May 4-8, 2026

It was another fun and busy week at Tandem Friends. We knocked out the first week of AP exams with relatively little stress. Faculty and staff enjoyed every day of Teacher Appreciation this week…from flowers and thank you notes to coffee and breakfast bars to ice cream and raffle baskets. We couldn’t be more grateful (see details and photos from each day below) for this week of indulgence. Our blood drive for the American Red Cross yielded 31 units of blood - enough to help 93 patients. Many thanks to organizers Casey Reed, Amanda Nelsen, students Ana S-G and Ella W, and all who donated. We had many first-time donors and even a Tandem alum who came here to participate. Spring sports are coming to a close, with only track and Ultimate Frisbee teams still facing games. The Yearbook team put the finishing touches on today in order to submit their book - if you haven’t ordered yours yet, today is the deadline. We were all happy to see a little rain this week.

In the Middle School, 5th graders are learning about human body systems. 6th graders are finishing Tuck Everlasting and finishing up their birdhouses. 7th graders are studying the end of dinosaurs and annotating Of Mice and Men. 8th graders are finishing up To Kill a Mockingbird and learning about the Cold War. Middle Schoolers today enjoyed guest speaker Kelli Jo Ford, current parent and author of the award-winning novel Crooked Hallelujah, during Community Time. Kelli is a member of the Cherokee nation and talked with Julia Sapir about the process of writing, how she became a writer, how to get inspired, and about her family and cultural background. 

In the Upper School, our drama program presented their terrific One Act plays, all of them student written and directed, last weekend. Check out photos from the show below. 9th graders are putting final touches on their video TED Talks and spent all day Monday at Lighthouse Studio to film and edit them. 10th graders are continuing All Quiet on the Western Front. Juniors are writing poem responses. Senior Comp students are putting final touches on their memory books. AP students have been diligently studying for and taking AP exams. Mother’s Day Music Festival planners have been in high gear preparing for tomorrow’s event - see details below.  

 

The Upper School Speaker Series today was filled with aspiring Student Senate officers giving speeches before holding elections for the 2026-2027 year - there were 15 enthusiastic potential leaders speaking. Results of the election will be announced next week.