Winter Program 2019

Winter Program 2019

Winter Program 2019 – “Family”

Preschool and Kindergarten both performed in the morning program.

You can follow along with the lyrics to their songs:

Preschool

“Family of Feelings” by Lucy MacGregor, Preschool Teacher

I feel something inside me. I feel something in there. It tickles my tummy. It tingles my hair. Oh, hello. Oh, I know. Upset or happy, mad, sad or scared, they are all in there. Feelings… family of feelings… I know how to care for you, deep breath.

Kindergarten

“Mariposa Family Song” by Kindergarten students & Sue Ford, Music Teacher CHORUS.

I like to do things with my family, all kinds of things with my family. Snuggling or cuddling with my mama or papa, I feel safe and love in family. I like to go places and have some fun on airplanes or cars, adventure has begun Go see Grandma or friends or travel someplace new with my family where our love is true. CHORUS I love the outdoors when the weather is nice we pack up and go camping or go on hikes We pretend we are animals, wild and free or play with sticks or swim in the sea CHORUS When winter winds blow we have fun in the snow or play games inside or watch movies playing school with my sister, building Lego sets. I love celebrating family.

First Grade

“Mother Earth” by 1st Grade students, Josie Hoban, 1st grade Associate Teacher, & Sue Ford Chorus

We give thanks that the Earth is our Mother. She loves all of us like no other. Every living, breathing being, plants and animals are family. Ooo Mother Earth…. we are your children

Possum babies sleep in Mama’s deep pouch White tailed deer graze, toads hop and crouch Screech owls fly across the sky Wild turkeys with their babies hear the hawk cry

Bears and wolves, snakes slither together Through brackish ferns, moss, rocks and heather Mother rivers flow, flocks of geese in flight Fox vixens love their kits all through the night.

Third Grade

“Cats and Dogs” by 3rd grade students, Sue Ford & Justin Pilla

Filidae, Canidae, Cat and Dog Families. Warm furry mammals with large teeth and claws They have fuzzy ears and fuzzy tails and cute fuzzy paws. Some say that one –is better than the other In our family they are sisters and brothers.

A Pride of lions work together to hunt Snow leopards are rarest and hard to confront Clever coyotes sing with howls and yelps They hunt in packs with each other’s help Lightening quick cheetahs sprint in the Savannah Leaping, long leopards creep in the jungle Frolicking foxes play with friends in the forest. Wondrous wild wolves howl at the moon in chorus Jumping Jaguars like to swim and fish Stealthy Bobcats wait for prey in the bush Joking jackals will have just one partner Like the wolf, they will babysit their kindergartener Digging Dingos in the dirt wild and free, Powerful panthers prowl land to the sea.

Second Grade

“Family Team” Lyrics by 2nd Grade students & Eddy Webb, 2nd Grade Teacher. Carolyn Zeigler, Rainbow Tutor, on flute. Tune based on Donnybrook Fair, an Irish Jig

Wake me up, I make the bed Cat, gerbils, and dog are fed Wash the dishes, do my chores If you ask, I’ll do some more

Clean my room and rub your feet In the yard I rake the leaves. All the things I do for you, It’s so clear, I love you

Family, we are like a team All for one, a family team! You know I always got your back, Count on me, that’s a fact!

Some are big and some are small That’s okay, we love them all Laugh and cry and try together Family love goes on forever!

Care for me, shelter, food Always kind, and never rude Drive to soccer, cheer me on Call me in when dinner’s done

Hand-me-downs or buy me clothes Make me wear a coat—it’s cold! All the things you do for me, It’s so clear, you love me!

Family, we are like a team All for one, a family team! You know I always got your back, Count on me, that’s a fact!

Some are big and some are small That’s okay, we love them all Laugh and cry and try together Family love goes on forever!

Fourth Grade

“Moments With My Family” by 4th Grade students & teachers – Kurt Campbell & Sarah Callahan

CHORUS: Special moments with my family They are part of my history Looking back on my memories In my mind they’re a treasury

Traveling to Scandanavia Staying up til 4am Hanging out with my sisters Laughing about where we’ve been. Spending Christmas in Ohio Hanging out with my cousins. Traveling to England 8 hour plane ride

CHORUS

Going camping with my family The dog ate my marshmallow Hanging out with siblings Laughing and having fun Watching TV with my parents All day long Picking out Midnight in late winter Fluffy baby bunnies everywhere

CHORUS

Going on a boat with mom and dad We saw whales and it started to rain. Traveling on a plane to Norway Flying through the sky Going on a trip to Carowinds Rollercoasters flying through the sky Going on a trip saying are we there yet Not yet! 5 minutes later ask again

CHORUS

Flying to California with my mom and brother Meeting friends and eating Mexican food Watching a movie in a pool While swimming with my dad. Bringing home a new dog I was so happy that I cried Jumping off a rock Landing in the water

CHORUS

Having fun with my dad in Hawaii Snorkeling in the coral reef Picking out our puppy Phoenix A new member of our family. Playing with my dogs Taking them to the lake. Driving from California to Asheville With my mom and 3 cats Flying and driving to Michigan To get my new dog Ray. Going on a cross country road trip Going almost everywhere.

Fifth Grade

“Rivers and Roads” by the Head and the Heart, words adapted by Emmaly Rogalski, 5th grade teacher, instrumental parts by Sue Ford, Dance choreographed by Julie Chapman, 5th grade parent.

A year from now we’ll all be gone. All our friends will move away. And they’re going to better places. But our friends will be gone away.

Nothing is as it has been as we cross the ocean’s swell And I guess it’s just as well as we cross the ocean’s swell

Been talking ‘bout the way things change. And my family lives in a different state And if you don’t know what to make of this, then we will not relate So if you don’t know what to make of this, then we will not relate

Rivers and roads, Oceans and roads, rivers till I reach you
Rivers and roads, Oceans and roads, rivers till I reach you.

Marimba Omega Elective

“New Hope” by Sue Ford & Walt Hampton
”Carol of the Bells” based on a traditional folksong from Ukraine called “Schedryk”
“Mojo” by Walt Hampton

Sixth Grade

Keep it Together” by Madonna & Stephan Bray

Imagine 2019 – Who Be The Whoman

Imagine 2019 – Who Be The Whoman

Imagine 2019 – Who Be the Whoman?

Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?

These are the questions humans have been asking themselves for as long as they have dwelt in this world. But how to answer such eternal questions? As we always have… with a story.

This story is set in the pre-human world, and it is told from the point of view of the animals. Several animals discover the “soul seed” of a mysterious creature. They learn it is the soul seed of the “whoman,” and it will be very different type of animal — powerful beyond imagination. Knowing that their world will be forever changed when this “whoman” seed awakens, what should they do with it? Should they protect it…or are they better off without it? Can they love and support this new creature, despite, or because of, its awesome potential?

Heavy questions for a grade school play, but here we are in 2019!

Learning through the arts

As always, this year’s Imagine is an original play, with almost all original music written and composed by teachers and the children. Imagine uses the arts as a medium to explore complex questions and to revel in what creative and vibrant creatures we are. Through the arts, children can learn concepts far beyond their years, and they can express wisdom beyond what any facts could ever convey.

In an age when facts are often labeled as “fake,” the arts speak the Truth. Thank you for supporting the arts at Rainbow, and thank you for providing your child with an education that matters. May you leave Imagine with renewed hope for the world, because that is what your child brings to us every day.

~Renee Owen, Executive Director & Justin Pilla, Rainbow Creative Coordinator

Download the Program PDF here: imagine 2019 – Who Be The Whoman

..

Bringing the spirit back into the holidays

Bringing the spirit back into the holidays

Centering practices aim to strengthen our learning community by inviting spirit and sacredness into each space and each day. At RCS, we see this daily practice as a meaningful ritual that is integral to a child’s healthy spiritual development.

We also host school-wide, annual celebrations and ceremonies that are also rooted in the sacred and serve to deepen the connections we have to ourselves, our community and a higher power. These shared celebrations, ceremonies and rites of passage empower all involved to turn both inward and outward so as to realize their part in an integral community and their connection to something greater than themselves.

The annual winter program is one of those sacred ceremonies. During this time, the staff and students celebrate the true meaning of the holidays by sharing original songs that embrace the human values that unite us. Each year the theme of the program is inspired by one of the universally held virtues and serves as a guide for the students as they collaborate with Sue Ford, our music director, to draft lyrics for each performance.

For example, a few years ago the theme was LOVE. The students were asked to ponder the power of love and the many ways to give and receive love. This reflection yielded various interpretations and heart-felt lyrics rooted in “Love.” Follow the link below to hear one of the many songs from the love feast.

The following year, the theme “Unity through Music” invited the students to create songs in cultural styles from around the world as a way of honoring our connection to local and global communities. Follow the link below to experience the 2nd grade song, “One Human Family.”

This year, Sue Ford has invited students on a sacred circle journey. The circle is a symbol of wholeness. Sacred Circles, Medicine Wheels, Mandalas, Hoops and Rings are found all over the world in history, art, architecture and ceremony. Carl Jung says, “I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point — namely, to the mid-point.
 It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the center. 
It is the exponent of all paths.
… I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what was for me the ultimate.”

This year the theme “Journey Through the Sacred Circle” is an exploration of how we as individuals and as communities relate to the seven directions and elements within the circle. We begin with our Roots (Below), ascending into Fire and Air, grounding with the Earth, flowing with the Water, floating into the infinity of Space (Above) and finally back home in the center, Spirit. The songs in this journey are original collaborations between students, Sue Ford our music teacher and many of the RCS teachers.

I am sure many of you have experienced the joy and celebration that comes with holiday programs. At each RCS winter program, these feelings are echoed and then bolstered by the invitation of spirit, the emphasis on the sacred and the purposeful connection present at these programs.

As you enter into each holiday season and embark on learning adventures with your students, memory making with your family, and connections with your friends and acquaintances… I ask you to consider the ways that you can invite the true spirit of the holidays along on your journey?

VIDEO: “Love is More”  performed by the Omega Singing Group

VIDEO: “Love is More” performed by the Omega Singing Group

In their first trimester electives, Omega students had the choice to take either Home Economics, Theater of the Oppressed, Advanced Art Techniques, Creative Writing Workshop, or Choral Explorations. These four brave 7th and 8th graders chose to deepen their understanding of vocal technique, harmony, and choral arrangement in Choral Explorations with Sue Forde, our wildly creative music director. They performed their original song “Love is More” to an amazed audience during our Annual Winter Program. The Jaegens’ insightful lyrics and playful melody delighted and inspired all in attendance. Love is overused, abused, confused with admiration, attraction, creation, temptation, obsession, emotion, relation, confusion, delusion… The song starts with this somber note on the misuse of Love and then continues to motivate us to build a new and more compassionate relationship to Love itself.

Video created by Michael Valentino

VIDEO: “Let the Love Shine Through” Performed by Eighth Grade Students and Billy Goodrum

VIDEO: “Let the Love Shine Through” Performed by Eighth Grade Students and Billy Goodrum

For the Annual Winter Program this past December the eighth grade worked with Billy Goodrum, acclaimed composer and musician, to create a totally unique originally composed song. In songwriting workshops students composed the melody and rhythm as well as wrote their very own lyrics, like the beautiful chorus: “Let the love shine through, it’s a chain reaction; spread the love and take some action.” The grounded rhythm combined with the wise lyrics make for a heart opening and catchy song. Thank you, Billy, for your help in guiding our students’ natural creativity into musical form.

Video created by Michael Valentino