Coming of the Universe in Upper Elementary: A Mathematical Universe

written by Craig Asche, Blue Earth guide

This is part of a series on the five Great Lessons in our newsletters. Follow this link for last month’s telling of the Lessons by Rachel Cupps, Minnehaha Creek guide.

The five Great Lessons, first heard each year in Lower Elementary, continue to be retold each year in Upper Elementary with a deeper dive and more opportunities for students to integrate their studies back to these five cosmic stories: Coming of the Universe, Coming of Life, Coming of Humans, Story of Writing, and Story of Numbers.

Dr. Montessori once referred to the universe as a ‘mathematical universe.’ Observing Upper Elementary students transform their understanding of themselves and the universe by applying and integrating their Montessori math studies back to the Coming of the Universe story explains why. 

Hearing the Coming of the Universe story again, the Upper Elementary students often ask big questions, like:

• “How can roughly 98% of all matter in the universe be the manifestation of the kinetic and potential energy of incredibly minute quarks spinning near the speed of light, and is my mass mostly made up of quark energy?”

• “If quarks have a positive or negative charge and if three quarks make up a proton and three quarks make up a neutron, why do protons have a positive charge and neutrons have a neutral charge?”

• “If the moon was smaller or larger, would it keep its orbit around the Earth?”

• “Why do planets have their specific orbits around the sun, and why do some orbit the sun faster than others?”

The Montessori math work that the Upper Elementary students do in arithmetic, geometry, and algebra reconnects them with the ‘mathematical universe’ and answers these questions. Seeing students integrate their knowledge of square root; velocity; geometry of circles, ellipses, and spheres; powers; ratios and canceling units of measurement - all concepts that they discover working with Montessori materials - to determine the orbital velocity of satellites (both natural and human-made) and to understand how the universe creates systems of such amazing balance is... amazing!

Look out for some more amazing discoveries of the ‘mathematical universe’ by your children. They are in the ‘mathematical universe,’ and the ‘mathematical universe’ is in them. 

October Head of School Message

written by David Núñez, Interim Head of School

Dear GRS Community,

Thank you all for playing your part in such a great start to the school year. 
As a new member to this community I have been deeply impressed with the dedication of the entire community to making this school a safe and welcoming place.

Because I know that COVID is still on the forefront of everyone's mind, this month I'm going to share a little information about one of the most effective and simplest COVID mitigation strategies we can do in our building: mask wearing.

To begin with, you should all know that here at GRS we have really high mask compliance.

However, we know that the virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to be mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. It is vitally important that everyone in the building wear a well-fitting mask to stop these droplets from spreading to others.

Please have your children wear masks with two or more layers of tightly woven fabric. The blue surgical masks we have at the school for student use are better than cloth masks, and KN95 masks are even better than that.  But the key with a mask is not just how well it filters, but also that it fits well and is comfortable enough to wear all day.

Face coverings made of thinner, loosely woven, or single-layer fabric such as certain types of masks, scarves, neck gaiters, or bandannas are not as effective, and should only be used if nothing else is available. If you wear a scarf or neck gaiter for warmth, also wear a mask underneath it.

Any masks that incorporate a valve that is designed to facilitate easy exhaling, mesh masks, or masks with openings, holes, visible gaps in the design or material, or vents are NOT sufficient face coverings because they allow droplets to be released from the mask.

A few great tips for mask usage are:

• Wash your hands before putting on your mask and after taking it off.

• A mask must cover the nose and mouth completely and fit snugly against your face without gaps. The mask should not be overly tight or restrictive and should feel comfortable to wear.

• Do NOT touch the mask when wearing it. If you often have to touch or adjust your mask, it does not fit you properly and you may need to find a different mask or make adjustments.

• Wash your mask after each time you wear it, or if its disposable, get a new one!

Here's a review from the New York Times on recommended masks!

And remember if you are unable to afford masks for your kids, we will give them a mask so they can enter the building.

Thanks for reading!

Peace,
David

School Kitchen and Climate Change

written by Leo Tangness, Lower Adolescent student

Great River School (GRS) has a kitchen because it reduces greenhouse gasses and carbon footprint that contribute to climate change by providing natural and fresh produce and meats. This is true because GRS sources the food that is locally grown, such as produce and meats, from area farmers.  This is important because it reduces the amount of carbon footprint and decreases the amount of food travel mileage. It also helps because the animals they use are naturally grown and fed instead of feeding the animals antibiotics and unnatural diets such as corn to grow and produce large amounts of animal meat.  The naturally grown food is also better because the farmers do not use industrial concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Also, the farmers humanely butcher the animals. Therefore, having a kitchen and using local growers help decrease carbon footprint and climate change.   

“Love the Land, Love Yourself” Mural Project

written by Scott Alsleben, Lower Adolescent science guide

Happy Fall to all Great River School Students and Families! 

This past spring a group of adolescent BIPoC students had an opportunity to work with Juxtaposition Arts on a collaborative mural project for our urban farm. The project was completed at the very end of the 2020-2021 school year and we are excited to finally show the community the finished product! Come on by to GRS at Harvest Fest and see the mural at its new home in the garden.

In May 2021 students worked with resident Juxtaposition Arts artist Hawwa Youngmark to create an absolutely stunning mural that will live in our garden as a reminder that all are welcome here. 

The summer of 2020 triggered lots of emotions and revealed many ways that our society is unjust and inequitable in regards to race and culture. In a white supremacist culture, inequalitites run deep, specifically in access to land and agriculture. Black, Indigenous, people of color land matters. As a response to this, a collaboration project was born. One of the goal of this collaboration was to make a mural that represents culture, food, traditions, heritage, history, science, and peoples’ connections to the land. Another goal was to provide an opportunity for our students that identify as BiPoC to connect with the land and work in the urban farm program.

Love the Land, Love Yourself.

Revolution is based on land. Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.

-Malcolm X

GRS Foundation Fundraising Info-Social

Come connect with other parents passionate about supporting GRS programs and mission! The Great River School Foundation needs parents, caregivers, and community members who are willing to share their time and their skills (and get to know other parents too!) in support of Great River School. Join us for the Info-Social so you can get to know the Foundation and we can get to know you.

GRS Foundation Fundraising Info-Social
6:30-7:30 pm, Monday, October 25, via Zoom
RSVP here!

The GRS Foundation raises funds for our tuition-free public school. As a charter school, Great River receives 87 cents for every dollar received by district public schools. We count on our school community to help make up for that gap. Families that give monthly make the biggest difference in Great River School fundraising by offering a consistent and reliable source of funds—no amount is too big or too small. Sign up to give here.

Questions? Contact foundation@greatriverschool.org.

In gratitude,

GRS Foundation Board Members: Jenny Thompson, Eric White, Katie Togramajian, Natalie Buckman, and Anne Parker

The Prepared Environment by Jean Peters

written by Jean Peters, Elementary Program Director

Over the years, I have given school tours to hundreds of people and I cannot tell you how many times adults say, “I wish my classroom looked like that when I went to school.”  I agree, Montessori environments are warm and welcoming and filled with inviting materials.  Guides spend weeks preparing environments for the first day of school.  

Montessori classrooms are light, inviting spaces with beautiful wood furniture, a variety of plants and animals, musical instruments, and art objects. Guides give special attention to creating a developmentally appropriate environment that is safe, orderly and aesthetically pleasing; a well prepared environment invites you to stay and explore! Each classroom is specifically designed to support children’s independence and challenge their intellectual, social, and emotional growth.

We call Montessori classrooms prepared environments. Every element of the room is thoughtfully arranged to encourage students’ tendencies toward purposeful work. Students' innate curiosity is supported by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, purposeful work. The Montessori classroom is notably a busy space in which children are actively immersed in meaningful work. It is, at the same time, a serene space that allows them time to think and reflect.

All twelve Elementary classrooms at GRS are organized similarly. Most classroom materials are on display and grouped by distinct areas of study in order of complexity.  Students are free to move about the classroom and choose materials they wish to work on. Classrooms reinforce independence by allowing children to use the bathroom as needed, take time out to eat a snack, clean up after themselves, etc. If children feel they need assistance, they can rely on a peer or ask an adult for help.

The prepared environment should envelop and promote the following characteristics:

• Freedom and responsibility

• Structure and order

• Beauty

• Nature

• Social skills 

• Intellectual engagement

We look forward to the time when you can come and observe in your child’s classroom and see for yourselves how students interact with a Montessori prepared environment!

Montessori Great Stories by Rachel Cupps

written by Rachel Cupps, Minnehaha Creek guide

In the Montessori Elementary classroom, we take a different approach to education. We use Cosmic Education. Cosmic education takes a different approach than traditional education. Traditional education separates subject matter into different categories; for example, math, language arts, etc. Cosmic education integrates and uses an interdisciplinary model or framework for the elementary child to classify the details. There is no set curriculum, rather we are sharing the entire universe. We give many presentations in order to provide the whole universe. We look at the details and then the whole picture. This cycle of cosmic education continues for 6 years. 

What is important about Cosmic education is that it seeks to foster gratitude towards humanity. We share the contributions of those who came before us and acknowledge that without those humans we would not live as we do today. Yet, acknowledgment is not limited to humans; this gratitude extends to all organisms. We share our Earth with a complex web of creatures including plants and animals. We provide a framework for the child to study these gifts.

The Great Lessons

The academic year is launched by a series of stories that are the entry point for the entire curriculum. They give an overall picture, they open up a view, they should fire the imagination. After the story of the universe, children are interested in anything and everything. Great stories show interrelationships and dependencies building connections while creating the foundation and framework for future learning. They are the context to fit the parts that come with additional lessons. We provide order for the children's understanding. 

The story sets the mind working and explores the connections of the universe. Rather than a strict curriculum with limits and examinations we instead represent a vision of the universe, we add fuel to the burning fire of imagination and offer the notion of cosmic responsibility; the concept that every organism has responsibility. We offer the keys so that the child may explore the universe further. 

The 5 Great Stories

1. Coming of the Universe: The first story shows the creation of the universe with the Earth as an answer to all questions. We share the laws that govern the functioning of our Earth. For example, liquids fill space and heat rises. Children are excited to follow up by learning about the solar system, volcanos, and the elements.

2.  Coming of Life: In the second story, we see the unrest between the Rocks, Water, and Air. Life appears to preserve order and harmony on Earth. In this story, we connect geography, history, and biology. We showcase the interconnections as well as the diversity of life. We show the importance of the appearance and work of life. We use the Timeline of Life to show how life has evolved throughout our Earth’s history.

3.  Coming of Humans: In the third story, we show that humans are the culmination of life. We share that human beings are very special and have characteristics that distinguish us from the other life on Earth. Our special gifts include our hands, our head and our heart. We show that children can make an impact on the universe.

4.  Communication in Signs: The Alphabet: In the fourth story, we share some of the great accomplishments of humans. Humans had work to accomplish and created symbols for this work. Writing is unique to humans. We present writing as a means to pass on information. 

5.  Story of Numbers: The story of numbers examines the set of abstractions and the idea of quantity. It is a story of invention. 

The great stories are for a panoramic view and structure for the universe and its functioning. We use these stories to spark the imagination, reasoning and compassion for the second plane child. The great stories are the framework. All the details come in key lessons throughout our cosmic education. Our goal is that the child has gratitude and sees the benefits of humanity.  We want to empower the child  to see how she can give back to humanity, the Earth and the universe. 

Raising Anti-Racist White Children 3-Week Parent Group

3 Tuesdays, 8 to 9:30 pm via Zoom, April 13, April 27 & May 11

Community educator and Montessorian Jenny Thompson will lead a workshop designed for parents of white-identifying children. Thompson says, “Using Jennifer Harvey’s book Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, we will discuss and role-play how to raise race-conscious white children who know how to actively participate in creating a just society—while we work on our own anti-racist practices as adults.”

Color-blind approaches or celebrations of diversity are not sufficient tools to address the society our children live in. We must practice anti-racist skills. See above for workshop details.

Register here ($0-$50 fee to sign up). For more information, contact Jenny Thompson at jthompson1448@gmail.com or 651-895-5144.

Clarification on SRC Model Change

(the below communication was sent to SRC families on 11/6/20)

Hello SRC families!

Please see below for a clarification on our SRC Model change to Distance Learning, starting Monday, November 9th. 

What is happening? 

We are moving into a Distance Learning model at the onsite School Resource Center on Monday, November 9th, 2020. This means that we will continue to offer the same level of academic support and guidance for onsite students, but only the children of essential workers are invited onsite to participate in the School Resource Center. 

Why is this happening? 

COVID-19 case numbers have been steadily increasing in each of the seven metro counties home to GRS students. We have said since the beginning of the school year that as cases increased, we would be more conservative with our onsite SRC model. In the most recent MDH case report on 11/5, Washington County hit more than 50 cases per 10,000 people, pushing us into a Distance Learning model at the SRC. 

Who qualifies as an essential worker? 

Governor Walz released Executive Order 20-94 yesterday, defining essential (or critical workers) as those who fall into the below categories: 

• Healthcare and public health

• Law enforcement, public safety and first responders

• Food and agriculture

• Judicial Branch (essential services)

• National Guard (activated under a Governor Executive Order)

• Educators in pre-K through grade 12 settings

• School staff caring for children of critical workers

• Child care and school-age care providers

If case counts and resources become a challenge, GRS (like schools  and districts throughout the state) will be prioritizing space for students in situations where all the caregivers are essential (critical) workers and they work outside of the home.

Where can I read more? 

• Great River School Model Decision Chart 

• Current case numbers by county 

• Current SRC speedometer

• Governor Walz’s full executive order 

If you have specific questions about how this impacts your students’ attendance at the SRC, please email src@greatriverschool.org. We are grateful for your patience and understanding as we navigate this together. 

Wendy Fisher, Managing Director

Sam O’Brien, Head of School - 612-567-0955

GRS Archery Event at Keller Regional Park

Greetings GRS!

 High school student Naomi Larkin and myself (I'm a parent, PEG classroom ambassador for Shingobee and GRS archery coach) have organized an all school archery event for Saturday, October 31st at Keller Regional Park archery range (this is best accessed at the 'golf view' portion on the east side of highway 61).  Please see the attached flier for most details.  Here is a link to a map of Keller Regional Park - see the archery icon below the golf course?  That's where we will be.  

A few things of note: please email Naomi and myself to RSVP (our emails are on the flyer).  We will be at the range from 10-1(along with other coaches) but will adjust your potential arrival time depending on numbers to assure appropriate distance/safety and that everyone gets a chance to shoot.  Children must be accompanied by a guardian!  The bows we use are best for 8 and up.  We will have a few other games for younger children.  

If you are interested in helping out please let us know.  We could use a few more people to help with sign-in and general assistance.  

 -Naomi and Jeremy

Schoology Tutorials

Have questions about Schoology? Check out the below tutorial videos, also linked on all level’s family resource pages, along with a link to access Schoology. Remember, you can always ask office@greatriverschool.org your questions as they come up!

• Creating parent accounts and logging in

• Navigation: web and mobile app side-by-side 

• Submitting Assignments: mobile app

• Submitting Assignments: web browser

NoMythic & Covid19

written by the team

“Together we Rise” has gone from being a game to being a real world challenge as Robotics teams across the country work to support their communities.

Around the world, FIRST Robotics High School students are joining the fight against COVID-19. These students are using their skills to support their local communities. This year's competition theme of “Together we Rise” has taken on a very real meaning. Across the state and nation, students are pouring their energy and creativity into helping all of us rise together.

One local team from Avalon School and Great River School, NoMythic, started small, as members began sewing face masks for their families and each other. They donated a box of safety glasses to Regions Hospital. This idea then grew to donating 50 pairs of safety glasses to a long term care facility. Students and mentors on NoMythic have begun using 3-D printers to create face shields that they donate to front line workers in their community. In the first week there was a request for one and after seeing the product, the long term care facility requested 50.  “I want to bring face masks home for my mom, who drives a city bus, and other transit workers to help keep them safe.” said Freya, a 12th grade student on the team. The need is real and growing. The team is rising to the challenge.

“It’s hard to believe that just a month ago, we were preparing to compete at the World Championships!” said mentor Michael Flood.  The team, NoMythic, had competed in Duluth with 120 other teams from around the region. They managed to win an invitation to the world Championships and began preparations immediately.

In the days that followed, NoMythic celebrated its victory and looked ahead to the future of the season. This year was shaping up to be one of NoMythic’s best ever. Amid the celebration was an underlying sense of dread as the spread of COVID-19 led to many other FIRST events being cancelled, but NoMythic still held out hope and started making plans to go to the FIRST World Championship.

    On March 12th, FIRST released a season update:  “It is with deep disappointment that I share an update on the immediate suspension of the current FIRST season and the cancellation of both Championship events.”  Across the world, teams were in shock. Students on NoMythic left their advisories in search of one another: talking, crying, and joking together waiting for the news to fully sink in. 

It didn’t take long to recover from their loss. Around the world, teams began using the skills learned from building and designing robots to join the fight against COVID-19. Teams from around the country are doing the same.  Here in Minnesota, Team 2177, The Robettees from Visitation High School, are sewing face masks. Team 2052, The KnightKrawlers, from Irondale High School, are making Face Shields that they are donating to local hospitals and other organizations. Around the state, teams are doing what they can to make sure that we all rise through this challenge together.

Links

For more information:

No Mythic’s website is at http://www.2491nomythic.com/  
Great River School Montessori / IB is at http://www.greatriverschool.org/
Avalon School’s website is http://www.avalonschool.org/
FIRST Robotics and the details of the World Championship are at http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc

Team’s We Contacted:
KnightKrawler:FIRST Team 2052  https://www.team2052.com/
Robettes, FIRST Team 2177 https://www.therobettes.com/

Twelfth Night at Great River School

Rehearsals are under way for GRS’s production of Twelfth Night.  Our cast 7th-11th graders have been working hard to get blocking memorized and wrap their modern brains around the 400 year old language. 

Shannon Sykes and Aaron Ropers-Huilman practice longing looks as Voila and Duke Orsino.

Our quartet of scheming characters doing their best scheming! Morgan Hanson-Rosenberg, Ryland Kranz, Chandler Peters-Durose and Miles are taking their best dastardly poses.

From an unfortunate case of mistaken identity to brawls to romance, this play has got fun for the whole family!

This year’s spring play puts a twist on Shakespeare’s classic, exploring the relationship of gender and expression. Students and faculty have been working hard since January to put on a show full of drama, laughter and love. 

Performances:
March 12th, 13th, and 14th at 7:00pm
March 15th at 3:00pm

Tickets:
Adults $15
Students $10 (with promo code GRSSTUDENT)

Presale tickets can be purchased here.
Sliding scale tickets can be purchased at the door.

Henrik Nordeen is practicing mischief as the Fool.

Stars Ultimate Frisbee

The 2020 season of Stars Ultimate Frisbee is swiftly approaching! Students in grades 5-12 are encouraged to join Ultimate, whether they are seasoned pros or have never picked up a disc.

We will hold an informational/kickoff meeting for players and families on Monday, March 16 at 6pm in the Performance Space at Great River. If you cannot attend the info meeting, please email ultimate@greatriverschool.org to get info and registration materials.

About Great River Stars Ultimate:

High School Ultimate - Girls and Open (any gender) teams for students in grades 9-12

• Open practices Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30 - 5:30 at McMurray fields, and have games on Thursdays at West Minnehaha Rec Center from 6pm-8pm.

• Girls practices Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30 - 5:30 at McMurray fields, and have games on Tuesdays at West Minnehaha Rec Center from 6pm-8pm.

• High School Ultimate will practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the McMurray turf fields (weather permitting - no practicing on snow) from Tuesday, March 10th to Thursday, March 26th (or the GRS gym as snow remains), and resume regular practice at the McMurray softball fields after Spring Break. Games begin after Spring Break.

  Middle School Ultimate - Mixed gender for students in grades 5-8

• Middle School practices Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:30 - 5:30 at McMurray fields, and have games on Sundays (starting April 19) from 1pm-4pm

• Middle School Ultimate practices will begin on Tuesday, April 7 (after Spring Break)

More information can be found at www.tinyurl.com/starsultimate. Please email ultimate@greatriverschool.org with any questions.

Have questions? Want further information? Contact ultimate@greatriverschool.org

Blue Heron Bash: Head of School Message

Great River Families, 

Our school mission is ambitious - preparing students for their roles as engaged global citizens. Our school vision is even farther-reaching: global peace through education. With these audacious, big, and sometimes overwhelming goals pressing us forward… 

Sometimes we need to just kick back and reflect on our joy and love for our children and each other. We find the courage to go out of the house in mid-March and we revel in building new friendships and finding old connections renewed.  We do that under 14,000 sparkling festive lights in a gym. We get our local craft breweries and talented parent community together and serve up a night for fun and revelry with each other. Yes, we call this the Blue Heron Bash. 

So, before I complete my tenure as Head of School this year, I’d love to see each of you at the Blue Heron Bash!  I’m calling on all families, all parents, all those adults who love the students who attend Great River School to attend the Bash - 6-10pm on March 21st, 2020. 

We need your love! We need your joy! We need your help to make it happen!

We need your smiles and laughter and twinkling eyes shining - go to the Blue Heron Bash! 

We need your talents and bravery and friendliness to host a Great Gathering and Build OUR Community! 

We need your hands and skills and time to help chip in and volunteer! 

Thank you each and all. Add your voices to the chorus of support for our beloved students. Come to the bash, share an evening of celebrating our precious and miraculous school, and have fun! I’ll see you there!!!

Sam O’Brien
Head of School 
Great River School

March Elementary Update

written by Jean Peters, Elementary Program Director

Montessori elementary students love to do BIG WORK!! Guides give lessons to inspire students and encourage them to follow on to learn more. This can either mean working with a material, doing a timeline, writing a skit, making a diorama, or so many other things!

Sometimes this work is so BIG it needs to be done in the hallway.  This can either be big work that will not fit in the classroom or require space for a small group or space to spread out a lot of materials. 

 It is amazing to walk through the halls and see the variety of work that is going on.  You often have to step over or around the work or walk through play practice.  

AND, it is not just seeing but also hearing, students are playing guitars and ukuleles, giving each other lessons and serenading people in the hall.  

AND is it not just hearing but smelling.  Today there was baking going on in classrooms and the smell of baked bread and apple pie was spreading through the hallways. Students in Outdoor Ed also learned how to make a camping stove out of a pop can!

AND it is not just smelling it is also doing.  Students work in the hall doing Bal-A-Vis-X, a program that students use independently or in small groups to work on balance and hand eye coordination.

AND, we have people come from the community to talk to the students.  Nancy Loewen, a local author came and did a presentation for some interested lower el students. 

Hope you enjoy a few pictures of this, if you have not come and observed, please sign up so you can see all of the big work going on!

Ninth Grade Retreat Reflections

• It was cold but at least I tried it.  It’s hard, really hard!

• Skating is hard. I guess it’s kind of alright.

• I really felt like I knew really got to know myself on the ice. I think I broke my arm.  

• Ricardo was willing to try every move I asked him to   It was so inspiring to kids.  My favorite moment was Jonas giving skating lessons to everyone who needed it.  

• I’m not really a speed skater or a figure skater.  I think my strength is skating around the rink.

• The best skating swing dance session ever.  We’re actually swing dance professionals.

• Anthony is a good skater!

• My hair froze

• Snow cones for days

Great River Con Recap

written by Lillian Evans ‘25

February 22nd, 2020 was Great River Con, a Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) convention. Many families went and several people learned something new about DnD. There were a couple of student vendors selling things that they had made themselves. Gameplay included students DMing (dungeon mastering) one-offs and a person from Make a Scene hosting some Live Action Role Playing during the gaming portion of the Convention. We had Ricardo McCurley talk about DMing for kids 10 and younger, and how that usually ended in chaos and how to embrace that chaos. We also had four hosts from the podcast The Last Refuge facetime in to talk about podcasting and playing DnD for a HUGE audience. DnD Con was a lot of fun and if there is ever another one you should come.

Festivus 2020: Student Report

written by Micah Rysavy, student leadership

GRS Upper Adolescent Student Leadership hosted Festivus on Friday, Jan 24 in the gym! There were a number of activities, including a potluck, karaoke, kahoot, reading of grievances, feats of strength, and a fashion show, all organized by the students. Festivus is a popular event with the student body, and the student leadership crew worked to make this the best possible experience for the GRS Community.

It is a GRS High School yearly tradition to hold Festivus as an inclusive celebration of the school year near the end of the first semester, and it offers a great chance for students and teachers to unwind and have some fun in the school day. Festivus is one of our many fun community bonding events where students and guides alike are able to forget about homework for an afternoon and spend some quality time together as a community. 

Gratitudes

written by John Albright, Little Elk guide

On Tuesdays in Little Elk we begin our class meeting with a statement of our beliefs. The next thing we do is share “gratitudes.” These include thank yous, compliments, and anything that we are grateful for. We pass the talking stick around the circle and anyone who wants to can share. It’s quite common to be thankful for our cats, our friends and our parents. “I want to thank my dad for bringing me to basketball practice,” says a sixth grader.  A fifth grader thanks her friends for “playing soccer with me at recess, because it was really fun.” Another thanks his parents for “giving me shelter.”

We also practice gratitude every day just before we eat lunch. Children choose one statement from a list of blessings from around the world, ring the bell, wait for silence and then read it out loud. It’s common for children to sneak bites of food before we ring the bell, but we consistently encourage each other to wait until we’ve given thanks. For example, “we honor the beauty and bounty of the food set before us. We are grateful to all those who grew and tended to this food. And to those who made it possible for it to be here for us.” 

Some of us meet in the mornings to do calming work. One of the activities we do is called “three good things.” When we are disappointed, this exercise teaches us to think of three good things in our lives too. This reminds us that we can hold two feelings in our heart at the same time, that we can balance the disappointing with the grateful.

This week I asked some students what they were grateful for. Henry, who came to Little Elk three years ago from a traditional school, said, “I’m grateful that I have the freedom to choose research projects and make dioramas. It’s not like a set way of learning where everybody do the same thing all at once.” Henry noted that the transition to Montessori in fourth grade was kind of hard but “now it’s easier for me to work and I’m better at time management.”

Dakota: “Skiing is fun. I learned just learned how to ski this year. I can ski black diamonds now…. I think my favorite hills at Wild Mountain is Broadway you come down and you cut across like this…”   

Lydia: “I’m grateful for pasta, the long stringy kind.”

Moses: “I’m grateful for having a nice class. Nobody’s really mean.”

Dorian: “I’m grateful for life and my pet and my parents and Legos. My parents gave me life and they feed me and they give me pets and they give me Legos.”   

As for me, I’m thankful that I work in a school where older students mentor and pass along their knowledge to younger students through direct teaching. I’m grateful that I work in a school that serves real food for humans.

John 
February, 2020