“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” -Albert Einstein
Ceremonies, marvelous Mo’s, and snakes! Oh my! How do you follow a week of oddly shaped mustaches? By giving thanks! The Thanksgiving spirit was felt throughout Green School- the excitement for Bamboopalooza continues to grow, the High School are preparing for Shakespeare’s As You Like It, and the Early Years celebrated the Full Moon making offerings of their very own. Sticking to an Indonesian theme Friday’s assembly had students dressed in their red, black, and white best! Embracing the rich culture of our adopted home country, performances of song and dance rang through the Mepantigan to kick off the weekend.
In this issue:
Green School News
- Parent Information and Events Calendar
- Bamboopalooza
- Ultimate Frisbee Tournament
- Soulshine Raffles Amazing Crystal
- Art Gallery Extravaganza
Upcoming Events.
Ongoing Events.
Also in the Green School Community
- Green Camp’s Plant Family of the Month
- Green School Family Snapshot
- Submit future Newsletter items here
Green School News
Parent Information and Events Calendar
December:
Dec 2: Advanced English Discussion Group Monday at 2pm in the Meranggi Bale near the Art Studio. A regular weekly group to improve English conversational skills. Please e-mail leahnewman@yahoo.com if you will be attending.
Dec 3: Bamboo Tour Tuesday 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.
Dec 6th: Bamboopalooza Goes Tribal! Come join your Green School tribe, starting at 2pm. With a huge array of activities for all ages, vendors, a fantastic line up of live music and a phenomenal auction, this event is not to be missed. Volunteers still needed! Please contact Rachel at rachel.glitz@greenschool.org.
Dec 6th: Green School High School Performing Arts presents: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It Friday at 6:45pm in the Mepantigan. Tickets will be sold in advance and at the door for 50.000rp. All proceeds help to cover production costs.
Dec 7th: High School presents: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It Saturday at 6:45pm in the Mepantigan. Tickets 50.000rp.
Dec 9th: The Practical Mindfulness Workshop - 9AM in the Merengi Bale next to the Art Studio.
Dec. 9th: High School presents: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It Monday at 6:45pm in the Mepantigan. Tickets 50.000rp.
Dec 10: Insights on Crystal and Indigo Children with Arno Colin. Tuesday at 2pm in the Mepantigan.
Dec 11th: End of the Year Music Extravaganza Wednesday at 2pm in the Mepantigan.
December 14th: Payment deadline for the second Semester.
Dec 14 – Jan 6th: Holiday Break
Dec 27 & 28: Soulshine Festival at Green School with Michael Franti
Jan 7th: Back to School
February 7th-9th: Green School Educator Course: 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. More details about the course will be posted on our website by the end of the month.
Parent Reminders:
Mosquito season is here! Please turn over every coconut or container of standing water you see and report any larger ones you don’t feel comfortable dealing with by yourself. Thank you!
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 students.
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/
Bamboopalooza
Come join your TRIBE!!!!
Friday, December 6, Bamboopalooza is going to be an event to remember. Get ready to play, get your face painted, make some tie dye, visit our shaman for a view into your future, compete in the tug o’ war, visit the mudpit, take your photo in the jungle, meet a snake, ride a pony, slip & slide, dine on phenomenal food and shop at over thirty vendor stalls from around the island, including Green School’s own. Then, put on your dancing flip flops for Susu Ibu, Supa Kalulu, a renowned Jegog ensemble, Nasi Campur, the Briggs, our High School Band and the Omoja Marimba Band. And finally, reach into your pockets and come bid (and bid often!) on our most phenomenal auction ever: Dining, housewares, spa retreats, island getaways, Kevala Ceramics, Taksu Spa, Big Tree Farms, Ku De Ta, Laca Laca, Karma Kandara, Four Seasons, Bambu Indah, Alila Villa Soori; Bali Spirit Festival, to name just a few, and a fantastic range of contributions from the many talented members of our very own tribe.
Get ready for next Friday: Starting Monday, December 2, you can pre-purchase your entrance wristbands from Ibu Yani at the concierge desk. On Wednesday, help your fellow tribesmen, women and children complete the decorations and finalize the auction preparations, in a volunteer gathering that begins at 1:30pm – meet by the Warung. Thursday, December 5 we are challenging our Houses to generate some tribal energy and paint their faces in the spirit of their tribe – Air, Earth, Water, Fire. This can be as simple as having your tribe colors streaked on your cheeks, but feel free to get creative. (And if you can’t get painted before school, look for face paint tables in the HOS at break and lunch to assist) Each person with their face painted to represent their tribe will earn points. Air, Earth, and Water better step up if they want to catch that Orange tribe – they’re on FIRE!
A special thanks to the companies whose generous support for Bamboopalooza has made a significant contribution to our Local Scholar Program. We are incredibly grateful to our Tribal Leaders: Bali Buda, bvilla, Elephant Safari Park & Lodge, Jared Collins and Tripper. Our deep appreciation also goes to our Tribal Elders: Big Tree Farms and Eco Bali. And sincere thanks to our Tribal Members: Alchemy, Blue Stone Botanicals, Green Camp, Green School’s Student Village, Manta Dive, Namaste Spiritual Shop, Old Man’s Batu Bolong and Tutmak. You can find out more about many of these supporters by clicking on their logos on the Bamboopalooza poster.
Ultimate Frisbee Tournament
Photo: All the students and teachers
One of the Middle School CORAL Friday activities is Frisbee Terbaik (‘Ultimate Frisbee’ in Bahasa). Ten Middle School students – with Ibu Ida and Pak Sal – have designed a game-sheet in English and Bahasa and have been visiting nearby schools to teach Balinese students this cool sport. On Friday 22 November, three schools came to Green School for the Inaugural Frisbee Terbaik Tournament. The schools that visited were: SMP Negeri 3 Abiansemal, SMK Widya Mandala, and SMK PGRI 1 Badung. Everyone had so much fun. This is such a cool activity!!!
Soulshine Raffles Amazing Crystal
A rare and beautiful Labradorite crystal from Madagascar has been donated to help sponsor the Soulshine Festival, which in turn is a fundraiser for both the Green School Indonesian Scholarship Fund, and Bumi Sehat Natural Birthing Centre. The crystal will be on display in the Green School Green Shop, and you can get tickets from the front desk.
This crystal shows an amazing play of vibrant colours, which dance in the light. It is actually a rarer form of labradorite, called Spectrolite. The mystic lore of labradorite says it is the stone particularly for the astrological signs of both Scorpio and Aquarius.
“This wonderful stone teaches us that no matter how dark and challenging times may seem, it is possible to rise above them. There really is an abundant universe of magical opportunity awaiting us. Plus, for sensitive souls, it is a brilliant tool for keeping the aura clear and protected. This crystal helps us connect to our higher self, our spirit guides, and it aids us in self-mastery. ‘I manifest magic in my life’ ” (crystal wisdom courtesy of Madonna).
The stone weighs 4.4 kg, or 10 lbs, and is valued at around $ 1,200.
(Donated by the Crystal Castle & Shambhala Gardens, Byron Bay, Australia, a Soulshine Festival sponsor).
Art Gallery Extravaganza
The topic of identity and self is an interesting one. Over the past six weeks students in the High School have been exploring this theme as part of the Visual Arts course. In art, artists have consistently explored the theme of identity through their work. Many iconic artists have become quite famous by creating portraits of themselves or others – exploring themes of gender, race, sexuality, age, and class. Using these ideas as starting points, students participated in several workshops and discussions around identity and then developed their ideas into visual art work.
The work is now on display in the Bamboo Gallery and will be shortly uploaded to our virtual gallery at www.bamboogallery.org. All of us in the Art Department warmly invite you to come visit our current show.
Upcoming Events
High School Theater Production of “As You Like It”
High School is excited to announce our upcoming theater performance, the very first full-length production on our new bamboo stage! Please join us for “As You Like It”. 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!
Practical Mindfulness Workshop with Soojin Moon
Please join Soojin Moon for this short interactive workshop in which “Practical Mindfulness” will be explored by answering the following questions:
(1) What is practical mindfulness?
(2) How can we incorporate sustainable mindfulness into our family’s daily life?
(3) What are examples of everyday mindfulness exercises?
(4) How can we evaluate and assess the impact of mindfulness exercises?
This workshop will consider how to integrate daily physical exercise and wellness practices into the development of personal mindfulness and collective family mindfulness, and is designed to complement mindfulness practices already taught at Green School.
Soojin Moon is a Senior Wellness Consultant, Tai Chi / Qi gong Practitioner, and an Australian qualified Nutritional Medicine Practitioner.
The Practical Mindfulness Workshop will be held on December 9th at 9AM in the Merenggi Bale next to the Art Studio.
Ongoing Events
Sport Update
BSSA Volleyball
Well done to all our teams for their participation in a good volleyball season!! The round robin matches are done and the semi-final details/venues will be announced to those teams concerned very shortly!
Senior Tournament: Thursday 5 December at Bali International School at 1pm. Buses leave Green School 11am
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
Please note- No after school sport during the last week of term.
OUTDOOR ED Lifesaving:
Students from both the Middle and High School are taking part in a “Surf Survival” Lifesaving course which is run in conjunction with Lifesaving Australia. The kids learn important signals, tube and board rescues, CPR plus some fitness training doing run-swim-runs. Students will receive certification for the course and High School students will be able to go on and do their Bronze Medal qualification.
Cheers
Pak Colin
Green School Shop Goodies
Thanks, Glenn, for modeling our new shirts!
Green School polo shirts
- Original Lacoste PK knit sports weave, BUT ORGANIC cotton!
- GOTS certified, with coconut buttons. Made in bali
- small, med, and large for Rp. 340,000
“Detox” bottles
Wine and spirits bottles re purposed as water pitchers, vases or very BIG drink glasses.
Hand cut here in Bali. These may be the only ones available between now and Christmas, so if you like it grab it! Only Rp. 90,000. And, yes please, I am happy to accept your interesting empties. No Bintang, please. Drop to Green School Shop.
Bamboo i-phone speakers
Who’d have thought? Well maybe a sound engineer, but not me. This simple, Organic, no battery or power device could amplify your music so well?
Please come and try it out. Currently to fit all size i phones, while stocks last. Rp. 120,000
Please “like” on facebook for more ongoing info: https://www.facebook.com/greenschoolshop
Also in the Green School Community
Green Camp’s Plant Family of the Month
What’s growing on?!
Gnetaceae. Part 2 of the Gnetaceae plant family story continues this week! As we mentioned last time, the brilliant red-fruited Melinjo trees all around our campus are gymnosperms. Interestingly, the scientific name of these trees (Gnetum gnemon L.) is derived from a relatively rare language from the Moluccan region of Indonesia, where the local people call these trees “Ganemo.” Local people all around the Indonesian archipelago have various ways of preparing the edible parts ofMelinjo or Ganemo, and at Green School lately you may have been served the boiled red fruits for lunch. Next week, we will follow with another update on a different tasty treat from this lovely tree.
What else is growing on?! Green Camp is actively working with the garden team and making significant green improvements to the garden infrastructure all around us. A fabulous compost center and plant propagation center are in the final stages of construction, the latter just awaiting its recycled-windshield formed glass roof to be put on! We have been working with the garden team & Orin Hardy every Tuesday afternoon doing gotong royong (“cooperative community teamwork”) and are watching as our gardens grow greener and more productive with each day.
Green School Family Snapshot
At just 11 years old Ruby Newman is a wonderfully articulate and well travelled individual having already lived in 7 countries. Ruby’s family is originally from the United States and had been living in Kazakhstan for five years where her father, Aaron, runs the Bota Foundation whose mission is to improve the lives of children, youth and their families suffering from poverty in Kazakhstan. Ruby’s mother, Leah Newman, is an artist, writer, editor and relocation expert. You can see Leah’s work and get info about her art courses online. Last year when Leah was preparing to see her son, Shimon, 17, off to the College of Idaho in the United States, she realized that she was ready to try something different for Ruby’s education as well. They had heard about the Green School through their friends Steve Munroe and Renee Martyna, whom they had met while living in Cambodia and it seemed like a perfect fit. Soon they found themselves moving to Bali. Leah and Ruby chose to live in a simple little house in the jungle, just a 6 minute walk from the campus. They can enjoy the wildlife on the walk to school, Leah can paint and she can easily stop by the campus for a coffee or salad and some conversation. Originally they were planning just a 6 month stay in Bali, but now, they have extended their stay to at least one year. Aaron is visiting when he can, from Kazakhstan, and Shimon will come to visit for the winter break. Ruby likes to go to Ubud to do Ecstatic Dance and is an avid reader, who is enjoying reading about Judaism. “I really like my friends here and how open and free it is at Green School, I think I’m more of a country girl than a city girl,” says Ruby.
Submit future Newsletter items here
To submit your own news updates for inclusion, please send it to communications@greenschool.org by 12 noon each Wednesday.We cannot always guarantee inclusion and we may have to delay for a week at times.
Visit the Green School Website: http://www.greenschool.org
Visit the Green School Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/greenschool
Sometimes your hands get dirty reaching for the stars!
Green School gardens (& staff mustaches) are growing with vigor as Bali rains begin to fall. The High Schoolers did a great job raising awareness about men’s health with their very funny mustache fundraiser, which they unveiled the “winners” of at Friday’s assembly. Beautiful art class mandalas made of rice & flowers adorn the campus as students continue their diverse adventures in learning.