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News from School of the Woods... a Montessori School

Summer 2010

BluePrint BashHonors

Students of Woods High School

Dear Friends,

Our mission at School of the Woods is to prepare students for

life by fostering personal and social responsibility and life-long learning. We provide students at all ages opportunities to learn through active participation, use skills in real-life situations, and extend learning beyond the classroom and into the community. One way this is achieved is through service learning projects. Service learning is a practice through which young people actively partici-pate in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet a genuine community need and are coordinated in collaboration with the school and the community. Adolescents partici-pate in the planning and decision-making of their projects which extends student learning beyond the classroom and fosters a sense of caring for others.

School of the Woods students begin extended Service Learning Courses in the seventh grade, building on in-school experiences from the lower levels. Yes, all those recycled art projects, Earth Day t-shirts, stains on clothes from serving the Thanksgiving feast or planting in the gardens, and experiences helping other students were setting the foundation for larger service-learning projects.

Woods Middle School students partici-pate in week-long internships twice a

year in Montessori Classrooms and local businesses as well as weekly projects with local service organiza-tions. Woods High School students participate in Service Learning Intersessions through out their high school careers. The intersessions include week-long internships with service organizations, daily journal entries, and final essays on what their experiences have meant for them.

Here are some stories from our students:Will Schorre, while volunteering at a homeless resource center, noticed a man sitting at a computer. The man asked Will to, “help me fill out this application for the METRO.” Will helped navigate the computer and the on-line application process with the man, who hoped to become a bus driver.

Later that same week, the man returned to the center. He saw the volunteer that helped him with his application and said, “Hey Will, I got the interview!” Will said that he felt rewarded by helping this man achieve his goal.

“I can do things like grown-ups,” said Rachel George while explaining her experiences at the Lawndale Art Center in the Montrose Area. Rachel, a freshman at Woods High School, worked with the artists to set up their exhibits, revamped the storage areas and improved the processes for distrib-uting marketing material. Artist Sally

Heller asked if Rachel could return to the center to help take down her exhibit, and she did. Rachel enjoyed interacting with the artists and inter-preting their work. She put the artists at ease while setting up their exhibits at the center.

John Tofuri said, “Service learning is so much more than community service, you actually grow.” John spent his week at the Houston Children’s Museum, where he worked on a team to ensure the stations at the Museum were always ready for guests. While working in the EcoStation he felt that he really helped the children learn something new. The Invention Convention station gave John the opportunity to share his passion for engineering with Museum guests. John thinks he made a significant difference by his volunteer work.

Students at School of the Woods enjoy the unique opportunities that service-learning provides; exploration of self and their emerging interests while interacting with and participating in the world around them. Through learning and reflection, students are capable of comparing their life situa-tions to those of the people they serve and to place any need or problem in local and global contexts. 1

From the head oF Schoolby sHerry Herron

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1The Generator, National Youth Leadership Council, Vol 26, No. 4, Winter 2009

Service learning at School of the Woods empowers our students

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School of the WoodsVolume 17, Number 2

Summer 2010

View from the Woods is published by School of the Woods for its community of friends. Editor, Eloise Rochelle. Associate Editors, Barbara Bends and David Welling. Executive editor, Sherry Herron, Head of School. Communications may be addressed to School of the Woods, 1321 Wirt Road, Houston TX 77055, or online to info@schoolofthewoods.org.

Telephone calls concerning the newsletter may be directed to the Advancement Office, 713.686.8811.

Founded in 1962, School of the Woods is Houston’s oldest continually operating Montessori school, offering Montessori learning from age 2½ through High School (grade 12). School of the Woods is accredited by the American Montessori Society, the Texas Alliance of Accredited Private Schools, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Children of all abilities and talents, without regard to race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, are eligible for enrollment in School of the Woods, a Texas nonprofit corporation.

Photographs in this issue are by Barbara Bends, Elizabeth Deden, Brittany Faske, Gunilla Gard, Jeff Grass, Bill Koehn, Michael Mock, Cindy Oldham, Stephanie Romero, Mary Vargas, and David Welling.

Board of TrusteesRobert T. Deden, PresidentDavid Dickinson, Vice PresidentDaniel McGuire, TreasurerChris O’Niell, SecretaryGary EatonJoan EricksonCheryl FowlerRussell HerronMargaret Sallans-Noecker

Trustees EmeritusWalter FondrenVince FosterJim KeysMarian LivingstonBill RussJohn F. BosRick BostHoward Robinson

Visit us at www.schoolofthewoods.org

Notes about our cover

Dr. Coe continues training for Brazilian Montessorians

Three Montessori educators from Brazil came to Houston in October for additional training under Dr. Elisabeth Coe at School of the Woods. The

course subject was working with teenagers.

Dr. Coe began the course in July 2008 in Sao Paolo. The three educators, who are representatives of the Montessori movement in Brazil, were Maria Sheila, from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul; Roberta Veras Lago from Santa Catarina; and Laurita Maya, ABEM representative. Dr. Coe is second from left in the photo. v

Guests arriving at the Blueprint Bash on March 6 knew they were in for something special right at the door. At the entrance was a massive table display of hors d’oeuvres surrounding a large crystalline ice sculpture shaped with the event logo. As suggested by its name, the event was truly a splendid bash. See the big story on Page 4.

2 Sherry Herron’s Message

4 Blue Print Bash

5 Annual Spring Picnic

8 Woods High School

13 Woods Middle School

17 Around the Campus in photos

18 Woods Lower School

21 Sports

22 The Arts

25 Alumni News

26 Donors to School of the Woods

Contents

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School of the Woods threw itself another

smashing gala event on March 6. This time it was the Blue Print Bash to benefit the building of Woods High School.

Co-chairs Walt Coram and Joan Erickson and Dan and Stephanie McGuire and their crew of volunteers took over the Tanglewood Terrace Café atop the Marathon Oil Tower on St. James Place. They transformed that space into an elegantly-decorated casual dining and exhibit hall for the evening.

However, there was nothing casual about the choices of food. The entrance to the café featured a large crystalline ice sculpture depicting the event logo. Everywhere, wait staff offered choices of complimentary champagne and wines, plus trays of hors d’oeuvres – bruschetta with fresh mozzarella and stuffed mushrooms. The ice sculpture was surrounded by even more hors d’oeuvres – mounds of fruits and cheeses, Cajun crab cakes, plum tomato, asparagus and spice Remoulade, Santa Fe chicken skewers.

A very aromatic Pasta Station offered a choice of cheese-stuffed ravioli, fusilli or penne pasta, to be combined with basil cream sauce with artichokes, meatballs or grilled chicken, accompanied by crusty garlic bread.

A Mashed Potato Martini Bar! Did you ever! Yukon Gold, purple or sweet potatoes, topped off with red onions, bacon, cheese, Beef Stroganoff or broccoli Bechamel, and served in oversized Martini glasses.

BLUE PRINT BASHBlue Print Bash on March 6 another great success!

If anyone had any hankerings after all that, he/she could step right up to the Carving Station – a very tradi-tional Steamship Round of Beef, served with Jus, spicy mustard, horseradish and Silver Dollar rolls.

Dessert selections were just the right things to end with – a chocolate,

Key lime and raspberry mousse and chocolate chip dipped cookies, along with Starbucks coffee.

Hundreds of live and silent auction items were real show-stoppers. They covered the gamut of interests – art, things to do around town, sports and recreation, jewelry, goodies for the home, health and beauty “necessi-

ties,” clothing and accessories, food and wine, photography, and those enchanting art projects made by students.

A highlight of this Bash was a months-long raffle promotion of a five-foot-long bench, handmade of pecan wood by parent Brian Conner of BC

Woodworks. A preliminary drawing of three semi-finalists was held on February 24th, with the final winner being named at the Bash – Woods High School teacher Val McAvey.

Even among hot auction items, there were some stand-outs: the football signed by all the Texans and donated by

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Texan player and school parent, Jeff Zgonina; one of those trendy cravats designed by Thomas Pink; use of a fantastic vacation home on the Frio River, donated by Wallis and DeeDee Marsh; a mirror hand-crafted by parent Melissa Couch; and an impressive three-stone enhancer from Mind, Body & Soul, donated by owner/parent Denise Welling.

Honorees for this evening were all of the students in Woods High School, many of whom volunteered to work. The students were key contributors to the success of the Blue Print Bash. The first set of 20 volunteers, the set-up crew, arrived at noon on event day to set up the auction items and display materials.

The next batch of 25 volunteers, Section Experts and Runners, arrived at 5:30 to assist guests with any questions about the auction

items and encourage bidding The students also sold raffle tickets, presented live auction items and passed out those great tape measure party favors. After the event, they served as runners, collecting auction items and transporting them to the winning bidders and their cars. Finally, they stayed to help clean up.

These stalwarts were Aliah Al-Hatlani, Ben Algeroy, Annie Arendt, Rebecca Arnold, Robin Babb, Adriel Barrios, Jennifer Beal, Colin Benthien, Kelly Benthien, Lauren Bodron, Sara Brumbelow, Layanna Burke, Sage Coram, Daniel Cuervo, Michelle Deden, Bryce Evans, Kamilah Evans, Nick Fatica, Lane Franklin, Rachel Gossett, Eric Grass, Anzu Hakone, Corey Helfland, Evan Hill, Daniel Howell, Malcolm Knowles, Matthew Lagarde, Daniel Lin, Johanna Mather, John McAvey, Michelle Miller, John Moger, Hank Montgomery, Jonathan Scott, Amanda Shelby, Amy Sternesky, Sam Taylor, Kate Montgomery, Detria Turner, Wesley Weiss and Lauryn Welling.

Gross proceeds for the event were $137,950. v

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Aquarius, the Water Bearer, would have loved it. . . Annual Spring Picnic provides soakings and much more

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The “Spring Splash” picnic on April 25 lived up to its promises with a grand assortment of activities and food.

This annual event is sponsored by the School of the Woods Parents’ Organization.

Those activities concerning the “splash” were a double bay water slide, a Slip and Slide, and a Junior Water Slide. Other such activities were a Dino Playland, a Hippity Hop Race Track and the every-popular Rock Wall. Crafts available were face painting and tattoos, hair styling and an arts and crafts table.

Entertainment was provided by Freddie the DJ and our very own Woods High Performers. Thirty students from Woods High School were on hand, working where needed, alongside our valiant parent volunteers.

Food for this special day could truly be called awesome. The James Coney Island staff from the Meadows location brought along hundreds of hotdogs, hamburgers, baked potatoes and chicken sandwiches, with all the various trimmings. Sweet

Tomatoes on the Katy Freeway had some wonderful pasta salads. Fiesta Mart on Wirt Road provided luscious pastries from its bakery. Starbucks in Kroger, Wirt Road, sent what it does best – containers of coffee. And Kroger on Wirt Road supplied unlimited bottles of water. Along with all this were popcorn and Island Breeze Slushies.

Multiple raffles were a big part of the fun – an iPad, the New Slide HD Flip-Video Camera, children’s plasma car; Star Wars Lego Sets, Playmobil Castle & Pet Clinic; Fun at the Park – a basket of sand toys; Bubbling Backyard Fun basket; Amazing Planet Earth basket; Popular Mechanics basket; a basket of children’s board books; and a Dino Delight basket.

An attendance of 625 people earned more than $10,000 for the School.

Other businesses that made the day were Airtime Amusements and Chariot Car Wash on Bingle Road. Special thanks goes, too, to parent Kari Coffey and her family. v

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A banquet for the Woods High School graduates was held

Thurday evening, May 20, at the Westlake Club in West Houston. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends rounded out the attendance of about 100.

The evening began with a buffet dinner featuring select Italian entrees, vegetables and salads, ending with a choice of desserts.

All WHS faculty members were on hand to render semi-serious assess-ments of each student, a tradition at the school. Each student is summoned to the dais, one at a time, where a

teacher reveals a one-word descrip-tion, chosen among the faculty, of that student’s personality and discusses briefly the student’s attri-butes. All descriptions are salutary.

After enduring these minutes in the spotlight, the student is given a special memento from the school to carry forward into the larger world. The graduates and their appellations are Al-Hatlani, recognized for being refined; Annie Arendt – faithful; Colin Benthien – valiant; Sara Brumbelow – elegant; Steven J. Cannella II – iconic; Jonathan Cohen-Kurzrock – panache; Sage Coram – captivating; Daniel Cuervo – debonair; Bryce Evans –

courageous; Kamilah Evans – dynamic; Lane Franklin – nurturing; Dorian (Electra) Gomberg – ‘electra’-fying; Franki Gusemano – devoted; Evan Hill – whimsical; Bryan Maddox – perspicacious; Dylan Miller – incisive; Arian Mohagheghi – affable; Elliot Mossberg – enigmatic; Victoria Segler – whole-hearted; Hannah Taylor – acute; Samuel Taylor – astute; and Wesley Weiss – genuine.

The final segment of the banquet allows each graduate to take the mike and expound for a few minutes on some aspect of his/her Woods High School experience. v

Graduates celebrate the future at banquet, May 20

Woods High School has 22 graduates this year

School of the Woods is proud to announce its largest group of high school graduates ever. The group of 22 WHS

seniors received their diplomas on Saturday, May 22, in the Grand Foyer of the Wortham Center.

The program began with Lighting the Flame, done by Ben Cohen-Kurzrock of the Class of 2009. Robert T. Deden, President of the Board of Trustees, gave the welcoming address, followed by a special address by former Woods High School teacher Bert Loan, who is now pursuing a doctoral degree in Guatemala.

In his address Mr. Loan said that Class 2010 had asked him to speak on something timeless. He obliged by noting that as the future is unknowable, and as life-long learners, they

should not be burdened by past errors and mistakes but frequently revisit them and continually learn from them. They should strive to become gracious people – to reflect on events and people with humility, forgive-ness, gratitude and a generosity of spirit.

The ceremony proceeded with Dr. Elisabeth Coe, Principal of Secondary Education, acknowledging the seniors and their accomplishments.

In awarding diplomas, John Branch, WHS teacher, read aloud each student’s name, as that student came forward to receive the diploma from Dr. Coe.

The program closed with the passing of the flame to Woods High School juniors Kelly Benthien and Malcolm Knowles. Soprano Sarah Corley Smith, a former School of the Woods student and former Woods High School teacher, sang “I’ll Be Seeing You,” accompanied by pianist Joanna Thornton. A reception followed the program.

These are the graduates: Aliah Abdulhamid Al-Hatlani; Annie Arendt; Colin Benthien; Sara Brumbelow; Steven J. Cannella II; Jonathan Ari Cohen-Kurzrock; Sage Erickson Coram; Daniel Cuervo; Bryce Shelby Evans; Kamilah Dee Evans; Lane Elizabeth Franklin; Dorian Electra Fridkin Gomberg; Franki Gusemano; Evan Hill; Bryan Cecil Maddox; F. Dylan Slydell Miller; Arian Mohagheghi; Elliot Mossberg; Victoria Lee Segler; Hannah Springer Taylor; Samuel Rands Taylor; and Wesley Edward Weiss. v

WOODS H IGH SCHOOL

WOODS H IGH SCHOOL

The Woods High Prom Committee chose the vintage Heights Theatre on W. 19th Street as just the place for a Steampunk revelry. It all happened on May 14th.

Attire was specified as “Formal Steampunk.” a term which covers a lot of sartorial territory. In addition to that, students designed special T-shirts for the occasion, which were made and sold, with proceeds going to the High School Building Fund.

Teacher Andrew McNally served as DJ for the evening. Refreshments were served. v

1880 and other alternative timeframes

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WOODS H IGH SCHOOL

Woods High School students in action

Sherry Herron’s column in this issue of View From the Woods discusses the concept of service learning and what it means

to student development. Service stints are generally based on a 60-hour timeframe. This level of service is for freshmen and sophomores; juniors and seniors have other service requirements.

These photos show some of our Woods High students on the job at their chosen places of service. v

You’d never know it by looking, but that’s Nik Crawford under the white fuzzy hat (his favorite). He volunteered to work at the Memorial Park Conservancy in its tree planting section.

Daniel Howell stands by his work. Daniel chose the Aurora Picture Show, a non-profit micro-cinema and film collection devoted to non-commercial film and video. He was put to work cataloging its video collection.

Two WHS students opted to volunteer their time at the Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre in the Montrose area – Ciaran Finlayson, left, and Marnia Smith. They were assigned to the theatre’s front office support and to its storage facility organization.

The Children’s Museum drew the attention of John Tofuri. His service time was spent in preparing and maintaining the exhibit areas as the many visitors pass through the Museum.

Rachel George spent a bit more than the usual 60 hours at the Lawndale Arts Center. Her job was assisting the artists with setting up their exhibits.

No shortage of tasks to do at the Houston SPCA. Rebecca Arnold found this area of service – taking care of animals – to her liking.

Johanna Mather chose to lend support to the volunteers at the Interfaith Ministries. She was assigned to the non-profit’s office operations.

Other choices were made by Rachel Wile, who was a literacy volunteer with Houston Reads; Lauren Bodron and Christina Loos, serving as resale store volunteers with Memorial Assistance Ministries; C.J. Pfutzner at Second Mile Missions; Adriel Barrios at The Rose Foundation; Will Schorre, who volunteered at a homeless center; and Daniel Lin and Johnathan Scott, who worked in customer service at the Clay Road YMCA. All other freshsmen and sophs worked in harvesting, growing and replanting marsh grasses in Galveston Bay Wetlands.

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WOODS H IGH SCHOOL

To receive a diploma from Woods High School, each senior must choose a substantive subject, research

it and write a thesis. Teacher Jessi Harper is the faculty advisor on this requirement.

Just before graduation, the writers must present their theses to an assembled group of peers and faculty.

This year’s graduates have submitted an outstanding group of theses. Here are their titles:

Aliah Al-Hatlani – Harry Potter: A Phenomenon Made to Last; Annie Arendt – Mind Maps Versus Standard Linear Notes; Colin Benthien – On Space and Its Rightful Exploration and the Usefulness Therein; Sara Brumbelow – A Need for Pedagogical Awareness; Steven Cannella – Go, Baby, Go: A Look at American Car Culture from the Turn of the Century to the Muscle Car Era; Jonathan Cohen-Kurzrock – The Teleportation Device and the ATP Synthase; Sage Coram – Let’s Talk: The Development of

Unique Sexual Environments; Daniel Cuervo – The Role That Learning Environments Play in Shaping Social Institutions; Bryce Evans – The Oppression of Homosexuality in Our Society; Kamilah Evans – Fear Motivated Decisions in Our Society; Lane Franklin – A Qualitative Differentiation of Fear and Anxiety in Humans; Dorian Gomberg – Spontaneous Order in the Classroom; Franki Gusemano – Recognizing Learning Disabilities and Choosing Learning Environments; Evan Hill – Aesthetics: A Misunderstood Philosophy; Bryan Maddox – The Merchant Prince; Dylan Miller – Gaming Culture and Collaborative, Creative Enterprise; Arian Mohagheghi – The Evolutionay Revolution in Iran; Elliot Mossberg – Restoration of Sight Through Neuroplasticity and The Application of Stem Cells to The Eye; Victoria Segler – Sun Scared; Hannah Taylor – Major Factors in Bioethics; Samuel Taylor – Presentism Versus Eternalism: An Analysis of a Longstanding Debate About the Nature of Time; and Wesley Weiss – Shedding Light on the Shadow. v

Seniors tackle thesis requirement with impressive results

Bashing the trash

Agroup of Woods High School students pitched right in on Trash Bash day, March 27, 2010. It’s a nationwide

program, sponsored by a range of industries and businesses to help volunteers clean up trash-clogged rivers, lakes, bays and bayous. Our group chose a site in the Seabrook area. L-R, in the photo, they are David Knupp, Rachel George, Ciaran Finlayson, Laynna Burke, Eric Grass and WHS teacher Connie Laufersky, who accompanied the group. v

Tending the marshes

Here are students from the Environmental Science class working in the “Get Hip to Habitat” program

sponsored by the Galveston Bay Foundation. It involves monitoring the health of marsh water, nurturing marsh grasses and transplanting them to sites around the Bay. Some 25 students participated. v

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WOODS H IGH SCHOOL

The following listing of honors and scholarships won by the Woods High School

2010 graduates shows an impressive will to succeed among its members:

Aliah Al-Hatlani – Scholarship, Portland State University; Distinguished Scholar, University of New Haven; Presidential Scholar, University of Portland

Colin Benthien – Scholarship, Hampshire College; Scholarship, Trinity University

Sara Brumbelow – Scholarship, Austin College; Scholarship, Ursinis College; Morris Mitchell Founders Scholarship, Global College of Long Island University; Scholarship, Marlboro College; Bronze Scholar, New College of Florida; Presidential Scholar, Oglethorp;e University; Non Satis Scire Scholarship, Hampshire College

Jonathan Cohen-Kurzrock – University of Houston Honors College

Sage Coram – Scholarship, Manhattanville College; Founder Scholar, Denison University; Honors Program. Trustees Scholarship, Emerson College; Scholarship, Rhodes University; Brockway Scholarship, Bennington College; Scholarship, Hampshire College; Scholarship, Lewis & Clark College

Kamilah Evans – Scholarship, Chapman University; Scholarship, Santa Clara University

Lane Franklin – Scholarship, Zoo Crew Houston

Dorian Gomberg – Scholarship, Shimer College

Evan Hill – Non Satis Scire Scholarship. Hampshire College

Bryan Maddox – Scholarship, Shimer College; Scholarship, University of Houston Honors College

Elliot Mossberg – Scholarship, Kettering University

Victoria Segler – Valedictorian Scholarship, the University of Texas, Austin

Hannah Taylor – Trustee Scholarship, Trinity University; A.J. Drexel Scholarship, Drexel University; Scholarship, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Merit Scholarship, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Scholarship and Merit Scholarship, Clarkson University

Samuel Taylor – Trustee Scholarship, St. Edwards University; Scholarship, Trinity University; Ruther Scholarship, Southwestern University

Wesley Weiss – Cody Scholarship & National Merit Scholarship, Southwestern University; Scholarship, Savannah Cololege of Art and Design; Scholarship, Eckerd College; Trustees Scholarship, Emerson College Honors Program

In addition, other scholastic honors were won by the Class of 2010. Hannah Taylor was named AP Scholar with Distinction. Four students were named National Merit Scholars – Bryan Maddox, Dylan Miller, Hannah Taylor and Wesley Weiss.

Thirteen graduates became members of the National Honor Society: Aliah Al-Hatlani, Annie Arendt, Colin Benthien, Sara Brumbelow, Sage Coram, Jonathan Cohen-Kurzrock, Daniel Cuervo, Lane Franklin, Dorian Gomberg, Bryan Maddox, Victoria Segler, Hannah Taylor and Wesley Weiss.

This class has also done well on its collective GPA. Eleven of the students graduated Summa Cum Laude with a grade point average of 3.9 – 4.0, and three more graduated Magna Cum Laude, 3.75-3.89. v

Grads garner $2,058,484

Class of 2010 receives many honors, Scholarships, and accolades

Four Woods Middle School students qualify in the Duke U. talent search

Four seventh-grade students in Woods Middle School participated in the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP), which was conducted in Fall 2009. The students are Charlotte Brannon, Sean Gossard, Benjamin Grant and Allison

Keys. They were awarded State Recognition for their scores in the areas of critical reading, math and writing. Results of the testing were announced by Duke TIP in March 2010. v

Woods Middle School graduates 24 eighth-graders

The 2010 graduates of Woods Middle School received their certificates on the evening of May 26. The celebration was held at Terrace United Methodist Church

near the school campus on Wirt Road.

This year’s graduates were Caroline Catlin, Rena Cohen-Kurzrock, Claire Cooper, Creed Coram, Kienne Coram, Anna DeFrancesco, Alexander Engelmann, Toni Gossett, Megan Hawkins, Reese Hughes, Hunter Hughes, Travis Jeffrey, Matthew Knowles, Matthew Lucas, Matt McAvey, Oscar Miller, Alexandra Myers, Darian Nezami, Michael Nielsen, Daniel Philipson-Gawerc, Zuhare Rizvon, David Westbrook and Charlotte Wiesenthal.

The group had held its celebratory dance earlier on May 21. v

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WOODS MIDDLE SCHOOL

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MMUNWOODS H IGH SCHOOL and MIDDLE SCHOOL

An expanded delegation representing School of the Woods attended the fourth annual MMUN conference in Brooklyn

Heights, NY, and programs at United Nations Headquarters from February 28 through March 3, 2010.

Each year, students world-over participate in United Nations models, mostly high school and university students. The Montessori Model (MMUN) was created for Montessori students from Canada, Caribbean, Haiti, Mexico and the United States for upper elementary and middle school students, age 9-15.

The Montessori Model was established in 2007 to honor the 100th anniversary celebration of Montessori education, which fosters global peace through a strong human development approach from infancy to adolescence. Each session of MMUN is structured to give the students real-life experiences, to help them develop social understanding and tolerance on an inter-national basis.

MMUN participation has increased both in numbers and regions - from 400 student delegates in 2007 to over 750 in 2010 – from delegates mostly from mainland USA and few from Canada in 2007 to delegates from all US states plus territories of Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, Canada, Haiti, Mexico, Sweden, Jordan, and adult observers from Australia and Peoples Republic of China. Due to the earthquake in Haiti, the Haitian delegates’ absence was felt. School of the Woods has continued to make a very positive presence in the contin-uous development of the MMUN over the last four years – 2007 to now.

There were 14 WMS students making the February 28-March 3 trip this year, along with 14 students from Woods High School, all of whom are WMS alumni.

Woods Middle School student delegates were Dorna Abdi, Lauren Almstedt, Charlotte Brannon, Caroline Catlin, Creed Coram, Kienne Coram, Thorleif Crux, Sonny George, Sean Gossard, Liam Hudson, Allison Keys, Matthew Lucas, Michael Nielsen, and Charlotte Wiesenthal.

All high school students (interns) at the 2010 conference were our very own Woods Middle School MMUN student alumni. They were Adriel Barrios, Kelly Benthien, Milan Das, Ciarán Finlayson, Rachel George, Susana Hart, Nicole Kunkel, Andrew Lagarde, Katie Miller, John Moger, Mae Savanna Schaffer, Detria Turner, Lauren Welling, and Rachel Yarus.

In 2010, for the first time MMUN student alumni were invited to be part of the MMUN Secretariat to support the long-term vision of developing a cadre of strong sustainable leaders within the Montessori community. Along with experienced MMUN Montessori educators, they are invited to lead and conduct MMUN conferences at the International, National, and Regional levels as Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Rapporteurs (facilitators). Having middle school MMUN alumni take an active role in the MMUN Secretariat each year at the MMUN conference in NYC in their High school years – starting as Rapporteurs and moving up as Vice Presidents and Presidents – is an effective means of nurturing peaceful global citizens. Furthermore, the high school interns can become powerful role models in influencing the younger middle school student delegates to take on a future leadership role.

A simulation of actual United Nations committees, MMUN discusses real issues and convenes to debate and vote on the resolutions that each committee proposes. Schools are first assigned a country or countries depending on the size of the delegation. These delegates represent the country or countries in various committees. Each committee addresses two global issues of importance. The delegates research the issues and write a position paper. The position paper prepares the dele-gates to take a stand on issues during the debate and writing of resolutions at the MMUN conference in New York City.

The group was accompanied by teachers Stephanie Romero and Dr. Lalit Ecka of the WMS faculty. Dr. Ecka was the MMUN School Coordinator, MMUN Student Intern Director, and President of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat). v

Woods Middle and High School students visit the Montessori Model at United Nations

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2010 WOODS H IGH SCHOOL and MIDDLE SCHOOL

THE SEVEN COMMITTEE OPTIONS ANDTOPICS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

First Committee of the General Assembly; Disarmament and International Security Reduction of Military Budgets • Strengthening international cooperation against atomic,

biological, and chemical terrorism

UNESCO • United Nations Literacy Decade: Education for all,

especially women and girls • Achieving universal access to information and knowledge,

especially in rural areas

World Bank • The World Bank members discuss loan proposals from UN

Member States to improve infrastructure, schools, electricity, agriculture, housing, roads.

G-20 - The world’s 20 countries with the largest economies • Creating opportunity for the world’s smallest economies • Reduction of food production worldwide

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) • Young people in the development of human settlements • Elimination of slums worldwide, especially in Asia

International Court of Justice (ICJ) • Georgia vs. Russian Federation: Application of the

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

• Peru vs. Chile: Maritime Delimitation Dispute

Security Council B • Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

and North Korea • The Situation in the Middle East, including Palestine

Let’s let some of the delegates speak for themselves:

Charlotte Brannon, who served on Security Council B, says “Not only did I learn about global issues and debate at MMUN but also learned a lot about myself. It was the most amazing experience ever and I wish it would continue forever.”

“I was a Rapporteur, UN Development Programnme, carrying out various roles and tasks. Next year, I want to participate as an intern, working in whatever position is needed, though I feel that working as a vice president or president would expand and develop my skills and give me a new experience. – Katie Miller.

“My role was vice president, UN Settlements Programme/UN Habitat, which involved aiding the Rapporteur. The committee president allowed me to assume the president’s role for a while. Next year I would like to be a vice president again to further observe and ready myself for a role as president.” – Susana Hart

“I learned that just doing the work wasn’t what the teachers were looking for. They were looking for people who wanted to be there, who were motivated, could act professionally and be aware of their surroundings. An amazing experience, I would love to do it again.” – Creed Coram, International Court of Justice.

“My experience was exciting and rewarding. I learned how to negotiate and speak in front of people I don’t know, and to understand and respect other countries’ perspectives.” – Thorleif Crux, Security Council B.

“I learned that in working with people from all over the world who have differing ideas and solutions, you have to have an open mind. Situations were discussed that were real life issues, not things that were made up.” – Charlotte Wiesenthal, UNESCO.

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WOODS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Woods Middle School students go to Heifer Ranch

The Heifer Ranch is located in Perryville, Arkansas, in the Ouachita Mountains. It offers a unique social awareness program called

Global Challenge. Thirty-eight Woods Middle School students participated in this program, May 11-15.

The Global Challenge program involves helping young persons develop problem solving and team building skills. They undergo a rigorous 36-hour period without food or water to help understand what abject hunger really feels like, and sleep in an open-air bunk barn on pieces of cardboard for mattresses. At other times, they are given a small amount of rice, vegetables and eggs, but before eating, they must find a way to build a fire and cook the meal.

These experiences are enhanced by the presence of actual same-age refugees who have survived such conditions in the real world. Experiencing life in a global village exposes students to social concepts such as hunger, poverty and the need for sustainable devel-opment. The students were accompanied by faculty/staff members Camella Clements, Lalit Ecka, Brittany Faske, Guy Harrison, and Stephanie Romero. v

17

AROUND THE CAMPUS

Another classroom tradition in Lower Elementary takes placed on the 100th Day of School. Students participate in multiple projects designed to illustrate the concept of the number 100.

Rodeo fever is big at School of the Woods – some trailrider groups come right past our campus on Wirt Road on their way to Memorial Park camping. Our “riders” make special rodeo gear and greet them, curbside. The riders always respond enthusiastically.

This is what we call heavy snow in Houston – enough to see. The photo was taken in the student pick-up area on the main campus, way back in our spate of freezing temperatures, December 2009.

The last day of school, Thursday, May 27: Head of School Sherry Herron invited every student for a casual ceremony of recognition. The school’s African Drum Ensemble entertained the crowd. The last day of school is also the time for our traditional International Feast for the elementary classes – wonderful food prepared by student’s mothers.

Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg is a 301-acre historic area, founded in 1926 to preserve the historic

buildings and other structures that had figured in the life of the early colony of America and the founding of the United States.

Today, the area has hundreds of restored, reconstructed and historically furnished buildings, and is peopled by costumed interpreters who explain and show how life was in that time. The area was originally known as Middle Plantation and was renamed Williamsburg around 1700 to honor King William III.

The Woods Lower School group of 22 sixth graders went to Williamsburg on April 27 – a ten-day trip. They were accompanied by Teachers Kay Shields and Mary Clemer, and by parents Elizabeth Deden, Jill Lucas, Stephanie McGuire, Cindy Oldham, Ingrid Philipson, Michelle Seitz and Ken Wright.

The group began its historical touring on Wednesday, April 28, in Jamestown at the Jamestown Festival Park. The Festival Park was founded in 1957 to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first settlement of English colonists.

Next, to Williamsburg: Our travelers spent several days in Williamsburg – there is so much to see there. A highlight was lunching at Shields Tavern and viewing a reenact-ment of a witch trial.

They also went to Yorktown and its battlefield for a day. That is the scene of the final major battle of the American Revolutionary War. On October 19, 1781, British General Charles Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to General George Washington’s combined American and French troops.

Another day was devoted to visiting Monticello and the final two days, to Winston-Salem and Old Salem. v

Welcometo

Williamsburg

Welcometo

18

Colonial Williamsburg hosts Woods sixth graders

WOODS LOWER SCHOOL

19

WOODS LOWER SCHOOL

20

Earth Day Spring 2010

Earth Day turns 40 – across the World and at School of the Woods

The 40th year of Earth Day sees a movement that began modestly in the U.S. now being celebrated in planned activities this year by more than one billion people across the

globe. Earth Day has always been a big celebration day at School of the Woods. On April 22, students in Woods Lower School devoted great energy and thought to their activities.

Early Childhood classes planted flowers and made art projects using recycled materials. They even had snacks that repre-sented the Earth. Who knew that chocolate pudding and gummy worms tasted great together? The recipe: take some chocolate pudding (for Earth), add some gummy worms (for animal life), toss in some candied crystals (for rocks and minerals), top it off with crumbled chocolate chip cookies (just because) and there you have it.

Lower Elementary classes studied the Earth’s biomes. These are the World’s major regional or global biotic communities, such as a grassland or desert, characterized by adaptations of organ-isms to that particular environment. The students chose three

biomes – oceans, grasslands and rainforests – as their project. They drew lifeforms from each biome and mounted them on a large board covered in a web. This represented the inter-connectedness of life.

The students then gathered in a circle to share their research and experiences with the other students. Lower Elementary Teacher Elizabeth Stepankiw closed the celebration by telling the children, “The more we understand the biomes, the better we can care for our Earth.”

Upper Elementary students sold Earth Day T-shirts to benefit the Earth Foundation, which focuses on protecting the Brazilian Amazon. Their efforts helped protect 51 acres. v

WOODS LOWER SCHOOL

21

SPORTS

Annual Sports Banquet

On May 1, Athletic Director Brittany Faske rallied everyone to the Spaghetti Warehouse downtown. The occasion was the School of the Woods annual Sports Banquet. All students in Woods Middle School and Woods High School who participated in sports program were given an award:

FACULTYBrittany Faske, Athletic DirectorAmanda Villanueva, Girls’ coach, basketball & track/fieldKeithen Andrews, Boys’ basketball coachSimon Stewart, track/field coach

March track meet

Two Woods Middle School students were winners in the track meet in March. They are Matthew Lucas, left, who took first place, and Thor Crux, who finished second.

VolleyballRebecca ArnoldLauren AlmstedtJennifer BealKelly BenthienCaroline CatlinClaire CooperKienne CoramLane FranklinTristin SeglerAmanda ShelbyLauren Springob

Girls’ BasketballLauren AlmstedtClaire CooperKienne CoramAllison KeysJumana NaseefAmanda ShelbyLeigh WeinbergLauryn Welling

TrackLauren AlmstedtColin BenthienThor CruxBryce EvansChris FonsecaMatthew LucasDaniel Gawerc-PhilipsonClaire Nobles

Most Outstanding PlayerVolleyball – Tristin SeglerBoys’ Basketball – Ben GrantGirls’ Basketball – Kienne CoramBoys’ Track – Colin BenthienGirls’ Track – Lauren Almstedt

Senior AwardsColin BenthienBryce EvansLane Franklin

Boys’ BasketballCreed CoramBryce EvansSonny GeorgeSean GossardBen GrantEric GrassLiam HudsonMatthew KnowlesDaniel LinJohn McAveyMatt McAveyChristian Martinez

TennisJonathan AlgeroyAlex EngelmannMatt McAveyOscar MillerAlexandra MyersDavid Westbrook

22The Legend of the Sleeping Lady (Alaska)

The Fire Children (Africa)

THE ARTS

School of the Woods Student Dance Recital

Dance/drama instructor Cindy Nevels created a highly-original stage production for this year’s dance recital. Every

student who is enrolled in her extra-curricular dance program has a part in the recital which was given at Hamman Hall on the Rice University campus on May 28 and 29.

Ms. Nevels assembled six folk tales from across the world and fashioned them into a cohesive work under the rubric, “The Fire Children and Other Stories.”

Dancers were Dorna Abdi, Rachel Alcazar, Benjamin Algeroy, Jonathan Algeroy, Rayana Alkadi, Reece Bends, Colin Benthien, Kelly Benthien, Faith Berrigan, Charlotte Brannon, Lauren Campbell, Kate Charlton, Quinn Charlton, Maya Claypool, Amelia Conner, Kienne Coram, Sage Coram, Katja Corbett, Nik Crawford, Thorlief Crux, Jennifer Deden, Kathryn Ann Deden, Robert Deden, Mei Dickinson, Bryce Evans, Kamilah Evans, Marie Fertitta-Walker, Angela Froming, Emily Froming, Hannah Froming, Sarah George, Savanna Getz, Lauren Green, Addison

Harrington, Susana Hart, Carolina Hauger, Liliana Hayner, Hanzo Hawkins, Lauren Hilder, Hailey Hix, Katherine Homco, Jino Jang, Alana Kawaja, Kalie Kelleher, Malcolm Knowles, Matthew Knowles, Gillian Konko, Will Konko, Tessa Krauser, Matthew LaGarde, Caroline Larrabee, Jade Lawson-Ho, Rachel Lootens, Sarah Lootens, Carys Maayeh, Mizuki Maeda, Ana Sofia Miro, Lucia Miro, Zoe Murphy, Nicole Negley, Eliza Nelson, Claire Nobles, Kieran Norris, Annett Philipson-Gawerc, Frankie Pink, Riley Pracht, Grace Rigamonti, Sonia Rio, Ariel Roberts, Shelby Romere, Taylor Romere, Madeleine Skaufel, Carlie Sorrells, Kate Sutton, Avery Tomlinson, Ashley Udden, Bree Walker, Lizzie Weeden, Dylan Welling, Lauryn Welling, Charlotte Wiesenthal, Lauryn Welling, Faith Womack, and Andrea Yrigoyen.

The Fire Children segment also featured a performance by the School of the Woods African Drum Ensemble members Ben Algeroy, Nik Crawford, Thor Crux, Michelle Deden, Robert Deden, Jino Jang, Matthew LaGarde, and Dylan Welling. v

23

THE ARTS

Fairielore (Western Europe)

Princess Firefly (Japan)

How the Robin Stole Fire (Australia)

On the Wings of the Butterfly Lady (South America)

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THE ARTS

Woods guitar and drum students entertain at end-of-year recitals

Our enthusiastic classes of guitarists and African drummers gave end-of-year recitals on Monday, May 17, 2010, and Tuesday, May 18, at the Unitarian

Fellowship, 1504 Wirt Road.

Guitarists were Jonathan Algeroy, Freja Coe, Thor Crux, Kathryn Ann Deden, Michelle Deden, Virginia Deden, Jinyoung Jang, Lars Koehn, Miho Maeda, Sarah McAvey, Dean Neubeck, Dillon Nichols, Michael Nielsen, and Anelise Winfrey. They are shown in the top right photo, along with instructor Brian Kile, top row left.

African drummers performing were Advanced students Ben Algeroy, Nik Crawford, Thor Crux, Michelle Deden, Jino Jang, Malcolm Knowles, Matthew LaGarde, Derian Nezami, and Dylan Welling. Intermediate students were Hailey Hix, Jacob Lucas, Daniel Romero, Henry Weeden, and Lawrence Weeden. Their instructor, West African Djembe drum master Abubakr Sory Kouyate, is shown in the photo at right. v

The Sounds of Music

WOODS ALUMNIF I V E D E C A D E S O F L E A R N I N G

Snapshots of former School of the Woods Students

BRYAN CHARLES JAY attended School of the Woods all through the 1990s. He has now grad-uated from St. Edward’s University with a BA in Computer Information Science, received in December 2009.

MEGAN ANN BRANDT received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Texas A&M University in May 2009. She was an eighth-grade graduate of School of the Woods in 1998 and received a BS in biomedical science from A&M in 2006.

STEPHANIE EDWARDS will be a junior at Wake Forest University in the Fall. She plans to spend the Fall semester studying in Prague, along with JOE GRACELY, who will be a junior at New York University. Both Stephanie and Joe are 2008 graduates of Woods High School.

ERIN GUSTAFSON graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2009 with a degree in Linguistics. She is currently deciding among graduate schools for begin-ning a five-year Masters/PhD degree in Linguistics in Fall 2011.

MICHAEL MOCK and JENNIFER (NORTON) MOCK with little guy HOLDEN have a new home in Wilchester out Memorial way. Both alums graduated from Woods Middle School in 1988, from Episcopal High School in 1992 and from TCU in 1996.

MERCEDEH MOHAGHEGHI entered School of the Woods in 2000 and graduated from Woods High School in 2006. She has now received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Evergreen State College, June 2010.

MARISA KNOWLES entered School of the Woods in 1995, finished Woods Middle School in 2002 and Woods High School in 2006. A super-achiever, Marisa has now earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy and Human Rights from Southern Methodist University, May 2010. She plans to continue studies in graduate school.

A WHOLE CREW of former students came forward to help with the end-of-school dance recital, “The Fire Children and Other Stories.” They starred in all sorts of behind the scenes jobs. See the story of the dance recital on page 22. These alumni were MARISA KNOWLES, JULIA MCGOWEN, KAMRYN RICHARD, JENNY SORNSON, KATE SORNSON, AND RACHEL WEGENHOFT.

Two School of the Woods alumnas recently spent five weeks studying in Torino, Italy – ANGELA AHLERS and MEGAN GUSTAFSON. Angela is a junior at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Megan recently received an associate’s degree in music and is currently a junior at the University of Texas, Austin.

DEATH: We regret to advise that Jonathan Ho has died in February 2010. He is survived by his parents, Dr. John Ho and Georgia Stein, and his sister, Jennifer. Jonathan was a student at School of the Woods beginning in 1992.

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26

ALL CONTRIBUTORS TO SCHOOL OF THE WOODS JUNE 1, 2009 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2010

Maria Aguirre

Daniel Alcazar and Lu Shan

Vernon Alg

John Algeroy and Sigrid Oppedal

Osama Alkadi and Tina Empoliti

Ramin Almassi and Shaida Kootahi

Carolyn Almsted

Tom Almsted

Narayanan Ammanur and

Srividhya

Cooper And

Anonymous

Arbonne Cosmetics

Lara Arch

Ken and Ruth Arhold

Robert Ashworth

Pamela August Landscape

Paul and Stephanie Babb

Domingo and Gina Barrios

Steve Barton

Arjun and Arpita Bathija

Tim and Ann Baumgartner

Geoffrey Beal and Linda Cordell

Jennifer Beal

David Beebe

J.J. Bends

Judith A. Bends

Scott and Barbara Bends

Ross and Nancy Benthien

Leo and Loes Berendschot

Bering’s Hardware

Ryan and Michele Berrigan

Gregg Berwick

Debbie Binkley

Hans and Loretta Bisewski

Marc Bisewski

Mark and Katherine Bodron

Body, Mind and Soul

Adrianne Randle Bond

Sarah Bond

John Bos and Wende Clemence

Bos Lighting Design

Rick and Georgia Bost

John Bott

John Branch

Jim and Cynthia Brannon

Anny Brooks

Roger and Carole Brooks

Chris and Shawn Broussard

Ethan and Stephanie Brown

Robert and Rosemary Brumbelow

Raif Caglar and Tugba Sitki

Jeff Canella and Lisa Philbrook

Steve Canella

Thomas and Elizabeth Casagrande

Veronica Cash

Max and Rosario Castillo

Norma Catlin

Clyde and Susan Certain

Mike and Delores Chambers

Terry and Janna Charlton

Chevron

Brian Clark

Ray and Betsy Coe

Jonathan Cohen-Kurzrock

Jane Collins

Gradyn Comfort and Beth Morrison

Thomas and Samantha Connell

Brian and Shari Conner

Charles and Mary Katherine

Cooper

Walt Coram and Joan Erickson

James Corbett and Geordie

Hrdlicka

Linda Cordell

Stephan and Melissa Couch

Bill and George Crawford

Ann Criswell

Jason Crux and Gunilla Gard

Felipe Cuervo and Maria Posada

Heather Cunningham

Divyesh and Anjana Das

Datatel Corp.

Ruth David

Grant and Nancy Dedora

Bobby and Elizabeth Deden

Kathy Deen

Tushar and Margi Dhruv

David and Catherine Dickinson

Scott Dixon

David Donaho and Jackie

Smallwood

Rob Dragotta and Lucy Corona

Lalit Ecka

James and Margaret Ehle

Jack and Dorothy Emmott

Georg and Mara Engelmann

Tamara Evans

ExxonMobil Foundation

Sam and Kathleen Falcona

Barry and Susie Fantich

Brittany Faske

Alfred and Astrea Fatica

Nick Fatica

Rosanne Fertitta

Jose Figueroa and Luchi Macias

Ciaran Finlayson

Malcolm and Hatti Finlayson

Diane Koonce

Esperanza Fitch

Louis Forman and Janel Sowden

Tom and Cheryl Fowler

Paula Fridkin

George and Julie Froming

Barbara Funk

William and Sara Gammill

Paul and Leslie Gaylord

Bill and Lisa George

Gary Glesby

Harvey and Carol Gold

Henry and Alice Goodrow

Kevin and Karen Goodwin

Carl and Geraldine Gossard

Tom and Lisa Gossett

Edward F. Grant

Jeff Grass and Patti Henry

T.A. Green and C.L. Hutchinson

Miles Greenberg

Ira and Lisa Gross

Edward and Daniela Grooup

Gordon Grow

Tannie and Suzanne Gusemano

Ken and Janet Gustafson

Luis and Karina Gutierrez

Rob and Staci Gwinn

John and Aurora Hafer

Anzu Hakone

Yoshiaki and Chiko Hakone

John and Ann Halphen

Hamman Foundation

Heidi Harbaugh

Charles and Liane Harrell

Melanie Harrell

Cameron Harrington

Guy Harrison

Tim and Marion Hart

Alan and Jennifer Hawkins

Stephen and Shelley Hawkins

Josetta Hawthorne

Robert and Mickey Hawthorne

Thomas and Heidi Hedrick

Corey Helfand

Tod and Alison Henning

Christopher and Jovita Hernandez

Jennifer Herron

Russell and Sherry Herron

Tracy and Linda Hester

Woods High School students

Philip Hilder and Maura O’Dowd

Norman and Marcelle Hill

Tom and Leslie Hix

Victor Ho and Arielle Lawson

Ralph and Marlis Hodges

Evan Howell

Andrew Humphrey

E.J. and Audrey Huntley

Alex Huynh and Kim Nguyen

Richard and Loree Hylton

Gobind Jagtiani

Aaron and Solim Jang

John and Kimberly Jeffrey

Debbie Johnson

Ida Jean Karl

Kathy Keels

Kelly Durham

Randall and Patty Keys

Hashim and Zabin Khandwalla

Ewing and Joanne King

Kyler Knight and Dianne Wollaston

Lonnie and Reggy Knowles

Daniel and Carol Knupp

William and Cynthia Koehn

Jeremy Konko and Allison Gower

Diane Koonce

Michael and Melissa Krauser

Ronald and Cheryl Krauser

Stefan Kreuzer and Barbara

Schroeder

Marcela Kunkel Galvan

Edgard and Sylvia Kuri

Richard Lagarde

Jason Laird

John and Nanci Lamar

Steve and Liz LaPorte

Jon and Paige Larrabee

Connie Laufersky

School of the Woods Contributors

27

Douglas and Amy Lawson

Matthew Lagarde

Dion Alaniz and Nisha Limaye

Daniel Lin

Huang Lin and Jackie Zhan

Bert Loan

David Debra Loewenstein

David and Carolyn Loos

Tim Lootens and Rochelle

Schramm

Loyd Charitable Foundation

Andrew and Jill Lucas

Andy and Jill Lucas

David and Debry Lundeen

Michele Lustig

Richard and Wendy Lynn

Bryan Maddox

Koiche and Miwa Maeda

Marathon Oil

Alexis Marly

Wallis and DeeDee Marsh

Gary and Rebecca Martin

Steph Martin

Mark Martin and Mischa Enos

Thomas and Susan Mather

Josette Mcadams

Rich and Val McAvey

Dan and Stephanie McGuire

Paul McKinnon

Andrew McNally

Dave and Nancy McNeil

Andrew and Lynda Meade

Rose Ann Medlin

Niels Meissner

Paul Menzel and Susan Huff

John and Lucy Metzler

Microsoft Corp.

James and Susan Miller

Jeffrey and Maria Miller

Kathryn Miller

Robert and Lisa Miller

Val and Maria Miller

Lee and Mickie Minor

Ramon and Eugenia Miro

Jay and Donna Mitchell

Charles Moger

Frank and Catherine Montgomery

Bjorn Mossberg and Kathleen

Gallentine

Daniel Murphy and Kathleen

Packlick

Gerald and Barbara Murphy

Farhan and Amna Musharrif

Tim and Diane Myers

Ahmed Naseef and Zuhour

Basmair

Mehoob and Lubna Nazarani

John Neal

Christopher Nelson and Sicily

Dickenson

Kurt and Deborah Neubek

Cynthia Newman

Andy and Susan Nichols

Parker Nicholson and Hailey

Peterson

Brandi Nicholson

Jeffrey and Angela Nobles

Nick and Margaret Noecker

Brendon and Helen Norris

George Novak

Ramon Noyola and Carmen

Escalante

Greg and Cindy Oldham

Herb and Chris O’Niell

P. Orsak

Cedric and Marie Osterreith

Theodore Page

Charles and Catherine Palmer

Pampered Chef

Christopher Pando and Nancy Sims

Parents’ Organization

Patrick and Sharon Pastor

Bill Payne

Pediatric Speech and Language

Gerry and Margie Peereboom

Vivian Pena

Harold and Lenore Pfutzner

Ingrid Philipson

Anthony and Helen Pink

Scott and Bridgett Pracht

Alejandro and Christine Preti

Daphne Preti

John Price

Robert and Cheryl Przygocki

Ted Pumbles

Alan Randerson and Loraine

Phillips

Raj and Suneeta Rangwani

Alon and Anastasia Raskin

Michael and Suzanne Rassner

Gabe and Jeni Raymond

Ramona Ridge

Wade and Andrea Rigamonti

Howard and Beverly Robinson

Eloise Rochelle

Mohamad Rodzman and Nor

Eliza Zaid

Clinton and Heidi Roeder

Brian and Elizabeth Romere

Ray and Stephanie Romero

Michael Rorick

John Roven

Bill and Sally Russ

Andrea Womble Russo

Mary M. Ryan

Rene and Ana Lisa Salvatierra

Tim and Gail Schorre

Will Schorre

Paul and Ginger Schwarz

Ray and Ellen Scippa

Charles Scott and Jessi Harper

Richard and Hilda Scott

Rawdon and Galina Seager

Margot Sechler

Robert and Vonda Segler

Rizvon Shakir and Nashwa Aleem

Farrukh and Farhat Shamsi

Alan and Nancy Shelby

Brian Sherwood and Connie

Laufersky

Kay Shields

Betty Sichel

Frederick and Marianne Smith

Sara Sornson

Curtis Sorrells

Don and Esther Spencer

Marlana Splottossel

Tarn and Cathryn Springob

Manfred and Tatiana Stanek

Mike and Elizabeth Stepankiw

Greg and Chie Stephens

Michael Sternesky

Swannich Designs

Tarnow and Assoc.

Sam and Hannah Taylor

Steve Taylor

Otis F. Thomas

Marcel Thorst

Janice Jamail

Janice Tirapelli

Tom and Bridget Tomlinson

John and Jane Tschirhart

Themetta Turner

Andy and Margie Udden

John Vaughan

Jon and Stephanie Vaughan

Coinne Walijarvi

Alan and Carol Walker

Scott and Natasha Walker

Mark and Jennifer Walz

Kirk and Jacqueline Weaver

Eugene and Marty Webb

David Webber

Gregg and Melodi Weinstein

Emily Weinstein

Steven and Lin Weiss

Wesley Weiss

David and Denise Welling

Terry and Patricia Westbrook

Randolph Wheeless

Wade and Tonia Whilden

Mark White and Margaret Justus

Woods High School students

Al and Kathleen Wiesenthal

John Wile and Rhonda Rhodes

Wayne and Tomiko Wilkerson

Wade and Janet Williams

Jennifer Williams

Anthony and Gina Winkler

Russell Wise

James and Mary Womack

Eric and Mary Worscheh

Earnest and Ju Wotring

Ken and Kristen Wright

Lawrence and Marian Wright

Scott Yaklin

Jeffrey Yarus

Mary Yarus

Ben/Nathan/Sam Yifrach

Edmundo and Maria Yrigoyen

Elias and Janis Zinn

Non-ProfitOrganization

U.S. Postage PaidHouston, Texas

Permit No. 2204

THEWOODSView from

School of the Woods 1321 Wirt RoadHouston, TX 77055 / 713.686.8811

Mark your Calendar:August 30: School starts

September 11: Parents Social

“We dance for laughter, we dance for

tears, we dance for madness, we dance

for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance

for screams, we are the dancers, we

create the dreams.”

-Anonymous