Delphian's Form 1 and 2 poetry seminars are designed to introduce students to the joyous, powerful, and magical writing style that is poetry. 

Unlike other writing styles, poetry encourages students not to take writing too seriously as it welcomes the creative use of words and structure.

After reading poems from Shel Silverstein (American writer, poet, and author most famous for his book The Giving Tree) the students were given a writing exercise that required them to use rhymes. 

A natural rhymer, Desmond finished his assignment quickly and with joy. His seminar leader Quinn challenged him to fill an entire page with a poem that used "shore" as one of the rhyming words. 

With enthusiasm, he dedicated himself to composing his lengthy poem and proudly recited it in front of the class when he was done.

As any seasoned high school student knows, freshman year can be a tough adjustment. There are new classes, new teachers, and new social dynamics to navigate. 

The transition into Upper School at Delphian, however, has been compared to a family reunion where students are made to feel at home in their new environment by senior students who take responsibility for freshmen as if they were younger siblings. 

The first camping trip of the year gives senior students a chance to establish themselves as mentors and role models for freshmen. For freshmen, having caring upperclassmen to look up to helps them feel connected to the community and prepared for the year ahead. 

This care and camaraderie was visibly present during the Upper School's first-weekend trip. With exceptional weather and food, students were able to visit Heceta Head Lighthouse, ride dune buggies, hike on the Oregon Coast and swim in Lake Cleawox.

On the first day of school this year, every student in the Form 3 classroom was greeted by a Schultüte. A what? A Schultüte is a traditional Bavarian first-day-of-school gift of a paper cone filled with school supplies, toys, and treats.
 
Not only did these gifts launch the school year, but they also jumpstarted the Geography and History portion of Form 3 for the school year in a fun, tangible way. 
 
In Form 3, students learn to locate themselves in their community and the world. Students know they are "here and now," but they are confronted with figuring out how they got here and now. Students use Geography to answer the question, "Where?" and History to answer the question, "When?"

Joelle Rothe, Delphian's Director of Activities for the Middle and Elementary School, handmade these customized paper cones for each student, and Lower School parent Marggret Leach-Avalos donated school supplies to fill them.

The cones were then presented to each student on the first day of school and were very well received!

The ability to read with confidence and enjoyment provides the foundation for learning and literacy throughout the Delphian program. For this reason, Form 1 and 2 students read about 300 books during their journey to the Elementary School. 

Fernanda's Form 1 and 2 class gets so excited about reading that she gave them a special treat. She switched their reading location to the west lawn by the playground to take advantage of the autumn sunshine. By the end of their reading hour the class had read thirty-six books, which comes out to about four books per student.

This form took me a lot longer than I expected. When first started Form 6 I had trouble confronting different things such as projects or even communicating with my supervisor or classmates. But, I feel like I’ve grown so much since then and have had many wins since being on this form.

Some of the wins I had were increasing my confront and communication. I used to avoid things that I felt uncomfortable with or didn’t want to do. I learned that this would only drag things out and that once you decide to do something it isn’t as bad (or bad at all) as you think it is.

Another thing I also realized was that I couldn’t wait for my goals to happen, but had to take the initiative and put in the work to accomplish them. For a while, I felt like I was stuck in a victim viewpoint and expected others to solve my problems for me. I realized that at the end of the day I was the only one that could make the decision to do something and that if I didn't change my outlook or attitude about things everything would stay the same.

For example, with my studies, I realized I had to set in self-discipline for myself to finish my courses by working outside of class and having more intention.

Putting in the work to meet my goals made me feel happier and helped me make more progress on my program.

My favorite part of this form was the reading program. It was amazing to learn about so many different viewpoints and to live the lives of the characters through the pages. I enjoyed reading all the books because after each one I felt I learned so much that I didn’t know before. It also became easier to read as I read more and my vocabulary increased.  

Now I’m going to say some thank yous. Thank you Quinn and Emily for the form exam and review. After doing the form exam I feel very much ready for Form 7. Also thank you, Alyssa, Todd, and Robin for helping me get through this form. Thank you Melissa for being the best FA and helping me with anything. Last I want to thank my family for supporting me the whole way.

You’re all amazing and have helped me in so many ways.

 
I’m also really excited to start Form 7 and to learn even more.

 
-Mia