December 8-12, 2025

Not to be outdone by last week, the weather played an unexpected role in this week’s plans as well. We missed classes on Monday, then ended up with a delay and remote classes on Tuesday, and a one-hour delay on Wednesday. Students and faculty were quick to jump into work, and seemed glad to have had the Tuesday remote classes to help get back on track. We had to cancel our December Admissions Information Session again. There was an online college counseling drop in session on a snowy Monday evening. The Parent Community had a busy morning today, setting up their annual Sweet Treats Cookie Exchange for faculty/staff, holding a second quarter meeting, and hosting Holiday Card Writing this morning in the Blue Room in front of a nice holiday fire. There was a steady stream of parent and faculty/staff volunteers enjoying the room all day to help write holiday cards. Many thanks to Rachael Ayers for organizing these great events, and to all parents who participated. There were big smiles on faculty/staff faces as they gazed down the cookie table’s amazing array of choices, and a huge sense of gratitude for such ongoing parent generosity.

The 5th grade delighted the entire Middle School on Thursday with their production of Fractured Fairy Tales. What fun! The jokes, skits and singing were wonderful. They have one public performance tonight at 7pm. 6th graders continue their study of Christianity. 7th graders are learning consumer math and studying the Revolutionary War. 8th graders are studying potential and kinetic energy. Middle Schoolers enjoyed their monthly clubs today, with options that included Arts & Crafts, Board Games, Reading, Music/Songwriting, Tandem Outdoors, Drama, Disc Golf & Frisbee, Zines, D&D, Engineering and Card Making. 

There is lots going on in the Upper School and some Upper Schoolers even go on the road to represent Tandem. Tandem’s Quiz Bowl teams travelled to Richmond over the weekend and placed on top in the VCU Winter Tournament (details and photos below). Two varsity runners travelled in the other direction to run in the Liberty HS Invitational Track Meet with great results (details and photos below). This afternoon our Science Olympiad Upper Schoolers head to Flint Hill for the weekend to compete in their first event of the year - we wish them lots of luck! 10th graders began their trial of Dr. Frankenstein this week - it’s always interesting to see where the verdicts end up. Advisory groups have begun a holiday project - decorating a door together by advisory. It's an annual competition that beautifies the campus for a bit - watch for results next week! Upper Schoolers are once again sponsoring children from Southwood for the holidays, tending to their gift needs/requests. They will be collecting money and shopping for and wrapping the gifts for delivery next Friday. We honor our seniors for all of the effort they put into college applications and essays as they begin to hear Early Decision college news.