Is that Elijah on the tractor? Omega Middle School students started their afternoon elective courses. These 7th and 8th grade students chose “Facilities Management with Max” as one of their electives. They are currently installing a trail from the old campus to the new. This is real learning! (Blisters included.) Other electives offered this year: computer coding, sacred geometry, drama, home ec projects, changemaking through service, 3-D Printing/computer engineering, plus a host of music and art electives.
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.
“When I gave my first concert in Chartes, I felt that the cathedral almost kicked me out. ‘Get out with you!’ she said. For I was young and I tried to perform as I always did: by just playing my violin. But then I realized that in Chartes you actually cannot play your small violin, but you have to play the macro violin. The small violin is the instrument that is in your hands. The macro-violin is the whole cathedral that surrounds you. The cathedral of Chartes is built entirely according to musical principles. Playing the macro violin requires you to listen and to play from another place, from the periphery. You have to move your listening and playing from within to beyond yourself.” ~from violinist, Miha Pogacnik.
Our quest at Rainbow is so far beyond teaching children how to “play their little violins,” that we operate in another galaxy than most schools: We want them to vibrate from beyond (to use Pogacnik’s word). We want every child to sing their heart out!
Rainbow graduates are known to be brilliant. Brilliance is something more than smart or well-educated. Brilliance is indescribable light – so bright it fills us with inspiration. Brilliance captures something that is beyond us and vibrates within us. So what is the formula for teaching brilliance?
The arts are one of the most important means of helping children tap into spirit, or the powers beyond and within us. The arts help teach children how to play their macro violin. When one is truly creating, something takes over that is beyond articulation. When a group of people create together… a force even larger exists. Finally, when that creation is shared with an audience– if the magic happens– everyone is united in something that no one can describe. Welcome to the first IMAGINE performance in our own auditorium – our own humble version of Chartes Cathedral. Sit back, enjoy, and help us play the macro violin together today. Our quest is a journey into the beyond.
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.
Is that Elijah on the tractor? Omega Middle School students started their afternoon elective courses. These 7th and 8th grade students chose “Facilities Management with Max” as one of their electives. They are currently installing a trail from the old campus to the new. This is real learning! (Blisters included.) Other electives offered this year: computer coding, sacred geometry, drama, home ec projects, changemaking through service, 3-D Printing/computer engineering, plus a host of music and art electives.
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?
