by Webmaster | Mar 26, 2015 | Home Page News, News
It is always exciting to hear about our staff’s personal success and this time, Rainbow Community School wants to congratulate our very own sixth grade teacher, Jennifer Armocida! Jennifer’s project, “Better Business: Socially Beneficial Entrepreneurship,” was selected by the Freedoms Foundation to receive their highest award for excellence in enterprise education. The Freedom Foundation recognizes educators for their innovative efforts to help young people better understand the function and benefits of America’s private enterprise system.
Jenny’s sixth-grader students each create a socially responsible business. Her young entrepreneurs learn how to write a business plan, apply for loans, write a marketing plan and more. The most exciting part is the actual launch of their businesses — some become very successful. This year, Jennifer’s project was selected as one of the best in the nation and will receive a formal recognition and a cash award during a special award ceremony in November2015.
Congratulations, Jennifer, for this award! We are very happy you are a part of Rainbow Community School.
by Webmaster | Mar 25, 2015 | Alumni News & Accolades, Home Page News, News
Here at Rainbow Community School, it is always a pleasure to know about what is happening with our alumni.This time, Rainbow had the honor of having Dunken, Adriana, Geronimo, Mackenzie, Michael, and Zoe share their thoughts and experiences about how the Rainbow experience has impacted their lives during the panel night “Beyond Rainbow.”
Alumni Night
The panel was a great source for parents to hear from alumni about the student experience and how the Rainbow experience helps shape students’ relationships with the world. This panel enriched our community, increased others’ knowledge of what Rainbow is about, and allowed students to share how they feel about being a part of this community.
Thanks again to Dunken, Adriana, Geronimo, Mackenzie, Michael, and Zoe for being so open and sharing your dreams, experiences, and aspirations. Rainbow Community school is so proud of you!
by Webmaster | Mar 23, 2015 | Events, Home Page News, News
Come join our whole community in the Beyond Rainbow night.
When: Thursday, March 24, 2015
Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Where: 6th grade classroom.
by West | Mar 20, 2015 | Blogs, Rainbow Institute
“Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with.” ~Brodi Ashton
My students love superheroes! Why not, they have superhuman powers, they save the day, they give us a sense of security, their goodness always prevails and many other reasons like cool capes, gadgets and secret identities. Although I honor and respect the lessons we can glean from superheroes. I also encourage my students to find these heroic traits in themselves, their community members, in present day society and in historical figures.
As a part of our United States theme, the third graders study historic Americans. The focus is often on the activists, inventors, statesmen, and humanitarians that probably come to mind when your think of historical Americans- Abe Lincoln, Helen Keller, Ben Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., the list continues. Rarely do teachers consider America’s naturalists. These famous Americans paved the way for organizations such as the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. If not for the words and actions of these folks, we wouldn’t have natural wonders set aside for our recreation and our water and air quality would also be compromised.
When I explored naturalists with my third graders, we learned about Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson was a hero and a steward of the environment. Like the Lorax speaks for the trees, Rachel Carson spoke for the Earth. Her words helped to shape the environmental movement. Rachel Carson viewed nature as an interconnected web. She didn’t just see the tree but she saw the tree, she saw the branches upon which the Robin perched, the leaves upon which the ladybug grazed, the stem upon which the moss latched, the soil the roots are acnchored in, the insects that shelter in the soil,…she saw connections that reach beyond what is seen. Ultimately, she experienced nature from a holistic perspective.
Rachel Carson’s words changed the world and her witness and understanding of the web of life continues to inspire new generations of stewards. Rainbow is proud to inspire stewards of the environment. Nature’s gifts and lessons are woven into our each and everyday- some days subtly and others explicitly. In order to better understand the heroic deeds of Rachel Carson, the kids enjoyed a read aloud with beautiful paintings helping to describe why Rachel Carson fell in love the with places she did. We discussed some of the ideas and concepts in the book. Then talked about they way she saw nature and its web of life.
The kids then stood as I placed a necklace around them. Each necklace represented some strand in the web of life from air to soil to insect to tree to bear to cloud etc… One child then took a ball of twine and while holding on to her end, gave the ball to the child wearing the insect necklace and said “Soil is connected to insects because insects live in the soil.” We continued to build the web of life with each child stating their connection to other children. When the web was complete, I asked the first child to tug a little on the their strand. I told the children that as soon as the tug reached them, they should tug too. Eventually all the children were tugging with glee.
When the activity was complete I asked for any reactions. One child said, “We are all one.” Another child said, “It is like the Earth is balanced on three podiums, if you cut one down then the Earth is no longer balanced.” Still another child said, “The Earth is like a tree, if you cut one branch the tree isn’t as pretty anymore.”
Our future lies in the hands of these children and the paths they choose. I feel strongly that each child will journey down a heroic path.
by Webmaster | Mar 10, 2015 | Home Page News, Student News & Accolades
Odyssey of the Mind
Imagine, if you will, a creative competition that allows students to express themselves artistically, physically, emotionally, spiritually – basically, this expression is in alignment with Rainbow’s Seven domains of child development.
Now imagine the pressure of performing for judges, parents and against other schools.
Add to it elements of the creative problem students tackled that students had to include, or otherwise they’d lose points.
Coaches were allowed to advise and guide the teams, but the students had to do all the work. In fact, they had to sign a contract saying that they would not accept outside help as they worked through their projects.
This year at Rainbow, there was so much interest in Odyssey of the Mind or OOTM!
Creative Problem Solving
We started out with four teams in grades 6-8 – they were considered Division II. When it came time to go to competition, we ultimately had two teams that headed to Enka High School to compete against area schools.
There are two parts to the competition. There is the “spontaneous” problem where students get a question and have to answer creatively. The more creative they can be, the more points they can get. Students do not know what question they will get, so they will usually practice a variety of problems beforehand to get used to coming up with answers “on the fly.”
Then, there’s the “long-term” problem. Earlier in the school year, students will choose one of five problems put out by the OOTM folks. They spend every practice session working together to come up with a solution to the problem, working within the limits and parameters that the problem encompasses.
One team did “Pandora’s Box” and one team did “Silent Movie.” Each had an eight-minute time limit.
From the OOTM website, here are the problem synopses:
Pandora’s Box:
In this classics problem, teams will put a video game spin on the story of Pandora’s Box. A gamer character will take on this multi-level game inspired by the Greek myth. The game will include a prologue that depicts the original story of Pandora’s Box, three characters representing different evils that escaped the box, and a power meter that represents the gamer character’s health. To beat the game, the player will advance to the final level where it will release hope into the world.
Silent Movie:
Lights, camera…action! In this problem teams will create and present a performance depicting a Director character that produces and presents a silent movie featuring a humorous villain character that commits three silly acts of “villainy”. Characters that are in the movie may not speak as part of the presentation of the movie. Instead, like classic silent films, the team will use music played on a team-created instrument and creatively displayed subtitles to convey its story to the audience and judges. Also, teams will use a signal to indicate when the movie begins and ends.
Winning It!
Team 1
Team 1 placed 3rd in their Division, addressing the Silent Movie Problem. After competition day, the team performed for a Rainbow audience. This team really did a great job creating a wonderful and funny “movie.” Take a look at some photos of their performance:
(Click on any image to start a slide show):
Team 2
Team 2 came in 2nd place which means they are going to the state competition!!
They addressed the Pandora’s Box problem and you could tell they really had a lot of fun using their creative talents to put it all together.
Take a look at some of the photos from their performance at Rainbow:
Awards Ceremony
After the performances came the Awards Ceremony. First, special thanks went out to Edward, the OOTM coach, and all the parent volunteers who helped with all the OOTM meetings.
Gratitude goes out to other Rainbow staff and teachers who gave up space, time and otherwise contributed to the success of the groups: Jenny, Justin, Melissa, Pamela, Rachel, Tracie, Jason & Susan.
The 2nd and 3rd place trophies and certificates were incredibly special!
