|
|
|
|
Calendar of Events
| All-School Work Party
THIS Saturday
August 21
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
&
Sunday, August 22
8:00 AM -1:00 PM
Click here for more information
Lori Mackinder's
"Fun with Math" workshop for parents
Tuesday, August 24
6:00 PM
Community Meeting
September 1
6-7:30 PM
Return to School
& Opening Ceremony
School Front Lawn
(bring a blanket)
September 8
9:00 AM
Community
Meeting Recap
(for those who missed the 9/1 meeting)
September 15
5:00 PM
Open House for
Grades 1-8
September 15
(More info to follow)
Wednesdays
in the Garden
Lend a hand in the community garden after early release every Wednesday
Recycle Thursdays
(weekly, click here for details)
Parent Book Club
Mon, Tue or Wed (TBD)
after drop-off
Click here for our Calendar of Events!
|
Summer Institute
| |
The Journey teachers are gearing up for our second annual Summer Institute to help prepare for the new school year. This year, we will have a special guest speaker, renowned educator:
Lori Mackinder
who will offer a
Parent Workshop next Tuesday, August 24 at 6:00 pm.
Ms. Mackinder's
"Fun with Math" workshop will show us how to inspire passionate, young mathematicians and how to create a
home environment that
makes it joyful.
Don't miss out on
Lori's fabulous talk!
Also, be looking for
an e-blast with more information and a link to Lori's most recent scholarly article.
|
After-Care
|
Journey School is committed to providing professional and enriching after-care options for students. Providers will be available following the Community Meeting and after our annual "Kick-off" on the front lawn at 9:00 am on the 1st day of school.
After-care options will include:
Drama
Center-Stage Studio Builds confidence and presence. Click here for details. Gardening Earthroots teaches healthy living and stewardship. Click here for more information.Kindy Care Niguel Children's Center is a safe, fun, and convenient option for young ones. Click here for their wesbite. Art Sandy Reid's classes ignite imagination and creativity. Click here for Sandy's website. Guitar Lessons Billy Alexander lets you give your child a gift to last a lifetime. Click here for more info. Circus Arts Joy Halverson teaches balance, teamwork, and coordination. Click here for more info. Homework Help Support student success in a variety of subjects. Instructor: TBA |
Carpool Request
|
We have a few Kindy & Grades families living in Irvine and Laguna Hills who are looking for carpools for the school year. If you are interested in carpooling, please contact Julie Giffin at julie@journeyschool.net or (949) 448-7232.
|
|
|
Good Things Are Happening!
August 20, 2010
|
Dear Journey School Family and Friends,
My family and I recently enjoyed a weekend getaway in Santa Cruz. While at the beach, I noticed several sea stars washed upon the rocks. At first glance, I didn't pay much attention. However, I later realized how amazing sea stars really are!
For example, sea stars have a simple but nearly perfect symmetry. This creates an effortless beauty and order. Their malleable skeleton also aids them in moving or adapting to the environment. Perhaps most impressive, sea stars can regenerate lost appendages when necessary.
Schools have a lot to learn from sea stars. For instance, simplicity offers a certain beauty and appeal. Also, sustainable
systems are needed in order to withstand challenges and the test of
time. And, everyone needs to be equipped and empowered to effect the
greatest positive change for the organization. Therefore, Journey School's annual
theme for 2010-11 will be... THE YEAR OF THE STARFISH:
Strength and Sustainability
We are excited to build enduring strength and sustainability at Journey School in partnership with each of you!
Onwards and Upwards!
Shaheer Faltas
School Administrator
|
Community Meeting--9/1/10
Please take a moment to mark your calendar for our upcoming Community Meeting on Wednesday, September 1st from 6:00-7:30! We need the entire school community of adults to come together!
No less than 95% of our families should be present to talk about next year's unifying theme, goals, finances, and the myriad of ways we are going to step-up together so the students experience a truly magical year.
On campus childcare for children 3-years and older is available during the community meeting from 6:00 - 7:30 PM for $5 donation per child (cash is preferred). Reservations required in advance due to limited space. For questions contact organizer, Bettina Spretke at matashis@cox.net
NOTE: For those few families who absolutely cannot attend, a follow-up meeting has been scheduled at 5:00 PM on September 15th. Those few families who will not be present on the 1st should e-mail shoon@journeyschool.net so we can anticipate your absence.
|
"Close the Gap" & School Finances
The pledge-drive continues to move forward full-steam ahead! We're grateful for your commitment to public Waldorf-inspired education. Results from the drive will be presented at our community meeting on 9/1 so you know exactly how much money was raised and by what percentage of families. You will also learn how your money benefits the children, and fits into the larger Journey School financial picture. It's not too late to give for the first time, or to increase your donation amount. Contact Cindy at (949) 448-7232 or email cindy@journeyschool.net NOW! Cindy will design an anonymous and convenient giving plan for your family. Successful organizations report a 50% participation rate. We aim to shatter these numbers and need your help to do so. Please donate now--no matter the amount.
|
Kindy News
- If you missed the kindy video we shared with you last week featuring Patti Connolly--renowned educator and Journey's Kindy Teacher--click here. Please pass this along and let your friends know that there are a handful of kindy student spaces available.
Anyone interested in enrolling should click here.
- Kindy Orientation will be on September 1st at 5:00 pm followed by our Community Meeting at 6:00 pm. RSVP now for childcare.
- In our last newsletter, we neglected to give you the "full-story" of Ms. Jennifer Lovejoy's wonderful background.
Specifically, this will be Ms. Lovejoy's seventh year in the classroom having taught high school for 3 years prior to teaching elementary school. Ms. Lovejoy holds a master's degree in teaching, as well as a multiple subject credential and single subject credential in English.
- The Niguel Children's Center looks forward to serving you and
your kindy kids. For more information about the Niguel Children's
Center After-Care program, please click here.
|
Council Corner
 Journey School's governing body is the Journey School Council (JSC) which is comprised of 9 volunteers representing a broad array of backgrounds. Your presence is welcone at all JSC meetings that typically occur on the last Thursday of the month.
The next JSC meeting is 8/26 at 6:30 pm.
Discussion topics will include: school finances, STAR testing results, hiring of a development director, and much more.
We look forward to seeing you! |
Learning Environment
 In Waldorf-inspired education, we aim to inspire children through a beautiful and soothing learning environment. Steady progress on this front continues to be made, including:
- The new garden at the heart of the school
- Improved outdoor lighting systems
- New patterns for traffic-flow in the parking lot
- Classroom windows and carpet cleaning
- Common approaches for promoting classroom community and healthy social dynamics
- Better systems for supporting struggling students
- Improved recess activities for students
|
|
Enrollment
Enrollment demand remains high! With school starting in a few weeks, and in order to ensure a smooth start, we can no longer hold a space for anyone who has not submitted the entire enrollment packet. E-mail julie@journeyschool.net with questions asap. Please don't regret delaying!
|
|
2009-10 STAR Results
Your student's individualized STAR Testing results will arrive at your home any day. We are in the process of analyzing both individual and school-wide achievement trends very carefully in our ongoing effort to improve learning and teaching. Be on the lookout for more information very shortly.
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events and Announcements
|
|
Parent Book Club
You're invited to join a Parent Book Club! Learn about the philosophy of Jouney Education in a relaxed environment. Meet once a week for an hour under the trees on blankets for a casual look and conversations around special books like:
Simplicity Parenting, You Are Your Child's First Teacher, The Kingdom of Childhood, and more! Email Shannon Jachetta for more info or to sign up. Don't miss out on the opportunity to peek behind the curtain of our children's world!! Fun conversations guaranteed!
|
|
Books for 5th Graders
The Journey School 5th grade class would be grateful for the donation of the following books:
- The Iron Ring
- The Golden Goblet
- My Side of the Mountain
In the Journey
spirit of sharing and recycling, your donation would be greatly appreciated.
|
Exciting News in the Garden
New Garden Design for the "Green Heart" of our School
Learn Ways You Can HelpOur goal is to create a beautiful garden and outdoor theatre
space in the heart of the school. We envision a place where students,
teachers, parents and the community can connect and inspire each other
to grow and learn. The garden will be a surrounded by a waddle
fence using locally harvested willow creatively woven together (watch
for exciting news regarding this project). The new space will have a
gathering area, eight planter boxes (one assigned to each class), rows
of crops, benches, a tee pee, and a compost bin.
The outdoor theatre will host musical and theatrical
performances as well as provide additional space for school meetings and classrooms. We
envision having community workshops to include classes in gardening,
rainwater harvesting, solar, and composting, to name just a few. Partnerships are key to our success, so we're delighted to
announce the garden team is now working with UCI Extension Master
Gardeners. This new partnership provides Journey School with
extraordinary support including gardening consultation, learning,
resources and on-site garden workshops. A very special thanks goes to
Erik Katzmaier for being our key liaison. Please join
Erik and his colleague at our Saturday workday.
We hope you can join us this Saturday and Sunday! There will be fun activities for children and adults. Here are a few ways to help this weekend:
- bring your garden tools... shovels, trimming shears, gloves, hammers, wheel barrels, rototiller, and electric drill
- install fence posts and hammer on wire siding
- build planter boxes
- build wooden gates
- install hose bibs
- rototill
- weed
To be part of the garden team, or for ways to help, contact michelle@cherishedself.com. Meeting times will be announced soon. |
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
