On Thursday, March 20, seven Tandem 7th & 8th graders, with science teacher Anne Deane as their chaperone/mentor, took six science projects to join over 140 middle school projects (300 projects total) from all over the region (including some Richmond schools) to compete in the 45th Annual Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair held at UVA's North Fork Discovery Park. Our seven participants were: 8th graders Bela J-T, Jon D, Riley G, Muriel K, and Elodie K; and 7th graders Fred D and Charlie F. Tandem brought projects entered in three categories: chemistry, computer science, and behavioral science. The project boards were eye-catching and professional (see photos), and students did an impressive job presenting their projects to a series of judges. Topics included: 'Why is food texture important?', 'Are expensive lip products better?', 'Does AI show gender and racial bias?', 'Which wood burns hottest the fastest?', 'What malware scam are Middle Schoolers most likely to fall for?', and 'Testing the efficiency of steel vs aluminum in metal-air batteries'. Several projects won awards, but everyone did an outstanding job over several months to get ready. Awards received were:
1st Place in Computer Science to Riley G
3rd Place in Chemistry to Jon D
Honorable Mention in Chemistry to Muriel K
Honorable Mention for Best of Show to Charlie F and Fred D.
Congratulations to these Middle School scientists for representing Tandem so well at the Regional Science Fair.
Spring Sports are off to an awesome start! Lacrosse is now 3-0, with big wins this week over CHS and AHS! Girls Varsity Soccer won a 1-0 thriller against Quantico, and MS Soccer is also undefeated at 1-0-1.
Girls Varsity Soccer Wins on the Road!
Tessa has spent the last seven months working on her Senior Project. As a youth soccer coach, she has done extensive research on the beautiful game - focusing on the best way to give feedback, the most effective drills and the best in-game strategies. She spent much of the fall and winter coaching a U15 soccer team. When the season began, I asked her if "Tessa Time" would be making a return for the spring. For those unfamiliar, "Tessa Time" occurs when Tessa gets into a zone - and dominates the game. For example, 15 consecutive service aces in volleyball or 5 consecutive baskets in basketball (both of which actually happened).
The Badgers led 2-1 at halftime in a hard-fought, competitive game on the road - far away at King Abdullah Academy. Seeking a change in momentum, Coach Nemanja inserted Kaylee, Madeline and Bella into the lineup. They chased King Abdullah's striker, forcing her into the middle of the field, where Lili came way out of her position in the goal and kicked the ball back to midfield! Elisabeth made a smooth pass off one touch to Golden, who alertly played the ball ahead to Tessa. With nothing but green grass in front of her, Tessa got into the box, was one on one with the goalie, and fired a laser into the corner of the net!
In 5th grade Spanish this semester, students with teacher Victoria Bryant learned about the tradition of the Panamanian mola, a style of art that originates from the Guna people of Panama; molas are typically handmade textiles that are part of women's clothing, often depicting animals. They also learned about different animals found in Panama and how to write sentences in Spanish to describe their own paper mola, giving their animals a name, where they are from, and expressing the colors they picked.
The Class of 2025 began presenting their Senior Projects to the community this week, a culmination of a year-long project that began when school started, and for some, even before that.Our Senior Project process consists of many elements, including (to list just a few) a detailed journal, a research paper, and the culminating public presentation. Seniors will be presenting their Senior Projects during Community Time (12:50-1:30) on seven different school days beginning March 17 (March 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27 and 28), with four to five seniors presenting each day. Click here to see that schedule. Family members are welcome to attend. Juniors are required to attend presentations each day, and to fill out critique forms, and other Upper Schoolers can attend. Middle Schoolers are invited to attend a couple of presentations in the Community Hall as well. Here is a list of this year's Senior Project topics:
Car photography
Nature photography
Coaching (two projects)
Medical Deep Dive
Photojournalism
Singing
Ceramics
Auto Repair
Cyber security intern
Piano (two projects)
App Development
Italian Cooking
Woodworking
Painting
Mushroom Foraging
Fashion Design
American Sign Language
Filmmaking
Writing a Novel
Screenplay Writing
Designing a Skatepark
Fire Dancing
Rock Climbing
Poster Design
Knitting
Grilling & Smoking Meats
Pitching
Game Design
Gardening & Flower Arranging
Dirt Bike Maintenance
The final project element is Senior Project Night, when all seniors share their presentation work in an evening celebration of their projects, attended by the community on Wednesday, April 16 at 6pm, starting in the Pavilion. Way to go seniors!
9th grade world history students accepted the annual extra credit creative challenge by teacher Melissa Winder to create a diorama depicting a famous historical event using marshmallow Peeps, an Easter candy favorite. Some students even work the name Peeps into the titles of their creative works. We always look forward to these colorful and fun history tableaux. Check out this year's projects, which include the 'Hindenpeep' Disaster, Hannibal Crossing the Alps in the 2nd 'Peepnic' War, Amelia 'Peephart,' the Moon Landing, the 'Colopeepum" and 'Gladipeepers,' the Wright Brothers, Abbey Road, the Boston 'Peep' Party, 'Peep-tanic', the Last Supper, Jackie Robinson, and 'Peeps' in the Boat! They are on display in the Alling Room.
Congratulations to varsity boys basketball player Sean T, a junior, who was named to VISAA's All-State First Team this week. Way to go, Sean! Sean's honor was announced during the varsity team's evening banquet held on Wednesday night. At the banquet, the coaches, players and player families celebrated season highlights and outcomes, and each player received an award from the coaches (ranging from Rookie of the Year to Offensive/Defensive Player of the Year, and so many more). It was a great finale to a phenomenal season for this team! Check out some photos.
Spring season is officially underway, as games began this week on our fields and on the road. The varsity girls soccer team led off with an away matchup on Wednesday, followed by Middle School girls at home last night. Three teams (varsity LAX, varsity girls soccer and Ultimate Frisbee) are on the road playing today. Go, Badgers!!
Defensive-Minded Badgers Win Their Home Opener!
With two weeks of skill building and conditioning behind them, the Middle School Girls Badgers took the field for the first time this afternoon. Cypress, Aggie, Clara, Emma, Zaina, Sunrise and Emma all made their Tandem Soccer debut! Our sixth grade proved to be critical to Tandem's success! Nearly half the student body was outside on the front fields to witness the action. The Tandem students and an enthusiastic crowd on the hill were treated to a tight battle, with little margin for error.
About halfway through the first half, Bryn alertly cut off her opponent, clearing the ball ahead to Sam in the midfield. With a quick pass to Hadley, the ball began its path up the pitch, heading towards the box. Positioned on the right side of the field, Annie picked up where she left off during basketball season - she made her way towards the goal. Despite multiple defenders in the box, and a talented goalie, Annie dribbled away from the opponent, created some space, and fired a shot past the outstretched arms of Waldorf's goalie. With 14:00 to go in the opening period, Tandem took a 1-0 lead.
In 5th grade, we studied the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and in the process we were reading an NPR article about the 2023 Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team in the World Cup. There was a picture of the head coach, Lars Tiffany, and 5th grader James W realized that he knew Coach Lars because he worked with his dad at UVA. So I reached out to James' dad, who put me in touch with Coach Lars. Coach Lars came in to talk about the Haudenosaunee and lacrosse, the history of the sport, his upbringing in New York next to the Onadaga nation, the traditional lacrosse stick that he brought (his father had it made for him) and his family's relationship with the Onadaga nation. It was so cool!! Coach Lars also led the Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team in 2018 as well. His traditional lacrosse stick, which has been used in world games but is not allowed in college play, is made of white oak aged for nine months before being shaped and having the strings added.
6th grade students with Sarah Donelson have been learning about Medieval times on every level. In addition to studying facts and vocab and more, they also got creative. Students built models of castles, making sure to include major components. They also created their own versions of illuminated manuscripts. Check out their creations.
It was a lovely spring week at Tandem, finally! We had a full week of games, classes, projects, practices and activities, including an Admissions Information Session. Senior project presentations got underway and there were some great ones presented. A handful of Middle Schoolers participated in a regional Science Fair. Delightful history dioramas made from Peeps are making people smile. The cast of Mamma Mia! put the final touches on their show in preparation for tonight’s opening night. Faculty worked hard to share grades and comments for third quarter at the beginning of the week. Many thanks to the Robertson family for pampering the faculty with Atlas coffee today. The week ended with advisor/parent/student conferences - it was great to see parents on campus and we thank all who participated in this important review.
In the Middle School, the spring dance last Friday proved to be lots of fun. 5th graders are learning about the Cherokee and 6th graders have begun a unit on Islam. 7th graders are learning about the peppered moth and its camouflage and natural selection. 8th graders are finishing up a unit on nuclear power.
In the Upper School, 9th graders are studying DNA structure and reading Interpreter of Maladies. Sophomores are finishing up Sophomore Seminars, reading Macbeth and learning about the British Empire. Juniors are reading The Things they Carried. More than a third of the senior class presented their Senior Project presentations this week; the rest take place next week. Check out some exciting college statistics about the Class of 2025 below. Finally, don’t miss seeing the Upper School production of Mamma Mia! this weekend - it’s an uplifting experience all around!
March Mammal Madness is underway in 5th and 6th grade science classes! Christina and Nemanja's classes have been learning about ecology, the study of how living things interact with one another and with their environment. Students are researching March Mammal Madness animals and using the information learned to make their brackets. They will all be entered in the tournament through Arizona State University. The first round is next week! To learn more about March Mammal Madness, which pits animals against each other like teams in the NCAA tourney, click here (you can download your own bracket but hurry - the wild card round is on March 10). You can also follow the educational fun on the March Mammal Madness Facebook page. Check out their classroom bracket. Some Upper School classes will be following March Mammal Madness as well.
Every year, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank School Food Drive takes place in March, pitting local schools against one another to see who can bring in the most food donations. Tandem junior Sofia S is one of the local student coordinators for the drive. This week, she and a fellow student coordinator from Albemarle High School, were interviewed by local TV and radio stations about the project. You may see and hear those ads soon. The drive continues through March 21 - donation bins are located in the Math Science Lobby, Main Building Lobby, and Community Hall Lobby. No glass please! Check out Sofia's poster outlining the most-needed food items. Let's go Badger food drive donors! Check out photos from the interviews!
We had a very successful first week of spring sports practices! Games are coming next week and the kids are all off to a great start. All games and practices are on the website calendar and the weather seems to be cooperating. Let's go, Badgers!
Early Thursday morning, Tandem 7th and 8th graders and their faculty chaperones boarded two coach buses to head to Washington, DC for the day to visit museums that support their current units of study. 7th graders, who have been studying Civil Rights, visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture. 8th graders, who have been learning about the Holocaust, visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Both grades had some extra time on the National Mall and managed a visit to the National Museum of Natural History It was a great trip for all and many valuable links to their lessons were created. We're lucky our students are so close to so many wonderful museums and educational opportunities.
On Thursday, March 6, fourteen Upper School students ran a 'teach-in' day for the Upper School based largely on their work earlier this year with Toni Graves Williamson, a nationally known diversity practitioner and consultant now serving as Director of Equity and Inclusion at Friends Select School in Philadelphia. Students worked with Williamson in person in October and remotely with her later in the winter to plan and execute this teach-in day. They first did some identity work to think about safe spaces and how people see them, then had some hard conversations about race, identity, and social economics. The students then came up with a teach-in day theme, planned what workshops they wanted to have, and planned how the day would flow. Their full day began with breaking the Upper School into smaller 'family groups' for some morning ice breakers and self identity work. They then watched the film Life in a Day (2010), created on July 25, 2020, when 'the world came together to tell the story of a single day on Earth.' The filmmakers received over 300,000 videos from 192 countries, resulting in a film "about love, death, heartbreak, and hope that looks beyond geography and circumstance to explore what connects us as humans." Family groups met again after the film to debrief. The afternoon was spent in workshops, conceived and run by the student planners with one faculty mentor. Students got to sign up for two of the following workshops (teach-in students in charge of each workshop are listed below as well):
American Dream + Privilege: How do your different identities give you an advantage or disadvantage compared to people with different ones? - Mary R, Chloe B
Representation in Media: How are different identities represented in the media? - Henry A, Alanah R
Primarily White Institutions + Identity: How do we embrace everyone’s different identities in a predominately white space/school/community? - Sin F, Jack M
History of Tandem: How does the history of the property affect our community? - Marley B, Tessa D
Feminism: What does it mean to be a feminist? - Elisabeth S, Nina I
Differing Perspectives: How do you keep your own beliefs/identity/perspective when surrounded by people who have different beliefs/identities/perspectives? - Kavi M, Sofia S
Socioeconomics: How do money and social class complicate or support the ways we function in community? - Beatrice G, Esme W
After the workshops, the day ended with a Meeting for Sharing that allowed students to share a takeaway. It was a great day of learning, thinking about identity and belonging, sharing and connecting. Well done, student teachers!
Saturday night's Alumni Arts Showcase was a tribute to Tandem's past, present, and future. Itwas a lovely and quintessentially Tandem event. We welcomed alumni from across the decades at Tandem, as well as several beloved retired and past faculty. Miller Oberman '97 & Charlotte Matthews (past faculty) read their writing "in Tandem," a tribute to the powerful relationships between students and faculty forged here. Between songs with his trio, Jay Pun '99 shared stories from the 90s and the unique musical education he received at Tandem. Angus Murdoch '86 performed music with his son Will, a current junior, and the cast of this year's spring musical, Mamma Mia!, shared a sneak preview. Ephraim Firdyiwek '04 played some lovely songs. Emma Johnson '19 shared her poetry and Middle School drama teacher Edwina Herring shared poetry and a song. Senior Sawyer Ruday '25 spent the last year learning about philanthropy to raise money to improve the Community Hall as a performance space. We celebrated what has endured at Tandem under the new lights and enjoyed the new sound system! Visit https://www.tandemfs.org/alumni/alumni-arts-showcase-2025 to learn more about how you can help with this ongoing Community Hall upgrade project.
The second trimester 7th grade drama class presented its self-written performance of Cafe 007Part 2 (aka Showtime atCafe 007) to the entire Middle School today. Directed by Edwina Herring, the show contained skits written and rehearsed by the cast members over the course of the trimester. Skits included a Family Feud game, Triassic Experience, a cafe skit, Impress to Dress, Whose Line is it Anyway, a magician, an original song shared by Fred, a police lineup that ended in a song and so much more. The show began with impressive performances by the 7th grade music class and 5th grade music class, both led by music teacher Cam Pampus. It was a great performance by both the cast and the musicians. Check out some photos here and watch for more photos next week.
Our 8the graders, with teacher Carolyn Warhaftig, have been reading and annotating Elie Wiesel's Night, a classic novel of the Holocaust that serves as witness to this horrific event in history. In class today, students worked in small groups, leading and then critiquing their own engaging discussions about the novel. As they do with all of their in-class reads, students carefully annotate the text (check out the post-it notes!).
It was an epic week of basketball at both the conference and state levels. Please take the time to read the feature article at the top of the Friday Letter celebrating our varsity boys basketball team's accomplishments. And then there's more below about the other two games they played - the state tournament first round win against Kenston Forest School, and the GPAC finals matchup against King Abdullah Academy hosted by Tandem in the Badger Den (click on the headline above to see photos from that game). Spring sports officially begin on Monday! See you on the fields!
Badgers Advance: Big First Round State Tournament Win!
Tied at thirty-eight after three quarters, Sin had seen enough. He took a lot of contact tonight, but still gathered up the energy to beat his man into the lane, draw the help defender in and kick the ball out to Amir. While the defense scrambled to get out to Amir (13 points on 75% shooting from downtown) Sin relocated to the top of the key. Amir wrote the check, and Sin cashed it in - three of his twelve in the final period!
The next time down, it was Amir’s turn, hitting a corner three as deep as Lake Anna! On the ensuing possession, Kenston Forest brought the ball down the right side, and worked it inside to their top scorer. They didn’t see Shaan, who deflected and stole the ball away. Shaan got the ball ahead to Sin, who returned the favor when he saw Shaan open in the corner. Shaan drilled the three, Tandem led by 8, and the Badger crowd of seven people (which was louder than Kenston Forest's crowd the whole game) was on their feet! The home team called timeout, they really needed to regroup.
Kenston Forest was able to cut it to five on an inside layup with a questionable foul call. They came out in a press, but once Tandem broke it, Sin intelligently held the ball just inside half court as the seconds ticked away. There were under three minutes left to go and Kenston Forest began to panic. They rushed towards Sin and he responded with a slick crossover, taking the ball to the rim and scoring with ease. Now facing a seven point deficit, Kenston Forest tried to get the ball into the corner for a three, but they had to get it over Quis... not an easy task. They threw it too hard and it went out of bounds. On the other end, Mason assisted Tre as he put his finishing touches on the game, hitting a corner three off the bench to give Tandem a ten point lead!
We're proud to announce the Varsity basketball team members who were selected to receive All-Conference honors by the Greater Piedmont Athletic Conference (GPAC). In boys basketball. the boys finished their conference season with a record of 8-2, then continued in post-season play, hosting the finals and finishing as tournament runners-up (see The Week in Review above). All-Conference honors were announced following that game:
All-Conference Player of the Year - Sean T (22.3 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.5 BPG)
1st Team - Sin F, Sean T
2nd Team - Quis T
Honorable Mention - Amir G, senior
In Varsity Girls basketball, senior Tessa D received All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.
Please join us in welcoming Tiffany Norman, our new Director of Development, to the Tandem Friends community. Tiffany brings over 15 years of experience, most recently serving for almost four years as Director of Development for the local non-profit Building Goodness Foundation, where she oversaw the fundraising efforts, organized and ran all donor-related events, and managed volunteers and the donor database.
Tiffany came to Charlottesville from Texas, where she received her BA in Government and Spanish (she is bi-lingual) from The University of Texas at Austin. She worked for the Texas Classroom Teachers Association for nine years as Special Projects and Scholarship Program Coordinator, and served as Chief of Staff for a Texas state representative for two years.
Tiffany brings a strong sense of joy and enthusiasm to her new role, and is excited to connect to Tandem students and families and experience life on campus (she has already attended several school events and visited student classes). Stop by her office (just outside the Blue Room in the Main Building) to say hello and share your favorite things about Tandem. Welcome, Tiffany!
In 8th grade Spanish, students have been exploring the history of Spain through the historical fiction novel, Agentes secretos y el mural de Picasso. They also discovered art from the Spanish-speaking world during a class gallery walk and took inspiration from a variety of styles to create their own. This week, local artist Chicho Lorenzo, originally from Madrid, Spain, visited the class and was interviewed by students in Spanish using questions they created on their own. He spoke to them about "inspiración mutua", mutual inspiration, and how everyone in the world has a unique thing to offer as well as how we influence one another all the time through the way we live our lives and our creations. He also spoke about art being a way to create any reality that we can imagine and a way of processing our day-to-day lives. You can see Chicho's influence and creations throughout the Charlottesville community in murals around town. The class took a picture together with the prompt: what pose represents your unique offering to the world?
We're proud to announce the Varsity basketball team members who were selected to receive All-Conference honors by the Greater Piedmont Athletic Conference (GPAC). In boys basketball. the boys finished their conference season with a record of 8-2, they continued in post-season play, hosting the finals and finishing as tournament runners-up. All-Conference honors were announced following that game:
All-Conference Player of the Year - Sean T (22.3 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.5 BPG)
1st Team - Sin F, Sean T
2nd Team - Quis T
Honorable Mention - Amir G, senior
In Varsity Girls basketball, senior Tessa D received All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.
We're proud to share that Charlottesville Family Magazine's 2025 Ultimate Go-To Guide namedTandem Upper School history teacher Jason Farr as Best High School Teacher in the Charlottesville area. Jason is also the successful coach of our state champion varsity cross country team and our varsity track team. He has been teaching at Tandem since 2011. Middle School Spanish teacher Victoria Bryant was honored as third in the Best Middle School Teacher category. Victoria has been teaching at Tandem since 2020. Winners are chosen by online public vote. In addition to honors for our teachers, Tandem Friends School tied for second place as Best Private School - High School & College Prep. Thanks to all who voted! Check out the full issue here (all of these honors are located on page 22) - congratulate our winners when you see them.
We're proud of our faculty and students for doing such an amazing job of quickly and seamlessly moving to online classes and checkins via Google Meet as snow cancelled on-campus classes. There were checkins and 20-minute classes held in the morning hours. Students then completed homework assigned on their own from home in the afternoon. It hearkened back to our pandemic days of remote learning, in a good way. Check out some screenshots of some of Thursdays classes! There were math problems being solved, art projects going on, and so much more.
There were two big games on Tuesday night! Our varsity girls played a great last game of the season against St. Michael's and honored seniors Tess and Emma. The varsity boys team then took on Wakefield in the GPAC tourney semifinals, beating them 58-51 to advance to the finals. Read about those games below in detail - check out a video of Senior Night for the girls here. Check out a video montage from the boys game shared on Instagram by friend of Tandem Boo Agee.
The Badger varsity boys basketball journey continues this evening at 5:30pm when our Badgers will host the GPAC Conference Championships in the Badger Den. The fan dress theme is Tandem gear so put on your green and head to the gym. Please join us for what promises to be an unforgettable night of basketball for this magical team! Pack the Den!
Varsity Boys Basketball - 2/18/25
For two long hours, nobody said a word. The drive home from The Plains, Virginia is a long and painful one after a loss. While the Badgers had won in overtime against Wakefield at home in December, the January overtime loss on the road was devastating. The Badgers were up three with five seconds to go in regulation, Wakefield made a deep three, and Tandem lost in the extra period. The team ambled into the locker room, angry and frustrated. It was a long, quiet ride home.
That team and this team - the PLAYOFF BADGERS - are not the same. Tandem Varsity Boys Basketball has come together as a team and as a result, they have dominated GPAC play. Following that game at Wakefield, the team won at home against Quantico (Seamus, Anthony, Tre and Mason all had multiple baskets, and Derion had 14!). Then they won again the next day at home against King Abdullah Academy 59-50. The following week, they had road wins at Fredericksburg Academy (62-50) and Quantico (59-40), and of course the dominant Senior Night win over #1 seeded RMA 72-51.
Today was not a school day, but that did not stop the Tandem community from creating an excellent home court advantage this evening! Thank you so much for bringing the energy that makes this school so special. The players fed off of it - Sin had that look in his eyes tonight. He did not have to watch his first shot go through the basket - he knew. The Badgers scored first and led 3-0, but Wakefield matched on their next possession with a three of their own. Defensively, Wakefield's entire game plan was to double-team Sean and force other players to shoot. Amir was happy to oblige. Picking up right where he left off on Senior Night, Amir had eight in the first quarter. First, he split the top of the zone and came to a jump stop five feet from the basket - pushing a floater just over the front of the rim. Moments later, after Shaan got one of his nine rebounds on the night, Amir took the ball to the basket, right down the middle of the lane. He drew the contact but played right through it, cashing in for an old fashioned three-point play. Wakefield adjusted their defense by giving Amir space once he caught the ball. Turns out he's a walking bucket from the outside, too! Amir took one look at the defender and let the orange fly - like Sin, he didn't watch it go in. Instead, he turned to the crowd and let out a roar - the Badgers earned a convincing 12-5 lead early in the game!
We managed to get a few practices and a game in before the snow came, but missed several practices and some varsity games as well this week. There was an exciting double header in the Badger Den last night that led to our boys team getting a bye in the first round of the GPAC and hosting the semifinal matchup. Check out news from recent games below and watch for updates on the calendar about GPAC game dates, times and locations and a rescheduling of Senior Night for the varsity girls. Don't miss the GPAC semifinal matchup on Wednesday at 5:30pm. Go, Badgers!
Badgers Dominate Previously Undefeated RMA, Clinch Playoff Bye on Senior Night - 2/13/25
Varsity Boys Basketball
Back on January 17th, the Boys Varsity Basketball team travelled to Front Royal, Virginia to take on Randolph Macon Academy. With five players 6'4" or taller, RMA has a strong, intimidating team. They beat the Badgers 55-47 that night and have dominated the GPAC ever since. Coming into this evening's game, RMA had an 8-0 record in the conference, and a 16-1 record overall.
Things have changed since that cold Friday evening in January. The Tandem Badgers have a new identity - they are a squad that plays with a true connection, confidence, joy and an intensity - particularly on defense. They've been battle tested - taking on the defending state champions, and have put together an impressive five game win streak. Oh, and one more thing... Sean didn't play in that game in Front Royal.
Fifth graders began Black History Month reading books from English teacher Carolena Saunder’s diverse library. They selected one civil rights activist or social change event to study, designing a teaching poster and sharing their learning in an oral presentation with the class.
We are so proud of the accomplishments of Tandem’s Science Olympiad (TFSSO) team. Tandem hosted its first-ever Regional Science Olympiad on campus on Saturday and Tandem’s two teams (TFS Obsidian and TFS Emerald, two full 15-person teams, most in school history) turned in historic performances. Every Tandem participant earned a medal, every event earned a Tandem participant a medal, and both Tandem teams earned a record number of regional gold medals. TFS Obsidian matched the previous TFS record of two gold and TFS Emerald set a new TFS record of 8, which represents half of the total events run at the tournament. As a whole school, TFS won 10 of 16 events. Finally, and most excitingly, TFS Emerald earned a team score of 32, which was a low enough team score for TFS to win the entire tournament and earn a 1st place regional trophy! Incredible!
Nine teams representing six area schools registered and competed in the tournament. Medals were awarded to 1st-4th place in each event and trophies were awarded to 1st-3rd place for overall school performance (those three schools also qualified to compete in the state tournament at UVA on Saturday, March 29). Overall, TFS Obsidian earned 10 total regional medals, an amazing accomplishment for such a young team, many of whom were in their first year of TFSSO and the majority of whom are in 10th grade. TFS Emerald, our team of 11th and 12th grade students with multiple years of experience, earned a school record of 16 total regional medals, which represents earning a medal in every event (details below in Read More).
The TFS Emerald team score (32) was significantly ahead of the second place team (Albemarle HS/53) and the third place team (Rock Ridge HS/ 55). Additionally, TFS Obsidian had a team score of 67, which was largely due to non-participation in two events. Tandem, Albemarle HS, and Rock Ridge HS earned the first qualifying spots for the state tournament. Each school will be permitted to send one 15-person team to the state tournament, so it will be an exciting opportunity for a rematch. Here is the final finishing order for the tournament::
1st - Tandem Friends School Emerald
2nd - Albemarle High School
3rd - Rock Ridge High School Phoenix Fission
4th - Tandem Friends School Obsydian
5th - Rock Ridge High School Dynamic Discoverers
6th - Rock Ridge High School Newton's Knights
7th - Varina High School Blue Devils
8th - Miller School of Albemarle
9th - Waynesboro High School Little Giants
On to the state tournament! Many thanks and congratulations to our Science Olympiad coaches, Alex Siragy and Casey Reed, for their hard work and dedication, and thanks to Jocelyn, Todd, our maintenance staff, and all of the VASO judges, officials and volunteers who made this event possible.
Check out photos from the tournament. Click on Read More to see the full breakdown of our teams' results by event.
We’re proud of senior and co-editor of The Tandem Times student newspaper, Eli L, whose powerful letter to the editor of The Daily Progress about gender-affirming care was published. Click here to read it (the original title was changed from Protest at the Hospital to its current one). Well said, Eli!
We’re proud of our community of current and past parents, faculty/staff and current and past trustees for raising over $10,000 in 24-hours for Tandem financial aid as part of last Friday’s Game Night. The fun-spirited guests in attendance enjoyed plenty of delicious food and drinks. Tables were decorated with colorful games to play, and each guest received a colorful lei that determined their Game Night team placement. The first and most anticipated event was Trivia, with our wild and witty hosts Trefor Davies (emcee) and Melissa Winder (scorekeeper). Teams chose from Jeopardy style categories that included Texting with Teens, Tandem History, ___ & Recreation, Tandem Bands, Cross Streets, Muic/Staff, Random Tandem and Keanu Reeves. The questions were sometimes challenging and sometimes silly, the scoring was random, and the game was charged with good-natured rivalry between tables. There was a fun ball-tossing game, a challenging toilet paper derby race, and the final event was the Oreo on the forehead game, where competitors place an Oreo on their foreheads and try to get it into their mouths without touching or dropping the cookie. Parent Jay Scott successfully defended his Oreo title from last year, so start practicing at home to challenge his threepeat next year! In between all of the fun and games, we heard from parent Catherine McCall about supporting financial aid at Tandem, and during a short break, over $4,000 was donated, with online giving links shared widely. The Tandem community came through that night and over the weekend to raise $10,751 for financial aid. Wow! This year’s Game Night was another big success, generating laughter and fun for all in attendance, and important financial aid revenue to help other students enjoy a Tandem Friends education. Click here or on the headline to see more photos of a silly but seriously important evening. If you’d still like to make a donation, it’s not too late - simply click here.
Sean scored 19, Sin 18 and Quis 12 as the 24-25 Tandem Varsity Boys Basketball Badgers earned a historic victory on Friday night - Coach Sam Dale's 50th win as the Head Coach of our Boys Varsity program. The Ville recently recognized Sam as the #5 up and coming coach in the Charlottesville area, but for my money, Sam is in a class of his own. The hard-work, commitment, time, attention and love that goes into every facet of Sam's day has put him in a position to be consistently successful. We are incredibly lucky to have him at Tandem! It was special to see how hyped up the players were to celebrate Sam's accomplishment - this squad is truly a special team.
Middle School Boys Basketball Wraps Up Strong Season! - 2/7/25
Throughout the season, the Middle School Boys basketball team has arrived at the gym focused and ready to play. It's a team with a high basketball IQ, led by a strong backcourt of Trenton and Jayceon, who always put their teammates in a position to succeed.
The Badgers had a true veteran presence this year - five eighth graders - and each player gave the team an edge. The size and technical ability of our forwards and centers gave other teams fits - Mason, Peter (season high 5 points), Eli (who had a season high 8) and Levie - plus Grayson on the wing - made it nearly impossible for opponents to get into the paint. Dalin, only a 7th grader, was also a force to be reckoned with on the block!
The team improved throughout the season; we saw Aven and Ryan gain confidence offensively - being in the right place at the right time and holding their follow through as their shots went towards the net! Elias did the same - he had an exciting shot in the paint yesterday as well!
Middle School music teacher Cameron Pampus shared the exciting news that two of our Middle School students were recently accepted into the Virginia Junior Regional Orchestra. Adele H (7th Grade - Cello) and Nora B (8th Grade - Violin 1) both passed successfully and will participate in the festival at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, VA on March 14 - 15th. Student auditionees had to prepare a piece of music, as well as play scales, and play an unfamiliar piece by sight in a blind audition. Congratulations, Adele and Nora!
In addition to what's published on the QYLC site about the event, I can say Tandem students were courageous and vulnerable, and represented Tandem really well. They all got on stage and danced along with the Afro-Brazilian band of Carolina Friends School music teacher Caique Vidal (so did some of the teachers!). Eleana P's workshop filled every slot, and there was a strong encouragement among the other teachers for Tandem to host QYLC in the near future. Our group spent time working at the Durham Bike Co-op, where we cleaned and repaired almost twenty bikes to be donated to local school kids, learned about the displacement and revival of the Hayti community of Durham, and visited a local farm dedicated to ending food deserts in marginalized communities in central North Carolina.
Last weekend, Tandem's Science Olympiad team competed in the Virginia Tech Invitational Science Olympiad tournament. Medals were awarded to 1st-5th place in each event and trophies were awarded to 1st-5th place overall school performance. 18 teams representing 11 schools from across Virginia & North Carolina as well as Indiana (Northridge HS) competed in this tournament, which was completely hosted and run by members of the Science Olympiad at Virginia Tech student group. The level of competition ranged from teams fielding participants in only a few events to national-level teams making for quite an experience! Events were administered at the state tournament rules level, which was a step above both the Flint Hill Invitational and the official VASO regional tournament to be held at TFS. This gave our teams an excellent chance to examine their readiness for the state tournament and see how they compare to some very competitive schools at a higher level of difficulty. Further, it gave us a sneak peek at next week's tournament as the team from Albemarle High School participated in this tournament. I am delighted to share that TFS earned medals in 8 official events at this tournament, with TFS Emerald (formerly Badger Force 1) earning medals in 5 events and TFS Obsidian (formerly Badger Force 2) earning medals in 3 events. In addition to the 23 official events, VT students ran 2 unofficial events for fun - Disney Trivia (a test on Disney animated movies) and Hokie Hunt (a team scavenger hunt). Excitingly, Sawyer R and Maggie W on TFS Emerald earned 1st place in Disney Trivia and TFS Obsidian earned 4th place in Hokie Hunt, with a big shout out to the effort of Hayes B, Henry C, and Nati Y! Finally, I am thrilled to share that thanks to the overall team score of TFS Emerald in official events, TFS earned a 5th place trophy! The other teams earning trophies for 1st-4th place were Northridge HS (1st), Lake Braddock SS (2nd), Blacksburg HS (3rd), and McLean HS (4th). This fantastic team performance also earned our students the pleasure of tossing me into the hotel pool, making for a fun and memorable experience. Due to QYLC and other conflicts, some students needed to assist in events that they are not normally assigned to. Following are Tandem's teams that earned a medal: Ecology-TFS Obsidian (Otis H, Nati Y): 5; Entomology-TFS Obsidian (Jack J, Nati Y): 4; Forensics-TFS Emerald (Emma P*, Maggie W): 5; Fossils-TFS Obsidian (Kavi M, Nati Y): 3; Helicopter-TFS Emerald (Mary R, Addie T): 3; Robot Tour-TFS Emerald (John B, Owen S): 3; Tower-TFS Emerald (Ty B, Eli C): 4; Wind Power-TFS Emerald (Oscar D, Jack M): 5. Check out some photos, and this is a link to the pool toss video.
With teacher Sarah Donelson as their guide, 5th and 6th grade social studies students are learning about other civilizations. 5th grade is finishing their unit on Indigenous urbanization, having studied Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and Cahokia peoples. For their final project, they could choose to create a postage stamp showing daily life in Cahokia or write an essay comparing Cahokia and Tenochtitlan. 6th graders are learning about life in Medieval Europe. They studied about Viking Runes and tried their hands at writing their names and cracking a runic puzzle.
What a week for our teams both on the road and in the Badger Den! Lots of game details in the writeups below (be sure to click on Read More to see it all) as our Middle School teams prepare for their final games and our varsity teams look ahead to post-season play.
Benches Deliver in Badger Battle vs Quantico - 1/31/25 With a tenacious spirit, the Varsity Girls opened the game last night on a 16-2 run, including 14 points in the opening quarter!! Contributions came from everywhere - Tessa (8 points) had a steal and score right off the bat, and Ginger had a steal on the press and got the ball to Juli, who finished with a career high 6 points on the day! Maya scored off a screen, she had 6 as well, and Madeline was dominant! She had two buckets off post moves in the opening period, and also assisted Juli! Sophie and Ginger both earned trips to the line and both scored in the first half, and Tandem was on a roll! The back line of Victoria, Catriona and Madeline was hard to penetrate, and Quantico struggled to get in the paint. They had only three in the first quarter!
Quantico finished the half on a run of their own, and the Badgers led 20-14 at the break. Tessa scored early in the third to keep the Tandem momentum going, and the Badgers held Quantico without a field goal in the period! Annie was tough as nails - a big part of our defensive prowess - forcing the opposing guards to dribble with their weak hand or to take tough shots - and Quantico scored only two points on free throws. Tandem extended their lead to 23-16.
Sonia Brandon's French 4 students have been studying Francophone food traditions and made croque monsieurs in class on Monday. A croque monsieur is a delicious French ham and cheese sandwich made with gruyere, parmesan, ham and a simple béchamel sauce, toasted. Bon appetit!
Tandem's Science Olympiad team(s) headed to Blacksburg this afternoon for the Science Olympiad 2025 Virginia Tech Invitational (Division C). Tadem's students will be competing in build and test events alike throughout the day on February 1. Students will also get to enjoy university lab tours, connect with VT students and programs, and meet the Hokie Bird (school mascot!). Tandem's Science Olympiad faculty sponsor is Upper School science teacher Alex Siragy. On February 8, our Science Olympiad team will do something no other Tandem team has done - host a Science Olympiad competition on Tandem's campus. See details above. Go, Badger scientists and engineers!
Eight Upper Schoolers will be representing Tandem at this year's 2025 Quaker Youth Leadership Conference (held January 30-February 1), an annual gathering/summit which connects students from Quaker schools all over the world through talks, activities and workshops. This year's in-person conference is being held at Carolina Friends School in Durham, NC. Tandem's student delegation includes seniors Emory G and Elena P, juniors Sofia S and Beatrice G, sophomores Elisabeth S, Talia P and Lucy L, and freshman Emory S; teachers Jason Farr and Casey Reed are attending as faculty sponsors.
This year's theme is "Reconnecting to our Roots: Quakerism and the Environment!" and all activities, workshops and speakers will focus around it. Participants will enjoy small group work, community adventures and service involving environmental groups and nearby farms, experiential learning, workshops (topics may include Climate Change, Community Gardens, Farms, Sustainable Agriculture, Food Insecurity, Renewable Energy Advocacy, Environmental Racism, Public Transportation Access, Sustainable Art), speakers including Afro-Brazilian singer/songwriter Caique Vidal, a talent show, meetings for worship and more. Tandem's group spent the morning on Friday volunteering at Bike Durham, fixing up bikes that can be put back into the community for low cost. Students will learn about, visit and hold a Meeting for Worship in the Hayti Heritage Center. We look forward to hearing more details about their activities and workshops. Tandem students always return from QYLC fueled with ideas and information that will help inspire and guide our community. Tandem hosted QYLC in 2007 and 2015.
Tandem 5th graders have collaboratively developed an aspirational Declaration of Human Rights during their study of social change activists across time and place. They worked on it with teacher Carolena Saunders. Check it out!
This week was an exciting one for Tandem! On Wednesday, four of our teams were in action - both the Middle School teams won at Charlottesville Day School, avenging losses earlier in the season. The Varsity Girls amassed their highest point total of the season, and the Varsity Boys defeated Fredericksburg Academy to improve their league record to 3-1. Go Badgers! Check out some photos taken at the varsity games against Fredericksburg Academy.
Varsity Badgers Deliver Excellent Effort in the Den! - 1/23/25
On the first possession, Fredericksburg Academy hit a three to take the lead. Their bench erupted with enthusiasm. That energy changed over the course of the game, because for the next thirty-one minutes, Tandem controlled every facet of the game. Without Sean in the middle, the Badgers played a patient, cerebral style of basketball. Their execution against FA's zone involved lots of down screens, cutting and passing. On some occasions, Tandem would take over a minute off the clock just moving the ball around. As a result, they held their opponent to only 7 points in the first quarter and only TWO POINTS in the second quarter. Tandem led 19-9 at the half.
Quis tallied double-digit rebounds, ripping the ball off the rim and pushing it up the floor. Amir settled the team down into their offensive sets, swinging the ball to Sean on one wing, cutting through, and having Tre'Sean curl around to replace him at the point. Tre'Sean played mistake-free basketball - efficient passing and no turnovers.
8th graders just completed a great Job Fair project. With English teacher Carolyn Warhaftig as their guide, students were asked to select a job that interested them from a list of professional positions and then, with Carolyn's help, found an adult in that job to interview via a teacher-initiated Google Meet. Students conducted their interviews, then they performed their own additional research on the profession to fill out details like salary, educational requirements, interviewee's background, etc. With the information uncovered in their job interviews and research, 8th graders then set up and ran a job fair for 7th graders. Each student set up a desk with an informative flyer they created to depict the position they researched and provide details about what the job entailed. Jobs featured included a wide range, such as: college coach, mental health therapist, firefighter, nurse, lawyer, research scientist, professional athlete, semiconductor engineer, cyber security, plumber, architect, wildlife biologist, sports team outfitter, veterinarian, writer, artist, doctor, investment banker, librarian, civil engineer, TV producer, video game designer and many more. 7th graders came through to visit each 'booth' and ask questions as if they were seeking employment and learned much along the way! Check out photos of 8th graders and their 'job booths'.
Tandem's Upper School Model United Nations group, consisting of 23 Upper Schoolers and teachers Melissa Winder and Alex Siragy, left on Thursday for Philadelphia to take on the41st annual Ivy League Model UN Conference or ILMUNC. Students will stay at and attend all conference events at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown Hotel from January 23rd-26th. They will participate in their first committee session Thursday night, then have two sessions Friday night, two sessions on Saturday, and one on Sunday. It's a busy schedule - read more about the event here. In addition to their many working conference sessions, delegates will have some fun late evening activities to enjoy with the delegates from other participating schools, including a festival and a dance. They also had some fun activity options on Friday morning. Following is the list of TFS students attending, their current grade and their committee assignments:
Eli L (12th) - Disarmament and International Security Committee
Sawyer R (12th) - Disarmament and International Security Committee
Eli C (11th) - United Nations Development Program
Oscar D (11th)- United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Hudson L (11th) - World Intellectual Property Organization
Kavi M (11th) - United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Elijah M (11th) - African Union
Will M (11th) - World Intellectual Property Organization
Lucie Q (11th) - Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
Cora R (11th) - Legal Committee
Owen S (11th) - African Union
Gabriel S (11th) - United Nations Environment Program
Sofia S (11th) - United Nations Environment Program
Alex S (11th) - World Health Organization
Hayes B (10th) - Economic and Financial Committee
Victoria D (10th) - Legal Committee
Fletcher L (10th) - Economic and Financial Committee
Lucy L (10th) - United Nations Human Rights Council
Madeline M (10th) - Special Political and Decolonization Committee
Talia P (10th) - Special Political and Decolonization Committee
Alanah R (10th) - Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
Elisabeth S (10th) - United Nations Human Rights Council
Following two days of auditions and some callbacks, Director/Producer Ronda Hewitt is thrilled to announce the cast of the spring musical, Mamma Mia!, a wonderful show filled with the amazing songs of ABBA. Rehearsals begin on January 21 and performances will be held March 21-23. Congratulations to the following cast members:
Donna Sheridan - Cora R
Sophie Sheridan - Zella L
Tanya Cresham-Leigh - Elena P
Rosie Mulligan - Evelyn G
Sam Carmichael - Jack N
Harry Bright - Hudson L
Bill Austin - Otis H
Sky - Jude G
Pepper - Fletcher L
Ali - Luci Q
Lisa - Bailey W
Eddie - Eli C
Father Alexandrios - Sawyer R
Featured Ensemble who are dynamic singers, dancers, and actors with comedic chops (in alphabetical order): Henry A, Georgia C, Emory G, Nina I, Toby I, Zeke L, Talia P, Norah S, Alex S
Production Staff: Production Stage Manager - Alex G; Music Director - Tara Scott; Choreographer - Robin Hyer; Assistant Director - Eli L; Director & Producer - Ronda Hewitt
This week, Tandem sophomores spent a day at the newly renamed Shannon Library with teachers Robert Schuster, Casey Reed and Melissa Winder, all teachers on the 9/10 team who will support them throughout their research process. Students enjoyed a class on using databases, and conducted a lot of research across the UVA Library collections for Sophomore Seminar. Students worked really hard all day and were excited about doing their topics due diligence! For the next three months, they will each dive into deep learning about their chosen topics, developing their skills as researchers, writers, and presenters. Check out some photos!
Badgers Elevate Level of Play, Excel in the Den! - 1/16/25
In order to be truly prepared, one has to put in the work when nobody is watching. The key moments are when a player is on their own before or after practice, during break times, or in the evenings. Behind the scenes, Sophie has put a lot of work into her jumpshot. Focusing on her footwork, follow through and with great attention to detail, Sophie's shot has dramatically improved. Tonight, in front of an enthusiastic crowd, she put it all together.
Raquel set a screen for Sophie on the block. Sophie set up the screen - faking one way and cutting the other, curling off Raquel's shoulders and catching the ball in the foul line. There was no wasted motion, she had her knees bent and let the ball fly, holding her follow through as if she was reaching for the cookie on the top shelf. Swish! Sophie scored the first of two field goals on the night, and later earned a trip to the line as well, attacking the basket with purpose!
The Badgers came out on fire this evening, scoring nine points in the opening stanza. Annie got a basket after Zuri won the tip off, and was a threat to score everytime she got the ball. Her aggressiveness has been unleashed - Annie can get around any defender - just a little shake of the hips, a quick step, and Annie is off to the races. She scored in the half court, in transition, and tallied a bucket in all four quarters - ten points in all.
The Badgers had a ten point lead at the half, and used the opportunity to run through their offense. The team did not force any shots, but when they got open and it was a high percentage opportunity, the Badgers went to work. Zuri made a key lay-up, Malena had several rebounds, and Raquel set up Hadley with beautiful passing for a big second half. Hadley went to the foul line, beat her defender in transition and scored in the paint. What an effort!
We are always so thankful for the generosity of young Tandem alumni willing to share their time and wisdom with our current Upper Schoolers. The Young Alumni College Panel is an annual event of almost 20 years that brings current alumni college students in to share wisdom and answer questions about their college experience with Upper Schoolers. Sometimes they share what it's like to go to college far from home. Some talk about college-level sports. Some chose small schools and some are attending large universities. From what it's like to live in a dorm to how they made the leap from high school classes to college lectures, they have stories to tell about life after Tandem and plenty of great advice to give. Thanks to this year's wonderful alumni panel members, who shared their stories on January 13: Dylan Peifer (2022), Sophie Passino (2022), Devin Malhotra (2023), Anna Warren (2023), Jacob Camarata (2023), Talia Smith (2023). We love having them return to campus to tell their stories.
Tandem Earth is getting ready for Lobby Day in January, when they'll go to Richmond to speak to their representatives about environmental issues, from clean water and wildlife conservation to good governance and climate.
This Fall, they organized a trash clean up, and a bake sale to raise funds after Hurricane Helene. Tandem Earth also helped prepare a clothing swap for our end-of-semester festivities to mitigate clothing waste in our community.
Club President, Junior Will M. shares what the club means to him: "The environment has always been super important to me. Last year I really started trying to get involved in activism, and this has been a big part of that. I think Tandem Earth is really important to me, and that I can try to help my community be better on environmental issues and help myself do better as well."
Another member of Tandem Earth, Hudson L. says, "I joined at the start of this year, and I feel like I haven't been doing enough to help the Tandem community and help the environment at large, and I feel like this is a way to put myself out there and try to bring change to the school and the wider area."
This year's Alumni Holiday Party, held December 21 at Kardinal Hall, brought together a great group of alums and current and former faculty/staff. The evening was lots of fun and full of conversation, laughter, catching up, and delicious snacks and beverages. It was a special treat to have former Head of School Paul Perkinson join us. Thanks to all who came out to enjoy some Badger AND holiday spirit! Check out photos from the evening by clicking on the headline.