2014 Science Fair
Rainbow Community School’s school-wide Science Fair!
Rainbow Community School’s school-wide Science Fair!
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.
A couple of weeks ago I took a tour of Africa in 15 minutes with out having to get my passport renewed. I not only saw all the beautiful sights, I met the people and I learned about sand storms from the Tuareg tribe, medicines from the Baka tribe and the Maasai tribe offered me their traditional meal. I passed. It was raw milk mix with cattle blood. (They actually didn’t have any to share). I even learned how to say hello in Swahili . I had a wonderful visit. My tour guides were extremely knowledgeable and even though at one time I thought I was to be a lion’s dinner, I would visit again and again, so lovely it all was.
Every year the first grade class studies Africa and it’s inhabitants. They end the thematic unit by transforming the classroom into Africa, giving tours to the other classes and when the traveling is done they celebrate with an African feast. Learning through doing is one of the ways Rainbow Mountain students live what they learn.
Here are some snaps from my trip.

The Baka people.

Diorama of a Maasai camp

Mask made by the 1st grade

My tour guides

Lions and humans together.