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Former Sycamore Student  Patrick Rodgers Named to Golf's Walker Cup Team
August 2011 - It has been a terrific 2011 golf season for former student Sycamore Patrick Rodgers. The Stanford University freshman graduated from high school in the spring, and has been chosen for the prestigious Walker Cup team, (the amateur version of Ryder Cup), and is the youngest (18) member of the team. In early August, he finished second in the 72-hole stroke-play portion of the 109th Western Amateur at North Shore C.C. in suburban Chicago, but lost in the first round of the match-play portion of the competition to his future Stanford teammate, Andrew Yun, in 21 holes. Rodgers won the Indiana State High School Championship as a junior in 2010 and is a two-time HP Scholastic All-American. He was named a First-Team Rolex Junior All-American in 2009 and 2010 by the American Junior Golf Association and was Honorable Mention in 2008. Rodgers AJGA rsum includes nine top-10 finishes and a win at the SAP Junior Open in 2009. He has played in three USGA championships, advancing to the round of 16 in the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur, the round of 32 in the 2008 U.S. Junior and qualifying for the 2010 U.S. Amateur. Academics are important to Rodgers, who ranked third in his class at Avon High School out of 582 students. He has written blogs about his experiences in junior golf for Golfweek magazine.

Thirteen Sycamore Grads Named National Merit Semifinalists
Thirteen 2008 Sycamore graduates were named National Merit Semifinalists for ranking in the 99th percentile on the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. In addition, nine were commended for their scores on the test. These students went to six different high schools. The one thing they had in common? Their Sycamore education.

 Congratulations to the following students who were named National Merit Semi-Finalists:
Anne Buckwalter
Peter Ciaccia
Ted Cho
Kathleen DeBrota
Abby Helvering
Youkow Homma
Lyndon Ji
William Ristow
Andrew Stautz
Marissa Stephens
Anneliese Toumey
Kern Vohra
John Yoo

Commended students:
Jacob Baldwin
Jacob Clodfelter
Nicholas Ciulla
Conner Dunn
Aayush Gupta
Andrew Jones
Emily Palmer
Kelly Rodman
Andrew Thompson.

HEADMASTER'S LIST
Trimester 3 2010/2011
Grade 5
Jay Maturi
Alex McGrath
Gordon McNulty
Isaac Meng
Maya Mishra
Jonathan Moore
Jack Paganelli
Josh Parquet
Cory Steele
Destiny White
Clay Wright

Grade 6
Gayatri Balasubramanian
Olivia Benz
Kourtney Kinchen
Maggie Klemsz
Emily McDonnell
Kaya Mernitz
Joey Mervis
Andy Metzman
Meena Moorthy
Oksana Oleshchuk
Jonathan Schwartz
Tommy Williams

Grade 7
Aryaman Gupta
Ash Mahenthiran
Vikas Maturi
Chad Qian
Sydney Roach

Grade 8
Jeffrey Cheng
Thomas Cote
Laurel Fink
John Havlik
Kyra Kofodimos
Nathan Mytelka
Andrew Porten
Julia Wang

HONOR ROLL
Trimester 3 2010/2011

Grade 5
David Bishop
Alexander Dall
Allison Gerecke
Graham Helft
Sarah Henderson
Alex Johnson
Courtney Nusbaum
Jennifer Oberthur
Reni Osuntokun
Alex Pirkle
Alex Smith
Rachael Tan

Grade 6
Nico Biagioni
Maya Elliott
Anne Havlik
Ariana Katz
Justin Matei
Brendan Murphy
Jay Natarajan
Fariya Shamrin
Ben Snyder
Carmela Verderame
Grade 7
Mehar Athar
Elizabeth Baach
Isabel Bonarrigo-Burton
Ross Brown
Tessa Buzzetti
Christina Duffield
Sean Egloff
Rachel Glait
Annie Gulati
Emma Love
Joe Lybik
Emily McIntosh
Catherine Meador
Saam Momayez
Chloe Nusbaum
Colin Oberthur
Kayode Osuntokun
Alissa Pearson
Claire Reifeis
Sam Ristow
Nick Shirrell
Elaina Vohra

Grade 8
Gargi Balasubramanian
Matthew Brumer
Lauren Ciulla
Alexander Crich
Robert Gerdisch
Courtney Glait
Kelly Hann
Maddie Hoover
Isaac Mervis
Eric Metzman
Matthew Muhoberac
Josh Segaran
Lizzie Snyder
Jonathan Taylor
Scott Thygesen
Michaela Tinkey
Erin Tupman

Former Sycamore Student  Patrick Rodgers Named to Golf's Walker Cup Team
August 2011 - It has been a terrific 2011 golf season for former student Sycamore Patrick Rodgers. The Stanford University freshman graduated from high school in the spring, and has been chosen for the prestigious Walker Cup team, (the amateur version of Ryder Cup), and is the youngest (18) member of the team. In early August, he finished second in the 72-hole stroke-play portion of the 109th Western Amateur at North Shore C.C. in suburban Chicago, but lost in the first round of the match-play portion of the competition to his future Stanford teammate, Andrew Yun, in 21 holes. Rodgers won the Indiana State High School Championship as a junior in 2010 and is a two-time HP Scholastic All-American. He was named a First-Team Rolex Junior All-American in 2009 and 2010 by the American Junior Golf Association and was Honorable Mention in 2008. Rodgers AJGA rsum includes nine top-10 finishes and a win at the SAP Junior Open in 2009. He has played in three USGA championships, advancing to the round of 16 in the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur, the round of 32 in the 2008 U.S. Junior and qualifying for the 2010 U.S. Amateur. Academics are important to Rodgers, who ranked third in his class at Avon High School out of 582 students. He has written blogs about his experiences in junior golf for Golfweek magazine.

New Faces at Sycamore for 2011/2012
August 2011 - We have been fortunate to add some terrific new faces to Sycamore this summer. Jamie MacDougall, our new Head of Middle School, has been here most of the summer, working with faculty and families and developing her priorities for the coming year. Rob Nichols, our new Marketing Coordinator, has also been hard at work most of the summer, getting to know Sycamore and working to share our story. Our new second grade teachers, Amy Hopler and Ryan Cox, have been working with Glenna Lykens to create a vibrant second grade environment. While Debi Stout has been with us as a Middle School Science Assistant and then an interim Middle School Science teacher, she has now been appointed as a Middle School Science teacher. We also have some new assistants and an assistant in a new position. Kris Lingenfelter will work with Melissa Branigan in First Grade. Craig Chabut and Alli Hebenstreit (Sycamore class of 1999) will be 4th grade assistants with Deb Stewart and Toni Hillman, respectively; and Christopher Beyers is our new Middle School Science assistant. Emily Barnes and Peggy Laurent are new Quest assistants.

5/6 KMO Finish First in Nation
April 2011 - The 5/6 Knowledge Masters Open team competed in their final contest of the year on Wednesday, March 23. The team had been working diligently on strengthening their teamwork skills since the previous contest, and their efforts paid impressive dividends. With a score of 761 points, the 5/6 KMO team ranked 9th place overall in the nation out of 290 schools, including schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. The team placed first in the state of Indiana as well as first in the nation for its school size.

Pied "Bag" Piper
April 2011 - Kindergarten students paraded through the Lower School classrooms and down the school's halls following their musical guest from the "Indianapolis 500" Gordon Pipers, leaving smiles on the faces of all spectators!

Chess Team is State Champion
April 2011 - Competing in teams of four (plus alternates), nearly 600 scholastic chess players attended the 42nd annual Scholastic Team of Indiana Chess Championships at Honey Creek Middle School in Terre Haute Saturday, March 26, 2011. Sycamore School's 3rd Grade & Under team returned to the winner's circle in the Primary Division of the tournament. After finishing 2nd last year and again the division's number 2 seed, Sycamore returned to its winning ways with a perfect 6-0 for the day.

Sycamore Dominates State MATHCOUNTS
March 2011 - On Saturday March 12th Sycamore School mathletes competed in the annual state MATHCOUNTS contest at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. There were 204 students representing more than 40 teams at the competition. Sycamore School finished as the first place team for the 2nd year in a row and the 3rd time in the last 4 years. Sycamore students were 4 of the top 5 individual scorers. Five Sycamore mathletes finished among the top ten individuals in the state competition and each earned a $2000 per year scholarship to attend Purdue University - Chad Qian (gr. 7) in 1st place; Nathan Mytelka (gr. 8) in 2nd place; Jeffrey Cheng (gr. 8) in 4th place; Julia Wang (gr. 8) in 5th place; and Josh Segaran (gr. 8) in 9th place. Chad, Nathan and Jeffrey will be joined by one student from Lafayette, IN to represent the state of Indiana at the National MATHCOUNTS competition on May 6th in Washington, D.C. The state team will be coached by Sycamores MATHCOUNTS coaches Bob Fischer and Trent Tormoehlen.

ISSMA State Band Contest
March 2011 - At the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) organizational festival last Friday night, March 18th, all three judges awarded both the Fifth Grade Concert Band and the 6-8 Grade Symphonic Band gold ratings. In fact, the Symphonic Band earned a perfect score from one judge and another near perfect score from a second judge in the most difficult category our students are eligible to enter, Group I.

Sycamore Chess Teams Advance to State
March 2011 - Three Sycamore chess teams participated in the Scholastic Chess of Indiana (SCI) Regional Team Chess Tournament at Ben Davis High School on March 12, 2011. In the 3rd grade-and-under division the second and third graders on Sycamore's Team A finished in 1st place. Team B, consisting kindergarteners and first graders, placed 7th. The team competing in the 6th grade-and-under division, made up of Sycamore fourth and fifth graders placed 3rd. All three teams qualified to participate in the SCI State Team Chess Tournament on March 26th.

2011 Librarian for the Day
March 2011 - Sycamore School's 2011 On-line Auction offered parents the chance to bid on the opportunity for their students to be Sycamore's Librarian for the day for their classroom. The winning students were allowed to select special bookmarks for their class, a book or video the class would read or watch together, and a book to be donated to the Library.

Middle School Girls' Conference
March 2011 - Curiosity, Confidence, Challenge! - a statewide science, technology, engineering, and math conference for middle school girls - was held at Sycamore School on Saturday, March 12. There were 393 girls, representing 119 different schools, registered for the full-day conference. Dow AgroSciences and the American Association of University Women (AAUW) assisted Sycamore School in sponsoring this event.  The conference featured a series of small-group workshops led by women whose professions encompass 26 different areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. This year's conference also included two special programs: "Temperature Matters," by Science Central of Fort Wayne, and "Animal Adaptations," by Take Flight! Wildlife Education. Storyteller Deborah Asante entertained the girls at lunchtime.

District History Day Competition
March 2011 - This year thirty sixth grade students from Sycamore School voluntarily participated in the National History Day in Indiana District Contest held at IUPUI on Saturday, March 12th. These students each researched a topic of their choosing centered around the 2011 theme "Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures, Consequences" and created a project to compete in either the Long Paper, Exhibit Board, Documentary, Website, or Performance category. This year more students from the Central Indiana District participated than ever before, providing some impressive competition for our students. Of the thirty Sycamore School students competing on Saturday, twenty-four are moving on to the State History Day contest to be held on the campus of Marion University, April 16. The investment of time and energy devoted to these projects by all of our students was not only evidenced in their final products but also during the interview portion of the endeavor, when three judges, most of them university professors, quizzed the students on the depth of their knowledge.

EC Veterinary Clinic
March 2011 - Young Early Childhood students enjoying the class simulation of a veterinary clinic in which they checked in their live and stuffed patients. Joy, a Sycamore family's pet, volunteered to sit while students practiced "examining and immunizing" her.

Regional Science Fair
March 2011 - Four Middle School students in Sycamore's 7^th and 8^th grades competed on March 12th in the Central Indiana Regional Science Fair held at Marian University. One 8^th grader won an award for "Well-Written Abstract" and a 7^th grader won an award for "Graphical Analysis" and was the overall Central Indiana Regional Science Fair third place winner.

PreK Weather Dance
March 2011 - A teacher from the Young Audiences of Indiana-Arts for Learning program taught Pre-Kindergarten students how to move expressively like lightening bolts, wind, and rain.

Brain Awareness
March 2011 - In Middle School science class, 8th graders joined others around the world in celebrating the Society of Neuroscience's Brain Awareness Week, March 14-20. Coincidentally, the 8th grade was studying the nervous system in science. They researched various topics relating to the brain: disorders, facts, creating a model of a brain to help raise awareness of the nervous system in Sycamore School. Later in the year the 8th graders will be teaching the 3rd graders about the nervous system when they are studying the systems of the body. The student's Brain Awareness Week projects were displayed in the meeting center during the week for everyone to enjoy.

Finding Fun in Physics
March 2011 - In their recent study of physics, 4th graders created marble roller coasters in their classrooms. Student teams built them using the principles of physics they learned about, and presented their projects to their classmates.

World Maths Day
March 2011 - On March 1st students in one of Sycamore's Middle School math classees joined others around the world playing mental math games together via the Internet.

Six Earned Top Music Honors
March 2011 - On Saturday, Feb. 26th six Sycamore School band students participated in the Indiana State School Music Association State Solo and Ensemble Festival. These students earned the chance to compete at the state level by competing in the district solo and ensemble festival in Group I and earning a gold rating. All six soloists from Sycamore School earned gold ratings at the State contest! This is quite an accomplishment because the state level is typically something that is reserved for advanced high school students.

Science Olympiad Team Advances to State
February 2011 - Sixteen Sycamore students competed at the Regional Science Olympiad tournament held at Butler University in Indianapolis on Feb. 26th. The Sycamore team finished in 3rd place overall out of 14 teams from the Indianapolis Metro Area, earning the right to compete in the State Science Olympiad competition on April 2nd at Purdue University - Calumet.

Sycamore Hosts MATHCOUNTS
February 2011 - On February 17th, Sycamore School hosted the 2011 Central Indiana Chapter MATHCOUNTS competition. Twenty-three schools and 164 students from across the greater Indianapolis area competed for trophies and the right to go to the Indiana State MATHCOUNTS contest to be held on March 12th at Purdue University. All ten Sycamore team members finished in the top 30 in the competition, with 6 in the top ten. Sycamore School also placed first in the team round competition and a Sycamore eighth grader placed first in the Countdown Round.

Turning Boxtops into Charity
February 2011 - For a number of years, Sycamore's third graders have participated in the Boxtops For Education program as a service project for the year. Students regularly collect boxtop coupons that students have brought in from home. Recently the Third Grade class received $420 for the boxtops they collected and redeemed during the first half of the school year. The students nominated 12 different organizations and gave short speeches to the class to explain why each one would be a worthy recipient of the funds raised. They voted and the top four to receive a portion of the money were Interfaith Hospitality Network, Save the Children, Red Cross, and Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Read-a-thon 2011
February 2011 - On Wednesday, February 16th students from PreK-4th Grades had special Read-a-thon library periods where they watched animated versions of favorite books such as Officer Buckle and Gloria and Diary of a Worm. They also participated in guessing contests; prizes were awarded to the ten students from each grade with the most accurate answers. All students received a sticker, a temporary tattoo and a reading-themed bookmark. Kindergarten guessed how many books were in the fairy tale section; 1st graders had to guess the number of fiction books in the Sycamore Library; 2nd graders came in by class and guessed how many everybody books (including holiday books) the Sycamore library has. 3rd graders guessed the number of non-fiction, reference, and biography books in the Sycamore library; 4th graders guessed how many items had been checked out from the Sycamore Library since the beginning of the school year; Middle School students and Sycamore staff were challenged separately to guess the total number of books owned by the Sycamore Library. Currently there are 18,855 books in our library collection. Bookstore gift cards were awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.

Celebration of Poetry
February 2011 - Third graders had a chance to select, memorize, and recite their own poems before an audience of their classmates and families on Monday, February 14. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a wonderful array of sweets to celebrate their performances!

2011 Sycamore Science Fair
February 2011 - The twenty-fifth annual Sycamore Science Fair was held on Wednesday, Feb. 9. There were 73 Early Childhood and Lower School students participating in the fair, with subjects ranging from Moisture and Mold to Mechanical Advantage. The projects were on display in the Meeting Center from Monday, Feb. 7 through Wednesday, Feb. 9, giving the students an opportunity to present their work and perform their experiments for their classmates. Wednesday evening was Family Science Night for friends and families of Science Fair participants. It was a terrific evening, abuzz with enthusiasm and energy for science. Not only did students proudly exhibit their projects, but 8th Grade students from Sycamore School entertained the crowd with interactive science activities that they had personally designed for this event. Thank you to the eighteen 8th Grade students for sharing these fun and educational projects with our younger scientists.

Birds Take Flight in EC1
January 2011 - Thursday, January 20, a naturalist from Eagle Creek visited EC1 with his collection of live birds of prey found in Central Indiana. Students were able to see a screech owl, American kestrel, and red-tailed hawk. The naturalist showed how the talons of the birds work to catch and hold their prey. Students were also allowed to touch the feathers of a real bird wing. On Friday the birds came to see EC2.

4 Get Perfect Scores on Math Contest
January 2011 - In November, 2010 over 70 Sycamore School Middle School students competed in the Mathematical Association of America's American Math Competitions 8^th Grade Contest (AMC 8) and four of them scored a perfect 25 out of 25. The AMC 8 is a national competition with 25 multiple-choice problems for middle school students in grades 6-8. The material covered includes probability, estimation, percentages, spatial visualization, everyday applications, and reading and interpreting graphs.
   Sycamore recently learned that of the 3000 students in Indiana that took the test only 4 others received perfect scores. Additionally, one Sycamore eighth grader was the top scoring female student in the state. Three more had nearly perfect scores (24 out of 25). For the team event the top three scores were tabulated. Sycamore finished first in the state with a team score of 75 out of 75. 

How Big Is a Dinosaur?
January 2011 - The answer: 16. In what units, you may ask? In first graders measured head to toe! Mrs. Sandy's class decided to visualize the length of an Apatosaurus aka Brontosaurus. It took sixteen of them, lying down in the hallway.

Science Bowl Team Wins Regionals
January 2011 - On Saturday, January 22 five Sycamore eighth graders traveled to the campus of Indiana State University in Terra Haute with Coach Linda Tomczuk to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl. In this nationwide academic competition, high school and middle school students are quizzed in a fast paced question-and-answer format (similar to Jeopardy) testing students' knowledge in all areas of science. Twelve teams competed in the contest. There was a single-elimination round-robin competition in the morning.  In the afternoon there was a double-elimination round between the eight remaining teams. Sycamore was the only team that went to the final round undefeated. They lost the first match but rallied back in their second match-up with Honey Creek Middle School to win the championship. 
   The Sycamore Science Bowl team now advances to the national competition scheduled for April 28 - May 2, 2011 in Washington D.C. A featured event at the National Finals for middle school students, the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge, invites students to design, build, and race model cars. This competition tests the creative engineering skills of many of the brightest math and science students in the nation as they gain hands-on experience with the automotive design process and hydrogen fuel cell technology.

6th Grade Safe Sitter Training
November 2010 - On Monday, November 15, the Sixth Grade participated in the annual Safe Sitter program at Sycamore. It was a wonderful learning experience. Students learned how to save a choking child and baby, what to do in an emergency, and who to call if a child is injured. One sixth-grader said, "I learned the responsibilities for different age groups differ greatly." Everyone enjoyed the day-long program. Many thanks to the eight past and current Sycamore parents volunteering their time and knowledge as Safe Sitter instructors.

PreK Understanding Disabilities
 November 2010 - An outreach person from the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired shared the different ways children learn at her school with Sycamore's Pre-K class. She brought many "hands-on" learning items. Sycamore students had an opportunity to type their names in Braille with the Braille writer. This special visitor was part of PreK's "Understanding Disabilities" section of their Health and Nutrition unit.

Sycamore Hosts Math Invitational
November 2010 - On Saturday, November 6th Sycamore School hosted the inaugural Sycamore Math Invitational. The event was styled after the popular middle school math competition, MATHCOUNTS. Over 150 Indiana students representing 12 schools from Indianapolis, Carmel, and Terre Haute competed. The contest consisted of two divisions, a 6th grade-and-under division and an 8th grade-and-under division. The top 4 individuals in the 8^th-and-under division were 7^th and 8^th graders from Sycamore School. In the 6th-and-under division, a Honey Creek Middle School student from Terre Haute placed first and Carmel Creekside Middle School 6^th graders claimed the second, third and fourth place positions.

Plant Manager Kneaded in EC
November 2010 - Our "resident bread-maker" Plant Manager Leroy Richins was in EC3 again this year helping children grind wheat into flour, then turning it into delicious hot bread. The children measured, mixed and kneaded the dough. Once it was baked, they enjoyed a delicious snack of bread and butter. This activity was part of EC3's Our Five Senses unit.

Chili Dinner, Red Hot Fun
November 2010 - Sycamore School Association's Chili Pitch-in Dinner/Chili Bowl Contest/Square Dance was enjoyed by all. Over 100 people attended, including 15-20 dads and one 8th grader who participated in the Chili Bowl Contest. Celebrity chefs from Pearl Bistro and Harry and Izzy's unanimously chose the winner: a tasty Southwestern Beef & Black Bean Chili. The winning chef received a cowboy hat filled with chili-related prizes and a Harry and Izzy's gift certificate. After dinner, kids joined moms, dads, and their Sycamore friends for two hours of dancing. Accompanied by a fiddler and a guitarist, a professional barn dance caller taught the group twelve different dances.

Special Day for Special Guests
November 2010 - Sycamore School hosted Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day in the fall this year.Guests and their student hosts enjoyed having breakfast and doing classroom activities or games together. The changing foliage and crisp weather provided a nice backdrop for students to escort their guests around the school and the Outdoor Science Lab. Grandparents and special friends also generously donated fifty-one books to the Sycamore School Library in honor of Sycamore students.

Filming Day for TV Documentary
October 2010 - Last Thursday, October 21 the filming crew from the Profile Series was here from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and shot hours of great footage. It's hard to believe from that much filming, a segment of approximately 6 minutes will result! Although every single student and all classrooms could not be filmed, the video does include a great variety of ages, subject areas, and types of activities - a good representation of Sycamore. The film crew was very impressed with Sycamore, and we're pleased that they saw what we do every single day!  We are so proud of our kids, our faculty, and our program.  As soon as we can, we will let everyone know when the Profile Series will be aired on the Discovery channel. Stay tuned!

2^nd Grade Digs Archaeology
October 2010 - Both second grade classes went to Strawtown Koteewi Park and River Road Park to explore a "dig site" to locate artifacts for their unit for on archaeology.

X-Country Strong at Finish Line
October 2010 - Congratulations to the Boys' and Girls' Cross Country teams for finishing an outstanding season last week at the I.I.S.L. Cross Country Championships. The meet started with the girls' race with a Sycamore 7^th grader taking the lead from the beginning, out-sprinting the competition and becoming the Girls Individual Champion! The Girls' Team ran their best times of the season. They finished in second place and barely missed winning the meet by 3 points. The Boys' team was led by the fourth place finish of a Sycamore 8^th grader. The rest of the Boys' Team dominated the meet to bring home the school's second Cross Country Championship!

Author/Soldier Visits History Classes
October 2010 - Carver McGriff, author of Making Sense of Normandy A Young Man's Journey of Faith and War, spoke to the 8^th grade history classes on Tuesday, September 14th. Mr. McGriff, a native of Indianapolis, pastored St. Luke's United Methodist Church for 26 years. He served in the Infantry during the Normandy campaign of World War II, receiving a Bronze Star medal and two Purple Hearts. Mr. McGriff shared with students that he spent significant time as a prisoner of war in France and how his experiences have impacted his life.

Tennis Team Wins Invitational
October 2010 - Congratulations to Sycamore's Middle School Tennis Team which participated in the Center Grove Invitational on October 9^th and took home the team trophy for the day. Sycamore players won their flight at #2 girl's doubles, at #1 boy's doubles, and placed first at #2 boy's doubles. All players were in top form, allowing the Eagles to win the event overall as a team.

Indian Music Delights 3^rd Grade
September 2010 - On September 22nd, our 3rd grade students were fascinated by a wonderful demonstration performance of the sitar and tabla presented by Pundit Nayan Ghosh, a renowned Indian classical musician, and his son, Ishaan. They performed a mini lecture/demonstration of a tabla or percussion rhythmic cycle (a tala) set to melodic framework on the sitar. This incredibly talented pair is on a three month tour of the United States and Mexico and also peformed at the IMA.

Sycamore Celebrates 25!
September 2010 - Sycamore's 25^th Anniversary Celebration was a great success, according to all reports. The donor party on Friday night was attended by over 100 people who love Sycamore, and honors were given to individuals, foundations, and corporations who have had a significant impact on Sycamore in its first 25 years. Saturday was also well attended by current families, current and former faculty, and staff as well as alumni and alumni parents. Briana Hansen ('00) performed a delightful comedy routine, and Noah Lybik ('10) spoke eloquently about the value of Sycamore in his educational journey. From the Faculty Reunion Breakfast to the alumni battle ball game, fun was had by all. 

Spirit Week Rocked
September 2010 - Students displayed their Sycamore School spirit donning their favorite crazy socks and silly bands on Tuesday, one of the five spirit-themed days of Sycamore Spirit Week leading up to the school's 25^th anniversary celebration. On Monday students wore slippers and flip-flops, Wednesday - Sycamore spiritwear, and on Thursday - pajamas. Friday was 80's day and many students attended the Spirit Week Assembly wearing flashback fashions. It was like gnarly for sure!

4^th Grade Has CAN Do Attitude
September 2010 - The Sycamore Spirit of Giving food drive was a huge success and ended with some impressive numbers! Through our school-wide effort, we donated 4,715 items to the Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center at Crooked Creek, an increase of 489 items over last year's successful Food Drive! The Crooked Creek Food Pantry representatives were overwhelmed by the amount donated and our food drive donations will once again assist in replenishing their shelves until the holidays. This year's top grade was 4th Grade with an average of 38.77 items per student.

Sycamore to Appear on Discovery Channel!
September 2010 - Sycamore School has been invited to be one of four schools nationwide to be highlighted on a Discovery Channel documentary this fall! The Profiles Series is a documentary series hosted by Louis Gossett, Jr., and it profiles the best and brightest in several industries such as business, medicine, technology, education. The topic of "Excellence in Science and Math Education" was identified for a fall segment. After a research process that resulted in the discovery of Sycamore and then several phone interviews, Sycamore was invited to participate! The filming and airing of this segment will all be completed this fall, although specific dates have not yet been confirmed.

Lower School Goes Ga-Ga
August 2010 - Fourth graders returned each year from Camp Tecumseh excited about a new game they learned - GaGa. Students asked if Sycamore would build the pit so they could play the game that is a little bit dodge ball and a little bit handball. Thanks to Sycamore Buildings and Grounds Committee memberand parent Jeff Hagerman, we now have a GaGa pit. Jeff and his construction company, The Hagerman Group, along with Irving Materials and Pro Lumber, donated the materials and labor, and worked to complete the GaGa pit in time for the summer Lower School play date. Since school began, all grade levels can be seen playing GaGa at recess, and students have been learning the game during P.E. classes.

Alumni Picnic 2010
August 2010 - Around fifty high school-aged alums and many alum parents picnicked in the Outdoor Pavilion on August 5th, reuniting with former classmates and faculty members and recounting Sycamore memories.

Refreshed and Ready
August 2010 - Fifth grade students were refreshed and ready to give their full attention in their first Language Arts class of the new school year.

Teacher is Ratheon Math Hero
August 2010 - This summer Sycamore's Middle School Math teacher Trent Tormoehlen was honored as a recipient of the Raytheon Company's Math Hero Award. Selected from a field of 111 finalists from across the country, Trent received a $2,500 award and a matching grant of $2,500 for Sycamore School. Candidates for the award were nominated for their enthusiasm and extraordinary efforts to inspire and challenge math students as well as use of technology and creativity to enhance math instruction in the classroom. Trent also had to submit information about himself and his variety of teaching methods and strategies that generate a love of math in his students. In addition to his classroom assignment, Trent is a coach for the nationally honored Sycamore MathCounts team.