“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall
It was a phenomenal week of finishing touches and celebrations as Green School wrapped up our first Term and said farewell to 2013! Early Years and Primary students made joyous music and the High School amazed us with their production of “As You Like It”! Meanwhile (with trash they collected from the river basin) the Middle School created 3D models of the entire Ayung watershed, all the way from the Volcano to the Ocean! To help get everyone in the holiday spirit, all classes took part in a secret Santa gift exchange, which brought students of different grades together in hilarious ways. Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful vacation & looking forward to resuming the grand Green School Adventure on January 7th!
In this issue:
Green School News
- Parent Information and Events Calendar
- A Letter from our Director
- Bamboopalooza
- New Food Policy for Green School
- Sports Update
- Round Square Student Exchange
- Battery Recycling at the Front Desk
Media & Links.
Also in the Green School Community
- Green School Parent Profile
- Plant Family of the Month: Myristicaceae
- Awakening the Dreamer
- Submit future Newsletter items here
Green School News
Parent Information and Events Calendar
Report cards will go out during the first week of break. Please note that report cards are not released to any family with outstanding payments. Green School sends all report cards and progress reports electronically.
December:
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
Feb 3rd: Professional Development Day: No School Monday, February 3rd. This date was omitted from our calendar, so please make a note of it.
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 on our website.
Parent Reminders:
Make sure to check our Lost and Found for missing hats, water bottles, etc…
An important link to our school calendars: http://www.greenschool.org/calendar/
A Letter from our Director
Dear Green School Community,
As we approach the holiday break I wanted to say thank you and share some thoughts.
As always we have some families leaving during this time while at the same time we welcome new families to our community. It is always sad to see people go but having been someone who has lived overseas for over 23 years I have always understood that I am only sad because I will miss them. We only miss those who touched us or made a connection. That is a nice gift.
I want to take a moment to thank all of you who volunteered this year. The team of people involved in Bamboopalooza was one of the greatest teams I have ever seen. The Food Policy team met diligently week after week taking years of data and opinions into account to create a true Green School policy. And the volunteer list continues: Kul Kul Connection, Energy Committee, Health and Wellness, Yoga Team, Recycling Center (coming soon!), Jungle Gym, volunteer coaches and so much more. You are incredible people and you give so much.
This is also the last time I will be writing to you as the Director and General Manager of Green School as we welcome John Stewart into the Director role. I will focus on the General Manager role and Andy Slavin will focus on the Principal role. I am so excited to have John join us with his background and passion for learning. John has already spent two multi-day sessions with our teachers as he was a participant in the Green Educator Course. What is most exciting for me is that for the first time ever in Green School’s history we will have a complete Educational and Administrative Management team that we have been building the past few years. We have a tremendous foundation with such talented people across the School and John will bring immediate value and leadership to our school, learning programs and curriculum. We are lucky to have found a person like John. This is a positive next step in Green School’s development.
I genuinely thank the Board and all of you for entrusting and allowing me to have this role over the past two years. I am committed to the growth, stability and ongoing improvement of Green School as part of the management team. And Jo and I want our children to continue to experience the gift of Green School and graduate from here. Green School is in my heart. This is my family’s community.
Most importantly, however, this is a time to pause, reflect and appreciate what we have. A member from our team suffered great loss, beyond measure. And we saw how this community of teachers, parents, students, families and staff came together to support each other in remarkable fashion. In the end, this is the most important aspect of our humanity in how we treat and support each other.
So as we leave for the break take a moment to hug those you love, share a smile with a stranger, help a friend in need. It is a good world with good people. And we happen to be in a special place.
With kindness and love to everyone.
Thank you, Chris
Christopher Thompson
Director and General Manager
Bamboopalooza
Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all of our volunteers, sponsors, donors, vendors and performers for making Bamboopalooza 2013 a truly phenomenal event. With support from across our community and across the island, we raised close to $30,000 USD for our Local Scholar Program. And we had a remarkably good time in the process. From our standout talent on the main stage, to Umoja’s Marimba debut, to the awe-inspiring Jegog performance in our mudpit; from the zip line to the snakes to the sponge toss; from the fantastic range of vendors in our Heart of School to the delicious food throughout, no list could capture it all. We hope you enjoyed the day!
New Food Policy for Green School
We are very pleased to announce the introduction of our new Food Policy for Green School. We all know the importance of this topic and the School already does a tremendous amount of work in providing healthy food with the permaculture gardens, fresh food prepared each day from our amazing kitchen team, organic coffee and a raw food restaurant. But we can always get better.
A team of students, parents, teachers and staff have worked together for well over a year now to collect views and present the shared policy.
Here is a summary of the policy:
The Green School educates students to become thoughtful, informed adults that understand the power of their food choices on the environment, their health and the economic system around our precious commodity. The school therefore promotes and models’ environmentally sustainable, healthy eating and good nutrition programs and activities relating to or involving food and drink. The schools food offering supports an optimal learning environment and reflects the environmental and social values of the Green School community.
We have already started implementing many new ideas and you will see more rollout as we start the new school year. And our brand new kitchen will be up and running in December which will allow us to complete the final touches for the Warung.
As always, we look forward to continue to improve this policy. And we ask for your help and assistance in supporting this and being part of this positive change.
You may read the full Food and Hygiene policy at http://www.greenschool.org/general/health-and-safety/
Thank you.
Christopher Thompson
Director and General Manager
Sports Update
Well done to the senior boys volleyball team for winning the Division 2 final and to the senior girls team for making the semi-finals in Division 1 of the BSSA senior tournament!
Another great season done and onto Basketball in Term 2!
Sign up sheets for Basketball will go up in the Gym during the first week of school in January. BSSA games start in February.
Have a great holiday!
Pak Colin
Round Square Student Exchange
We currently have two students returning from their Round Square exchange program to Australia. Above is a photo of Gede waking up in his tent from an overnight camping trip in the mountains north of Melbourne to see snow for his first time. It’s safe to say that that will register as one of his most unforgettable moments of the trip. He is still in Australia and will be heading home soon. Natasha, in an email interview, says “I liked almost all of the trip. I enjoyed music class and getting a tour around their reserve. I also really enjoyed the shopping. The coolest thing I learned was how to play the clarinet. The weirdest thing I saw were a couple of long neck turtles in the science room.” Congratulations to these two adventurous students who were the pioneers of our Round Square association!
Battery Recycling at the Front Desk
Batteries can now be dropped off in a box at Ibu Yani’s Welcome desk. The terminals need to be taped off and you must pay a fee of Rp. 1000 per battery.
Media and Links
Green School Students Petition the Plastics Industry
After a Summer of romping around the streets and sawah’s of Ubud, these three Green School students were inspired to write a petition to the Society of the Plastics Industry asking them to make safer and more biodegradable plastics. Have a read and take a stand with these bright young minds at the link below: http://goo.gl/nya0Jo
Also in the Green School Community
Green School Parent Profile
Jeena and Wonjae Park are from Seoul, South Korea and have three sons, Keeon (Grade 3), Ceeon (Grade 1), and Yeeon (10 months). Jeena has a Masters in Music Performance and plays the Cello. Jeena Park lived and studied in the United States from the age of 15, attending High School in Colorado and University in Boston and New York City where she received a Masters in Music Performance with the Cello as her specialty. Wonjae Park is an international art dealer with a Gallery in Seoul who specializes in young Korean artists ( www.oneandj.com ) as well as a Coach and player for South Korea’s National Lacross Team. Jeena and Wonjae found Green School after they failed to secure a lottery place in Seoul Private Schools and started to look outside South Korea for alternatives. When Keeon and Ceeon started school last year they spoke no English and Jeena is very proud of what great English Language skills they have acquired only one year later. Keeong loves the many games he can play at Green School, and he is very excited to be heading back to S. Korea for the holidays so he can do some skiing.
Plant Family of the Month: Myristicaceae
What’s growing on?
Introducing a new Plant Family of the Month: Myristicaceae
What better plant family than the fragrant, colorful, and all-around amazing Myristicaceae- or nutmeg family- to celebrate the holiday season with?! This pantropical plant family’s center of botanical diversity in Asia is indeed in – you guessed it – Indonesia! Eastern Indonesia to be exact. The nutmeg family consists of stately, medium-sized evergreen trees which bear vastly important arrilate seeds: these seeds are the brown nutmegs that many of us are familiar with. So if your family is celebrating the holiday season with pies, apple cider, or even eggnog: recall that the tropical Myristicaceae family is to thank for the lovely warm nutmeg fragrance that abounds during holiday cooking. Stay tuned next week to learn about the mysterious and checkered history of this plant family, and how singularly important it was to historical developments in Eastern Indonesia.
Awakening the Dreamer
Check out the teen version of this inspirational workshop and movement here. If you would like to help organize a half day workshop with this presenter for Green School’s High School students please send an email to andy@greenschool.org. Thanks!
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.