A Celebration of 13 Weeks
Well, here we are. Pinch me! I cannot believe we made it to this point already. It's almost November 20th, the end of the first trimester, and we made it in person, without a Covid case in our school! From August to now, we've learned so much about ourselves as a community-- under the tents, in the woods, in sleeping bags, in masks, in camp chairs, sometimes wielding pool noodles, saws, or swinging from personal hammocks. Our students and teachers have been so fantastic, rising to every challenge, facing so many unknowns and new experiences, often while wet, cold, and definitely without a roadmap.
The Center School is thriving in a PANDEMIC, PEOPLE! That's HUGE!
I could go on, but instead, as we wrap up this unimaginable trimester, one that will go down in the history of our school as life changing, as pivotal, I leave you with the eloquent, parting words of some of our teachers and students...
Greetings Primes Red Families!
Congratulations on a successful first trimester. We want to thank you for being ready to roll with everything it took to make this trimester such an awesome experience, not only for the kids, but for us all. Thank you for trusting us at a time when everything seems so risky. We've been so lucky to witness the growth of our kids over these past three months. We knew that we could rely on them to adapt, to adjust and be flexible. But their readiness actually exceeded our expectations tenfold. In a way, it's been a blessing to have to see so many of our comforts shift in order to accommodate the new normal. There were so many lessons and gems that came out of it and I know that our kids are so much the better for those. Reflecting on these past few months we beam with pride at how our kids came together and fostered an amazing new family at school! We know that whatever lies ahead our kids will be ready and willing to walk through it with us and teach us some things along the way.
With this last week, we're excited to lead discussions in our class to continue reflecting on what we have learned so far while also imagining and making plans for the future. It's such a privilege to work in a program that allows kids to be an integral part of their own education and curriculum.
With love,
Synphany and Kiah
Dear Uppers 6/7 Families,
We bring you good news: There remain some fun-filled daylight hours at school this week. As a class we're hardier and better equipped than we were last time we got a cold spell, so we're going to make the most of this time together in terms of play and social connection. We (re)introduced the concept of our upcoming end of term ritual of Center Circle on Friday and we'll be doing it as a class on Friday. Friday is our last in-person day for some time, so we will also be hustling to get the school/woods spot put to bed for the next while.
Before you catch all the fun from the pictures below, just a heartfelt thank you from the teachers. In July, we didn't know what we were going to do or even if we we're going to have school in the fall. As of August, we knew there would be some chance of being remote at some point, but we we're going to do our darndest to start in person and soon (remember starting early?!). A big part of our success as a school, but also even just as our class, has been due to parents believing in us from the get-go. A metaphor for this week might be packing up the spaceship (in true among us fashion) that we've crewed and maintained and learned about for the past few months, and getting ready to launch it for the cold dark voyage. But it's going to be cozy, it's going to be connected, the academics will pack the day a bit more, and we will be ready for an easy transition to online work (AND PLAY).
Thank you thank you thank you,
It's been the best school year either of us has taught so far.
~Chris and Andy
Greetings Primes Blue families,
We cannot believe we only have one week left to go of the semester. We are so excited to celebrate this last week with your kiddos. We started talking last week about how we would have a big break and how we would all have home days.
“How do we want to celebrate our last week together?”
Gracie: “a parade”
Ember “balloons.”
Ramona: “I want to make balloons.”
Ezra: “I want to make a road with tracks”
Liam: “Quiet party. We can hang up the balloons.”
Ember: “How about after we make balloons, we can set them up and play with it.” Liam: “Blowing up balloons.”
Ezra: “Put presents underneath the road and then we can grab them.”
Grace: “balloons at the parade”
Ember: Put presents on the road line
Rinoa: “We can make presents to bring home.”
Rinoa: “Let’s make cakes!”
Miles: “treats, cupcakes.”
Joni: “cupcakes”
We then had a lengthy discussion about cupcake flavors... Hopefully we can make all their dreams comes true this week<3
With love,
Katie and Elende
With more love, and with thanksgiving,
Charlie Spencer
Head of School