Osiyo (hello), River Otter families.

Welcome to the 2022-23 school year! It was a wonderful first week, and I am so thankful to have each of your children in my class and get to know them better. This week we focused on becoming comfortable with the rhythm of our day, and with each other. It was heartwarming to see all of the students playing cooperatively with each other from the start. I am excited for this school year and to learn with this amazing group of young people. Next week, we will begin our daily activities and shared snacks and continue learning our routine, morning circle, and our blessings.

Welcome to our new assistant in the River Otter class, Ki Melanie! Melanie has experience teaching art to K-12 students, along with yoga and mindfulness to children of all ages as well as adults. She also has a child in one of the other kindergarten classes. Melanie has already been an incredible asset to our class, helping us start a tea garden in the forest and a new, improved classroom composting system. She has amazing ideas and a beautiful spirit, and we are so fortunate to have her with us.

Announcement and Reminders:

Please send a vegetable with your child each Monday. Every Monday we will chop vegetables for our Wednesday soup.
If you have not yet sent indoor shoes to keep at school, please send them this week if at all possible. Beginning this week, we will be starting Wednesdays indoors for watercolor painting.
Our school’s next work day is Saturday, 8/27. If you are able to attend, there will be tasks to finish preparing the forest and school for the rest of the school year. And of course, it counts toward your volunteer hours.
The Kindergarten parent night is Tuesday, 9/6. Look for more information to come in the next couple of weeks.
If you have old washcloths you would like to get rid of, we would love to have them for our class. We will be cutting and sewing them into “owie cloths” for our classroom.

Thank you for sharing your children with us, and for being part of our community.

Gvyalieliga (With appreciation),

Ki Holly