by Webmaster | Sep 29, 2013 | Director's Blog, News
Our circle at our All Hands on Deck parent meeting
Rainbow Community School has the opportunity of a lifetime: to acquire the church property adjacent to the campus.
We are a growing community in West Asheville.
Right now, our school has the highest enrollment in our 35-year history.
Our strategic plan compels puts us on the road to better-serve our current families, begin providing services and programming for alumni, promote our educational model all over the world, and ensure that the integrity and legacy of Rainbow remains stronger than ever
To that end, we’re bursting at the seams!
Sometimes opportunities come along that compel us to take action. And we must take action now.
An Opportunity to Increase the Size of Our Campus
The West Asheville Church of God is for sale – right next to Rainbow!
It is 2.64 acres of land and 3 buildings with 14,400 sq. ft.
This will allow RCS to fulfill nine identified needs:
- A community sanctuary
- A community garden
- Student support services
- Art and music classrooms
- Meeting rooms/community classrooms
- Parking
- A performance hall
- An athletic field & outdoor play space
….and most importantly…
9. Adequate space for classes!
The Capital Campaign – Rainbow Rising
In order to acquire the property, we must embark upon a Capital Campaign.
On Thursday 26 September 2013, we had an All Hands on Deck meeting.
Parents and Rainbow Community members gathered together. We had a Centering to put is in the mindset of being aware of our blessings and looking forward to the future with so much potential.
RCS parents had a chance to tour the church:
We began with Centering in the Community Center of the church
As with all of our Rainbow events, we begin with Centering. This time, it was at the Community Center at the current West Asheville Church of God. This allowed us to get a real feel for the new space.
Micah Pulleyn is an RCS parent who is heading up our Capital Campaign. Can you offer your time/talent/services as well?
If you have questions, you can contact Micah regarding our Capital Campaign. We need “all hands” to make this opportunity a reality.
If you can, we need volunteers who have skills and strengths in the following areas:
- office/clerical
- IT/tech
- event planning
- food/drink
- social media
- networking
- running errands
- photography
- writing
- graphic design
- fundraising
- hosting events
- willingness to make phone calls
- music/entertainment
RCS community members signing up to help
If you want to help we will have plenty of opportunities. **See dates below for more details.
During this Campaign meeting, community members had a chance to see the sanctuary. Renee asked everyone to write down, in one word, something that captures their vision, aspiration and hopes for Rainbow Community School on a card.
Renee, Director of RCS, writing down her intention
As we gathered in the sanctuary space, Renee had everyone place that card in a basket to embrace the realm of possibility.
Will you help us Embrace The Realm Of Possibility?
At Rainbow Community School, we have
We need your help to realize our goal.
One vision.
One dream.
One wish.
Our vision: acquire the church property.
Pictured: members of the Rainbow community touring the church.
The church property will usher Rainbow Community School into a new era.
We have big plans for the property
The property will provide Rainbow Community with the space it needs to fully blossom.
The Rainbow Rising! Capital Campaign includes five phases:
The first four phases of the Capital Campaign
An additional Phase 5 is not included in the Rainbow Rising Campaign. (Its costs are to be determined. Phase 5 funds will be from other revenues/sources raised in other years.)
**We will have another parent meeting regarding our campaign. If you would like more information, please consider attending our presentation at
MG Road
Monday 30 September
7-9 pm
$10 cover charge
by Webmaster | Sep 21, 2013 | News
Today is the official International Day of Peace.
Our children celebrated on Thursday with a little play and poetry about what peace means to them, led by our 4th grade class.
We met at the outdoor stage and the whole community gathered to hear about peace.
Our 4th grade students leading our Peace Assembly
The International Day of Peace is sanctioned by the United Nations who began to formulate this day as early as 1982. The UN General Assembly uses this day to encourage a day of cease-fire all over the world and asks all nations and all peoples to adopt or strengthen ideas of peace.
In 2001, with the help of James Gilley, a British citizen who petitioned world leaders to adopt and observe a day of peace, the UN ratified the 21st of September as the official International Day of Peace.
“On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect. Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity. Let us fight for peace and defend it with all our might.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
At Rainbow Community School, we strive to uphold the virtues of tolerance and mutual respect.
Traditionally, the UN as well as many world leaders observe a minute of silence at 12 noon in all time zones.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has a Message for Peace on this day. (Click on the link to see his message.)
Ideas for Celebrating Peace Day
If you would like to participate in celebrating this day of peace with your child, there are many things you can do.
- Light a candle with the help of an adult
- Get a peace lily
- Read about peacemakers
- Adopt peace
- Organize a peace march
- Write a poem about peace
- Make a peace crane
- Print out some peace quotes and post them in your room/home
- Make a peace chain
by Webmaster | Sep 19, 2013 | News
The Garden by the Orr Mansion
We have exciting news!
Rainbow Community School is now a certified wildlife habitat site, recognized by the National Wildlife Federation.
RCS created a garden space that helped improve habitat needs for wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and frogs. Now, these animals will have an easier time finding food, shelter and water.
This is great because it is part of Rainbow’s mission to help students be responsible earth citizens. We have become a greener campus with this award by helping to create an inviting, eco-friendly place for wildlife.
With this award, we will have a subscription to National Wildlife Magazine that will help us to maintain our habitat year-round.
RCS also joins over 150,000 other certified habitat areas across the nation.
Thank you to our third grade teacher West Willmore for helping us achieve this award!
Our Certified Wildlife Habitat Award
NWF’s Wildlife Habitat Program
This program certifies schools, businesses, churches, and even homeowners who want to make their lands and resources more wildlife-friendly. The idea is that people create healthy and sustainable eco-systems that will allow wildlife to survive and thrive.
by Webmaster | Sep 18, 2013 | News
Before school started, the Rainbow staff had a chance to team-build on the Nolichucky River.
We met at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and had a chance to do a centering before our rafting trip. Our fabulous upper grades Spanish teacher Lisa Saraceno helped make it all happen.
“I bring my family here to this very special place on the Nolichucky. I wanted the staff of Rainbow to experience this special, sacred place – together.” – Lisa said during our centering.
The rafting experience can’t be beat. Some staff members hadn’t been rafting and others had a lot of experience. However, they all built confidence and trust in each other as they ventured into the wilderness.
The Nolichucky River where everyone rafted was in western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Amazingly, there are parts of the river that can only be seen by train or by rafting on the river.
They encountered class III and IV rapids. Only two people ended up tumbling out of their rafts that day.
Do you think they’re concentrating hard?
Later that day, staff enjoyed more time with each other with a chance to see Mountain Lights Sanctuary. They had a simple dinner and enjoyed the natural surroundings. Colleagues could walk on forest trails, meditate, and take in the pristine beauty of a place designed to nourish the spirit.
With those experiences, the staff – centered, fulfilled and ready – could begin a new academic year.
Rainbow Staff enjoying the challenge of the river
by Webmaster | Sep 13, 2013 | News
The Future of Education and The Future of Rainbow
By artist Caryn Hanna
Before school starts each year, educators at Rainbow attend a series of trainings to enhance their teaching careers and to help them prepare for a new academic year.
In one of those sessions, teachers brainstormed about the future of education in general and about the future of Rainbow Community School. Artist Caryn Hanna visually interpreted and recorded their ideas onto a beautiful banner.
Teachers noted that seeing their thoughts “visualized” effectively helped them to form a solid vision for the future.
Before meeting, the staff at Rainbow read Renee’s article about Educating the Innovation Generation.
In Renee’s words,
The mission statement at Rainbow Community School ends saying that we are developing students who will be “leaders in building a more compassionate and environmentally sustainable world.”
Anyone enrolling their child at this unique school must resonate with the urgency of this goal.
One would have to have blinders on to ignore the stream of evidence and quotes from leading scientists, sociologists and experts in almost every field who declare that sustainability is the most important vision for human survival.
From Tony Wagner, “The solution to our economic and social challenges is the same: creating a viable and sustainable economy that creates good jobs without polluting the planet. And there is general agreement as to what that new economy must be based on. One word: innovation.”
Indeed, the mission and vision of Rainbow embraces our new generation of young people to propel them into a world where they are prepared to not only think out of the box, but to dare to reinvent the concept of the box itself. We understand that giving students the tools to be creative thinkers and problem solvers today will help them become leaders who will create a sustainable tomorrow.
