Parent Meeting, Strawberry Shortcake, Finding Ruby

Final Kindergarten Parent Meeting, May 21, 6:30-8pm

Please join us for our final joint kindergarten parent meeting of the year on Tuesday, May 21, from 6:30 to 8pm.  We will gather outside the kindergartens and take a walk along our lovely trails, pausing in the forest to share a reflection on our child's growth through the year (wonderful if you can come up with an image in advance).  We will conclude with a guided compassionate response mediation, with optional sharing of images that arise (perhaps the image we bring with us will metamorphose through the meditation, or an entirely new image will come).  Here is the agenda in list form:

6:30 Gathering (outside kindergartens) and games.
6:45  Walk through the woods.
          Sharing of an image from the year.
          Compassionate Response Meditation
8:00   Return to school

Final Day of School, Wednesday, June 5:   Strawberry Shortcake Day

Wednesday, June 5 is our last day of school.  For many years now we have enjoyed a round of strawberries and shortcake to bring festivity to our final hour together before the summer break begins.  Please join the Butterfly, Sunflower, and Golden Forest classes for this festive time at 11:30 on the early childhood playground.  If you are not able to attend at that time, please arrange for your child to be connected with another parent who will be there, and let your child's teacher know of your arrangement.  (Also, we would like to hear from all families enrolled in extended care whether or not you will be using the extended care on Wednesday June 5. There will be a checklist on Cordula's clipboard.

The Narrative of Our Woods:  Finding Ruby

As you may know, our chickens disappeared over the surprise 3 day weekend when the pump was out.  Many of children have chickens at home who have become prey, and intrepid explorers and I looked for clues.  Although there were signs of a struggle, there was no absolute evidence that the chickens had perished.  Indeed, my Irish whistle had likewise vanished, and I liked to think that like the town musicians of Bremen, the chickens were roaming the woods, playing their music.  We have had incredible hikes in stunning hues of green, expanding the range of our perambulations to include the Whidbey Institute.  There, a week after the disappearance, children were surprised to find one of our chickens, Ruby, living with immense satisfaction amid the chickens of the Institute Garden chicken run.  She is named Ruby and is extremely happy there.  We are and will visit her often.  This story of loss and discovery tops any story I might tell the children (even The Donkey, a Grimm's tale I cherish, which I have studied deeply, and feel I do more than a fair job of conveying; this story is the one I am telling).

With Appreciation,

William