Upper Elementary News - January 18

We are back into the swing of things, refreshed from winter break, and happy to return to our routines! 

Last week we began our ArtSmart lessons with TPAC teaching artist Neil Spencer to prepare for their performance of Kaytek the Wizard. 

The play is based on the 1933 children’s novel by Polish author, physician, and child pedagogue Janusz Korczak. From the TPAC website, “Art Smart is a teaching philosophy that values deep engagement with works of art for the broadened perspective and meaningful connections they can inspire.” Students will have two lessons with the teaching artist, and we will finish reading the book before we attend the performance on Jan 23 and 24. News Channel 5 will film our group at the TPAC performance. When we know when the story will be broadcast, we’ll pass that information along!

Christy has resumed theater games during afternoon work cycles in order to prepare for our upcoming Shakespeare performance, Much Ado About Nothing, which will take place on the morning of Feb. 15. We’ll let you know the time of the performance soon.

We bid fare thee well to students whose families have made other schooling choices. We wish them the very best.

We took advantage of the warmer temperatures last week and took a hike on campus after a moment of mindfulness. Students walked with one of the guides and visited the labyrinth. Some groups went down to the pond to admire the ice that remained after our extended freezing temperatures. 

One group walked down to the Abintra sign for a photo opportunity.

Once again, we want to thank the students and families who cared for the chickens over winter break. We are happy to report that they all survived the extreme temperatures and are growing bigger! Five sheep moved in on January 6th, and the second floor of the barn now has walls.

We are rescheduling Winterfest due to muddy conditions at the farm, but will send out our new date soon!