This coming Saturday (October 25) the adults of the Swain community will gather to work on the Strategic Plan that will take our school to the year 2020 - just as we worked together as a community to create a five-year plan back in 2009.

• We commit to these important activities by scheduling time for them on our calendar.
  
  Each fall we schedule a specific "Outdoor Education Day" for our 5th-7th graders, held this past Friday. These off-campus adventures give students the opportunity to experience nature, try new skills (right, 5th graders tackle a ropes course), and reflect on individual and group goals.
  
  On Friday our 8th graders participated in a "Leadership Day", in which they pursued adventure right here at Swain. They had a productive morning working on special 8th grade projects. After lunch they utilized an inflatable obstacle course: after racing each other in pairs by going through the "normal" way, they created challenges like going through backwards or blindfolded or while fencing with noodles. See the photos here.
  
  We also set aside time on the calendar for community service days, in the fall and spring. These days give opportunities for students to go out into the community, to help others by reading to young children, shelving books, and doing administrative work and clean-up projects, among other tasks. On-campus community service projects (right) are on the schedule too, as are Earth Day clean-up activities and giving opportunities like the Salvation Army Angel Tree and Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.

• We commit time and resources to field trips - many of them to outdoor venues. In fact, we typically offer over 80 such trips a year! These excursions reinforce the curriculum, and offer many experiences that our students would not likely have elsewhere (right, 1st graders take a turn at milking a cow).
   
• Our buddy program is a big part of our character education initiative, pairing older students with younger to get together to work on special projects. For example, Mrs. Coverley's 5th graders took Mrs. Takacs' and Mrs. Johnson's PK students outside to enjoy a beautiful fall morning, to collect leaves and other findings. Then they created a collage with the materials they collected.

• A further commitment to our Outdoor Education program came last fall, when we hired Brad Hirsh as our Outdoor Ed coordinator. In addition to teaching middle school humanities courses, Mr. Hirsh helps coordinate the outdoor ed trips mentioned above.
  
  He has also initiated new opportunities, including canoe and kayak trips for middle schoolers. And on Mondays after school, you can see him leading a group of 'littles' around the campus, exploring the far corners of our campus as part of our SASS program.

• And we would be remiss if we didn't mention our beautiful 20-acre campus - in addition to the buildings, athletic fields, and playgrounds, it offers a number of outdoor spaces that are used by teachers and classes. You will often see folks enjoying the organic garden and adjoining reflection garden, the courtyard, and the outdoor gazebo as learning spaces.

It is because of the commitment and foresight of those families, faculty, and staff who came before us - who took the time to thoughtfully 'look ahead' to the Swain of the future - that we enjoy The Swain School as we know it today.

If you have the time to participate (even for only part of the day), we would appreciate your input as we craft Swain's next Strategic Plan.

When:          next Saturday, Oct. 25
                     come at 8:30 a.m. for a light breakfast
                     begins at 9 a.m.

                     ends at approximately 3:30 p.m.

                     followed by Wine & Cheese Reception
Where:         Rogers' Commons

                     please use the front entrance if possible

Logistics:     complimentary child care (for those out of diapers)

                     lunch provided for adults and children

Please let us know you are coming! RSVP to Laura Knopf at 610-433-4542, ext. 124 or lknopf@swain.org.