Family Bulletin / October 26, 2018
October 29-November 1 – Midterm conferences
Friday, November 2 – Community meal; Discovery Days
November 5-9 – High School WA state history trip part 2
Monday, November 12 – Armistice Day: no school
November 15-16 – Middle School urban outingOn November 5, high school students will leave for the second half of their Washington State History class. Details are still being finalized, but we expect visits to Olympia, Mount St. Helens, and the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula. As before, this trip will last a full week and students will pack from the front-country packing list.
All-School Midterm Conferences
Midterm conferences for middle and high school students will be held Monday, October 29 through Thursday, November 1.Conferences are a chance to check in about goals, expectations, achievements, and your child’s progress so far this year. Advisors will have notes from other teachers and a “snapshot” grade of each class to share. Students are welcome to attend, but their presence is not required. If you haven’t yet heard from your student’s advisor, contact them directly to arrange a time. If you’re not sure who your student’s advisor is, contact Bacchus.
“Give Back Tuesday” Gives to EA
Explorations Academy will be the thankful recipient of The Filling Station’s weekly “Give Back Tuesday” event later this month. On October 30th, The Filling Station will donate 10% of all food sales to Explorations. Come support a local business (whose owners are proud parents of a former EA student), enjoy a fantastic meal, and help raise money for our school. The restaurant has a full menu of American-style mains, salads, and starters, plus drinks. The Filling Station is in Fairhaven, at 1138 Finnegan Way.
Click here for more information about Cascadia Workshops
Pepián For Community Meal
For community meal this Friday, we are making traditional Guatemalan pepián. Pepián is a meat and vegetable stew made by dry-roasting chilis, onions, and spices into a rich sauce. To this sauce we will add roasted veggies and chicken, and serve with homemade tortillas.
Families and friends are welcome to join us and there will be a vegetarian option. We serve at 11:20 am.
Discovery Days
About once a month we open our campus and classrooms to students interested in enrolling at Explorations. Our next Discovery Day will be Friday, November 2. Prospective middle and high school students will join us for morning meeting, math and Spanish, our community meal, and cluster classes in the afternoon. Help us welcome them to our school!
Climbing With the Middle School
While our high school students were in Seattle, I got the chance to spend some time with the middle school students back on campus. On Thursday morning, as we gathered for morning meeting, their excitement and energy were palpable. “What’s going on?” I asked them. “Climbing!!” they hollered back. “What do you love about climbing?” I wondered. This opened a great conversation about their climbing lessons, and how they feel both challenged and rewarded by the sport.
And then, as we were short on staff, I offered to accompany Ian and the students to The YMCA for their PE block. I’m new to climbing myself, so I was a little nervous, but I was absolutely floored by what I saw. Over the course of a 90-minute class, I watched them treat belaying and the safety of their classmates with the utmost seriousness. I watched all students push themselves a little bit higher than they had thought they could go. And I watched them celebrate all of those accomplishments with each other. Even my own clumsy bouldering moves in “the cave” earned some kudos.
So I’m offering kudos in return to the middle school students for showing some true maturity, courage, and enthusiasm, and to Ian for the outstanding work he does leading the class.
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