by Cynthia Calhoun | Nov 4, 2024 | Blogs
Dear Rainbow Friends and Families,
If you like, you can listen to this recording.
It has been over a year since I have published a Kaleidoscope. This pause has been a mindful one, offering time for reflection on Rainbow’s communication practices, with the goal of designing an intentionally integrated set of publications that support an informed and engaged community.
The return of this publication marks a few adjustments. To begin, Kaleidoscope will be published seasonally, in support of a cadence of strategic communication that is digestible and meaningful. Also, you will always find a recording of the document for readers that would prefer to listen to the contents over taking the time to read it on a screen. May these adaptations offer you all a meaningful and worthy read, supporting your participation and understanding in the full Rainbow journey.
Following Nature’s Wisdom: What Can Be Learned In The Wake of Helene?
As we grapple with the destruction and loss of the past several weeks, I hope you are finding ways to honor, process, and attend to your wounds and needs. The work of facing trauma, while personal, is something that can be done in partnership. Please be reminded that Will Ray, our Director of Counseling, is available to support students and families in the coming weeks, and to help you engage in additional therapy services. He can be reached via email will.ray@rainbowlearning.org or by phone (828-424-4733).
In nature, power and force are often equally integrated with beauty and strength. This past month I have been humbled by the collective humanity growing all around us. Fellowship, care, service, love, awareness, engagement, understanding, compassion…the list goes on. These, I hope, are the experiences and memories that rise above the flood line. May they buoy our grief and guide our resilience.
In support of parents and caregivers
One of the most natural instincts we have is to protect our children. They are born into this world depending on us for the most basic of needs, and as they grow it can be difficult to know how and when to provide autonomy and engagement with challenge, failure, fear, and sorrow. The reality is, there is no single way to parent a child through the complexities of this world. As humans, we benefit from a personalized approach that accounts for our strengths and vulnerabilities.
That being said, many families come to Rainbow with some level of shared values around developmentally appropriate access to media consumption, technology, social/emotional discourse, and so on. However, when our world increasingly surrounds our children with unavoidable complex and dynamic realities (Covid, Climate Change, Social Media, etc) it is our obligation to pause and consider how best to move forward as a community. In these moments, allowing our children to guide the inquiry often inspires the most profound and appropriate learning.
In the coming weeks as we digest the impacts of the storm, the outcomes of the election, and the process of rebuilding in our community, we can be mindful of keeping Rainbow a student-centered environment. Recalling that each child will be looking to the adults around them for cues to feel safe, grounded, and ready to learn. As adults, we are not immune to the emotional toll of our current circumstances. Even so, we have the ability to create a collectively conscious atmosphere at Rainbow that supports our children.
A conscious return to our school programming
The first few weeks back have felt wonderful. The teachers created a compassionate re-entry process supporting the children emotionally, providing familiar routines, and engaging their love of learning.
We also have a few upcoming events that offer opportunities for community fellowship, spiritual connection, and a pathway for matriculation.
Movie Night- We are publishing this event internally, but Rainbow families are welcome to bring extended family and friends. For folks who choose to attend the potluck before the movie, please label any food you anticipate sharing. Everyone should bring their own lawn chairs, blankets, and snacks.
Day of the Dead- We are grateful to have our Hispanic families leading us in the preparation of the Ofrenda and planning of this sacred holiday. Anyone that is able to offer donations for the altar or sign up to be a firekeeper on the day of the event, can find details in this LINK.
Tamales will be served free of charge, sponsored in collaboration between Rainbow and a parent donor. They will be shared on a first come first served basis while the altar is being created on Wednesday.
Omega Open House- Omega Middle School will be hosting our fourth and fifth grade students and families for a visit on November 8, 2024. It will be an opportunity for our current students to get a personalized understanding of how the 7 Domains model shifts in adolescence to facilitate scholarship, encourage healthy autonomy, and inspire long-term thriving. More details will be shared directly with Fourth and Fifth grade families.
Winter Performance- Our annual winter performance will be held on December 19th at 3:00pm. This performance will feature preschool-5th grade classrooms and Omega elective performances. Since it is a school-wide event, we will not host afterschool that day, and Omega will dismiss prior to the event. More details will be provided soon. This is a beautiful celebration of music and art that will be a welcome culmination of 2024.
Yours In Partnership and Appreciation for the Journey,
Susie Fahrer
Executive Director
by Cynthia Calhoun | Sep 25, 2019 | Blogs, Home Page News, Student News & Accolades
Words Have Power Summer Camp
In summer 2019, Rainbow Community School had the Words Have Power summer camp. April Fox taught this camp with such incredible results! This camp was for ages 10-13, with a total of 10 students attending for the week. The students who participated published an anthology of their work. April, their teacher, compiled all their writings and it’s now available on Amazon.
Anthology cover. We have a copy in the Main Office!
We interviewed April who told us the whole idea of the camp was to allow kids to explore writing “without all the rules.” She showed her students that there’s “school writing” and there’s also “fun writing.” April wanted her students to know that there is a world of writing outside of grammar, spelling and following conventional rules.
This was a camp that gave students a chance to explore writing in a creative way – possibly in ways they had never done before. They used words for nothing but the “pure expression of what was in their heads,” which allowed them to truly connect with the idea of writing on a different level.
Each morning, April would put up quotes from different writers or inspirational figures that had something to do with writing or succeeding. Students would pick their favorite quote and write in their journals, reflecting about how they felt, or scribbled other musings related to the quote they chose. These quotes came from different artists and writers, such as Maya Angelou, Tupac, Elvis Costello and many others.
How the anthology came about
Students studied different types of writing throughout the week. One activity they did was to use pictures to inspire their writing. If they saw a photo of a butterfly that inspired them, for example, they could write a poem in response, and perhaps “shape it” in the form of butterfly wings.
They did a lot of free writing, haikus and had the freedom to explore whatever type of writing style that interested them, from short stories to graphic novel layouts. They even explored writing a screenplay and all that went with it: writing, directing, rehearsing and performing their written words. Students were allowed to edit their work or not, depending on how they felt about it.
At the end of each day students could elect to turn their work in to be part of an anthology that April would put together later in the summer. After the camp ended, she spent time compiling and typing out each of the writings her students submitted. She remarked that some poems were funny, some were more serious, some explored serious issues and other poems touched on lighter subjects, such as smelly socks. In effect, these poems were a snapshot of this particular age group, and allowed their individual selves to come out. They had no filters. Their work reflects what was in their heads at that moment.
Student success
April considers the most successful part of the week to be when she witnessed an increase in student confidence with regard to their writing. They produced some insightful, heartfelt, and well-written work. They learned that even though they might struggle with specific aspects of writing academically, they can still be incredible storytellers, and write pretty remarkable content.
All photos courtesy of April Fox. We have a copy of the anthology in the Main Office!
by Cynthia Calhoun | Dec 27, 2017 | Blogs
We have some pretty amazing staff here at Rainbow Community School.
We have so many folks with myriad talents.
This month’s team highlight is Katie Wilson, our 5th grade teaching assistant. You’ll never guess what Katie was able to do last summer.
It all starts with a story about how she found Rainbow in the first place.
How did Katie become a part of the staff at Rainbow?
Katie’s life has been serendipitous! She temporarily relocated to Boone, NC after living abroad. She’d been teaching English in Mexico and returned to the US to continue her teaching career here.
While up in Boone, she found out about an opening in the after school program at Rainbow and decided to take it. Right then, she was working as a nanny part-time.
She loved Rainbow so much, that when the opportunity came to be able to work with Susie in fourth grade as a full-time employee, she jumped at the chance.
Later, she was able to move up with the same students to fifth grade this year.
Earlier in the year, the director from a summer camp where Katie used to work contacted her.
He was leaving his company to focus on retirement and asked if she would be willing to take on directing the summer camp for international students who wanted to learn English.
Katie’s former director worked the business side of the camp while she worked the educational and development side, including overseeing staff.
Knowing that she always wanted to develop her own educational programs, it was a great opportunity.
This past summer, she developed the entire ESL curriculum for the summer camp, as well as all the programming. She also had the pleasure of locating it at Rainbow!
The Summer Camp: Visions USA
The camp operated by recruiting students from Germany, Spain, and Italy who were interested in learning English. It provided an authentic setting in which to learn English as a Second or Other Language, as well as give students an incredible international cultural experience.
Students stayed with local host families and attended English classes in the morning at Rainbow for four days per week, and then engaged in more fun activities in the afternoons.
They spent time volunteering one day per week as part of the program. Volunteer work is an important component of camp programming.
This gave international students a chance to see what the Asheville community was all about, the struggles people faced and provided visiting students with opportunities to give back to the community in which they were living and learning.
Similar to what Rainbow students do during the school year, campers went to Manna, Black Mountain Home for Kids to help with events, volunteered at local high schools, helped to paint a mural, and more.
Fridays were reserved as field days where they would go rafting, to Carrowinds, go on an overnight to see the Atlanta Braves, or other similar activities.
The camp also offered language courses for the host families’ siblings, as well.
What were some things Katie learned about running a summer camp?
The summer camp session of 2017 was incredibly successful.
Students from different countries experienced US culture, and experienced each others’ culture in a supportive environment.
In only three weeks, they became best friends and formed deep friendships that will last well beyond their time at camp.
Katie loved the fact that she was affiliated with Rainbow and how she was able to share the attitudes that Rainbow cultivates, including its teaching styles, with all the international students.
Activities included centering, teaching to the domains, and incorporating positive discipline techniques to students who hadn’t experienced that before.
[bctt tweet=”Students can tell that Rainbow Community School is different: they value the whole child.” username=”@rainbowcomsch”]
The international students could really tell that life at Rainbow was different.
They were accustomed to a more regimented school setting and often remarked about the freedom and support they had.
Were there any challenges you faced as you ran the camp?
Katie reported how it’s interesting that every country and municipality has stereotypes and attitudes that they form about other cultures and people.
She found it necessary to look for ways to get past those preconceived ideas and really reach students to show them that we humans are more alike than we are different.
Overall, however, she had a successful first year as the director of a summer camp right here at Rainbow! She’s already gearing up for the 2018 session.
If you’d like more information about summer camp and even possibly hosting students, check out Visions USA.
by West | Sep 12, 2017 | Home Page News, Rainbow Institute
Daily centering practice is a part of every Rainbow classroom. These practices, although all anchored in the Rainbow Spiritual Domain Learning Outcomes, take on many shapes and forms and evolve based on the learning needs of the children and the passions of the teacher. From journaling, meditation, dance, yoga, creating art, team building, time in nature to mindfulness practices… regardless of their format, this is a special time where children are encouraged to find their center and their source of personal power and wisdom before undertaking the lessons and explorations of the day.
Oral myth or story often set the stage for a centering or in many cases a children’s book can serve as inspiration for a particular theme. In each RCS classroom you will certainly find a bookshelf designated for those special “centering books.” One that touches the heart of many is Jon. J. Muth’s The Three Questions. This book is an illustrated adaptation of a story by Leo Tolstoy in which a young boy Nikolai, goes on a quest to find the answers to these three questions.
What is the best time to do things?
Who is the most important?
What is the right thing to do?
Nikolai’s interaction with various characters inadvertently lead him into the answers to those three questions.
If the purpose of a holistic education is to nurture the whole child, we do this by aiding them in uncovering their inner wisdom and truest, most authentic self…
As holistic and spiritual educators we explore existential questioning, meaning making, developing connection, leaning into discomfort, encouraging a questing for purpose and embracing awe and wonder.This special book is a gift that has the capacity to do all that for its reader. Happy reading and happy sharing.
Finally, as you gear up for a new school year, new chapter, new job, or just simply a new day. Consider your own three questions. What questions can guide you as you strive to be your best, most authentic self, most divine self?
Maybe these:
What is the best time to do things?
Who is the most important one?
What is the right thing to do?
Or:
What am I doing? Why am I doing it?
Does it bring me joy or purpose?
Is it allowing me to be the best me I can be?
by West | Jul 20, 2017 | Blogs, Rainbow Institute
Summer is a breeding ground for travel, adventure, and memory making. Its long days, breaks from school and work, flexible schedules also yield down time, rest, and a chance to turn inward and reflect. Having said this, I share with you an inspiring centering activity that you may wish to add to your summer contemplations.
6th grade coins this centering “Return with the Elixir” and it is often used at the close of a thematic unit, calendar year or school year. It invites students to reflect upon and share their knowledge, strengths and gifts with each other and the larger community. The centering also has an intended purpose to inspire empathy, encourage connectedness and recognize the archetypical human experiences across time and cultures.
It begins by asking the students to examine the hero’s journey map paying special attention to the end of the map, where the hero returns home with the elixir. It continues by explaining that in mythology, this is often literally a magic potion or object. Symbolically, it represents a special knowledge or wisdom to share. Review examples from well-known stories such as Wizard of Oz or Star Wars as well as real-life examples such as Buddha or Jesus Christ.
Students are then led in a guided meditation. Asking questions such as…
After the meditation, explain that each student will receive a glass vial in which they will put their elixir. This can be a written word, phrase, or image placed on a piece of paper and sealed in the bottle. They may use colored sand, glitter, small pebbles or shells in the bottle to “activate” the magic of their special elixir. Explain that students will work in silence to create space for reflection, but that they will have a chance to share their elixir with their classmates once everyone has completed the task. Hand each student a bottle or vial. As students receive their bottles, they may find a table set up with art supplies and begin working on their elixir bottles. Allow 15-20 minutes for individual work. One by one, have students place their elixir on a windowsill or other central location to symbolize sharing their elixir with the classroom community. Invite students to share a word, phrase or short anecdote that represents their elixir.
Think about your own quests over the summer. You may be on some sort of Hero’s Journey that was met with challenge, obstacle, success, or joy.
How will you overcome them or savor them?
What lessons, skills or knowledge have you gained along the way?
What elixir will you bring into the world?
