Solar Power On Our Campus!

Solar Power On Our Campus!

Rainbow Has Solar Power

Have you seen what’s over on the roof of the auditorium? Getting solar power was one of those far-off dreams until…it became reality!

solar power and solar panels

In 2017, an anonymous donor awarded Rainbow the funds to get solar panels installed. These are located on the east side of the auditorium. This donation will help to reduce the school’s reliance on fossil fuels.

In fact, the installation of these solar panels will provide a benefit of 60+ years. The bulk of Rainbow’s utility bills go toward the auditorium. It’s a big space. Heating and cooling can get expensive.

There’s also the environment to consider. Rainbow will reduce its carbon footprint by huge margins. The solar panels help to reduce the school’s utility expenses while helping the planet. In about 30 years, the panel efficiency will go down some, but will still yield significant energy savings.

Interconnection

Over the course of the process, one of our Rainbow parents had been in touch with representatives from Duke and other organizations to get the interconnections turned on. “Interconnection” means how a “distributed generation system, such as solar photovoltaics (PVs), can connect to the grid.” (Source)

A local solar installation company, Sugar Hollow, installed the solar panels late in 2017. The school had to wait until 2018 to turn on the interconnection. This was due to a rebate from Duke Energy, which also helped with significant savings for the school.

When Sugar Hollow installed the solar panels, they felt really connected to the school and what it stands for. Sugar Hollow is a living wage certified company and their philosophy parallels Rainbow’s mission:

At Sugar Hollow Solar, we care deeply about moving our society towards a more sustainable future – not just in the environmental sense but in how it relates to overall quality of life, now.

The panels they used for installation were manufactured in the US, as well. As a company, they work hard to source everything here in the US.

installing solar panels for solar power

The Sugar Hollow team installing solar panels on top of the auditorium.

Because this was the first year that Rainbow started the interconnection process, it took awhile to get the power systems connected, approved and ready to go. When it came time to “flip the switch,” the whole school community was so thrilled and the anticipation was palpable. Rainbow elected to have a school-wide celebration to commemorate the event.

song circle celebration

Students gathered at the auditorium to view the solar panels and have a “solar song circle” – it was RCS’ first song circle of the year.

Sugar Hollow also joined us for that celebration. Now, students will be able to tell exactly what the solar panels are doing moment by moment that demonstrate power output and usage. Check out the Solar Power Resources  section on our website. It has the link to the energy performance of the solar panels.

Since the founding of Sugar Hollow, they have surpassed 1.5 gigawatts hours of energy generation – from the sun! That’s like planting 28,931 trees!! We have so much gratitude for these folks and the work they do!

solar panels at rainbow

Puppeteer Hobey Ford Presents Animalia

Puppeteer Hobey Ford Presents Animalia

Hobey Ford in one of his performances

Hobey Ford in one of his performances called, “Animalia“.

Hobey Ford at Rainbow Community School

Fantastical characters and sound effects. Incredible stories, puppets and sound effects. All this and more if you come see Hobey Ford!

It’s Saturday, February 28 at 3:30 pm. We’ll start with a sing-a-long with Sue Ford. Doors open at 3.

There will be a kids’ sing-a-long, a raffle, and fun times, too!

Tickets cost $12 for adults and $7 for children at the door. $25 maximum per family.

A Little About Hobey Ford…

Hobey Ford makes his hand-made “Foamies” puppets come alive. He takes children into another world, using his voice, sound effects and song to tell a story.

He engages his audiences and mesmerizes children with delightful, interactive performances. During a show, Hobey is unmasked, but plays many different roles.

Sometimes he’ll be the MC, the storyteller, the puppeteer, and the magician. Artistic scenery and backdrops add to the fun for the whole family.

Hobey Ford Performances

We are so blessed to have Hobey come to Rainbow. His list of performances is incredible!

Animalia

Migration

The Rainbow Bridge and Other Tales

World Tales

Turtle Island Tales

Tales of Light

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In addition to these signature performances, Hobey also helps educators. He can do teacher residences, workshops with the puppets. He also does student workshops, teaching students how to work with puppets.

You should definitely come to this event!

Just look at one of his testimonials:

“Animalia was visually and aurally engrossing; it was a gentle show.

In these days when our children are bombarded with thousands of images per minute, frequently deafening sound and high-tech effects, the show was in startling counterpoint – it progressed at a non-hurried pace children seemed to respond to every nuance, delighting in the playfulness of the animals and in you, too, as you made the animals swoop over them or land on their heads.

The realism of the animals’ movements was truly amazing . . . It was a pleasure to work with you. . . . the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

I know one teacher who used the materials and puppets before the end of the week!

Christine Brown, Director, Center for the Arts, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

This event is open to the public.

Soulspeak Coming to RCS Auditorium

Soulspeak Coming to RCS Auditorium

Soulspeak at Rainbow

We are beyond excited! SATURDAY September 27th @ 7pm, Soulspeak Asheville will be helping us dedicate our new community center auditorium space with a youth poetry slam!
WE ARE ALL POETS will feature 12 youth ages 12-21 from the WNC community sharing their poetry.
There will also be an open mic.
Mel Kelley and Liam Kelley Black (Rainbow alumni) from Soulspeak will be bringing poetry to our Omega students the next two Thursdays as well as offering support to any student who wants to slam or open mic on the 27th.
Matt Foley

Matt Foley

Award winning poet, author and teacher, Matthew Foley, from Charleston, SC will feature at the slam.

Free Wordshop

Soulspeak is offering a FREE WORDSHOP with Matthew for youth poets earlier that day from 3-5pm @ Kairos, 742 Haywood Rd.

If You Want to Go…

All Omega students are welcome!
ALL PROCEEDS from the slam go towards providing the free Saturday wordshops and open mics that SOULSPEAK offers our youth poets each month.
Rainbow families will receive a $2 discount per ticket. Adults just $10, students $5! Tickets will be for sale on the decks from Thursday on.

 

PLEASE JOIN US!