Recently, 5th Grade students studied the Science of Botany. Mr. Holmes, the 5th grade teacher, assigned his students an imaginative writing task. Here is an outstanding sample from one of our Mountain Oak 5th grade students.

JACK THE SEED by Sally Kadosh
Hi! I'm Jack, a seed. I live in a seed package. I haven't been planted yet. It's not exactly fun living in a seed package; but it can be a very informative place to live. It's not a permanent home or anything, so I try to gather all the information I can before I'm planted.
     One day, I woke up to loud, excited voices. I heard Michael, my friend, talking to a bunch of seeds, so I joined the mob. Michael had been taken out of the package and then put back in; I don't know why, so don't ask. Anyway, he must have gathered information about other plants out in the world, so now everyone was curious. He told us that he saw some seeds flying! Can you believe that? He said there were different types of flying seeds. Some came from dandelion plants, others from cattails, and some fly on something like a helicopter? I have no clue what the word "helicopter" means, but sounds like it is something fascinating. He told us about droughts, when there is not water and you start to shrivel up and die. Yuck! He said there are floods, too. I asked Michael what that meant and he said, "it's when there is so much water that you float and never get to be planted." Of course, every seed has been told it needs water to grow, as well as the sun, but no seed could imagine so much water that you would drown.
     Also, Michael said that on his way back to the seed package, he saw some plants in the garden, our future home, that were without petals, shriveled, swaying and growing at odd angles in the garden. All of these thoughts horrified me. At least I knew something about the world, but I was not exactly pleased with it. I just wish I could be out there. The last thing Michael told us was that one of the plants identified himself as a tulip. Lucky him! I hope I will be a dandelion and travel in the mysterious blue where the sun comes from. I think it might be fun to be in a "fluid", or whatever it is called. Then again, it could be dangerous. Your jacket could soften too much and you might rot, if my calculations are right.
     Whoa?! What the...? Oh, my gosh! I'm in a human "beans" hands! I'm out of the package. I'm in the world! I quickly holler good-bye to everyone before I'm blinded with radiant light. Once I get used to the blinding light, I look around. Wow! There are enormous plants that are bigger than human "beans", or at least I think they're plants. I know where I'm headed for and that's the garden.
     The human "bean" put me down on something, then started digging with a small shovel. I guess the human "bean" was making my hole. While it was digging, I asked the plant I was nearest to if he knew what kind of a plant I was going to be. The old plant stared and stared at me a long time, too long of a time. I was just about to give up on this old grouch, but suddenly he said he thought I was a sunflower. A what, I exclaimed?! The old grouch just turned away. Okay. Now I knew what I was, but I wasn't very happy about it. Great, I thought, just great. Everyone else is probably a tulip, or an iris, or a rose, and look at me. A dumb, old sunflower covered in ant eggs. Before I could argue anymore about it, I was picked up and dumped into a dark, lonely hole in the soil of the garden. I was watered every day. And now, I must wait and wait until I sprout. That, my friends, is the story of my seed hood.

Happenings:

Wednesday, January 26th is our 3rd Grade Parent Meeting from 3:00 to 4:30 pm.

Friday, the 28th is our Class Parent Coordinators Meeting right after Tea Garden.

Tuesday, February 1st at 11:00 am is a field trip to PFA, grades 1st-5th to see “Emperor’s Nightingale.”

Tuesday, Feb. 1st is the 6th/7th Parent Meeting at 7pm.

Next week on Wednesday, Feb. 2nd there is early dismissal at 12:30pm.

Snow Information

SCHOOL NEWS

The Board wishes to thank everyone who attended the recent community meeting. Many important questions were raised as well as some great suggestions and discussion on these issues. The school has exhausted its possibility to move out of the Virginia site for the 2005–2006 school year due to conditions of our existing lease and failure to locate an appropriate site by the Dec. 31st deadline. An offer has been accepted on the Willow Street site for over 3,500 sq.ft. The school is in the conceptual design phase for the site to be presented to the City this week. Our fiscal plan will be presented to banks this week for financing the purchase and improvements of this site.

The Board is working on the following plans:
move the Kindergartens and 1st grade to the Willow St. site
open a pre-Kindergarten program at the Willow St. site
allows all K–8 programs to be housed at these two sites provides a two or more year search and implementation at a single larger site to have all programs and 10-year vision housed together.

Community Dialogue and Input
Discussion on Pre-K program implementation
Concerns to be considered in regard to separating programs to two sites
Supporting families with children at both sites

Support Needed
Need for assistance with site improvements and work (simple modifications, painting, yard and playground preparation, etc.) at both sites
Need for additional redefined Board service; contacts,/networking for professional services (i.e., architect tural/design, grading/paving/concrete, plumbing, fencing, etc.)

The following summary of questions, input and suggestions were made during the community meeting:
We have already outgrown our current site.
Making the down payment and issues with the City regarding site improvements are the main hurdles. It already has the proper zoning for our needs.
Concern: First graders will have a limited group to play with.
Question: If we offer pre-Care (before school) should it be at the current site or at the new site? What about transportation between sites?
Suggestion: Keep the 1st grade at the present site.
Question: What about the specialty teachers how will they coordinate classes between the two sites?
Question: The Kindergarten faculty are concerned about whether they will be required to carry the handwork pro gram. What about the walking field trips—will the first graders still be able to participate?
Comment: There is currently no extra space for anything.
Comment: Transportation between the two campuses can be provided.
Comment: Many possibilities for coordinating with Prescott College three blocks away. An offer was made to work on this aspect.
Find out how many families will have children at both sites.
Suggestion: Talk to the Tucson school which has three Kindergartens and grades at two separate sites. Find out how they have been able to work with this situation.
Comment: We will need support from the community with moving to the new site. There are advantages to own ing this site even after we purchase the new site and get the school up and running at the new location.
The site could be used indefinitely for a number of different purposes including additional pre-K or Kindergarten classes.
Office space for the Mountain Oak Non-Profit Foundation to use.
Will be a long term investment/gaining additional principal each year we own it as opposed to leasing some other site.

The Destiny Our Children Bring Us

Working and Living with
Children with Learning Challenges

Saturday, January 29th
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
At Desert Marigold School

For parents, teachers, and health-care professionals , this workshop will offer additional insights and approaches to the challenges of living and working with children with learning difficulties.

This program is offered by Mary-Jo Oresti, founder of AHE Remedial Training Program and Lee Sturgeon Day, co-founder of Lifeways for Healing Education. Call Jamie at Desert Marigold School in Phoenix to pre-register at 602 243-6906. Cost is $45.00 and bring your bag lunch. More details on this program are available through Mary Sue Bourland in the office.

Breaking the Pattern of Bullying and Teasing:
The Social Inclusion Approach

At last year’s ACWE conference, our school was introduced to the Social Inclusion Approach for dealing with bullying and teasing. This year MOS has begun the training phase of implementing this exciting and all encompassing method of teaching our children to be safe with each other. Eleven community members spent two days at Dobson Ranch in Mesa with adult from four other Waldorf schools learning the methods and skills of setting up this system from Kim John Payne M.Ed, a Waldorf educator and parent, counselor and researcher. Please jump into a conversation with any of the parents, teachers, administrators or Board members who attended: Mary Sue Bourland, Merrill Badger, Pamela Craig, Frances Fellows, Beni Garcia, Therese Hubble, Tracy and Tony Himes, Diane Jacobson, Richard Weiss and Brian Wyatt.

Our plan is to practice these methods among these adult through out the rest of this school year, adapting them to the need of our school. Our hope is to bring them to the students in a pilot project next school year and adopt them into policy the following year.

Our first study session is planned for Sunday Jan. 30 at 2 PM.
Next week – The Put Down Diet

Musical Explorations

Tomas Winn and I started hosting the bi-weekly Musical Explorations at Joan's home three weeks ago. The first time we shared stories of how music has played a role in our lives, explored listening with the heart, experienced feeling resonance on the body, and literally played around with all kinds of small percussion instruments and flutes. Last week we explored metal and wooden percussion instruments.
     We would love to have more people join us in these musical journeys. We are open to whatever themes you would like to explore. Next time, Thursday February 3rd: strings (cello, double bass, psaltry, lyre, chrotta, ferry fiddle). From now on the Musical Explorations will be held at Marion's home: 606 East Willis Street, so we have all instruments at our fingertips. No musical experience necessary and admission is free! See you then, Marion

TSUNAMI Fundraiser

The 6th/7th grade class would like to thank you for buying our baked goods and treasures for the Tsunami Aid Fund. We were able to earn just over $400.00. Thank you again, the money will go to the aid of survivors of the Tsunami.

Charlotte DeMocker and the 6th/7th grade.

After Care Position

Want a fun job? After Care position available -- 2:30 to 4:00 pm (or 5:00 pm depending on enrollment) Monday through Friday. Free childcare for your child, sign on now! See Pat or Dianne in the After Care office 12:00 to 5:00 pm, Thank you.