Despite the weather, we had a wonderful day and a great turnout! The Farm-to-Fork barbeque served in the heated tent was fabulous - thank you to Chefs Peter, Dan, and John. Our eighth graders did a spectacular job planning and organizing the numerous kids’ activities -face and pumpkin painting, cupcake decorating, 2 bounce houses, twister, a  fire truck tour, and more! The bake sale was delicious! The money the eighth graders earned from this event will go towards their class trip in May. As always, it was wonderful seeing so many alums back to visit - from Jean Winton, class of 1934, to a number of students from more recent classes. The alum/student soccer game was squeezed in early in case of rain.

A 10 Year Reunion for the Class of 1999 was held at the Southport Brewing Company in Fairfield in May 2009.  Great seeing everyone and catching up on the last 10 years!

From the class of 1999 - Mike Moonan, Alexis Penkoff, Ali Ashford, Bradley Topar, Haley Neidich, Stephanie Michaels, Phil Dauria, and Eric Haseltine.

We also enjoyed seeing other Unquowa alums who joined us:  Mike Kosko, class of 1996, whose brother Matt from the class of 1999 is getting married in Massachusetts on Saturday; Kesha Michaels, class of 2001; Jen Cain, class of 2002.  Mrs. Sarrazin, Spanish teacher from 1995-1999, also joined us!

On Wednesday morning, April 8th, students in grades 1-6 welcomed alumna Lauren Baratz-Logsted, class of 1976, back to Unquowa. Lauren was very comfortable sitting in the library with our students and reminiscing about her experiences here. Mrs. Joan L. Miano was our Head of School, she took Latin as a foreign language, field day was the most popular special event day and there was no wall between the gym and the dining room when she was here. Our students got a chuckle over the idea of basketballs interrupting a meal. She also spoke about her English teacher, Mr. Chester Schnepf, who inspired her to write stories. He told her that writing is very powerful. Writing lets you express your ideas and is a good form of entertainment.

Entertainment is what Lauren needed in December 2006 when she was snowed in during a Colorado vacation. She asked her daughter, Jackie, if she were going to write a book, what would it be about?  Jackie wanted a sister story about girls ranging from 1-8, but Lauren said, “What if we make them octuplets?” Jackie agreed and along with the help of her dad, the Sisters 8 series was born.

The series begins on New Year’s Eve 2007 when the eight sisters are at home with their parents, who soon disappear. Throughout each book the girls are challenged to figure out the mystery of what happened to their parents, while keeping the rest of the world from realizing that they’re living alone. We were very excited to hear first hand how the girls were named and how it was determined what characteristics they each have. To date there are four volumes published. Lauren and her family were set to start the 5^th after her Unquowa visit. We eagerly await the rest of the series and the special 9^th volume that will tell us how the mysteries of all the adventures sort themselves out. After reading the Sisters 8 you can visit their site at www.sisterseight.com and take the quiz to find out which octuplet you are most like!

You can also visit Lauren’s website to get a current list of all of Lauren’s books.

Eric Haseltine, class of 1999, returned for a special visit to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Graphic Design classes to talk about his experience in the field. Eric is involved in development at The Chopping Block in New York, a cutting-edge Graphic Design agency that specializes in web sites. He shared with the students the basics of how the internet works; something that we all take for granted each day, but which actually depends on an intricate system of networks and servers. He then explained the background of his company and some of the work they have done including web development for Rachel Ray and the Dave Matthews Band. The students learned how to design a basic web site with HTML tags and the process of developing a site from concept to completion—including dealing with and appeasing clients. Eric was an excellent and informative presenter, and the students got a unique up-close look at the real-world applications of the skills they had been learning in Graphics (including superimposing your face into famous photographs). They were pleased to learn that even professionals enjoy having fun with Photoshop.