October 6-10, 2025

It was a wonderfully busy, mostly sunny week at Tandem, with temperatures comfy and cool and the smell of falling gingko seeds wafting through the air. The faculty and staff enjoyed a morning of Atlas Coffee provided by Tandem parent Carrie Robertson one day this week - many thanks! The Community Picnic last night was a huge success with many in attendance despite the rain date change. There was plenty of food - from piles of fried chicken to shared sides and tables of desserts. Families sat together, parents chatted, kids played games on the lawn and there was a great community feeling present. Thanks to all who attended and shared good food and fellowship, and an even bigger thanks to the many hands that helped with planning, setup and cleanup. Interested Upper School parents participated in a Paying for College webinar this week - here is a link to that webinar if you missed it.

Upper Schoolers had a busy week as 10th and 11th graders took the PSAT, four college visits were held, the Tandem Times student newspaper was published, and advisory topics included time management for 9th grade, college counseling for 10th grade, bias in news sources for 11th grade, and social media and college applications for seniors. 5th graders are learning about mass, volume and density. 6th graders are studying Judaism. 7th graders looked at the Stroop Effect. 8th graders are tackling algebra equations and Animal Farm. It was a busy sports week as well, with four games on the road and six here in the gym and on the field. Two varsity teams honored their seniors after home games this week. Read more about great sports results below. Today marks the end of the first quarter of 2025-2026 - hard to believe! 

On Tuesday, about 20 Upper School students were excited to spend the morning with Toni Graves Williamson, a nationally recognized expert on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging who serves as the director of that at Friends Select School in Philadelphia and provides guidance to Friends schools through the Friends Council on Education. The students are working in Tandem with Toni to plan their annual student-led teach-in day. They will have two online sessions with her to finalize plans before their March day of teaching. After lunch, Tandem faculty members met with Toni to collaborate on the design of a peer-led professional development day. 

Today's Speaker Series was our first Open Mic of the year. Read more about it below.

No school for students on Monday, October 13 - see you on Tuesday!