by Webmaster | Dec 28, 2014 | Alumni News & Accolades, Home Page News
You know our music teacher, Sue Ford, right?
But did you know that all three of her daughters attended Rainbow at one time? Or that they’re making names for themselves in big ways?
Sallie Ford
Sue’s daughter Sallie, all of 27, is not only “googleable” but, she’s even in Wikipedia!
Her musical talents are getting noticed in New York and beyond.
She’s rocking out with her all-female band. With her distinctive style, she marches out with a raw-soul sound in her music. She lives in Portland when she’s not touring.
Have a listen to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qgFvlvDV0ng
Lauren Ford
Sue’s daughter, Lauren Ford, is living in New York City and loves it!
She went there to pursue her dream of acting and was trained at Emerson College in Boston. She graduated in 2005 with honors and won the Carol Burnett award – the highest award offered to any student graduating in performing arts.
She’d already made waves before that: while still living in Asheville, she won the “Best Actor” award from ACT when she was just 13 for her portrayal of Anne Frank.
She moved to NYC in 2007 and worked off broadway, in touring companies and in regional theater.
As you can imagine, it’s really tough to make it in New York and she keeps herself very busy working multiple jobs including coat check girl with a fancy Manhattan restaurant, leading sake and whisky tastings, babysitting, working with flowers and plants and working for a catering company.
Those are her day jobs while her dream becomes reality.
Lauren blogs about her experiences at http://laurenford.com/
Louisa Ford
Louisa Ford, 24, moved to Portland two years ago after graduating from Appalachian State University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a concentration in Sustainable Development.
She is living in Portland trying different jobs including waitressing, hostessing, working in a children’s museum, and teaching tap dance lessons.
She’s a musician too and she tap dances, plays guitar and sings all at the same time.
All three girls are singers and songwriters – hmm…we wonder where they got that from?
Sue Ford is extremely proud of her daughters. Every day she smiles at how proud they make her.
Something they all have in common is Rainbow.
And wouldn’t you know, Sue’s husband, Hobey Ford is coming to Rainbow for a puppeteer performance in the auditorium in February!
by Webmaster | Dec 11, 2014 | Home Page News, Student News & Accolades
The Legend of Chocolate
The third grade class just completed a unit on the Legend of Chocolate in Spanish. Their Spanish teacher, Cynthia, worked with West, their third grade teacher, to create a unit that would complement what the students were learning in their main classroom.
Students studied about how things work – machines, phones, etc. – in their main classroom lessons and in Spanish class, students learned about where chocolate came from.
At the end of the unit, third graders got a chance to see how chocolate is made, and how the machines work to make all that chocolate.
In their Spanish unit, students learned many new vocabulary words such as food (comida), drink (bebida), the Toltecs (los Toltecas), as well as many more vocabulary words.
They learned abut Quetzalcoatl, the god of Light and Tezcatlipoca, the god of darkness. Quetzalcoatl was the god to bring the food of the gods – chocolate – to the people, especially when they were so hungry. He taught them to farm, and how to turn cacao into a chocolate drink fit for the gods!
Third graders at the French Broad Chocolate Tasting Room
From there, they learned the mythical story about where chocolate originated. They learned the story in Spanish and even learned to recite it.
At the end of the unit, they took a field trip to the French Broad Chocolate Factory and had a tour of the Tasting Room. They listened to Evan, a Chocolatier, talk about cacao, where it comes from, how the Chocolatiers turn the cacao beans into chocolate and how they try to be as sustainable as possible in the process.
The crew at the French Broad Chocolate Factory led everyone into their “back rooms” where students could see all the machines at work. From rinsing, to sifting the cacao beans, to grinding them down into chocolate, they were able to see the entire process from start to finish.
Students sampled chocolate – the dark, unsweet kind directly derived from cacao – from different regions and it has a different taste from different regions!
Learning about chocolate and cacao
At the end of the presentation, the third graders performed the skit of the Legend of Chocolate in Spanish for the French Broad Chocolate Lounge Staff.
Did you know that the French Broad Chocolate Factory uses solar power to heat all its water? And that they make every attempt to source all their ingredients locally?
They also deal only with farms that use fair trade in their practices. In fact, the owners and employees make trips to cacao farms in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Peru and help harvest the cacao by hand.
They have developed mutually beneficial relationships with farmers in those countries.
Watching the grinding machine take off the outer shell of cacao.
Rainbow would like to extend a special thank you to the Chocolatiers – especially Evan – for a wonderful lesson on chocolate, sustainability, how things work, and the idea of being as responsible to the planet and to each other as possible!
by Webmaster | Nov 21, 2014 | Home Page News, Student News & Accolades
The Astronomy Unit
On Thursday, October 20th, the Omega class had a Lock-In at Rainbow – but this event might be better-called a Lock-Out because the event was in honor of their current unit.
One Omega teacher, Jason, helped students discover constellations, planets, and other mysteries in the sky. Students began the unit that began at the end of October.
Constellations are so fun because students have to use their imaginations to compose their shapes in the night sky and use the stars as guiding points.
The Omega classroom became its own spaceship to travel to far away places in the starry night sky.
Stardate 20.11.14
Students arrived back in their classroom – after a full day at school – at 6:30 pm to set up their sleeping space prior to the evening of Myth, Stars and Mystery.
Before the night sky was all aglow, the students settled in to watch a modern day myth: Star Wars. Students transported themselves to a galaxy far, far away to understand how to use the Force for good.
This movie would illuminate the elements of a hero’s journey and myth, as well. Students explored this concept in an English extension of their astronomy unit.
At light speed, students propelled into a world of myth and legend, learning about the stars and constellations.
During the film, students worked to create gifts for the younger grades that would remind all the Rainbow students of the stories in the night skies.
Fun Fact: Did you know that for more than 5,000 years, humans have looked into the night sky and saw the same configuration of stars that they do today?
Another Fun Fact: Humans can only see 5,780 stars in the night sky with the naked eye. There are millions and millions more they cannot see.
Once the movie ended, the students reflected on the connections to the unit of study prior to layering up for an outdoor exploration of the winter sky.
After the students had the opportunity to look thousands of years into the past (this is exactly what happens when you look at the stars), they migrated back into their classroom.
They took some time to reflect about their experiences and their learning prior to dozing off and dreaming the myths and legends of the nigh sky. In the photo above, one student read to another before lights “out.”
The group gathered for a community breakfast in the morning, discussed different cultural myths connected to the zodiac, and prepared for a normal school day on Friday – a great send-off before heading off for break.
by Webmaster | Nov 10, 2014 | Home Page News, News
Rainbow Community’s Artist Reception
Food. Wine. Jazzy music. Great conversation. Fabulous art.
The First Annual RCS Art Show was a hit!
Lots of local and regional artists’ work were in the show and the school created an art page for the artwork. The page will remain active on Rainbow’s website for two more weeks, so if you were thinking about buying a great work of art, you still have a chance!
If you were able to attend the event, and tried the food, it was incredible! Tina Crain catered the food and if you need a caterer that uses the finest quality food for delicious taste, check out her website, Chestnut Flats.
Here’s a sampling of the amazing food:
Sweet figs – so creamy and delicious
There was gluten-free pumpkin bread, and other delectable finger foods:
Bite-sized pumpkin bread
The beauty and quality of all the art was simply exquisite. People were able to have conversations around many of the art pieces.
Conversation around the arts
Delicate and vibrant, the artwork truly was the highlight of the event.
Acro Bag by John Littleton and Kate Vogel
Darrah, a Rainbow parent, facilitated the event and worked hard to put it all together.
From the website, to the food, to the setup, she stepped up to the plate and created an event that everyone enjoyed. A special thank you goes out to her for all the hard work she did.
RCS also wants to extend its gratitude to Wicked Weed, and Jeffie Cilano for the white wine.
Fine wine, grapes and fall themed beer were the order of the day
50% of all the art sales support the RCS Combined Campaign. The other 50% goes directly to the artists.
Many RCS parents and families came to the event, as did folks from the greater Asheville community. Thank you to everyone who supported the event!
Thank you for supporting RCS and the arts!
by Webmaster | Nov 5, 2014 | Home Page News, News
Today we had our Day of the Dead Celebration, led by the 4th grade.
We met at the outdoor stage where the 4th grade shared about the History of Day of the Dead. It is a day rooted in Aztec and Catholic tradition, that celebrates and honors people’s ancestors.
4th grade Day of the Dead – starting the celebration
Each student had a role. Some shared statements about how people in Mexico celebrate the occasion.
They talked about how families decorate altars to remember their loved ones who have passed on. Students brought photos and other artifacts they made to remember their loved ones.
Students danced and recited lines in Spanish. They talked about how families celebrate and go to the graves of their loved ones to clean them up and decorate them with flowers. They bring candles and hold a vigil there over the days of October 31-November 2nd.
Their Spanish teacher, Lisa, helped with all the preparations for the celebration. She dressed up and decorated her face like a “calavera” – a skull.
Some students really dressed up!
We also ordered Pan de muertos, or “Day of the Dead bread” from a local bakery in town. It’s so delicious! It has a hint of orange and made as real bread, then topped with sugar. The bread is in the shape of bones or flowers, in honor of the day.
After the celebration was over, we concluded with a Song Circle, led by music teacher, Sue Ford:
It was a great celebration!
by Webmaster | Oct 31, 2014 | Home Page News, Student News & Accolades
If you were on Rainbow’s campus today, you might have been spooked.
Ghosts and goblins roamed the forest, flanked by aliens, tigers, bears, wizards and other magical creatures for the most frightful day of the year: HALLOWEEN!
First, Kindergarten sang some ghostly songs. Preschool chimed in, too.
Then each grade paraded around, valiantly confronting whatever bear, cupid, witch or robot they encountered along the way…
Then students departed the meeting grounds in search of spooky treats in not-so-scary places!
Click on an image to see it in a larger window.
