Osiyo, River Otter families,
Thank you to everyone who volunteered and attended the Kingdom of Halloween. You all helped make our wonderful autumn community festival a success!
This was a lovely autumn week in the forest, and students made many observations about the changing environment around them. They continued fort building, and painted with mud they mixed themselves, in different consistencies. On Tuesday, we went for a nature walk on our way to visit the farm. The students were very curious about the wetlands. We went on the boardwalk and noticed that the area has changed a lot! The students noted that usually, we have to be very careful on the boardwalk because the water is deep and we can’t see to the bottom. Now, however, there is no water and they can see many plants, and tracks in the mud. This sparked many questions and ideas.
Next week, we will be making our lanterns in class, for the lantern walk. These will stay at school and be handed out during the walk; they will go home with your children after the walk. The lantern walk is one of our favorite events; we hope you can all join us! The lantern walk is also celebrated in Germany and France as Martinmas or Martinstag. The essence of this festival is to recognize the inner light we each carry. This inner light needs to be protected, as the light inside the lantern does, so it does not go out. We use this light to help each other in the darker months of the year. It is a reverent, contemplative walk. In understanding the importance of helping others, we also collect gently used coats of all sizes for One Warm Coat, an organization that provides coats for those who need them during the coming cold.
Announcements and Reminders:
11/8: NO SCHOOL / election day / teacher in-service
11/8: Kindergarten lantern walk at 6:00pm
11/7-11/11: Coat drive for One Warm Coat
11/14-11/18: Non Perishable food drive for Never Alone food pantry
11/18: Thanksgiving luncheon (more info coming soon) and half day dismissal for all students
11/21-11/25 NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving Break
Thank you for sharing your children with us, and for being part of our community.
Gvyalieliga,
Ki Holly
