CAB:
This month, the CAB committee met to discuss opportunities for community involvement and committee and faculty training. Committee members shared ideas for starting a Parent Community Council, which would meet regularly with the CAB Committee to share ideas from Garden School families and propose and organize events for the school community. If you are outgoing, organized, plan to remain at The Garden School long-term, and are passionate about community and belonging at The Garden School, please email CAB@thegardenmarietta.org or reach out to one of our committee members (Ki Holly, Ki Kim, Ki Paulyna, Ki Virginia, or Ki Lesley) for more information.
The CAB committee also began gathering resources and summer learning options for The Garden School’s faculty. Over the summer, the faculty will learn more about ourselves and ways to create a safe and inclusive environment for all our students and families. We will have the opportunity to discuss what we learned with each other when we return for in-service later in the summer. Additionally, members of the CAB committee will spend time over the summer focusing on becoming stronger leaders and more compassionate advocates by learning different communication styles and looking for what we have in common.
Faculty Study:
Faculty study spoke about the keys to healthy conversations leading to good decision processes. Time is running short to take the whole process into account over the remaining, so we will concatenate the process with the time available. This process will also help us prepare for a new aspect of study, the class study, starting in the Fall. Class study involves each Class teacher and EC lead bringing a short picture of each child in the class and describing the dynamics of their interactions. It is a way of celebrating each class and helps the rest of us get to know the children.
Festivals:
Festivals Committee is hard at work on our annual fundraising auction, Hope Blooms. This event is important as it helps us raise money for the resources, supplies, classrooms, and learning environments here at The Garden School. Fundraising is a key component of school budgets, and this is our only fundraising event of the year. A highlight of the Auction is the class project made collaboratively between students, families, and their teachers. Class projects reflect the curriculum of the grade or are inspired by parent talent. They have a strong student component and are as much of a lifelong memento as they are (functional) works of art. We look forward to sharing in this event with you and can’t wait to see you this Friday at 6 p.m. for the Auction!
Colleagueship:
Interviews and candidates teaching lessons to the students are in full swing, and we have had the pleasure of meeting several lovely potential new teachers for the 2024 - 25 school year. The Colleagueship Committee has given a majority of its attention to this important endeavor. We are also looking at expanding our Leadership team in various ways to support our faculty and our community in the coming year as well. Stay tuned in the Main Message as we will announce some of our new hires toward the end of the school year!
Additionally, we are scheduling summer training for both Early Childhood and Grade teachers, in-school curriculum planning for Grade teachers, and our end-of-year in-service.
Gardens & Grounds:
Spring has sprung, and the campus is alive with all the signs of sunshine and rain! We are focusing on cleaning up the campus after the (many) spring storms. The Turtles class helped clean up one area of the creek to prepare it for safe play, benefiting all the kindergarten classes; thank you, Turtles! Poison ivy and oak removal are always at the top of the list, and Ki Derek is ready with several new natural methods to speed up the removal process. Mosquito dunks have been distributed in the still-water areas around campus. While bug spray is still a necessity, we hope to cut down on the prevalence of these necessary-for-the-food-chain yet unpleasant-for-humans little creatures. Please check the Main Message of the Garden Messenger for opportunities to help us with garden bed care (a.k.a: weeding).
Although our first attempt at adopting and caring for the rabbits was not successful, we have since made every effort to ensure our facility is fully prepared to provide the housing and resources we need to care for these delicate animals successfully and responsibly. We are looking forward to the rabbits joining our farm in the 2024 - 2025 school year. Thank you for your understanding of the necessary delay in welcoming bunnies to our farm!
We have two more Community Workdays left as we close out the year. Our next community workday is Saturday, April 27th, from 9:00 to 12:00, and our last day is Saturday, May 11, from 9:00 to 12:00. In light of recent experiences, we realize a greater need for parents to diligently supervise their children while they are on campus. Children accompanying their parents are always welcome to join the workday tasks. Children are welcome to play on the playgrounds with an adult supervising. We welcome the older children to utilize the larger playground, and younger children are welcome to play in the Joyful toddler playground. We ask that children not enter the school building, farm areas, or indoor or outdoor classrooms unattended. It is important to ensure that children are safe and supervised and that classroom spaces are not utilized as play areas outside of school hours. We appreciate all the hard work our families devote to our school, and thank you all for helping our students join and support our workdays!