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Brain Breaks: A Technique for Meeting Student Potential

Brain Breaks: A Technique for Meeting Student Potential

by | Feb 2, 2026 | Director's Blog

The Director’s Kaleidoscope: Exploring the many colorful aspects of learning
at Rainbow Community School

What Are Brain Breaks?

Hi, my name is Susie Fahrer, and I am the executive director of Rainbow Community School and Omega Middle School. One of the things you’ve probably heard people talking about when they’re discussing a powerful learning environment is this concept that has been termed “brain breaks,” and what’s interesting about that is brain breaks are often described as moments in time when a learner maybe moves into a physical activation, steps away from a task, moves their body, maybe changes their breathing pattern, perhaps, does something that elevates their heart rate, or maybe just something that creates laughter or a different train of thought.

Brain Breaks as Brain Energizers and Optimizers

While these are essentially called brain breaks, maybe they should really be called brain energizers or optimizers, because the reality is, while the brain is shifting its focus from the task at hand, it is designed to really support learners in synthesizing information and creating deeper neuro pathways.

Supporting Sustained Mental Focus

You know, there are different reasons and different places, as you can imagine, for needing a shift in how our brains are working. So perhaps it’s about the sustaining of a mental task. For students as they matriculate, one of the things we work on is growing their capacity for longer periods of stimulation. So for some, that might be longer rigor around focusing on a writing task, or for some, that might be sustaining the mental energy to really work all the way through a multi-step mathematics problem.

How Brain Breaks Help Students Reintegrate and Learn

What a brain break can do is allow a student a strategy for stepping back from the energy of sustained mental acuity, give their brain a different focus, and then reintegrate, ready and more optimized for learning. Equally, we might think about these strategies using support for creativity. I’m sure many of you have had that experience where you’re working on a creative task, possibly in the brainstorming phase, and maybe just feeling really stuck.

Brain Breaks and Creativity

Well, the reality is, when we uproot ourselves and don’t force that creativity to come through and find a slightly different way of moving our bodies, breathing through a few exercises, talking to a friend, having a social stimulation, and then returning to that creative task, maybe even taking a walk. Those things will help our bodies and brains process and move out of that stuck period.

Optimizing Learning and Full Potential

So now we’re talking about optimization not only of sustained mental energy, but also of our creative energy and our ability to really bloom our full potential. We use brain breaks here at Rainbow – brain energizers, brain optimizers – in all of our classrooms in developmentally appropriate ways. Eventually, our students learn to engage these strategies for themselves as needed within their learning spaces.

Using Brain Breaks at Home

If you’re interested in learning more about strategies you can use at home, please check the attached document. Again, we always welcome you. Come on in. Take a look at our classrooms. If you’re already here, come and have a conversation about how you can use brain breaks at home to support your child, particularly when they’re in a mental task that might be a little bit of a stretch for them. Our door is always open. Look forward to chatting with you. Take care.

Brain Breaks Across the Domains

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The Student-Teacher Relationship

The Student-Teacher Relationship

by | Jan 12, 2026 | Director's Blog

The Director’s Kaleidoscope: Exploring the many colorful aspects of learning
at Rainbow Community School

Exploring the Role of Student–Teacher Relationships

Hi, my name is Susie Fahrer, and I am the Executive Director of Rainbow Community School and Omega Middle School. One of the things that I get asked often when I’m sitting with a family, exploring the options for the educational choice and journey of their child, is about the ways that teacher and student relationships are developed. 

The Student–Teacher Relationship

Many of us can recall back from our own educational experience a teacher who took the time to get to know us personally. We probably felt validated. We probably felt highly motivated to perform in that classroom because we understood that the teacher was there not only to encourage us to be learners, but also to help us advocate for ourselves and our full potential. At Rainbow, we have the privilege of a variety of ways that we foster really meaningful relationships between a child, a teacher, and their full classroom community.

Listening Conferences: Building Strong Partnerships with Families

It all begins every year with something called a Listening Conference. This is a time when we invite families in to sit with the educators in the classroom and share about the journey and values of the family. This partnership is so critical for our teachers to be able to then take what they’ve learned about this child’s journey thus far, and push forward their full-potential, support-areas of challenge and sensitivity, and grow them not just as learners, but as humans.

The Rainbow Seven Domains™

As you’ve probably noticed, one of the primary components of a Rainbow education is our Seven Domains model. This model is built to enhance the capacity of every teacher to really learn, witness, and connect to the children that they have in front of them in any given year. 

Understanding the Whole Child

When we think about each learner above and beyond who they are and how they show up just in the mental domain, but also as social and emotional beings, the way they engage the natural world, their ability to express creatively and connect creatively, using their physical outlets and growth points, engaging their spirituality and the world of wonder and awe and community and connectivity.

Developing Powerful Student–Teacher Relationships

These are all things that dovetail and enhance their educational experience. Research suggests that the more a teacher can develop a really powerful relationship with the child, the more likely the child is to step into highly motivated experiences. They’re going to face challenges in a slightly different way when they know the adults around them are building the environment for positive risk-taking, that we’re celebrating mistakes as learning opportunities, and that they see that they can inherently grow and learn, fail and rise in ways that are supported by the adults around them. 

Motivation, Risk-Taking, and Growth in Early Childhood

At Rainbow in preschool, the teachers are masters at looking around the classroom, watching the students engage in hands-on learning and play, and then designing skill-building with the students, leading in areas of interest. Already, an engaged brain is going to be able to push further in skill development when they have not only areas of excitement and interest, and wonder, but also teachers who are adaptable and able to engage those moments for learning. 

The Learning Environment

As we move into our elementary classrooms, you’ll see the students start to become more partners in their learning environment. Now again, the areas of risk-taking grow – the more a child is faced with opportunities of rigor and challenge. 

Multi-Sensory Learning and Individual Support

The teachers at Rainbow take the time to understand how they can best support each child through multi-sensory learning and different and various opportunities for engagement. So the child who’s maybe more willing to face a challenging task through a physical engagement is supported in that domain, while a child who’s going to show their best thinking in a quiet space for writing, and that type of expression is also going to be supported. Equally, we’re going to provide the spaces for children to grow in their areas of challenge and opportunity. They see their teachers as partners in their learning journey, as people there to support their best efforts.

Creating an Optimal Learning Environment

That’s critical in really creating not only an optimal learning environment for a full classroom, but for every child to start to see themselves as a really powerful learner. We want that to be embedded in their identity development. 

Supporting Agency and Passion in Adolescence

As students matriculate into adolescence, our educators in our middle school program are truly trained to understand the adolescent brain and to optimize those learning experiences for our young people, who at this point are really seeking some opportunities for agency, guided choice, and investment in their own learning. Their passions are starting to develop, and our teachers have the ability to engage those passions with meaningful course content. We’re also there to open up their world to new possibilities as they’re moving into adolescence. There’s a whole world that’s opening up in front of them as they think about moving into high school and beyond.

Preparing Students for the Future

We want our students to feel really prepared and able to engage in their best learning as they move beyond our doors. As you start to explore the best possible fit of educational environments for your child, the relationship and development of really powerful connections with their educators is going to be at the heart of their success. We’re so grateful to have so many wonderful teachers here at Rainbow.

An Invitation to Experience Rainbow Community School

We would love for you to come and join us here and meet the educators. See this in action, and if you’re already a part of the community, we hope that you’ll continue to look ahead and see the next step in your child’s journey. Thanks so much for listening. Enjoy the day.

Download and print our free resource guide to learn more about Questions that Foster Meaningful Relationships.

Questions that Foster Meaningful Relationships

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Kaleidoscope October 2021

Kaleidoscope October 2021

by | Nov 1, 2021 | Blogs, CEO's Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope Header

October 2021 Kaleidoscope

The turn of the seasons is in full swing. The morning greets us with crisp autumn air and the afternoon sun provides a welcome warm up for outdoor activities. This time of year is filled with breathtaking beauty. A final burst of bounty before the stillness of winter. The natural flow of the seasons, each having its own turn in time, can be symbolic of our own rhythms for health and wellness.

This month’s Kaleidoscope* brings Rainbow’s focus on Health and Wellness to the forefront. In doing so, we provide an opportunity for reflection, contemplation, and progression.

Holistic Approach

Rainbow’s holistic approach to learning is at the heart of student wellness, especially as we learn to negotiate the evolving impacts of pandemic education. Our student’s social and emotional needs are nurtured through strategies like providing adequate time for transitions, breaks, and play. Leading with a lens on holistic wellness helps to counterbalance the cultural narrative that schools must “make up for lost time.” Instead, Rainbow is taking the time to attune with our students, and build a responsive and responsible approach focused on growth. This helps us calibrate our learning environment with the children’s current needs preserving their sacred relationship with life long learning.

  • Gathering benchmarks and data is another way that we are building an approach that is responsive and relevant. Teachers will be releasing progress reports to families in November with Parent Teacher Conferences (November 22-23rd) serving as a tool for individualized discussion and follow up.
  • Our Wednesday training schedule is a critical resource enabling time to focus on best practices in the classroom. On Wednesday afternoons, teachers collaborate and innovate, cultivating a dynamic experience for our students.
  • A Rainbow education inspires students to achieve in the present, and prepares them for life long learning. Our engaging Middle School program features rich and meaningful course work, diverse elective experiences, outstanding educators, and a finely crafted curriculum fostering adolescent thriving. Come learn more and hear from our insightful alumni about the transition from Omega Middle School to their High School of choice. This is one of the most powerful ways to understand the value of completing the Rainbow journey through 8th grade. Join us on November 9th from 6:30-8:00pm. RSVP to the event here.

open house

Social and Emotional Domains

The social and emotional domains are integrated in every classroom, and we have a fantastic team of counselors to support the teachers, students, and families when the need for more personal care is present.

  • The counseling team includes Will Ray, Mark Ackerman, and Jamie Rischitelli. They have coordinated their schedules so that we always have a counselor on campus. The Counseling Program is available for general support in the classrooms, and can provide more personalized sessions for students and families as needed.
  • Additionally, we are launching Affinity Groups for our BIPOC students in November. Several emails have been shared about the details of this initiative. Most importantly, it furthers our investment in cultivating a diverse community that also experiences a culture of belonging and connection.
  • In the spirit of inclusion and wellness, Rainbow is in the process of establishing a Pronoun policy. This is currently being reviewed through various Dynamic Governance circles and will be shared with the community as soon as it is finalized. This policy brings visibility and transparency to establishing a culture of safety, sincerity, and allyship.

Culture of Engagement

A culture of engagement creates a community that is connected, collaborative, and compassionate. Since the launch of the school year, there have been several highlights within our community exemplifying this value.

  • The Rainbow Community School Board put together a video explaining their role in the long term success of our school. The Board is an outstanding group of volunteers that guides the school’s future planning in partnership with the Executive Director. They are an integral part of our governance model and a resounding source of support to Administrative leadership.
  • Additionally, our Parent council is a governing circle whose primary function is to help community relationships flourish. From teacher lunches to initiating class gatherings, their impact is powerful and appreciated. The meetings are open and anyone is welcome.
  • Joining a circle is another way to invest in Rainbow. Our circle meetings are published in Rainbow Reminders, and are open for anyone to join.
  • In the spirit of celebrating community engagement, we are planning to reinvigorate a tracking system for volunteer hours. This will help support efforts directed at outside funding and grant opportunities. More details will be shared in an upcoming Rainbow Reminders.

Health and Safety

Along with emotional wellbeing, our physical safety is a top priority at Rainbow. This includes continued reflection on our Covid Mitigations aligning ourselves with best practices and relevant data.

  • Our pool testing program has been running for the past two weeks. The students and teachers have quickly adapted to this routine and we move efficiently through the process. So far, the pool reports have been negative. We will only send out notification and next steps if a positive pool is received.
  • At the start of school, our mitigation strategies were built in alignment with CDC guidance. Additionally, the context of high infection rates, a fully in person model that included our largest cohorts since the beginning of the pandemic (Preschool, K-2, 3-5, and 6-8), and the return of the Rainbow’s End program informed a structured and cautious launch. Despite these significant changes, we have experienced great success to date. As a result, we are reviewing our mitigation guidelines to consider shifting our masking protocols outdoors and exploring more long term adaptations, as vaccination becomes an option for more of our student body.
  • To help us explore the landscape as it relates to Rainbow Community School and Omega Middle School, we are asking that all families complete THIS SURVEY.
    Please have your information completed by November 2, 2021.

Yours In Partnership and Gratitude,

Susie Fahrer
Executive Director

*Communication is central to the success of our community. In collaboration with weekly publications like Rainbow Reminders and regular classroom newsletters, Kaleidoscope captures the bigger picture of what is happening on campus and exciting news for Rainbow’s future.

Kaleidoscope August 2021

Kaleidoscope August 2021

by | Aug 24, 2021 | Blogs, Director's Blog

Kaleidoscope Header

The first full week of school is here and I find myself filled with gratitude. Already students and families are finding the rhythms of drop off, pick up and everything in between. There is a happy and hopeful energy all around campus as students co-create their classroom culture, mascots, and learning routines.

Communication is central to the success of our community. In collaboration with weekly publications like Rainbow Reminders and regular classroom newsletters, Kaleidoscope captures the bigger picture of what is happening on campus and exciting news for Rainbow’s future.

The opening weeks of school can feel like information overload. While the return to school is often filled with many highlights, it can also feel like we have shifted into high gear. School preparations, paperwork, Covid protocols, and campus procedures start to blend together, and it can be difficult to keep up. Here are a few ways to help you regroup, and make sure you have all the information you need.

Parent Handbooks

Our preschool, K-8, and Covid Handbook can all be found on our website. These documents have lots of information. We respectfully request that you read the handbook aligned with your child’s grade level and the Covid Mitigation Document. All families should submit an acknowledgement form that these documents have been read.

  • Calendar – Our school calendar is located on our website. Upcoming events are also published regularly in Rainbow Reminders and classroom newsletters.
  • Parent Plus Portal – This is our school database. This will be the tool used to share school wide forms, communication, and alerts. It is also the location of your child’s narrative report (P-8) and grades (6-8 only).
  • We are here to help – Please know it is always ok to reach out to administration, or your child’s teacher, if you are in need of support. These resources are great, and sometimes it can be critical to talk things through or speak to someone directly. During the day you can call the main office line and/or text or call Kate B. or Susie directly.

Listening Conferences

Our narrative and conference reporting flow is designed to build a strong story arch to your child’s learning journey. Next Thursday and Friday, September 2 & 3, will be the first step along that path with Listening Conferences. This is a time for families and teachers to build a shared understanding of how best to support each child’s holistic growth this year. The teacher primarily takes on a listening role. The intent is to learn from the expertise of the family in establishing a safe, aligned, and responsive space for each child to develop. Below is a graphic that shares the primary reporting flow between teachers and families.

progress monitoring and reporting flow

Read more about Teaching the Whole Child here.

Feedback

Feedback is one of the many ways we grow to serve you better. One way we gather feedback is through an anonymous end of year survey that is completed by students, staff, and families. One trend that came out of this feedback was a desire to have more clarity with our resources through Student Support and Counseling. These two pages were added to the Preschool and K-8 Handbooks to help with building that transparency.

Another trend framed parent’s desire to learn more about how Rainbow’s holistic approach evolves as students matriculate. Particular interest focused on Omega Middle School and how the 7 domains integrate with a dynamic and rigorous academic experience to build a strong foundation for high school and adolescent development. This topic is truly inspirational, and a point of pride for Rainbow. We will be bringing visibility to the learning trajectory from preschool through 8th grade through highlights in Rainbow Reminders, subsequent in depth explorations in Kaleidoscope, and more.

Safety

Safety is central to a thriving community. Fortunately, one silver lining to pandemic education is that we have built a strong foundation in personal and collective responsibility for our wellness. Moving into this year, I hope we will continue to embrace the motto, “We Are In This Together” recognizing that we each have a role to play in maintaining our community health.

Masks are a primary tool in the fight against Covid-19 transmission and the commitment to keeping kids in school. Current guidance distinguishes the pathway for school exclusion as a result of Covid contact based on masking. Therefore, we would like to request the following compliance with masking protocol. If any family needs help with purchasing masks, please reach out to Love In Action.

  • Use a mask that fits snuggly but comfortably around the nose, jaw and chin.
  • Use a mask that does not require consistent adjustment throughout the day.
  • Gators are used with the addition of a disposable mask or double layered for appropriate fit and thickness.
  • Masks with a ventilator are not used on campus.

Health Checks are now completed at home before school starts. You have likely seen our sandwich boards with the health screening questions. Please be reminded that students should not be on campus if they are not well or if they have contact with someone with Covid or Covid-like symptoms. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the true status of your child’s health. Reach out to Susie, Jessy, or Kate at any time for support in determining your health status. Text is the best way to reach us with important updates on health status so we can attend to this information in a timely manner.

Traffic flow on campus should always move slowly to ensure the safety of our community. The upper and lower campus parking lots are one way driving.

  • Upper campus enters from Haywood Rd. and exits onto State Street.
  • Lower campus traffic enters from State Street and exits on Pennsylvania Ave.
  • Omega pick up can result in a long car rider line. If you are the first to arrive, please pull all the way to the edge of the lot by Pennsylvania Ave. The cottage will be on your right hand side. We will bring your child to you. Additionally, parents can park in the Omega lot and we will walk students to your car. These two steps will help ensure we don’t have a pick up line that backs onto State Street.
  • Traffic directions are also part of our walkway systems. When dropping off or picking up for preschool or afterschool by the butterfly house, please observe the one-way walking patterns and physically distance if there is a line.

Affinity groups are another way that we are supporting safety and wellness within our community. An affinity group is a designated “brave space,” where everyone in that group shares a particular identity. This identity can be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, physical/mental ability, socio-economic class, family structure, religion, etc. Affinity groups can be a place for people in a community to come together to learn more about their identifiers and to feel more connected based on those identifiers. At Rainbow, we collectively reaffirm our commitment to a culture of caring for all by beginning these Affinity spaces for our least represented populations. We will be sharing more with the community about this initiative in the coming weeks.

This is just the beginning and our Dynamic Governance model helps us foster engagement and feedback on behalf of all stakeholders as the year continues. A reminder that today (8/24 at 3:30pm) is our first Equity Circle of the school year and that our first Parent Council meeting is this Friday (8/27 at 9:30am). The Finance Team begins the following week and Pollinators will be up and running soon with tentative meetings scheduled for Tuesday, September 7th from 9:00-10:30 and another meeting on Tuesday, September 14th from 9-11. Look for these and more opportunities to get involved in Rainbow Reminders.

In Gratitude for All That Is and All That Will Be,

Susie Fahrer
Executive Director

Who’s your favorite Greek deity?

Who’s your favorite Greek deity?

by | Jan 28, 2020 | Blogs, Home Page News

Fourth graders figure out their favorite Greek deity

We headed over to 4th grade recently where our students were immersed in the world of ancient Greece. They learned about mythology and creative arts. Their teacher, Kurt, said they really loved learning about the Greek gods and doing hands-on activities related to their learning.

Because of that, Kurt let them do a special activity that would further their learning with Greek mythology. They investigated their favorite god by reading a story, and created designs using paper shaped like pottery. These designs were based on what they knew about the deity they studied.

greek deity

Hercules – probably the most famous Greek deity

They started off their lesson with a short video about Hercules. They talked about how the story of Hercules is from long ago when “chaos reigned.” Students realized there were many references to pottery and design, as well as other historical events.

Greek Pottery

Fourth graders had a chance to look at examples of ancient Greek pottery. They saw references to Achilles, a centaur, minotaur, war and peace, Hercules and more. Once they had a chance to look at different examples, their teacher explained that stories they were about to read would also inform the designs they’d create on their pottery.

greek mythology

greek mythology

Stories about Greek gods

Each student paired up with another and chose their favorite Greek deity to study. They were allowed to read the story to each other, silently, or alternate between silent reading and reading aloud as they liked. Once finished, each student created their paper pottery. Essentially, they created a stencil using one piece of paper, cut it out, and finally glued it onto paper with a brown background.

greek deity

greek deity

After students finished gluing their stenciled piece onto the background, they could begin drawing designs. They worked with pencils and black markers. Some designs were quite eloquent and detailed. One requirement was to reference the story they read within their pottery design.

greek mythology

These pottery designs complemented the rest of their unit on Greek mythology. Intricate and detailed, each pottery piece reflected each student’s drawing style. As students concluded the unit, they did further research on their chosen Greek god. This research led to a one-page report, which they later presented to their class.

greek deity

greek deity

This one lesson touched on several different domains: the social and emotional, in which students were able to collaborate with one another, and worked together to complete their stories and pottery projects. They engaged in the mental domain in researching more about Greek deities. They were able to use the creative domain with their pottery designs and even touched on the spiritual domain with regard to Greek beliefs and mythology itself. All teachers at Rainbow create units that incorporate the seven different domains at least once.