The Tuesday Notice

Dear Siskiyou School Parents,

We are excited to see everyone at Parent Welcome Night this Thursday, September 14th from 5:45pm-8:00pm. Here is the agenda for the evening:

• 5:45pm: Community Dinner served by the school
• 6:15pm: Community Welcome by Aurilia, the Faculty, the Events & Fundraising Coordinator and the Board
• 6:50-8:00pm: First Parent Evenings of the year for Kindergarten and all Classes

We hope that one parent of each child can attend as the teachers will share very important information about the school year.

We will hand out the School Directories next week, and the Parent Handbook is now accessible starting with today’s Tuesday Notice; please see the link below. You can also find it on our website. We appreciate you taking time to look through the Handbook to familiarize yourself with all our best practices and school policies.

Parent Welcome Night is a special moment for everyone to reconvene and reconnect as we all start this new school year together!

Warmly, Aurilia

Class 1 dismissal for first semester, Monday through Thursday, is 2:10.

This Week

Wed, Sep 13 to Fri, Sep 15: Class 8 Orientation Trip

Thurs, Sep 14: Main Lesson Tour, 8:30 a.m. - Open to our community!

Thu, Sep 14: Parent Welcome Night & First Parent Meetings, 5:45-8:00 p.m.

Next Week

Mon to Fri, Sep 18 to 22: Picture Week with Bryon DeVore

• Monday - Classes 6 & 3
• Tuesday - Classes 7 & 2
• Wednesday - Classes 8 & 1
• Thursday - Classes 4 & 5
• Friday - Kindergarten

Wed, Sep 20 to 22: Class 6 Orientation Trip

Looking Ahead

Mon to Wed, Sep 25 to 27: Class 7 Orientation Trip

Tues, Sep 26: Class 3 to Leonard Orchard for apple picking

Wed, Sep 27: Wellness Program Evening for Parents (details below), 6:30 p.m. on Zoom

Thurs, Sep 28: Apple Crisp construction (details to come)

Thurs, Sep 28: Class 4 to hike Roxy Ann (during school hours)

Fri, Sep 29: Michaelmas Festival (games, Class 2 play, and family potluck), 3:30 p.m.

This Thursday, September 14th, is Parent Welcome Night. Please join us at 5:45 p.m. for the community dinner followed by class meetings (no class meeting for Class 8). Please be sure to line up childcare for your children. We hope all families can at least send one parent. See you all there!

Timeline for Event:

• 5:45-6 p.m.: Community dinner provided by the school. Please bring dinnerware!
  
• 6:15-6:30 p.m.: Community Meeting.
  
• 6:40-8:00 p.m.: Class Meetings with class teachers.
• Childcare will not be provided for this evening.

A few reminders:

• Please bring your own plates, utensils and cups to support this eco-friendly event.
• PARKING -- Please always use your best parking and driving manners on Clay Street and the surrounding neighborhoods.
  
• Drive SLOWLY (25 MPH or less) on Clay Street.
• Stay OFF cell phones while driving on Clay Street.
• Park APPROPRIATELY-- leave driveways and the road completely open.

The latest version of our Siskiyou School Parent Handbook is available now. Please click the link below to review it. We appreciate your time and attention to our policies and protocols. Everyone being on the same page just makes it all run smoothly!

The Parent Handbook is also available online on our website in the Parent Information and Forms section.

We're happy to have alum parent Bryon DeVore take student and class photos. Please do all you can to ensure your child can join their class for their morning class photo. Please see the schedule here and mark your calendar.

• Monday, Sept 18 –Classes 6 & 3
• Tuesday, Sept 19 - Classes 7 & 2
• Wednesday, Sept 20 - Classes 8 & 1
• Thursday, Sept 21 - Classes 5 & 4
• Friday, Sept 22 - Kindergarten

Please join us Wednesday, September 27th, for an evening on Zoom about our developmental Wellness Program. The Wellness Program has become a very important part of the Siskiyou School curriculum, and this evening is an opportunity for you to learn more about it and meet some of the teachers of that curriculum.

Under the umbrella of our Wellness Program, students in grades 4-8 receive between 4-8 Wellness Program classes each year. Different presenters, specialists in their field, come into the classrooms to talk to the students about specific topics and facilitate discussions with the classes around these subjects. The program was established in 2015 with the following goals:

• To support teachers in holding the social & emotional development of the children.
• To ensure that Siskiyou School students are given the tools and language to have conversations around their feelings and difficult topics.
• To ensure that Siskiyou School graduates have accurate information and appropriate guidance about range of “wellness” topics related to healthy relations, healthy choices & self-care, appropriate use of social media, sexuality and gender -- with all topics brought with developmentally appropriate sequencing and language.
• To ensure that the school has protocols and lines of communication in place to properly support students needing extra support socially and emotionally.
• To provide education for parents on issues adolescents in our community are facing and guidance for how to navigate these issues with their kids.

This year hear from Kelly Tisdel (www.kellytisdel.com), Paul Arredondo (www.paulmarredondo.com), Kyndra Laughery of JCSART, Sage Trail, Angela Fleischer, Carole Whitridge, and Jenny James on what they will present and why it's important for your children.

The Zoom link will be emailed out to current parents on Monday, September 25th.

There has been a long tradition of our helpful parents providing faculty lunches at the Siskiyou School. Our goal is to provide a warm and hearty meal every Tuesday throughout the school year. It is an act that means so much and is beloved by all our teachers.

If you feel called to do so, please consider signing up through the link below.

Faculty Lunch Program Sign-Up

Clay Street is impacted significantly by our drop-off and pick-up times. Thank you for your patience and following instructions of our traffic team.

PLEASE DO NOT PARK in front of our neighbors' driveways. We are here on this campus on their conditional approval and we want to set a good example of neighborliness for our students.

If you pick up siblings, please do come at the later time. If you come early we will have to have you circle Clay Street while you wait for the second child. Even if you're picking up one child, please be patient and flexible to circle Clay Street if the class is later getting out. We need to keep everything moving to ensure it stays open for our neighbors.

Parent help with enforcing our school dress code is most welcome. Please familiarize yourself with the list of clothes we consider inappropriate for school and ask your child to change them before they leave for school if you think their outfit may be in violation. In keeping with our Waldorf philosophy, we discourage clothing that draws attention to the point that what we see is the clothing, not the child; we want to see the child. Below is a list of clothing, attire, and accessorizing considered inappropriate for school:

• Underwear showing
• Sagging pants below hips
• Very short shorts or skirts
• Shirts or blouses draping off the shoulders
• Inappropriate large logos, graphics, or writing on shirts
• Graffiti-type writing on pants
• Distractingly ripped jeans or pants
• Slippers or pajamas
• Bare midriffs
• Bare feet or flip-flops
• Excessive make-up, tattooing, piercing, and use of hair dyes (without express permission)
• Clothing that restricts full participation in Games class and movement

Additionally, students are to remove caps/hoods/hats as they enter classrooms or Pine Hall.

What we encourage

Siskiyou School children engage in a variety of activities and vigorous play every day, so their clothing and footwear should allow them comfort and freedom of movement. We are also big believers in the importance of warmth for the growing child. We thus ask parents to make sure their children come to school with appropriate outerwear when the weather gets chilly. Additionally, it’s important that the children wear “solid” shoes. They do a lot of running and jumping on the chips and the blacktop, and we want them to have the best possible footing. Sneakers—or equivalent athletic-support shoe, as approved by the Games teacher—are required for Games classes and strongly recommended as footwear for all day/everyday use. Bare feet are not allowed indoors or outdoors.

Got food scraps? Don’t trash your scraps! Bring them to school!All food scraps welcome, even meat and dairy. Look for a large bright yellow bin by the other school bins. $10 donation or pay what you can greatly appreciated, we are a community driven nonprofit and rely on your support to continue this program. Easily donate or set up a recurring donation here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KQPU6M3CPR7U4

Questions? Contact Magdalena at ashlandcoco@gmail.com

As we prepare for our Parent Welcome Night this Thursday, we have a few parent volunteer opportunities. We are looking for parents to help setup, prepare beans (recipes available in the office), prepare a dessert to share, bring in flowers, and/ or help cleanup. Please signup on the Events Board by the front door or email Erin at erin.dickinson@siskiyouschool.org. We love our Parent Pillars and are looking forward to welcoming you all.

Each week, we will feature thoughts from two or three of our teachers, bringing you insight into the Waldorf curriculum and what is living for our students. We're happy to share with you!

The kindergarteners are learning school rhythms and routines, as they joyous learn to participate in circle. They whole heartedly participate in the daily activities such as painting, drawing, crafting, chopping vegetables, and making bread. The children enjoyed chopping vegetables so much last Thursday, that they kept asking for more to chop and everyone tasted and enjoyed their soup! Please bring a vegetable to share each Thursday for soup day to support their enthusiasm! They are sewing needle books and making shooting stars this month for our crafting day.

~Ms. Caterina

The Butterfly Class has landed in the 4th grade, and as such we are taking a good look at where we are. The 4th grade local history studies give the children a chance to develop a sense understanding of where they are in the world. We started the year by introducing the concept of a "bird's eye view", which allowed us to consider the world from above. With this new skill in hand, the children have been able to draw detailed, accurate maps of their own desks and their shared classroom. In the coming weeks, we will hike to the tops of local peaks and get an actual bird's eye view of our valley and surrounding mountains.

~Mr. Criswell

The fifth grade began the school year learning about ancient Mesopotamia. Our ancient ancestors made the transformation from hunter gatherers to farming. This gave rise to the first civilizations all around the world. The students were interested to learn about the origins of farming, building temples, writing, and law. The fifth grade is off to a great start!

~Mr. Alvarez

OHANA FAMILY RESOURCES now offering on-going support circles, workshops, mini-shops, evening talks to nourish, educate, inspire parents on their parenting journey from our location in downtown Ashland. Upcoming offerings:

Coffee Mornings with Nina Gallwey:

Morning coffees are an intimate way to gain insight, knowledge and tools to support your parenting. Time for individual check-ins allowed to build community and to learn from each other.

October Coffee Options:

A three week series of themed talks and inquiry around parenting the root years, children aged 4-7 years. Small group limited to 8 participants. October 10, 17, 24 from 9:00 a.m. -10:30 a.m.

A three week series of themed talks and inquiry around parenting the “Tween,” children aged 8-12 years. Small group limited to 8 participants. October 12, 19, and 26 from 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

The Foundations with Nina Gallwey: An in-depth look at how the neurological and sensory foundations built and nurtured in childhood contribute to life-long ease with learning and relating. Gain insight into how we can support the natural unfolding of our child’s innate capacities while gaining insight into our own learning profile. Previous participants from this workshop express that it was “life changing” as they gained a deeper insight and tools to parent with more joy and ease.

Weekend workshop: Group limited to 10 participants. October 27 and 28 from 9:00a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

Email ohanafamilyresources@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to be added to the mailing list for Ohana Family Resources.

Many more offerings from a variety of childhood specialists are coming as we build this base to resource you. Website under construction.

Body Basics offers puberty education to youth and for the adults that support them grades 4-8. We now have two programs for boys with Luke Barbee for 6th/7th and 8th graders! To learn more and to register for classes for girls, go to bodybasicsandbeyond.com. To get your questions answered or to get information about the boys’ programs, email Karen O'Dougherty at karen@bodybasicsandbeyond.com

Hi all, I am seeking help 1-2 afternoons a week with pick up, homework help and dinner prep with our 12 year old Lily and 1 Saturday a month 9am-6pm with childcare for a group of 2-5 children of all ages—all of this is at our home outside of Ashland. $20 an hour (usually more on Saturdays). Our long term person is off to college—she was very reliable, had her own vehicle, and was able to flex with whatever came her way—I imagine someone out there knows someone with those qualities who’s looking for some extra money and a small but steady job. Thanks for any leads! Lexi 541-631-9456

Does your child need some extra academic support this coming school year? Experienced Waldorf class teacher available for virtual tutoring and curriculum support for grades 1-8 and highschool. Expertise includes math, reading, and writing. Check out my website and feel free to reach out.

catherinehdixon.com

Furnished studio garden apartment available October 1. Month-to-month lease. Tenant must be able to navigate exterior steps down to apartment entrance. Street-side parking. No smoking. Pets will be considered. Utilities included (garbage, wifi, water, electric): $1250 per month. Three blocks from Lithia Park playground. Walking distance to TID trail and Strawberry Hill.

Reach out to Julia Vinciguerra if interested: ocejul@gmail.com.

Hello Siskiyou Families! Miss / Coach Tracy here. I so enjoyed getting to know so many of your kiddos thru teaching games last Spring! As you may know, I’ve owned FlipSide for the last decade, and throughout and following the pandemic, we have made a conscious shift to refocus mainly on positive youth mental health thru Circle Mentoring and Camps. This means 2 things moving forward:

*** I have a small gym for sale! If you know of someone with a big heart and coaching skillset to match, please send them my way! I have enough equipment basics to get someone started for an extremely reasonable price.info@FlipSideAshland.com (sorry, I’m not piecing it out- it’s a whole package deal.)

*** Also, FlipSide is currently enrolling for our (last couple) spots in our 3 Mentoring Circles for fall session (for female bodied/identifying youth)- Want to come and try us? First Circle for high school is Sept 23. Middle School Circles begin in October! ! Circle is a time of fun and laughter, creativity, expression and connection, reflection and growth! We use a strengths based approach to fostering youth & teen emotional intelligence, empathy, confidence, boundaries and resiliency while learning they’re not alone in their journey. For more info: www.FlipSideAshland.com/classes/ Do reach out to see if we have room for your adolescent / teen! (For male bodied / identifying, we highly recommend Inner Guide, Karen O’Doughtery’s Body Basics for Boys or Guided Passages) Thank you!

Little Gnomes Nature School has just begun our 8th year of Waldorf inspired, nature immersion preschool and kindergarten in the beautiful parks of Ashland. We still have openings for 3-6 year olds, contact us now to join! littlegnomesnatureschool@gmail.com or check www.littlegnomesnatureschool.com for more information.

Seeking school pick and 2-2.5 hours childcare on Tuesday’s for Kotori. (3rd grade)
Please contact Yaffa (541) 621-9343

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/