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the linden letter summer 2010 the linden school 10 rosehill avenue toronto on m4t 1g5 · 416-966-4406 · www.lindenschool.ca · linden@lindenschool.ca highlights of this issue learning to sail our ships excerpted from the address given by principals dawn chan ina székely and alana bell at our celebration to greet the summer welcome to the 2010 celebration to greet the summer the sixteenth event of its kind to celebrate the achievements of our students faculty and staff parents volunteers and board members over the past year and what a year it has been linden in wonderland page 6 the many ways to be well page 9 inside snapshots of a celebration 4 5 linden awards around linden classics linden drama linden thank you to our donors sports linden alumnae update 6 13 14 16 17 20 students you enter this summer having grown another year physically emotionally academically you have participated in sporting events in science and technology fairs band and drama performances in french and english classics conferences the social justice data fair mbare musikas and your very first wellness day you have built and negotiated relationships with your classmates at linden we work and other students your teachers and your families and you have hard to develop and shown your support for the larger hear our students voices we help girls to community of which you are a part build their knowledge of through your work to raise money the world around them to send sylvie to school in rwanda and of themselves to to collect needed items for sistering think critically to take to raise funds for the native canarisks and to speak up dian centre youth program through your part in fundraising to send your for themselves grade twelve schoolmates to belize and grade twelves through your important activities while you were there you have all worked to effect important social change it is fitting that our schoolwide theme this year was exploration with exploration comes change when we explore we discover new ideas that often challenge our old ways of thinking or acting our discoveries may give us no choice but to change change can be and often is frightening what is so scary about change perhaps it s the fact that we are venturing from something safe something known people who know us and still love us familiar places familiar routines even familiar irritations limitations and challenges tonight our graduates are on the brink of this kind of change they are leaving the familiar behind and venturing into the unknown continued on page 2 from the board of trustees 22 24 admissions update the linden letter summer 2010 · 1

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celebration to greet the summer learning to sail our ships continued from previous page change is difficult it brings excitement and possibility but also fear some people and some institutions and some societies go to great lengths to avoid change they refuse to take risks they stay within their comfort zones even though other possibilities exist they stay with what seems to work even though there s a good chance that change ­ sometimes great sometimes small ­ could bring something better the writer anaïs nin said life shrinks or expands in proportion to one s courage the courage to face change is important if we are to grow expand and learn voices ­ strong powerful voices ­ bring change at linden we work hard to develop and hear our students voices we help girls to build their knowledge of the world around them and of themselves to think critically to take risks and to speak up for themselves to make their voices heard we talk a lot at linden about the benefits of voice as you listen to our graduates speak tonight ­ and watch their videos hear their songs ­ i think you will see that the benefits of their voices are clear but what are the challenges as our linden students develop their voices as they become more articulate more powerful what are their responsibilities what are they being called on to achieve one of the most important responsibilities that comes with voice is the responsibility to listen when we listen to the voices of those less powerful we have an opportunity to use our own voices to enact significant even monumental change on a global scale linden like any institution also continues to experience our own growth and change in some ways linden a young school is like the graduates you see before you tonight smart courageous well-grounded with a strong foundation and tremendous opportunity for the future and like any graduate would it s important for the school to take a moment and look both backwards and forwards to consider our past achievements say thank you to the people who have helped us achieve them and look forward to the future and new voices and possibilities over the past few years we ve been working not only to maintain the very important culture and traditions of the school that our founders so carefully established but also to bring the work that linden is doing to a larger community our faculty are part of a larger conversation about how girls learn best they are regularly out in the world talking to other teachers this year alone our faculty were asked to present at four academic conferences served as experts at oise and were asked to consult on 2 · the linden letter summer 2010 ontario-wide educational boards such as ecoo-educational computing organization of ontario our inspection this year by the ministry of education involving two faculty members and dawn resulted in lively conversation and debate of teaching and assessment which led to the development of a new standard of documentation and praise for our effective practices our faculty are sought out recognized and praised for their understanding of girls learning and they demonstrate through engaging with their professional leadercommunities of educators and ship in these various sharing our experiences of venues linden is also becoming young women linden faculty more and more recogwork on a regular basis to nized as an expert insti create educational change tution in girls learning not long ago a group from linden were invited to speak at a girls studies conference at the university of southern connecticut together the group presented a panel on linden education and alana also spoke at a plenary talk on important elements of educating girls in the 21st century we have also been asked to consult with teachers as they try to implement the ontario ministry of education s new gender studies curriculum through engaging with communities of educators and sharing our experiences of teaching and learning with young women linden faculty work on a regular basis to create educational change as we wrote this speech and searched for some important quotations on change we came across the following by louisa may alcott who you will remember as the author of little women she said i am not afraid of the storm for i am learning to sail my ship as our girls grow and develop they will face a veritable storm of change and information as we told you last year in our principals address high school graduates today have been exposed to more information than their grandparents were in a lifetime our girls are entering a world rife with challenges and full of potential and here are some of the things we ll be doing in the coming year to help them learn to sail their ships we understand the importance of technological literacy for our students we also know that while they are digital natives we as their teachers and mentors are digital immigrants who must remain on top of new developments in light of this we will end this year with faculty professional development on incorporating technology in our girls learning next year our faculty will work on including more teaching and learning with

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celebration to greet the summer learning to sail our ships continued from previous page technology-based assessments in their programming to help our girls develop the skills they will need to succeed in this increasingly electronic world to support this endeavour using the generous contributions we have received from parents grandparents friends and alumnae we also look forward to integrating a roving set of netbooks into our classrooms next year community and connectedness are so crucial especially to girls we will be working to build community next year through our first grandparents days event ­ an event in which all members of our community are encouraged to bring their grandparents or a grandparent-like figure take some time to talk with them and share the stories and experiences that are such an important part of our history various divisions of the school will see some new additions to our programming next year a new intramural sports programme at the primary and junior levels will expand opportunities to improve and maintain physical fitness for these students the motivation for this programme comes from the current research linking physical activity and academic success for children students in grades 7-12 will learn about cloud computing through google docs applications ­a system that is being used increasingly by postsecondary institutions and businesses the integration of pilot women s studies seminars for senior students during our all-school programme and the piloting of a new classics course in grade 12 are just two more of the exciting additions we are looking forward to that will enrich students everyday experiences linden families as you go off to your summer activities we wish you the best for a safe and happy vacation we encourage you to reflect on the important changes in your lives and the change you can effect in the lives of others we look forward to hearing about your summer adventures when you return for the 2010-2011 school year changing faces this year linden says goodbye to several staff members ina székely adria gibbons and deidre macpherson are all leaving the school to continue their personal and professional journeys while christine devon will be taking leave to welcome a new addition to her family in september we hope to see them back at linden sometime soon with exciting stories to share about their many adventures at the same time we re thrilled to welcome new staff members to the linden community for the 2010-2011 school year allison cleland amy stent stephanie bass and soteira hortop are all excited to join us for the new school year we are also delighted to welcome our new associate principal suzanne tompkins to our community alana bell while no longer being a permanent presence in the school will act in a consulting role as she finishes up her phd thesis next year you ll be seeing her around save the date for grandparents days on friday september 10 from 1:15-3 p.m and monday september 13 from 8:40-9:45 a.m linden will host our inaugural grandparents days this event encourages students to bring their grandparents or grandparent-like figures with them to the school and to share a story or experience with them that has had an impact on their lives the september 10 date will be for grandparents of students in grades 7-12 while the september 13 date will be for grandparents of students in grades 1-6 official invitations will be sent out in early august for those grandparents for whom we do not have contact information we will ask for the help of parents and guardians in making sure they receive their invitation to this event we look forward to seeing you in september the linden letter summer 2010 · 3

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celebration to greet the summer snapshots of a celebration clockwise from top left emma accepts the mission award from linden co-founder diane goudie lindsay accompanies the grade 1/2 class the grade 8 graduates after receiving their certificates the advanced steel pans club performs ian conducts the grade 7 strings class grade 12 graduate elizabeth delivers her speech 4 · the linden letter summer 2010

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linden awards linden award winners 2009-2010 linden awards john and rosalyn sutton award for excellence in mathematics science and technology arlie millyard linden technology award ayesha barmania and emma lowsky linden school music award monica geary linden drama award elizabeth everett senior art award emma brooks mackenzie jardim and emma thomson yangmi lei memorial award min kyung kim anna clark award for love of literature nishina shapwaykeesicloft linden leaves awards adriana bell and jillian zsolt linden school mission award emma brooks grades 9-12 alissa brayley emma thomson grace howard kima lenaghan maggie murphy camille cassel de camps elaha pouya nora dewart onyka gairey alex haberfellner alannah bloch annabel westell arlie millyard julia kirby noa katz raha mahmoudi athletic awards athletic leadership awards grade 4 alexa bushnik grade 5 jenifer adamou samantha peng grade 6 kiara eastman grade 7 adriana bell mahal de la durantaye marlee nisenboim grade 8 abi dunford naomi richardson grade 9 alissa brayley grace howard grade 10 mara bannon nora dewart grade 11 alex haberfellner award for commitment to linden s athletics programme junior kia cummings senior raha mahmoudi and jillian zsolt junior laura kinoshita senior alex haberfellner and viviane kirby external awards charlotte bell elizabeth everett emma brooks jillian zsolt viviane kirby ontario scholar awards french award governor general s bronze award and medal emma brooks university of toronto national book award emma brooks lieutenant-governor of ontario s community award elizabeth everett latin award alex haberfellner classics award ayesha barmania prize for excellence in humanities in honour of maureen donlevy charlotte bell student ambassador award viviane kirby sara chiarotto o brien and isobel bain linden scholars students with an average of at least 85 grades 5-8 brigid howardwaddingham chloe thomson samantha peng melissa taylor sarah bickley-gardner adriana bell celeste cassel de camps daniela magiricu emma howard hannah irwin-kahn kate brooks kathryn bucci laura kinoshita mahal de la durantaye meghan stephensonsmith natasha poley jamie keltz jennifer chan naomi richardson sophia christou stephanie corbo golden shoe awards shipwreck award devorah goodman memorial award jillian zsolt rusty shteir award elizabeth everett we congratulate all of our 2009-2010 recipients on their outstanding achievements the linden letter summer 2010 · 5

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around linden linden goes to canada s wonderland by ruthie cowper szamosi and tulay yalcin a day filled with roller coasters bright and early on the morning of june 16 students and staff made their way to canada s wonderland while keeping one eye on the rain clouds above in preparation for this trip students worked collaboratively to map out their day s activities on maps of the park this required careful thought about the best routes to take through the park to visit all of the rides that interested them and also encouraged problem-solving when the girls were divided on which rides to choose top alannah ayesha and emma get ready to ride bottom mieko enjoys the merry-go-round though the morning s torrential downpour threatened to dampen their day it could not dampen their spirits the sun eventually broke through and linden girls and faculty left the shelter of their buses and headed for the rides some students tried new rides while others enjoyed old favourites some teachers even went on a roller coaster for the first time the day ran smoothly largely thanks to the consensus-building and problem-solving skills the students demonstrated when picking their rides and planning their days all in all it was a wonderful trip to end the year grade 6 graduation left grade 6 grads amanda avery kiara melissa nishina and sarah right the girls receive their certificates from coprincipal dawn 6 · the linden letter summer 2010

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around linden the linden school goes gallery for art show the linden letter summer 2010 · 7

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around linden diving into data at the social justice data fair by michelle munk on april 22 the gym was bustling with activity and students were eagerly explaining graphs and statistics to each other and to community members for linden s second social justice data fair the social justice data fair invites students to consider how we can use data to understand and address issues of social justice all students from grade 1 to grade 9 participated in this event the social justice data fair is organized much like our annual science and technology fair girls create displays showing their findings and students and members of the broader linden community circulate around the gym listening to students present their work the grade 1/2 class recorded data about their own food intake for a week and created graphs to represent their eating habits each girl also followed one of the participants in the stop s challenge and considered what their experience might be like the students spoke about the difficulties participants faced in getting enough calories and the lack of variety of their food using the data they had collected to understand issues of food security and poverty in toronto · the grade 3/4 class inspired by the grade 4 novel the afternoon began with two keynote speakers the first was linden parent adam adamou who discussed how the approach we use to organize data influences how we interpret the results following his presentation the girls heard from susan macdonnell the research director of united way toronto susan described the united way s process for collecting grade 6 student melissa presents her project to and analyzing data for their poverty willing listeners at the social justice data fair · the grade 5/6 class conducted by postal code report she also their annual audit of the school s explained how their data analysis helped them advocate waste in which they sorted through one day s garbage for the needs of the poor and determine how to best serve and recorded their data students created graphs populations in need based on their findings the girls also made scale models of the world s caloric intake using rice to represent students then split into two groups for the first half hour the calories consumed by several countries one group presented while the other group acted as willing listeners and then they switched in addition there · the grade 7 8 and 9 classes did individual research were a number of parents who came to be willing listenprojects on the topic of their choice they identified ers areas of injustice conducted research to find each class completed projects appropriate to their grade s math curriculum expectations and some connected their projects to other topics being studied in class here is a brief summary of each grade s work information and data chose appropriate graphs for representing their data and analyzed their findings they chose a variety of topics from polar bear extinction to teen suicide in korea study of homeless bird by gloria whelan used data to explore gender inequality in india grade 3 students created graphs to compare literacy rate and gender in india by age group and grade 4 students compared india s gender ratio in rural and urban areas students analyzed their graphs and explored some of the reasons for the inequalities they found they also discussed what might be done to improve the situation for girls in india ·the grade 1/2 class learned about the stop food bank s do the math challenge in which several highprofile torontonians lived on the diet of someone with low income for one week each participant received a food basket and had the option to eat at soup kitchens 8 · the linden letter summer 2010 the social justice data fair was a lively and dynamic way for students and their families to learn about how math can be applied outside of the classroom not only is math incredibly useful in helping us understand problems in our world it is also an essential tool to use in our search for solutions.

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around linden the many ways to be well by kate mcevenue this year s inaugural wellness day originally suggested by linden parent patricia koine was held on may 18 set in the gym the wellness day fair invited students from grades 1-12 to explore a variety of approaches to wellness by interacting with professionals from a range of practices related to health and wellness indeed students were able to experience the therapeutic effects of boxing yoga art therapy and sound therapy students also had the opportunity to learn about diabetes nutrition posture body alignment grade 9 students check out self-help groups and some of the materials susy fonseca uses in her art therapy how to avoid sports injuries our keynote speaker talya rotem addressed the upper and lower grades separately and delivered two engaging and informative talks related to the effects of stress on the body the role of proper nutrition and exercise and the stigma surrounding individuals with mental health issues the success of the event was evident in the students active participation and engagement with each presentation most notably the girls seemed to enjoy the art therapy booth where they decorated a self-portrait and placed themselves in on and around the linden home they also were visibly electrified by the boxing demonstration effortlessly donning huge yellow and red boxing gloves and taking on the two presenters with enthusiastic ferocity next year s wellness day scheduled in february will be something to look forward to in an often chilly and dreary month not to mention an opportunity to recharge after january s science fair as mental physical and spiritual health are such important elements in our students overall well-being we expect that this event will become a fixture in the linden calendar look for updates in the loop next year and expect to be invited grade 10 students practise yoga with instructor sarah austin grade 1/2 students learn the basics of bo xing with instructor sonnja so hn mu ssion with eep discu ad er ruthie in azel walk therapist h sic the linden letter summer 2010 · 9

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around linden inside the mbare musika by beth alexander mhoroi hello in the grade 5/6 english class this term we studied the novel the ear the eye and the arm by nancy farmer this novel set in harare zimbabwe in the year 2194 ­ is full of adventure and mystery and is populated with fascinating characters on may 28 the class brought the marketplace of mbare musika to life guests were treated to fascinating sights fruit stands a jacaranda tree a mile-high building and traditional masks made from the most valuable garbage on earth the girls each wrote speeches in the roles of characters from the novel including the best detectives in africa a praise singer and a genetically-engineered blue monkey then we danced sang played mbube which means lion and ate african food thank you to all who were able to join us that morning avery brigid samantha amanda and sarah at the mbare musika junior choir shines at kiwanis festival by lindsay townend the linden junior choir was once again highly successful in their kiwanis performance this past winter the young singers worked very hard and attended extra practices in order to develop the best possible sound for this performance they performed lindsay and the junior choir practise with confidence and linden lea the song they sang at professionalism and celebration to greet the summer are eager to compete in future congratulations to the talented singers 10 · the linden letter summer 2010 a musical tribute to canadian poet pk page by lindsay townend on friday april 23 the linden junior choir was invited to perform in the great hall at the university of toronto at a tribute to canadian poet pk page who passed away in january at the age of 93 the girls were extremely excited and worked efficiently to learn the song in a timely manner the performance was one of our best all year the girls were focused on stage and confident in their vocal ability and they brought an angelic sound quality to a children s hymn a song with words by pk page and music by harry somers the girls and i were beaming with pride after the performance because we knew it had been highly successful and it felt great congratulations on your performance and hard work junior choir!

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around linden linden at the toronto sci-tech fair on april 10 seven of our students from grades 1-7 and grade 9 represented the linden school at the 2010 toronto sci-tech these students were selected based on the projects they presented at our science and technology fair in january projects from students in grades 1-6 were not judged while grade 7-12 projects were broken down into the several classifications for judging all of the linden girls showing their projects at the fair represented the school admirably and had fun doing it and two students in grade 7 were awarded medals for their work the students representing linden were · mieko grade 1 · mackenzie grade 3 · sophia grade 4 · · · bianca grade 5 sarah grade 6 celeste grade 7 silver medal in the physical and mathematical science category meghan grade 7 silver medal in the life sciences category grace grade 9 · · we congratulate these students for a job very well done and we look forward to seeing what all of our students come up with for next year s science and technology fair right medal winner celeste with her project at the toronto scitech fair grade 1/2 class in love with trees during the spring term tonja and the grade 1/2 class adopted trees in a nearby ravine the girls made regular visits to their trees observing changes in their growth and appearance over time inspired by their trees they also wrote poems stories and songs about their new friends here are a few examples of what the girls created i love my tree she lives with bees she has a big trunk and colourful leaves sometimes she makes me sneeze -mieko grade 1 trees trees swaying in the breeze saying hi to birds flying in the sky in the fall their leaves say goodbye to all the plants who live nearby -lia grade 2 the ravine song the ravine is so fine it has a big vine and when it rains our trees get veins for every little line will grow so fine in the air of our ravine -sara grade 2 alex mieko and sarah record their observations in the ravine the linden letter summer 2010 · 11

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around linden linden latin learners excel on national latin exam by jenn stewart on march 8 students in grades 9 and 11 latin along with arlie wrote the national latin exam this is an international exam with more than 150,000 participants which tests students knowledge of the latin language roman history geography culture and mythology the girls did very well in level i emma t received a gold medal and grace received a silver medal in level ii arlie received a gold medal in level iii noa received a silver medal alex received a magna cum laude placement and ayesha received cum laude placement congratulations girls ners with award win latin exam rtificates al the nation ls and ce their meda magnifique by anne van burek at linden s annual senior french drama night on april 15 the grade 9 -12 french students delighted the audience with spirited performances of work written themselves grade 9 students reinvented scenes from l analphabète by agota kristof a hungarian-born writer who had to reinvent herself when she fled her native country to escape stalinism grade 10 students had fun creating their own interpretation of jean de la fontaine s fables grade 11 and 12 students presented various sketches including a hilarious rendition of a scene from molière s le malade imaginaire coco avant chanel and excerpts from antoine de saint-exupéry s le petit prince une belle soirée de théâtre 12 · the linden letter summer 2010

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classics linden faster than achilles more clever than quintus stronger than hercules by jenn stewart wow people told me that i was going to have a lot of fun at classics but i didn t think that i could have as much fun as i did it was an absolutely amazing experience grace grade 9 this year the linden school had a team of 28 students for the annual ontario classics conference at brock university we participated in chariot design school display archaeological dig fashion show and skit we created some very ambitious projects especially our school display and our chariot which involved lots of extra time on the weekend and learning to work with power tools thanks manuel and james for all your help it was well worth it ­ both of these projects led to first place finishes and trophies our archeological dig team placed 2nd an amazing finish as this is one of the linden girls are fierce competitors at the classics conference hardest contests at the conference the girls all did even in the rain extremely well and we had excellent placements in creative academic and athletic competitions making us one of classics conference results the most well-rounded teams at the conference we are all very much looking forward to hosting the classics conference next year when our overall rankings theme will be this is how to make friends and keep them made great showing for linden at spring certamen by jenn stewart total points 6th academic points 8th athletic points 7th creative points 3rd the spring certamen took place at markham district high school on april 1 we took two junior teams and one senior team everyone competed very well in the end the junior teams placed 7th and 9th and the senior team placed 5th just missing the finals here is what some of the certamen participants had to say about their experience the spring certamen was so much fun i was very impressed by my team s performance everyone on my team answered at least one question or attempted to answer a question alissa grade 9 certamen participants pose with their certificates per capita rankings per capita overall 6th per capita creative 4th per capita academic 11th per capita athletic 2nd all in all i had fun and am anxious for the next certamen emmanuelle grade 9 the linden letter summer 2010 · 13

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drama linden linden drama flies high in peter pan on wednesday april 21 linden s junior and senior drama clubs came together to put on a wonderful production of j.m barrie s classic tale peter pan the girls began working on the play back in september and they all put in hours of rehearsal time and set design leading up to their performance jenn linden s senior drama and latin teacher directed the production and oversaw the senior drama club while grade 11 student alannah who also played the character of hook in the production ran the junior club in the spirit of linden the junior and senior clubs shared ideas experiences and feedback with each other throughout the year each girl supported her fellow actors as they learned lines practised scenes and hunted for costumes and props the result of their hard work was outstanding strong performances from all of the girls and a few teachers moonlighting as pirates brought barrie s tale to life earning hearty laughs and heartfelt tears for the audience although the play is called peter pan another appropriate name for it might be the story of wendy ­ for as much as it is about peter s life in the neverland it is also about wendy s journey into womanhood though wendy is just as bold and adventurous at peter pan her compassion and sense of responsibility completely oppose peter s reckless abandon at first she embraces her role as the mother of peter and the lost boys however she soon realizes that she her brothers and the boys cannot hide from the real world ­ and the hard yet necessary lessons it teaches forever ultimately though peter rescues wendy from the pirates it is wendy who rescues john michael and the lost boys from neverland linden s performance highlighted wendy s strength leadership and nurturing spirit emphasizing the developing ideas of women s roles at the turn of the 20th century 14 · the linden letter summer 2010 from top peter finds his lost shadow peter and the lost boys beseech wendy to become their mother as john and michael look on hook and smee plot against peter and his crew the lost boys respond to tinkerbell s instructions to shoot the wendy

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drama linden making a scene drama nights senior drama night by jenn stewart senior drama night took place on may 20th it is a chance for the high school drama classes to share all they ve learned throughout the year the grade 9s wrote and performed their own monologues grade 10s wrote and performed their own one act plays and the grade 11/12 class performed scenes from three tennessee williams plays sweet bird of youth the glass menagerie and cat on a hot tin roof not only did the evening go off without a hitch but everyone performed to their best creating memorable performances that clearly demonstrated how much they have all grown as actors over the year well done girls alannah and noa have it out in a sc ene from the glass men agerie primary drama night by lindsay townend primary drama night was a spectacular showcase of young musical and dramatic talent the girls worked very hard and displayed a tremendous amount of team work and support for their peers throughout the entire process it was a successful presentation of the skills they developed over this past year congratulations upper left the grade 3/4 class performs at primary drama night lower left andie tries to calm down alexis in a oneact play andie wrote above the grade 1/2 class takes the stage the linden letter summer 2010 · 15

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