Tuesday Notice

Dear Siskiyou School Parents,

As I look out my office, which is now over in the Glendale House, I see many squirrels scampering about, looking for nuts to store for the winter. Numerous birds come and sing their friendly songs and feast happily at the bird feeder I put out for them. We are entering the harvest season which will lead us all the way through October to Halloween. We are excited about that festival! We will engage in our traditional pumpkin carving activity, thanks to Kristin who always “creates” our pumpkin patch in the Clay Street Garden, and then on October 29th we will all be coming to school in costume! Teachers and staff and the children all look forward to this most enjoyable day.

Please join us this evening for the Wellness Program Presentation; refer to my email sent out this morning for more details.

Next week we look forward to welcoming all parents to campus for the Parent-Teacher Conferences. We won’t have school on Thursday and Friday, 10/14 and 10/15.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall colors and finding precious family time in between busy school and workdays.

Many fall blessings to you, Aurilia

This Week:

Tues, Oct 5: Wellness Evening on Zoom.

• 6:30pm-7:10pm, Parents of Grades 1-5.
  
• 7:15pm-8:00pm, Parents of Grades 6-8.
  

Fri, Oct 8: Morning Coffee Chat with Nina Gallwey, 9:00-10:00am, Zoom.

Looking Ahead:

Tues, Oct 12: Fourth Grade Enrichment Evening with Nina Gallwey, 6:30pm-7:30pm.

Thurs & Fri, Oct 14 & Oct 15: No School, Conferences.

Mon, Oct 18: No School.

Thurs, Oct 28: On-campus pumpkin carving.

Fri, Oct 29: In-house Halloween celebration.

Please join us this evening for our Grades 1-8 developmental Wellness Program. The Zoom link was sent via email by Aurilia today. Please note that these meetings will not be recorded.

We offer on-site Covid testing for any child who becomes ill. This test is the easy shallow swab test and is done within 10-15 minutes. Please never hesitate to reach out to Jenny James to schedule a test.

Support the 8th Grade class trip and provide your child with a delicious hot lunch!

Forms are available below, on the front hall table NOW, and during conferences.

• TUESDAY is Falafel or Chicken Box from Falafel Republic (co-owned by Lisa & Tom Beam, alumni parents)!

• WEDNESDAY is Pizza from Martolli’s Pizza (co-owned by Brad Martell, alumni parent)!

Halloween is one of our favorite school festivals. It has traditionally been an in-house assembly with teachers and students. The children come dressed in costumes and love seeing each other all dressed up and then celebrating with music, pumpkins and parade. Please read the school's costume guidelines below. Thank you so much!

Halloween at the Siskiyou School is about celebration and lots of fun! Please do wear costumes to school, but please follow the guidelines below:

• Be creative and keep in mind we have young ones on campus!

• Please no scary costumes, blood, or weapons. Just bring fun!

• If you’re not sure if your child’s costume will “work”, please check in with their class teacher before Halloween.

• NO CANDY is to be brought to school on or after Halloween.

In the leadup to October, the second grade has been learning the stories of saints and considering the worth in doing good for others, as well as the effort such deeds may require. Beyond learning the stories of those who have offered selflessness and good, the children have had the chance to share times when they themselves have been helped or have had the opportunity to offer help to others. As we discuss how it might feel to be cared for when truly in need, or to be the provider of that care, the children gain the experience of seeing their own good nature reflected in that same light and beam with the pride of knowing they too are capable of such goodness. On Michaelmas, they were able to share their hard work with the presentation of a Saint Michael poem as our whole school gathered in celebration. It was a delight to hear their voices ringing across the courtyard, and to hear them later reflect on the beautiful singing, the storytelling, and the delicious apple crisp that was shared with them.

On the playground and in the classroom, these children look out for one another and offer their classmates support and help at every turn. From tying each other’s aprons and offering crayons for those who’ve had one go missing to sharing playground branches and logs and finding help any time there are tears or scrapes, these second graders are a clear example of a beautiful curriculum resonating within them. ~ Mr. Criswell

The 7th grade has been hearing stories of the often overlooked civilizations prior to the Age of Exploration: the Aztecs, whose fierce defensive tactics helped them rule over the lands of modern Mexico; the Incan, whose mysterious civilization left no written language, but did leave an awe inspiring stone palace, Machu Picchu, built at nearly 8,000’; the mighty empires of western Africa, which enticed the whole world with their incredible wealth; and the esteemed Ming Dynasty, whose iconic symbols such as the Forbidden Palace and Great Wall still pique the interest of every historian.

Tomorrow the class will ‘set sail’ into uncharted territory and learn of the legendary explorers: Vasco de Gama, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Ferdinand Magellan, and Hernan Cortes (just to name a few). These stories carry two distinct perspectives. First, that of the brave explorers enduring great struggle to fulfill their destinies. Their level of courage was unfathomable. Their pursuit of gold and glory was unwavering. Their stories are full of triumphs, as well struggle and death. The other perspective, of course, the haunting accounts of the peoples whose land was ripped from their hands and hearts. The goal is always to bring history with all its facets, and let the stories remain unaltered, a record of the past that is used to explain how and why things are the way they are.

Wishing everyone courage and strength in their hearts. I hope we can all take a moment to enjoy the autumn colors! ~ Ms. Franczak

This week we welcome you to cozy up with this great book by Jack Petrash called "Navigating the Terrain of Childhood." We are lucky to have a Parent Enrichment evening that will feature a talk by Jack Petrash on November 10th. Find the Book Here.

Tis the season! 8th graders have their ideas for their 8th grade projects and are looking for an adult who can help guide and mentor them through their project. This would involve meeting with the student 6-10 times between now and February. This week we are looking for someone to mentor a student who would love to learn how to do Make-Up, another whose first choice is the medical field, specifically EMT work, and a third, an artist, who wants to use the 8th grade project opportunity to learn specifically how to do figure drawing and portraits. If you can help with any of these, please contact me. I am helping coordinate 8th grade projects this year. It's such a pivotal experience for our students; thank you in advance for considering helping or for any leads.

My number is 541-531-3893. My email is catherinerazi@yahoo.com.

-Catherine Razi

Hello,

My name is Eli and I am an 8th grader at the Siskiyou School. I am looking for a mentor who can help me with my 8th grade project on landscape/nature photography. If you, or someone you know, can help, please contact paulmartinsiegel@gmail.com.

Thank you, Eli

~Nurturing roots to support developmental growth~

Does your child struggle with learning challenges, sensory processing issues, ADHD, ADD, balance and coordination issues, eye tracking challenges, anxiety, melt downs, sleep issues, social and emotional challenges, weakness, fatigue, speech delay, autism, food sensitivities, PTSD? When the brain and body are not working well together, challenges arise.

Roots to Rise utilizes a holistic approach to enhance a child’s learning through supporting a healthy development of the Central Nervous System and the foundational senses (Tactile, Vestibular and Proprioception).

Children can make positive gains in attention, emotional well being, academics, coordination and balance through neurodevelopmental movements (integration of reflexes) and sensory integration. Jane Higgins, the founder of Roots to Rise has trained with Nina Gallwey, a remedial teacher at the Siskiyou school. Jane taught at the Madrone Trail School (Waldorf inspired), where she brought one class of students from first grade all the way to eighth grade.

Currently, Jane works with children one-on-one in her Roots to Rise Ashland office. Movement is brought in a playful and fun way specifically focusing on the integration of reflexes and sensory imbalances.

“In my 30 years of working with children, I’ve never seen anything transform a child’s success as I have since focusing on sensory integration, primitive and postural reflexes.”

To apply or for more information on supporting your child contact Jane Higgins at janemhiggins10@gmail.com

541-708-1688

Ashland, OR

Virtual guitar and ukulele lessons by an experienced Waldorf teacher for students ages 7-14. Enjoy personalized lessons from the convenience of your home. Text Don DeHart at 541-778-8740 for further information or email dcdehart@gmail.com.

Body Basics offers puberty education and body literacy classes for youth starting in 4th grade. Each year students return for the next developmentally appropriate curriculum guiding youth and their parenting adults towards and through adolescence, normalizing this most misunderstood phase of life. Our programs for boys (6th grade- 9th grade) will be launched in January of 2022! Educators Karen O'Dougherty and Jane Higgins are excited to welcome Aaron Boyd to the Body Basics team. For more information and to register for the fall session, go to bodybasicsand beyond.com. For questions please email Karen at karen@bodybasicsandbeyond.com

Need to get your kiddo moving? Gymnastics and Obstacle classes at FlipSide start next week! Join us for our 8 week fall session(Sept 27-Nov 19). We still have openings in several classes- in addition to our usual classes, we have space in our * Beg Teen 1 & Adv Teen 2 Tumbling classes (ages 10 & up); *Friday early release 2pm Tumbling & Obstacles class (ages 5-8); *Friday Ninjas int and * Warrior adv Tumbling & Parkour Obstacles classes! Class sizes are limited. We mask, Covid check, sanitize and ventilate! For more info or to sign up online, go to www.FlipsideAshland.com (FlipSide is owned by Tracy John, alum parent and 1st grade assistant:)

Email: office@siskiyouschool.org
Website: www.siskiyouschool.org
Location: 631 Clay Street, Ashland, OR, USA
Phone: 541-482-8223
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/siskiyouschool/