Klahanie School
February 2018 Newsletter
January 2017 Reflection
Hawaiian Poem: Peacemaker (To make Peace)
Ua kuikahi ke aupuni e haawi e paa I ka lima ke kuike e mamua o ka olelo – alohaloha ua kuikahi ke aupuni ~ To unite as one and make peace you must give your hands up in agreement that you will ‘try’ to understand one another, speak kindly, entreat gently and go with love, yes, in order to unite as one and make peace
~Bonnie Flach, English Translation
“Can you read about, her, this lady? I love her so much.” ~ Calyx at circle asking to read about First Lady Michelle Obama.
January brought us amazing levels of connection, reflection and presence. With the solid base of this unified group making peace everyday within themselves and in friendships, we were able to welcome new friend Arthur to our class. Welcome Arthur Perley-Williams and family! Coming back together celebrating togetherness and re-establishing connection and friend dynamics through dramatic play and garden adventures have been the core of our work this month while also sprinkling in our normal class lessons and fun. We sang in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday full of joy and excitement. We also dived in the world of islands, archipelagos and created many amazing art projects. Thank you parents for your wonderful check-ins and inquiries this month. All your children have shown tremendous levels of kindness and focus of helping self, friends and environment. This is a very sugar coated, sweet group of children! We fully experience the following as a wonderment of being together and forming meaning of connection as a group.
In the practice of compassionate listening, you listen with only one purpose: to give the other person a chance to speak out and suffer less. Practice breathing in and out deeply and concentrate on what you are hearing. While the other person speaks, they may express bitterness, wrong perceptions, or make accusations. If you allow these things to touch off the anger in you, then you lose your capacity to listen deeply. Listening with mindfulness helps you keep your compassion alive. It protects you, and your anger will not be triggered. Even fifteen minutes of listening like this can be very healing and can bring a lot of relief to another. You may be the first person who has ever listened to him or her like that.
~How To Love, Thich Nhat Hanh
February 2018 Curriculum Topics
I wonder what memories of yours will persist as you go on in life. My hunch is that the most important will have to do with feelings of loving and being loved—family, friends, teachers, shopkeepers—whoever’s been close to you. As you continue to grow, you’ll find many ways of expressing your love and you’ll discover more and more ways in which others express their love for you.
~Fred Rogers, Life’s Journeys According to Mister Rogers: Things to Remember Along the Way
This is a busy, full and wonderful month we will share together in class. We sincerely witness the following on levels of profound authenticity and honoring. Your children are magnificent and we humbly offer love and joy while they exercise self in this big and amazing world. We feel honored to fill up their HOPE and Dreams.
There are three ways to ultimate success:
The first way is to be kind.
The second way is to be kind.
The third way is to be kind.
~Fred Rogers
We will begin study exploration of
- Love: exploring this powerful emotion and how we show love to self and others. This will incorporate arts, movement, spoken word, songs and poetry.
- Chinese New Year (February 16-March 2nd)-- year of the Dog. We will make our dragon again and have a Chinese New Year: Year of the Dog parade
- Valentines: Wednesday the 14th we will exchange Valentines (Teachers will help parents distribute Valentines in name labeled bags in tent). We plan to cook a pancake meal (fruit compote, chop almonds and whole butter) and sing, recite Valentine songs and poems.
- Hawaii islands and Inner Hebrides, Scotland beginning exploration of similarities and differences and the native languages of these remote islands.
- Winter Birds
- Poetry
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”
Reminders/Thank You
- Winter Break No School: Feb 19-23
- Thank you Jen Keller and Jordan Beck for the playdough and all the parents who volunteered to help when teacher Jordan was out sick!
- Valentines: help your child make a valentine for each classmate
Names of Classmates (please note: this our total school enrollment. Not all children are present every school day)
- Valentines Date Night Parents! Harbor School is hosting an 8th Grade babysitting night ($30 for night, $10 an hour) to help raise money for their Costa Rica trip! Contact Harbor School to reserve your spot!
- March 1 Re-Enrollment Due--please email or call questions asap as both teachers will be using February for family time and planning away time. Thank you and cannot wait to begin another chapter to unfold as our school continues collaboration with so many to find sustainable peace spaces for our youth.
Happy Love to you All!
