May 25-29, 2026

What a busy four-day week it was at Tandem! There was a little more rain that we hoped for, but the sun finally came out. Tuesday brought the last day of Upper School exams, including an exciting battle of the boats final for the Engineering II class (the final battle included a student boat that had a working flamethrower as a weapon - see details and photos below). 7th graders got to play board games about the periodic table designed by 8th graders. The entire Middle School enjoyed frozen treats after lunch provided by The Peter Gaines Fund for Connectedness and Joy. Parents of rising 6th graders met online to learn about the upcoming year. 

Wednesday brought the start of three wonderful Emphasis Days, full of so much activity and hands-on learning that it's hard to keep up. It’s also hard to tell who had more fun or who is the most tired - the students or the group leaders. Here’s what our Emphasis groups enjoyed in just a few days:
  • The Board Games group started by playing ancient two-person games from around the world, worked through lots of classic 20th Century games, then took on more complicated role-playing games.
  • The Baseball group learned the history of baseball and attended three games in three days: Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, Triple-A Norfolk Tides and Major League Baltimore Orioles. 
  • The Birding group made bird journals and birdfeeders, visited the Ivy Creek Natural area for birding, the Wildlife Center of VA, Sherando Lake for birding, and Walnut Creek for birding.
  • The Cultural Immersion group toured the Black History Museum in Richmond, explored Carytown, volunteered at Mountainview Elementary School, and took a private tour of the Great Dismal Swamp to discover its history with formerly enslaved people.
  • The Dungeons & Dragons group collaborated, created and crafted their own complex worlds in this table-top role-playing game.
  • The Design a Character group created a dynamic original character, and then shared its story. They visited The Scrappy Elephant for inspiration and supplies, sketched book cover art, made charm jewelry, took a nature hike, and more.
  • The Make It, Break It, Escape It group worked together to break out of local escape rooms, create their own BreakOut-style box puzzles, develop basic survival skills, play a massive Capture the Flag game and learn basic self-defense, fire starting, knot tying, and how to carry an incapacitated companion.
  • The Meals to Make group learned knife and measuring skills, cooked Italian food, explored meal etiquette and extravagant foods, and put together their perfect picnic.
  • The Ganongathon hikers braved humid days to backpack over 30 miles, going from Bear Rocks Trail to Lions Head to Forks, and working together on basic survival skills. 
  • The Great Outdoors group hiked Humpback Rocks, hiked to Reed’s gap and set up overnight camp, hiked to Hanging Rocks and back to camp, and enjoyed time cooling off in the Tye river.
  • The Goat Farming group learned how to make products from goats (including goat cheese), spin/dye mohair, and care for goats from diet to vaccines. They took baby goats to a Montessori school as a service project! There was a culminating baby goat Olympics.
  • The Waterfalls group hiked some great treks to breathtaking views and cool water at White Rock Falls, Jones Run/Doyle’s Falls and White Oak Canyon.
  • The Filmmaking group divided into teams, then each wrote, cast, filmed and edited a film to completion at LightHouse. They held a final film screening at Vinegar Hill.
  • The Wheels & Rocks group explored Charlottesville and environs on bike via the Rivanna Trail, taking on paved city streets, gravel, and single-track dirt trails, creeks and more, logging around 25 miles. They also enjoyed time at Rocky Top Climbing Gym. Along the way they found fun, refreshment, and increased biking skills.
  • The Sugoi group studied Japanese culture through hands-on activities, including a visit to the Morven Japanese Garden and House for a traditional tea ceremony, anime, kawaii art, ikebana, and cosplay. They also explored concepts like wabi-sabi, Shintoism, and ikigai. They even made sushi for lunch today.
  • The Rock Climbing group trekked to the New River Gorge to camp and spend two days climbing outdoors under the guidance of certified rock climbing instructors.
  • The Serenity and Snacks group cultivated well-being and savored yoga, line dancing, spa days, comfort food, cozy blankets with a singalong movie, painting to music, pools on the quad and more.
  • The Sports Mania group tried out venues that included kung fu, bowling, wall climbing, escape rooms, and Top Golf, and played some fun outdoor games on campus. 
  • The HOBY Leadership group performed two days of community service work locally, then headed to Washington, DC for a weekend-long HOBY Leadership Seminar.
Next week brings us our last two days together for the 2025-2026 academic year, with some great community events to enjoy. That will be followed by some wonderful milestone events for grades 8 and 12. We can’t believe we’re one week away from finishing another great year at Tandem Friends and celebrating our Class of 2026 as they graduate on June 6.
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Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
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