents Pratik and Shital Patel made the winning bid. 

With a strong appreciation for the value and importance of the relationship between teachers and students, they have graciously named the circle in honor of Ravenscroft faculty and staff. Read the story behind our newly named “Heroes Circle.” 

Many students and parent volunteers are doing their work for Ravenscroft remotely — but did you know that the same technology that makes it possible to teach, learn and even volunteer from home also allows our families to redefine where “home” is? Ravenscroft parent and busy volunteer Elisa Barbone shares how the school’s investment in technology and a robust learning management platform helped their family stay together, learn and lead from the West Coast this fall. Read the story here! 

This year has been full of new adventures for everyone, including non-instructional staff at Ravenscroft. From helping out at recess so teachers can have a quick break to taking temperatures at morning carpool, our staff — with members of the Leadership Team leading the way — have stepped in to help outside their normal day-to-day job description. We asked them to share their favorite moment from the school year and why they have stepped up. Here's what they had to say. 

Doreen Kelly, Head of School: I have enjoyed covering carpool, study halls and recess this year and getting reconnected to students on the day-to-day. Recently, I covered a PreK recess, and all I can say is there is a special place in heaven for PreK teachers! The kids were wonderful and active!

Read more.

The show must go on — and for our Ravenscroft performing arts students, it goes on virtually! Thanks to the outstanding direction of our performing arts faculty and the magic of the Internet, the fall play and band, strings and choir concerts are being shared on our website — temporarily, due to licensing restrictions — for families and friends to enjoy.

Available for audiences Oct. 23-24, Willie Reale’s “Short and Sweet: A monologue play” featured more than 20 students in sixth through 12th grades. Each monologue was captured on film in various locations around campus and was artfully combined to entertain the Ravenscroft community. The collection of monologues catalogued the innermost thoughts of adolescents on topics ranging from peer pressure, pet peeves and friendship (or lack thereof) to first kisses and family losses. Through creative interpretation, the monologues managed to convey a modern twist on universally familiar coming-of-age topics, taking the audience through a range of emotions yet leaving us hopeful. 

Currently available on the Fine Arts Performances page: stirring pieces by members of our Upper School band, strings and choir. Tune in next week for Middle School performances!

Ravenscroft Athletics fans have some cheering to do! The boys varsity soccer team hosts Cary Academy in the quarterfinals of the NCISAA today at 5 p.m. Tomorrow, our cross country teams participate in the NCISAA State Championship meets at McAlpine Park in Charlotte. The girls’ race will begin at noon, and the boys’ race will begin at 3:20 p.m. 

Read a round-up on the post-season play of our other varsity teams here. Go Ravens!

In this Hub post by Jessica Yonzon, Director of Global Education, learn about how world language and media studies classes, with a stronger-than-ever alignment with the competencies of Lead From Here, are preparing our students to thrive in a complex and interdependent post-pandemic world.

Read more.

Ravenscroft’s Coffeehouse performance series is back this year in a socially distanced format, showcasing live music by talented Upper School students, faculty and staff. The club kicked off the year Sept. 30 at LJ’s Place with a livestream on Instagram. 

Organizers David Gring ’21, Thomas Barker ’21 and Julianna Rogers ’21 invite interested Upper Schoolers to sign up and submit their song list each month. Enjoy videos and pictures @RavenscroftCoffeehouse.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15-Oct. 15, celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The month-long recognition encompasses several important dates in Hispanic heritage, including the respective independence celebrations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Chile.

Read more about how Ravenscroft is celebrating Hispanic Heritage month here! 

Learn more about the work Middle School faculty and staff are doing to help students build social connections in this Hub Blog post by new Assistant Head of Middle School Nicole Brown!