The bus has left the station! We have just received a generous gift of $2,000, from a donor who only recently learned of Rainbow and our campaign to purchase a bus. He was inspired to give after having a personal conversation with one of our parents and sees this as a great environmental initiative. One bus and less parent drivers! Please take a moment and share this link with a personal message to your social media contacts. Let us all feed this bus and help it gain steam so we reach our goal by the end of the summer!
With your support, we will purchase a used, 15 passenger, mini-bus (no CDL required) to start and will add a second when we can.
IMAGINE! It’s a hero’s journey, with plenty of opportunity to make fun of ourselves along the way– and it’s all created right here. Justin Pilla developed the concept and wrote the script. Except for a few of the recorded songs, IMAGINE is completely composed, written, designed, directed, and choreographed by Rainbow teachers, visiting artists, and students.The 1st-6th grade IMAGINE play is a sequel! In 2013, IMAGINE was titled “The Quest of Rainbow Mountain.” Our journey continues, and much has changed (including the name of our school.) “Know thyself” was the theme in Part I, when our brave protagonists had to master each of the Seven Domains. Last year, in Part II, Zarkon the Magnificent and his minion aliens tried to take over Rainbow and the Earth. In the end, love transformed all, including Zarkon himself, who re-emerges in this year’s Imagine (after taking a course in compassionate communication). In 2015, we have gone from looking inward to… An Expanding Universe! This year, the dramatic tension is between creativity versus logic. Which one will dominate?
For an intriguing statement from our executive director, Renee Owen, click here.
We would like to congratulate the staff and students for such an amazing and heartfelt show. Special thanks to all the parents and our Asheville community who attended the performance.
Here are a few photos from our annual May Day Celebration. We’d like to extend warm thanks to everyone who joined us. Photo’s courtesy of Luxe House Photographic.
Screen-Free Week is an annual, international celebration when families, schools, and communities swap digital entertainment for the joys of life beyond the screen. Instead of watching TV, surfing the web, or playing with apps and video games, they read, play, think, create, get active, and spend more time with family and friends.
Remember, Screen-Free Week is about taking a break from digital entertainment. You can celebrate, and still use devices for work or school. But if screens of any kind interfere with family time (including meals), you may want to rethink how and when you’re using them.
WHY Celebrate? Regardless of whether children are consuming “good” or “bad” programming, it’s clear that digital entertainment dominates the lives of far too many kids, displacing all sorts of other activities that are integral to childhood. Excessive screen time is linked to poor school performance, childhood obesity, and attention problems. And it is primarily through screens that children are exposed to harmful marketing.
Screen-Free Week is a fun way to reduce our dependence on digital entertainment, including television, video games, smartphones, tablets, and computers. It’s a chance for children—and adults—to power down and reconnect with the world around them.
Here at Rainbow our 6th graders posted a large banner on the deck with some information about Screen Free Week. They even listed alternatives to screen time, promoting face-to-face conversations and interactions over electronic ones. The 6th graders will also write letters to Mountain Xpress, sharing some information about the importance of a “tech cleanse.”
In the spirit of community and collaboration, the 1st grade Cheetahs and the wonderful Ms. Sue Ford combined their efforts for an Earth Day Celebration and Song Circle yesterday. This celebration was a great success. If you missed the celebration, here are some pictures from the event.