BACK TO WORK after the year-end holidays, with residents returning to San Marino and Beaver Creek dormitories on Monday, January 9th, by 8:00 p.m.    Classes resume on Tuesday, January 10th, when Christmas Vacation homework assignments are due.  As a reminder, vacation homework is given in all classes during the four long breaks, and are posted under each teacher’s page at the school web site, www.SouthwesternAcademy.edu.   These assignments are not long, but are an important part of the semester grades.  

MONDAY, JANUARY 16th, is a regular school day at Southwestern, in order to meet the required academic school days.   Commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s work comes with an assembly and regular class discussions.

SEMESTER EXAMS fall from Monday through Thursday, February 13-16, with three hour exam blocks in all classes.  Report cards will be sent on Friday, February 24th.   There are no classes on Friday, February 16th (an all-school field trip will be offered, snow and weather agreeing), or on Monday, February 19th (Presidents’ day in the USA).   Second semester begins Tuesday, February 20th. 

THE ANNUAL SCIENCE FAIR this year falls on Groundhog Day, Thursday, February 2nd.  Projects from both campuses will be displayed in Lincoln Hall at the San Marino Campus, and area families are encouraged to visit.  Exhibits will be open for viewing after judging ends about 2 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.   In addition to serious experiments, some students enter “Rube Goldberg Machines” to follow a specific goal, resulting in great fun to come see which ones work.   Science Fair awards will be presented as part of our 87th anniversary celebrations on Friday, April 13th. 

ArtsFest IS ANOTHER MAJOR EVENT each spring, involving student performances and displays in vocal and instrumental music, paintings and drawings, video, a drama presentation, photography, and computer design and involving all students from both campuses, held in The Forum and on the field in San Marino.  ArtsFest for 2012 is on Thursday, March 22nd, from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m.  Families and friends around California are urged to attend this show of student talents in the visual and performing arts.

BASKETBALL involves most students, with games in the California and Arizona gyms for boys’ and girls’ varsities, junior varsities, and junior high school varsities through February.  Spectators are always welcome, especially for “home” matches.   These are listed on the monthly calendar, though we suggest spectators call the Sports Information Hotline at 626-799-5010, then press ‘6’.  Recent results and news of upcoming games, with directions to “away” matches, are available there.

A VIOLENT WINDSTORM swept the Pasadena area early December, with hurricane-force winds recorded only once before in history, in 1897.  Southwestern’s San Marino campus lost thirteen trees, some roofing, windows, awnings, and fences, and lost electric power four days and cold, dark nights.  Classes and activities continued as normal, with students and faculty pulling together while our kitchen staff served meals by candlelight, and evenings were lit by batteries.  Without lights, heat, telephones, computers and Internet, we were all reminded how much our civilization depends on electricity.  But our maintenance staff cleaned up the campus quickly, and the winds of 2011 resulted in no major problems for Southwestern.