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Subject: February Greeting from Amy Twitty, Tamassee DAR School
Dear Friends,
January was a most amazing month in the history of Tamassee DAR School, with six
to eight inches of snow that stayed with us to keep the kids out of school for
six days! The last time I remember that much snow at Tamassee was my first year
working at Tamassee Elementary School in 1988. That has been a while. The
excitement of no school and enough snow for all to build anything they wanted
was great! All of the cold weather Christmas gifts of coats, gloves, hats,
scarves and especially waterproof boots were put to the test. The kids loved
their no-school days, but by the following Tuesday most were eager to hear the
sound of the bus pulling onto campus.
Since the snow, the weather has continued to be unusually cold for us but that
has not slowed the pace of activities on campus! One chilly Saturday afternoon,
First Citizens Bank of Walhalla opted to spend some time on campus with the
young boys of Missouri Groves Cottage. The group brought pizza, salad, ice
cream cake and cookies and everyone enjoyed meeting and visiting with each other
over supper. Everyone had a great time playing "Guess Who I Am?" There were
rounds with figures from American history, movie stars, and then a round of
"Guess What Candy Bar I Am?" Throughout the month, Mari Noorai and
Rooche Field
from the Wizard of Tamassee Chapter and Jean Ann Cooper from the Andrew Pickens
Chapter introduced the children to contests being sponsored by the Junior
American Committee (JAC) and encouraged them to participate. The DAR chapter
representatives coordinated efforts with fourteen students who submitted
entries. The chapters were very helpful in ensuring the projects met all requirements
and were submitted within the specified time
frame. The completed entries based on the topic "Preserving America's Past"
will be rated on merits of art, creative expression, and community involvement.
Tamassee DAR School students enjoyed having the opportunity to learn while
utilizing their individual talents. The boys of California Pouch Cottage had
the wonderful experience of staying overnight at Wilderness Lodge in Gatlinburg,
Tennessee, a Christmas gift from the California State Society. The boys had a
blast on the waterslides. The hot tub and the "Drum" were the group's
favorites. The hotel rooms were a great experience, too. Andrew wrote, "The
rooms were amazing, like nothing I had ever been in." What a wonderful
experience for our boys! The young ladies of Illinois Cottage and Florida
Cottage had the opportunity to attend a "Powerful Women Summit"
sponsored by the
Girl Scouts of South Carolina. The half-day event connected our
girls with career women from across the Upstate. Our young ladies, dressed in
business attire, enjoyed meeting women in a variety of fields including the
arts, business, education, industry, and medicine. The interactions and
conversations about careers and the education needed to make dreams a reality
impressed our children and the career ladies. In fact, several of the career
women have contacted me to get further involved with our children! Our New York
Cottage girls had a blast in the snow and spent much of the month talking about
their "biggest snowball ever". Some of the New York Cottage ladies
are helping
with the painting of the wooden squares that will make up the Heritage Quilt
Trail square that will be placed on the Elizabeth and Winston Pulliam Center
this spring. The quilt squares selected were taken from a quilt that was
actually quilted on our campus by one of the students sometime between 1919 and
1925. The girls are enjoying the painting as well as
spending time with our volunteers that are helping with this project.
Our Board members were busy in January, as well. We appreciate their commitment
to coming to our campus to guide and support Tamassee. With this meeting,
strategic planning was the major topic with last year's accomplishments and this
year's goals being a part of the discussion. Not only is the presence and
leadership of the Board great for our staff, it is awesome for our children too.
With each visit to our campus, our Academy students prepare some sort of
entertainment. This time, the students re-enacted a person or event of
historical significance. The Board members had to guess who or what. I am
unsure who had more fun or who learned more. Sounds like the kids may have
gotten the idea from the First Citizens Bank group's "Guess Who
I Am?" game.
Just goes to show how powerful experiences can be for our children. In a staff
meeting, Ms. Gibson, Academy teacher, shared the confidence David had gained
from performing for the Board over the school year. Blessings
are everywhere!
We have begun 2011 with much planning for updates in our buildings. I want to
thank our wonderful DAR Council members, State Regents with sponsored
buildings/programs on our campus, for all they are doing to help with this
endeavor. The bulk of the building work on campus was related to heating units.
In addition, California Pouch Cottage had a tankless hot water heater installed,
the first on our campus! This donation of the unit and installation was made by
Blossom Gas, our propane provider. We are anxious to see this month's utility
bill changes! Adding corkboards for the girl's rooms in New York has been a
great addition. The girls love the ability to put their personal things on
them. There are several other projects underway. I look forward to sharing the
upgrades of February next month!
A fundraiser sponsored by Northland Communications will be
held at the Pulliam
Center on March 12, 2011. A free concert by "The Chase" will be from 5:00 to
8:00 p.m. in the parking area of the Pulliam Center. There will be a
Minute-to-Win-It Challenge with the winner receiving a TiVo DVR. The Thrift
Store will have extended hours for your shopping pleasure. Food vendors and a
silent auction will round out the events of the evening. We are seeking item
donations for the silent auction until March 9.
January was a great month for the children of Tamassee DAR School and February
is shaping up to be just as memorable. Our children are so special and are
working hard to find their personal path to success. Thank you for all you do
to give them the courage and experiences they need to find their way.
For the Children,
Amy Twitty
Chief Development Officer
Tamassee DAR School
www.tdarschool.org
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