play kite

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Green School Campus is, as usual, an amazing symphony of creative learning projects all happening at once. The Geckos kicked off their Fairy Tales thematic unit with “Goldilocks and the 3 Bears”, preparing porridge, singing about Goldilocks and crafting bears of all sizes. Kindergarteners practiced mindfulness and focus with a peaceful breathing song, stillness and breathing techniques, and creating imaginary personal space bubbles. Grade 5 has been busy moving their chickens (all of which have been named, with Billy Joel leading the roost) to their new location closer to the classroom. Grade 8 science class continues its work in the gardens and their Roller Coaster thematic is cruising right along, while the grade 6 science started work on their energy cars. High School is creating Yantras in their Geometry class and diligently improving their Indonesian while, through it all, amazing musical numbers pour out from Chakra house in preparation for end of the Semester performances! Go, Green School, Go!

In this issue:

Green School News

Upcoming Events.

Ongoing Events.

Media & Links

2013 “Greenest School on Earth” Winners Announced

Also in the Green School Community

Green School News

Parent Information and Events Calendar

green-camp

Weather Policy:

Soon we’ll start experiencing lightning and thunderstorms. They usually occur 2-4pm, often at dismissal time. Below is what to expect.

Policy:

Red flag on the field means no one is to go onto the field.
If heavy thunder/rain, kids remain in class until it subsides
All students dismissed via HOS and warung path- no one on field.

Calendar of Events:
November:
Nov. 16: Padang Bai Green School Family Beach Day. We will meet at 12 noon at the beautiful beach in Pandang Bai called Bias Tugle (or Secret Beach).

Nov. 19: Nick, our friendly Health Insurance representative from B.H. Financial Services, Ltd., will be on campus next Tuesday, 19 November, from 12:00 – 3:30 pm to answer any questions you may have regarding health insurance. Please bring any receipts you may have to assist with claims processing. Email Sherri at shridee@greenschool.org if you have any questions.

Nov 22: High School Showcase

Nov 25: Advanced English Discussion Group, 2pm. A first of a regular weekly group to improve English conversational skills. Please e-mail leahnewman@yahoo.com if you will be attending.

Nov 29: Green School Community Association (GSCA) at 11:00am. Get an update on volunteer projects, dreams and plans!

Nov 29: Indonesian Celebration of Art and Culture! Grade 4 Gamelan Performance!

December:
Dec 3: Bamboo Tour. Come learn about the amazing properties and uses of bamboo as well as get a look at an extraordinary bamboo house built right next door to Green School. Tour includes a visit to PT Bamboo Pure and will begin at 9am (approximately 2 hours long). Cost is 160,000rp for one person or 240,000rp per couple (120,000rp per person). Send an email to tour@greenvillagebali.com to reserve a spot and please include the name/s of your child/children and which class/grade they attend at Green School.

Dec 6th: Bamboopalooza. With class stalls, games, vendors (jewelry, home decor, clothing etc), food, drink, live music and a silent auction, this fantastic community building event is an excellent opportunity for families to socialize and have some fun, all for a good cause: our scholarship fund. Volunteers needed! Please contact Rachel at rachel.glitz@greenschool.org.

Dec 10: Insights on Crystal and Indigo Children with Arno Colin, starting at 2pm. Arno is a French healer and spiritual teacher, who at nine he was taken to India to meet spiritual masters. His talk will focus on Crystal and Indigo children, who they are, and how best to comprehend and support them as parents, caretakers, and teachers.

Dec 11th: End of the Year Music Extravaganza

December 14th: Payment deadline for the second Semester.

Parent Reminders:
Hats and water bottles are crucial daily items for the kids as the weather get hotter!

Be sure to check out the school lunch menu at: http://www.greenschool.org/community/student-catering-menu/

Make sure to check our Lost and Found for missing hats, water bottles, etc…
Please be sure to wear a Parent Badge each time you come on campus, and ask your guests to wear a badge as well. This is really important for the security of our children and staff.

Check our Bulletin Board (behind Freak Coffee) for updates on campus and community activities. It’s also a great place to put your own postings for workshops, housing, and events.

An important link to our school calendars: http://www.greenschool.org/calendar/

Important Reminder: Green School December 14th Payment Deadline

Green-School-Families Dear Green School Families,

As we come to the mid year holiday break in December we want to remind everyone that the payment deadline for the second Semester is December 14th. We encourage everyone to please arrange early for this payment so that you don’t need to be handling this over your break. We realise this is a busy time of year for family planning so we want to ensure you have early reminders to plan ahead. Please allow one week for the transfers to be made so all payments should be sent by December 7th unless you are paying in cash.

Please also remember that our Tuition Fees Schedule & Policy 2013‐2014 states that a late charge will be applied to tuitions not paid on time. For each week following the payment deadline, Rp 500,000 will be charged up to a maximum of four weeks or Rp 2,000,000.

This also is of great assistance to our Finance and Management team so that they don’t have to be calling over the break to ensure payments have been made.

We appreciate your support and assistance in this matter. If you have any questions please contact our Head of Finance,Ichwan@greenschool.org.

Thank you.

Christopher Thompson
Director and General Manager

Parent Morning Conference Notes and Updates

Green-School-Football

We wanted to thank all the parents who attended the last Parent Morning Conference with with Andy, Chris and Tim. We covered a lot of topics and had a positive and productive discussion. We hope to continue to see more parents at these information sharing sessions.

Key Highlights:

The CIS Accreditation Community surveys were completed with strong participation of 60% from parents (normally 15%) and 100% students.
Green School Community Association happening in November (notice to follow).
Update from Board regarding school structure by end of November; recent Board notes are posted online and on website.
New Director John Stewart’s role focused on academic leadership and strategic direction with Board. Andy and Chris report to John Stewart. Chris will take on more operational management as GM.
The December Soulshine Festival will be a huge event with proceeds going to support the Green School Scholarship program and the Bumi Sehat non-profit.
Dec 6th is the Bamboopalooza community event. We are still looking for help and support.
We doubled the size of our Indonesian scholarship program from last year to 30 students. The School also provides financial aid support under certain circumstances of need.
School is reviewing if it will do the Greenest Student on Earth program again.
Teachers do professional development each year before start of school and are together at least 2 – 3 weeks before school starts.
The School has a clear policy on class sizes and has adhered to this over the past two years.
The number of classes are decided by January for the following year. The School needs 6 months lead time to decide how many classes to create.
Student Village, Bamboo Village and Green Retail are now back under Green School.
Questions on environmental studies program in high school (follow up with Andy).
Andy is working with online company on feedback platform for students.
Channels for voicing concern: Individual issue: teacher > learning neighborhood leader > Principal > Director. For general issues we encourage people to work with the the GSCA and the Class Ambassadors.
Leslie Medema (8 years development experience at Princeton) manages the process for placement of our graduates. Each student has a plan from grade 9 or 10. Focus on each child’s unique interests. Extraordinary response from universities and colleges including Quest, Duke, University of Michigan, Evergreen and many others.
Facilities update; music room is finished. Kitchen done in November in conjunction with new food and hygiene policy. New furniture is ordered for Warung. Jungle gym in process.
Schools from all over the world send students to Green Camp; new 40 people dorm under construction on the East side.

Thank you and we will see you soon.

Pak Andy, Pak Chris and Pak Tim

Culture of Service Column – GET INVOLVED

GSCA Next Green School Community Association (GSCA) gathering is Friday, November 29th at 11:00am.

Please mark the date in your calendar and do your best to attend this informative meeting. We will have management and team leaders there to summarize all the phenomenal projects happening at Green School as well as clear communication channels to give feedback, have your say, and get involved to make a difference. This gathering will be a chance for all parents to become a part of this active service community.

Aside from making Green School an even better place, service efforts will enable us to create deeper, richer connections within the community, and no doubt we’ll have a lot of fun along the way. Most importantly, perhaps, we’ll be demonstrating to our children a lesson that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

You all should have received emails from your Class Ambassador about Bamboopalooza contributions from each class in the form of an auction basket and activity booths. Please support the efforts of your Ambassador by responding and offering your services.

Appreciatively.

GSCA Team

GS Bike Club is Fundraising for a Bike Shed

The Middle School Experiential learning program (CORAL Fridays) has a Mountain bike club and these avid cyclist have kicked off a fundraising program to build a bike shed on campus. Check it out and give to the cause at:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/green-school-bikers-club-shed/

You can also read an article written by the Middle Schoolers on their own news site, The Ultimate Bamboo Post:

http://ultimatebamboopost.com/2013/11/13/sponsor-the-bike-club/

Movember Update

Joel The High School Student Council has created a fundraiser for movember and is supporting a local organization called Bali Medika Clinic in Kuta. Bali Medika provides free HIV testing and treatment for the Men Who Sleep Men and the Transgender community.

The fundraiser is explained on a green board in the school Warung area. Each volunteer has agreed to grow one of four mustaches depicted on their image. You can vote for the one you want the volunteer to cut into their growing beard. For instance, if you would like to see Pak Andy grow the Super Mario VOTE NOW!

Each vote is 5,000 Rps and voting ballots are available at break, lunch and after school for the next week.

Winning beards and shaving will occur on Friday, 22 Nov.

Thank you all for participating and helping a great cause on Bali.

Toby King for the HS Student Council

Change of Guard in the First Aid Clinic

school-nurse After a more than a year of excellent and caring service to the Green School community, we are sad to say goodbye to Nurse Esther. She has been a comforting voice and a smiling face here on campus to children, staff and parents here at Green School. We wish her the best of luck as she goes forward in life to the sound of wedding bells. Congratulations on your marriage, Esther!

Not all is sad though for we welcome our new School Nurse, Victor Elvis. Victor attained his Nursing degree at Universitas Klabat, a university in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, where he is originally from. Victor is very proud to be a nurse, a male nurse with a great passion for what he loves to do – serve the community. Victor began his nursing career as a rotating paramedic in Jakarta and East Borneo, continued with an experience as a lecturer at Universitas Samratulangi in Manado where he taught English for the nursing students and basic cardiology. Other experience was as a Clinical Instructor for the future nurses at a nursing school in his hometown. His life philosophy “I am here to serve” motivates him to provide holistic nursing care everywhere he goes. Victor likes reading, singing in a choir, cooking, and traveling. Please give him a warm welcome into the Green School community when you see him around campus.

Green School Students on Student Exchange to Australia

Natasha As our first official function with the esteemed Round Square Association, two Green School students will be attending school in Australia for the next two weeks. Gede Witsen (grade 7) and Natasha Ahman (grade 9) boarded a flight over the weekend and are currently attending classes at Woodleigh School in Victoria, Australia.

Woodleigh is a progressive school with a history of more than 150 years and Gede and Natasha are in for an exciting and enriching two weeks of exploring, sharing, and learning.

As part of the exchange, Ollie and Jade, Gede’s and Natasha’s host students will be visiting Green School in January. We look forward to hosting them for more exploring, sharing, and learning.

putu

Green School’s newly adopted ‘No Nits Policy’

Health-and-Safety-page If you have been here Bali for a while now you may have realized that “kutu” or head lice are a common issue here, as they are in most school environments.

To help keep everyone “nit free” the School has adopted a new policy for dealing with nits and head lice and offering a natural toxin-free removal service here at the school.

To read the full policy please go to the Health and Safety page. Here are the basics:

1)The school first of all recommends regular lice checks at home and has a list of helpful sites to help identify and remove nits yourself.

2)The school will continue having regular lice checks by our school nurse.

3) Additionally, the school is offering a natural treatment and manual head lice removal service in the clinic for Rp50.000.

If your child is found to have head lice you will receive a phone call or SMS giving you the option to pay for the clinic’s nit removal service, or to pick up your child and provide the treatment of your choice. Children will not be permitted back to school until the clinic verifies that they are free of lice.

If you wish to find more information on prevention and removal of head lice guidelines, please check out the following websites: http://www.headlice.org, http://www.killnits.com or www.headlice.co.uk.

We thank you for your cooperation on this and appreciate any feedback you may have. By working together, we can keep our kids lice free, nit free and in school.

Upcoming Events

Sports Update

volly-ball

BSSA Volleyball:
A fantastic week for Green School with several wins across the board and the 13/14 and 11/12 girls already through to the semi finals!

Matches on Wednesday 20 November:
9/10s 2 vs CCS 3 at GREEN SCHOOL 2.00pm
9/10s 1 vs CCS 1 at GREEN SCHOOL 2.30pm
13/14 Girls vs CCS 2 at GREEN SCHOOL 3pm
11/12 boys vs CCS at Canggu School at 2.30pm
11/12 girls- no game
Senior Tournament: Thursday 5 December!
Wed 20 November at 3.30pm: 15+ friendly vs BIS at GREEN SCHOOL

Community Soccer:
Wednesday After school with Pak Jade
Ages 14+ students, teachers, Kul Kul, and GS community members.
3:30pm until Dusk
Tournament Opportunities.

Brazilian Soccer:
Mondays and Tuesdays 3.30pm for Primary students with Pak Eduardo
Contact: petta@agenciatie.com.br
Ultimate Frisbee:
Thursdays 3.30pm on the field

Cheers
Pak Colin

The Green School Tribe presents: Bamboopalooza

Bamboopalooza

Bamboopalooza Goes Tribal! on Friday, December 6, beginning at 2 pm – an early dismissal for our students to allow plenty of time for a fun-filled afternoon of music, entertainment, games & activities and a phenomenal auction. The proceeds from Bamboopalooza will support our Local Scholar Program. This is our biggest community-wide event of the year. It is a chance for our Green School “tribe” to come together and to celebrate the diverse and inspiring community we have made here in Bali in this beautiful place. Our community is YOU! Please be a part of this fantastic day.

Students will have an opportunity to earn House “tribe” points every Thursday leading up to the event. The winner of the most Bamboopalooza points will earn an extra 100 points for their House “tribe”. Next week, (November 21), get ready for a tribal tug o’ war, when the Earth, Air, Water and Fire tribes will have a chance to compete on the field and to hone their rope skills.

Both our High School and Middle School student councils are hard at work, planning games and activities and, a number of our parents, teachers and staff are putting together a spectacular line up of entertainment and activities, creating amazing tribal decorations, securing phenomenal contributions to our auction and preparing for a fabulous day. If you are interested in hosting a vendor stall, making a donation to the auction or helping run it, decorating the campus, or if you just want to be involved and you aren’t sure how, please contact rachel.glitz@greenschool.org

Green School High School Performing Arts presents: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It

Shakespeare's “All the world’s a stage…” and we are exceedingly excited to bring you Green School’s very first Shakespeare production. A collaboration between our Visual and Performing Arts departments, our show includes unique shadow puppetry, original music, and script adapted for our bamboo stage by Pak Joel’s advanced literature students. One of our goals is help our Green School community love Shakespeare’s work as much as we do, and we aim to make the play accessible and enjoyable for all ages. It would be wonderful if you could read this quick plot summary together as a family before coming to the show (As You Like It for Kids). Here is a fantastic resource for kids full of fun information about William Shakespeare (Shakespeare for Kids) We will also be visiting classes to talk about this romantic comedy with Green School students.

We hope to see everyone at one of our three shows next month. We premier the same night as Bambooapalooza (6:45pm in the Mepantegan). Tickets will be sold in advance and at the door for 50.000rp. All proceeds help to cover production costs.

Our shows: Friday, Dec. 6th; Saturday, Dec. 7th; and then Monday, Dec. 9th

See you there!

February Green School Educator Course

education-course

The next educator course will be held February 7th-9th. In this introductory course, participants will spend 3-days learning about the Green School pedagogy while staying overnight in our brand new Green Camp Lodge. The course will be led by Green School teachers and focused on Middle and High School. More details about the course will be posted on our website by the end of the month.

Ongoing Events

Parent Support Group for ADD and ADHD

ADD-and-ADHD

A Green School parent has recently started a monthly support group for adults and children with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The group is also open to those who may be struggling with undiagnosed attention problems. The next meeting will be held at BIS in the Learning Support Office on Monday November 25th from 9-10 am. The invitation is extended to parents and students across all area schools, and will hopefully take place at a different school each month. For more information please contact ben@odysseyinstitute.com or Jessica Bates, Head of Learning Support at BIS: jbates@baliis.net. A FaceBook page has also been created for this group.

Media and Links

“2013 “Greenest School on Earth” Winners Announced

Greenest-School-on-Earth

The Center for Greens Schools and the U.S. Green Building Council, the groups who just last year named Green School as their first “Greenest School on Earth.” title recipient, just named its 2013 “Greenest School on Earth” winners! Our very own Founder, John Hardy was on the panel of Judges who picked this years winner. The first of the two winners is Sing Yin Secondary School, in Hong Kong, an urban school that is offering an environmentally based education to low income kids in a hyper efficient building with solar panels, wind turbines, green roofs, and an Organic garden.

The second “Greenest School…” winner is in Kenya, The Uaso Nyiro Primary School, whose building is designed specifically as a huge rain water collection and filtration system for a very arid and dry desert community. Each school is awarded a $5,000 (US) grant toward a Sustainability project.

You can read more about the Center for Green Schools and their award here.

Also in the Green School Community

Green School Family Snapshot

Kerri-Berrie-2 Kerri Berrie laughed when her best friend announced that she was leaving Australia to go and live in Bali. “Well, it just seemed… ridiculous!” she says, but when her friend showed her the Green School website she Began to reconsider. When she asked her daughter Lilly, now in Grade 5, how she would feel about going to a school in Bali, she got a resounding, “Bali stinks!”, but her son Orlando took a more reasoned response, “We have lived in Australia for a long time, so maybe we should experience other cultures.” That response inspired Kerri to join her friend and make the leap, move to Bali, and now, three years later, the family is still here. Kerri now runs the Green School Shop located behind the Welcome Desk, where she stocks “green, useful, and creative wares for families and visitors.” Kerri is originally from Perth and has an Arts Degree and has lived in many spots in Australia as well as Japan and London, where she ran an Art Gallery. Kerri’s son Orlando is in Grade 8 and plays all the sports available at Green School and his favorite teacher is Pak Noan. Kerri’s daughter, Lilly is in Grade 5, and loves swimming, playing with their dog, and playing math games on the computer. Kerri is often found at the Green School Shop right behind the Welcome Desk & she can’t be missed because she’s tall, beautiful & always brightly dressed. Be sure to stop in, check out her nifty wares and say “Hello” sometime!

A Wild Living in Bali Finale!

Living-in-Bali Last Saturday the Living in Bali adventurers were infused with the spirit of exploration during the celebratory finale of Green Camp’s Living in Bali series. Our intrepid group of GS parents and GC staff experienced Kren Kali Canyon dressed from head to toe in thermal wetsuits and specialist canyoning equipment. We pushed our limits to experience the thrill and majesty of the canyon!

Canyoning is not for the faint-hearted; it requires skills in navigation, rope-work, and climbing. We were supported by a great team of pioneering Bali canyoners who shared their intimate knowledge of the canyon and expertise with us, ensuring we safely and enthusiastically made it through.

As the adventure began we quickly found ourselves entering a state of hyper-arousal, hearts-a-thumping! A 5-meter free jump into a natural pool began the experience… immediately heightening our senses. We found ourselves sliding down natural river-smoothed-rock slides, swimming through canyon pools, scrambling, climbing, zip-lining, and rapelling down waterfalls. A truly unforgettable experience!

We are utterly grateful to everyone who joined us to share in the wild and transformative experience- surrounded by the gorgeous natural phenomena of the canyon- along the 5-hour adventure. Although some of us were nervous at the start, we learned about pushing through our fears and gained pride in discovering our limitless capabilities… and were yet again struck with the realization of how beautiful and diverse Bali is- and how much of it there is still left to explore.

Have a look at the photos from our adventure here http://www.flickr.com/photos/greencampbali/ If you are keen to join the next Living in Bali course, let us know! Drop a line to info@greencampbali.com – if we receive enough interest from parents and friends, we would love to offer this insightful Bali experience again starting next January. If you can’t wait that long, and want to join us for a one-day canyoning adventure soon, email us and let us know – you can join one of our weekend adventures in November or December!

English Classes Offered

English-Classes-Offered Leah Newman (mom to Ruby in Grade 6) has been living abroad most her adult life. She lived in nine different countries, and in each she has led an Advanced English Discussion Group. This group is designed for participants who have studied English but have not had the opportunity to become comfortable making conversation. Leah, an American visual artist and writer, creates a warm, safe environment to speak in. There is also a lot of laughter and joy involved. Each week we will discuss a different topic. This group is open to non-native English speakers. This is not a beginner’s class. The group will meet on Mondays at 2. There will be an introductory meeting Monday November 25th. Please e-mail leahnewman@yahoo.com if you will be attending.

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