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Calendar Highlights -- September |
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For the most current information, please refer to the
calendar on ParentsWeb.
Concessions will be sold Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:30 in both
foyers as a fundraiser for this year's 8th grade trip to
SeaCamp.
Monday, September 12 --
9/11 remembrance ceremony, 8:30 a.m., courtyard. Parents are
welcome.
Tuesday, September 13 --
School picture day, 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday, September 14 --
Middle School community service day (first of three). MS
students should wear their blue TCS polo shirts
Thursday, September 22 --
Parent Association meeting, 6:00 p.m., commons. All parents and
caregivers are encouraged to attend.
Monday, September 26 --
No school (professional development day). No child care will be
available; please refer to the roster of babysitters we have
assembled (article below). |
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September 11
Anniversary Renews Ties Between Schools; Commemoration Planned
for Monday, September 12 |
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Topeka Collegiate will commemorate the tenth anniversary of the
September 11, 2001 attacks with a remembrance ceremony Monday,
September 12, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Students
will wearing patriotic buttons made for our school by students
on the east coast (see the Head of School's letter, above, for
more details).
The remembrance ceremony will include a presentation of the
colors by the Topeka High Color Guard, a patriotic song, the
pledge of allegiance, and a moment of silence. The
children have been asked to wear red, white and blue. Parents
are welcome to attend. |
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School Picture Day -- Tuesday, September 13 |
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Photographer Nathan Ham will be on campus the morning of
Tuesday, September 13 to take photographs of our students,
faculty, and staff. Students in afternoon-only Pre-K will have
their photos taken on Wednesday, September 14. Proofs and order
forms will be available for ordering prints and other
items shortly thereafter. The proof materials need to be
returned to the school regardless of whether you place an order.
Students who are absent on Tuesday will have their photos taken
on October 6.
Please note that re-takes will be reserved only for
students who are absent on September 13 or for photographs that
have obvious errors (such as closed eyes), so please help your
child choose a hairstyle and clothing that you agree on! |
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A Note From The Office |
Families who have not turned in their completed student
directory form have until Monday at the end of the day to do so.
We are ready to print our school directories and want all of our
families' contact information to be up-to-date. Forms are
available on the school web site under the "Forms" tab.
If we have not received your family's form, we will use the
information that is currently in RenWeb. Please double-check
your RenWeb account to ensure your address, phone number, and
email address are correct. Please send any corrections to Karen
Benson. Thank you! |
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Parent
Association Executive Committee Members Named, Meetings
Scheduled |
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We welcome this year's Parent Association executive committee
members!
 
(Pictured above, left to right Eric M., Rick B., Lisa H.)
Thank you for your
nominations for the Topeka Collegiate School Parent
Association! Three parents have agreed to volunteer their
time for two-year appointments to the executive committee.
Eric M. (Emma, 1st) continues serving as
Co-Chair of the committee, for the second year of his
two-year term. Eric is joined this year by Co-Chair Rick B.
(Edward, 6th) who will serve for two
years. Lisa H.(Alex C., 8th) will be
serving as Secretary, also for the second year of her
two-year term.
The Parent Association
executive committee will meet every other month. On the
alternate months, all parents and caregivers are encouraged
to attend the full Parent Association meetings held at 6:00
p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month, beginning
September 22. Each classroom's Parent
Association representative will also attend the bi-monthly
meeting.
At the first Parent Association meeting, we will be
discussing how funds from last year's Parent Association
fundraising efforts will be spent, using a "wish list"
created by the school. We will also be discussing
volunteerism at TCS, and identifying chairs for special
events including the Grandparent Club, the Thanksgiving
feast, Teacher Appreciation Day, and the back-to-school
picnic. Please plan to join us; your input is important to
us!
To read a copy of the Topeka Collegiate Parent Association
bylaws, click here.
Thank you Eric, Rick, and Lisa for your commitment to our
school!
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Faculty and
Student Updates |
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6th grader Daniel
M.'s last
day at Topeka Collegiate was Tuesday. He will be attending
Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence.
Gina M., Daniel's mother, has resigned from her position as
afternoon para-professional in the Pre-K classrooms.
Griffin L. bid farewell to his 7th grade
classmates last week. His family is moving to Hays.
Welcome back to Katie
W. and Matthew
W.! Katie has joined our Kindergarten and Matthew is in
Pre-K.
Katie and Matthew's mother, Jamie W., has been hired as our
replacement Pre-K para-professional in Mrs. Hundley's classroom.
Jamie will also be supervising Pre-K students in after care.
Welcome, Jamie! |
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Videos Debut at Back to School Night |
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Student-Produced Video a Hit
The Back to School Night crowd was blown away by the video
edited by 7th grader Bryce
V., which had its first, but certainly not its last
public viewing Thursday.
We plan to use the video on our school website and in
presentations to prospective families and community groups.
Check out Topeka
Collegiate: We are the Eagles!
Congratulations, Bryce!
Annual Fund Video Stars Students, Teachers, Parents
Back to School Night was also premiere night for this year's
Annual Fund "Dollars for Scholars" video with cameo appearances
by students, teachers, parents, and even an alum. Annual Fund
month is just around the corner in October and the video link is
already on our school website.
View the video by clicking here. |
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Make RenWeb Your Best Friend! |
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Log on to ParentsWeb to view your child's classes and homework,
view your account, access school contact information, and much
more!
You may access RenWeb by clicking on the ParentsWeb button at
the top of the TCS home page. Our district code is TCS-KS
(include the hyphen). Your user name is your email address (the
address that you provided to us when you enrolled, which we have
entered into the RenWeb system).
Still having trouble? Contact network administrator David
Zlotky. |
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Alum Offers Advice to Middle School Students |
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(left to right) Middle School Math Teacher Phyllis Hoyt,
Wesley West '98,
Past Trustee Lucia West, Middle School Head Travis Lamb
"Mrs. Hoyt is the best teacher I ever had!" declares Wesley
West '98.
That's high praise from a young man who graduated from MIT with
a degree in economics.
Now Vice President for Strategy at JPMorgan Chase in New York,
it wasn't so long ago that Wes was a Middle School student at
TCS. Current sixth, seventh and eighth graders asked him
questions last week, as he paid a visit to his old school. Here,
paraphrased and shortened, are Wes' answers to some of their
questions.
Q. What were the most important things you learned at Topeka
Collegiate?
A. Number one: Math. Number two: Physics. Learning how numbers
work. If you know math, no one can lie to you and that makes you
so much more powerful.
Q. Do you really use algebra?
A. YES! (laughter) My previous job was consulting for banks,
going from bank to bank all over the world, solving problems.
It's the math that allows businesses to make smart decisions. If
you understand the math, you can solve problems. The only way
you can answer the questions is by knowing the math.
Q. What was it like living overseas? (Scotland, Australia)
A. It was scary. Change is scary. For example, figuring out
what to do my first weekend in Melbourne, where I didn't know
anyone, was a challenge. But if you don't let it scare you, it's
a powerful experience. Living on my own was valuable. I learned
that the American way is not the only way.
Q. What was MIT like?
A. Very scary, very different. I didn't know anyone. I wondered,
"Will I have friends?" Guess what I got on my first physics
exam? 42%! I thought I was going to fail physics. There's
nothing wrong with that, because I eventually passed. There's
nothing wrong with being good and struggling. There's nothing
wrong with working hard to get better. If you're inherently good
at something, it doesn't mean squat unless you're willing to
work hard to be great!
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Fundraiser Planned for Former TCS Family |
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Megan Alden, parent of former TCS Lower School student Nadia
Alden, has been diagnosed with melanoma. A fundraising barbecue
has been planned for Saturday,
September 24 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at
Jay Shideler Elementary School. The suggested donation is $20
per adult and $10 per child.
To view the flyer, click here. |
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Volunteer Spotlight |
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In preparation
for next week's Middle School Day of Service, students who
volunteered at school and in the community this summer were
recognized this week. Eighth grader David
L. and seventh graderLauren F. (left) described
their experiences with the "Lose the Training Wheels" program
sponsored by the Capper Foundation. Many students volunteered at
school, working at camps, helping with the garage sale, and
mowing the lawn, asJacob (below) and Adam
C. did (below left).
(below) Did
you know Mrs. Marchiony can drive a tractor? She and former Head
of School Dick Patterson put the "labor" in Labor Day by working
on the school grounds.
(below left) Former
trustee Glenn Freeman and new parent Andrew L. prepare to spread
mulch.
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Around Campus |
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Stacy Elmer '95
is making headlines in her job as a special assistant to the
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in Washington,
DC. The ASPR has launched Stacy's idea for a "Lifeline" app for
Facebook users to use in health emergencies. The app is being
marketed to developers as a competition through November 4, the
end of hurricane season. To read the NPR health blog report,
click here.
To calm their nerves on the first day of school, first grade
teachers Jamie Frederick and Sarah Pruden gathered their
students together to read a story and a poem related
to getting rid of their first-day jitters, followed by cups
of "jitter juice" and cookies.
IndiaFest, a yearly celebration of Indian food and culture, took
place August 27 at Gage Park. Several Topeka Collegiate families
participated in the event, and even more TCS
families attended! Pictured above left is Dave S. (Rishi-1st, Aryan-PK).
At right, Head of School Mary Beth Marchiony visits with three
TCS students who danced at IndiaFest, Pooja
V. (7th), Tanisha
M. (4th), and Aditi
M. (4th).
7th graders in Dr. Macfarlane's science class spent part of the
day last month at Lake Shawnee collecting water samples and
specimens for their study of environmental science. (Left to
right Dalton
V., Satchel P., Bryce V.).
Rocket Math has launched! The colorful paper rockets lining the
Lower School hallways piqued the interest of students, until
Tuesday morning, when it was blast
off! Students
were summoned by Mission Control (a.k.a. Lower School Head Dene'
Mosier) to the courtyard, where their teachers enthusiastically
introduced them to Rocket Math, complete with a model rocket
launch. We feel their math skills reaching sky-high levels
already!
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Earn Money for Collegiate Through Everyday Activities! |
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You can earn money for Topeka
Collegiate through everyday activities like going to the grocery
store, searching and shopping online, and recycling useful
products. Click on the links for more information on
participating brands and special promotions.
 www.goodsearch.com --
Each time you use GoodSearch, a Yahoo!-powered search engine,
for your online searches, Topeka Collegiate receives a cash
donation. Be sure to designate Topeka Collegiate as your
designated cause.
 Box
Tops for Education -- For
each Box Tops 4 Education coupon you clip and turn in to the
office, TCS receives 10 cents. The Box Tops logo can be found on
hundreds of participating brands from diapers to frozen
vegetables to disposable bags. And if you shop online at the Box
Tops marketplace, a portion of every qualifying purchase (up to
22%) is donated to our school at no extra cost to
you. Participating online stores include GapKids, Pottery Barn,
Hotels.com, and Lands' End.
-- Dillons grocery store merchandise cards are available for
purchase in denominations of $20, $50, and $100 in the
school office.The cards may be used at any Dillons store for
merchandise including prescriptions and gas. For every
card you buy, Topeka Collegiate receives a six percent
rebate. For every $1,000 of Dillons cards we sell, the
school receives $60, for example. The 6% rebate will go in
to the Eagles Flight Fund, which will be used to support our
school's operating budget. The Dillons card is like cash. It
buys a full $20 worth of groceries or gas, but cannot be
replaced if it is lost and is not reloadable.
 --
HyVee grocery store merchandise cards are available for
purchase for $20, $50, and $100 each in the school
office. Like the Dillons cards, Topeka Collegiate receives
6% of all sales.
 Best
Choice Labels --
When you purchase Best Choice brand products, clip out and
return the UPC
portion (the
proof of purchase) to the office. For each bundle of 1,000
UPCs, our school will earn $30. Topeka-area stores that
carry Best Choice products are Apple Market, Tilton's
Westside, Price Chopper, Perry Lecompton and Oskaloosa
Thriftways, and Checkers.
 Campbell's
Labels for Education -- You no longer need to save the
entire label - just the UPC
code as
shown above is needed for redemption. Other brand names besides
Campbell's in this program include Pepperidge Farm, Prego,
Swanson, V8, Market Day, Franco-American, and SpaghettiO's.
  Tyson
Project A+ Labels-- Labels from boxes and bags of
Tyson frozen chicken products are worth 24¢ to Topeka
Collegiate. Clip the end
flap from
boxes (top left) or the top edge from
bags (bottom right).
 Office
Depot 5% Back to Schools Program -- 5% of your purchase
comes directly to the school in the form of free
supplies. School supplies qualify for the program, while
computers, technology items, and other items do not. Simply
identify TCS as your school choice at the checkout and/or
supply the school ID number: 70039209. Past purchases can
be credited to the school as long as they were made within
the last quarter.
 Target
Take Charge of Education Program -- Apply
and get approved for a Target REDCard. When you
enroll, designate TCS as your school of choice and Target
will send our school a no-strings-attached check worth up to 1%
of your REDCard purchases at Target and Target.Com.
Recycle your old cell
phones, printer
and toner cartridges, plastic
containersmarked with a 1 or 2 within a triangle, paper,
corrugated cardboard, and newspapers --
all of these items are collected and redeemed for cash. Please
place old cell phones and printer cartridges in the collection
boxes across from the main office in the teachers'
workroom. Plastic, cardboard, paper, and newspaper may be placed
in the marked Dumpsters on the east side of the campus. |
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events
of that day a decade ago. Students will be given a button to
wear that was made for Topeka Collegiate by children at Viola L.
Sickles School in New Jersey. Topeka Collegiate students, under
the guidance of our former head, Michael Roberts, sent paper
dolls ("Hands and hearts from the heartland") to New Jersey in
2001 as a way to tell those students Kansans were thinking of
them. They responded by sending homemade pins for our students.
Here's the article that appeared in the
