by Renee Owen | Sep 20, 2011 | News
Today Rainbow Mountain held it’s first Student Council meeting of the year. Two students from each class, preschool through sixth grade, and three students from Omega, seventh and eighth grade, will meet monthly to discuss and generate ideas on school and community issues. Today they talked about theme days for Spirit Week, naming our campus buildings and ideas for future Student Council meetings. Student Council, a past Rainbow tradition, was reinstated by Rainbow faculty who wanted to involve the students in school decision making. Welcome to community leadership, kids.
by Renee Owen | Sep 9, 2011 | News
(Asheville, NC) – On September 10, 2011, the Moss Garden at Rainbow Mountain Children’s School will be a part of the 2011 West Asheville Garden Stroll. The Moss Garden was co-designed by the Third Grade this spring in collaboration with Annie Martin of Mountain Moss Enterprises and teacher, West Willmore who holds a degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies. The moss garden installation and stroll participation were coordinated by lead sponsor Dulcita Love and tripled in size through sponsorships by students, parents, teachers and local businesses.
The moss garden is located within the Outdoor Classroom at Rainbow Mountain Children’s School in West Asheville. Stroll participants will have the opportunity to ask Annie Martin, aka Mossin’ Annie, about the environmental benefits of ‘Going Green with Moss’ and how to begin their own moss garden. “Mosses require no chemicals typically used to maintain grass such as fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides” says owner of Mountain Moss Enterprises, Annie Martin. The Hop West, who hosts many family-friendly events in support of building community, will be scooping local homemade ice cream and is the Exclusive Sponsor for the ‘Go Green with Moss’ program featured at the moss garden on the day of the stroll.
Also in the Outdoor Classroom are vegetable beds replanted this year by the Fourth Grade as part of their Botany, Gardening, and Community Building curriculum for Social Studies and Science with teachers, Eddy Webb and Julie Ludvigsen. There are two large bird nest installations designed by the Third Grade remaining from earlier this spring which were part of an Andy Goldsworthy-inspired Imagine art project coordinated by teacher West Willmore and art teacher, Richmond Smith.
The Honeybee Project will share how bee pollination helps our gardens grow. SJ Bee, Executive Director of The Honeybee Project says “If children can understand the importance of the bees and how bees work together, this understanding can potentially deepen their connection and relationship with their community and the world around them.”
The stroll kick-off begins at the West Asheville Library at 10:30 am on September 10, 2011. Stroll guides will be handed out after the kick-off and will have a map and suggested parking/restroom locations. Stroll guides will also be available at gardens on the stroll. The stroll lasts from 11 am to 4 pm, rain or shine. Garden-themed art and bags, garden-inspired natural soaks for the bath, and bottled water will be available for sale. Restrooms, limited parking, and a drinking fountain will be accessible during the stroll at the school.
Thank you to the Exclusive Sponsor of the “Going Green with Moss” program at the moss garden during the stroll: The Hop West. Thank you to Supporting Sponsors of The Honeybee Project: The Attorney Search Group, Bandidos Restaurant, Greenlife Grocery, Harvest The Sun.
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– Submitted by Dulcita Love
by Renee Owen | Jul 22, 2011 | News
(This post was blatantly taken directly from the preschool newsletter)
Your children have been very enthusiastic about our study of Andy Goldsworthy. We started our exploration of environmental art by examining the textures, shapes and patterns evident in the natural world. We considered nature as a means for inspiration (as in images in the clouds) and as a tool for creation (with apple prints, rock spirals, natural mandalas and more).
Due to the ephemeral nature of environmental art there have been few examples of your children’s work that we can send home. This process of creation, and then giving our work back to the natural world, is a key, if challenging aspect of Goldsworthy’s work. Rather than trying to preserve and protect his creations, Goldsworthy says that nature makes more of his work than he could have ever dreamed possible.
In order to share his creations with the world, Andy Goldsworthy relies on photography. We purchased three digital cameras for the children to use, and last week we took small groups out on walks around the neighborhood to practice using them. Next week the children will have the opportunity to document their art with photographs.
– Jessica and Molly
Andy Goldsworthy is a British environmental artist and photographer living in Scotland. He creates sculptures in natural and urban settings, generally using only the tools and materials which he finds on site.
Learn more about Andy Goldsworthy.
“We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.” – Andy Goldsworthy
by Renee Owen | Jul 21, 2011 | News
Rainbow Mountain is proud to be a sponsor for Sunday night’s Asheville’s Artist for a Global Village at the Orange Peel
Come join “Everything Counts” and Asheville Artists as we rock and funk out, and raise money to send Rainbow’s own Andi Morrell and her daughter to Bali where they will live and work to grow at the internationally renowned Green School whose unique earth-based educational program draws families, scholars and media from around the world. Support the growth of a revolutionary and absolutely necessary new kind of education. We are a Global Village; we must connect children all over the world and educate them about preserving the environment in a way that makes sense. Andi will connect the children from schools in Asheville to the International pool of children at Green School Bali. Whether or not you know Andi or her daughter, come and join the party!
Come and party with Gift of Gab and some of Asheville’s most talented artists! Zansa, Josh Phillips, Josh Blake’s Jukebox, Caitlin Krisko and Lotion, Juan Holladay from Secret B-Sides, Agent 23, Ben Hovey, and members of Yo Mamas Big Fat Booty Band. There will be a silent auction to the right of the stage, and an art show to the left of the stage. All in the middle, there will be some booty shakin’!
$20 (advance ticket/ $22 at the door) includes 2 drink tickets per customer, for complimentary beer or non-alcoholic beverage. Show starts at 8 pm
For more information about Green School, visit www.greenschool.org or www.facebook.com/greenschool or read Andi’s blog at www.baliorbust.org.
Everything Counts is “an organization who provides information and encouragement to children, families and educators in order to broaden their understanding of the direct and indirect role children can have in the conservation of their environment.”
(Text copied from The Orange Peel)
by Renee Owen | Jul 20, 2011 | News
Our preschoolers love the tricycles. They ride them everyday; morning, noon, and after school. They have an oval loop they ride, chalk arrows pointing which way to go. Watching them will make you dizzy. I often have to walk by very quickly before the train of tricycles catches me.
All the riding can wear out, not the preschooler, but the trike. This happened just recently when our tandem tricycle snapped in two. Oh no! We weren’t down just one ride but a two seater.
To the rescue our most pleasant West Asheville neighbor, Organic Mechanic. They took our broken tricycle and cleaned it, welded it and returned her better than new. They are heroes!
Preschoolers, start your engines! Thank you Organic Mechanic!
