Tuesday Notice

Yesterday was Dia de los Muertos, and most classes created beautiful altars with flowers and pictures of loved ones who have passed. With this beautiful chalk board drawing created by Magda Paz, we are remembering one very beloved elder, Agnes Emma Baker Pilgrim, September 11, 1924 – November 27, 2019. Grandma Aggie was a Native American spiritual elder from Grants Pass and the oldest member of her tribe, the Takelma.

Dear Siskiyou School Parents,

Halloween week on campus was wonderful. We heard fun and spooky Halloween music coming from the classrooms, classes rehearsed traditional songs for the Halloween assembly, pumpkins were carved on Thursday, and on Friday we celebrated the festival in an all-school assembly with teachers and classes parading around the chips in their wonderful costumes, seeing the 7th grade present their dance and listening to the 8th grade drumming an invigorating African drumming piece with their teacher Adam Richardson. Following the outside event, each class spent time in the darkened Halloween Pine Hall lit by 180 jack-o-lanterns, listening to a story told by their class teacher. At snack time, the children were delighted to receive snacks of cider and popcorn, thanks to parents of each class. Halloween is for sure one of the best days here at school!

Now November has arrived, and the season is shifting. As we move towards the winter solstice and as the days get shorter and shorter, we hope families will enjoy the peace and quiet of the season, cooking warm meals, baking favorite seasonal treats, and sharing in stories. Please see today’s Waldorf gems for inspiration about this time.

In the coming weeks, we look forward to upcoming parent enrichment events, the celebration of Martinmas, our Thanksgiving Food Drive and the Holiday Market and Faire, which will return for the first time since November 2019. For details about all the above, please read below.

Many thanks for all you do, parents, for your kids, and the school.

From my heart to yours, Aurilia

This Week:

Wed, Nov 3: 3rd Grade Parent Evening with Nina Gallwey. 6:30-7:30pm, Zoom.

Next Week:

Wed, Nov 10: Parent Evening with guest speaker, Jack Petrash. 6:30pm, Zoom.

Thurs, Nov 11: No School, Veteran's Day.

Fri, Nov 12: School Resumes.

Fri, Nov 12: Coffee discussion with Jack Petrash and Nina Gallwey. 9:00am, Zoom.

We ask that we all support each other in this time by making sure we keep our children home as soon as anyone in the household is showing any illness symptoms. If we adhere to this as a community, we will be in a better position with illness tracking and doing our best to keep children and teachers healthy and well. If you have any questions at any time about whether or not your child/ren should stay home, please air on the safe side and first call the office or email Jenny James, Jenny.James@siskiyouschool.org, before sending your kids to school. Thank you so much for your help with this!

In an ongoing attempt to keep our employees and students safe and instruction as consistent as possible for all children, we ask that parents please check their child’s mask. At school we require all masks to be at least two-layers or high filtration rated, non-transparent, and well fitting. If teachers or staff determine at any time that a mask doesn’t meet our standards, we will provide the child with a school mask for the day and ask that parents replace it with a new mask from home that meets the school requirements. Please see attached mask graphic for additional information.

Jackson County Public Health has a very large case volume for contact tracing which they are working through. In an effort to support them and keep our school safe, we have recently completed a training program to perform contact tracing only as it relates to our school. This will help us respond better to positive cases reported in the student body. If the office is notified of a positive case, we will work through a series of questions to identify any individuals who may have been exposed. Our work is focused primarily on contact tracing for the student body while on campus and may also include questions about off campus interactions with other students of the school community to ensure we have identified all families who need to be notified. Please be patient as we work through this process. Jenny James and Cynthia Bower will be sharing this work load; so families will be contacted by either one or both of them. It does sometimes require additional questions and follow-up as more information is collected. Once we have identified any possible exposures, we will contact those families who need to take additional steps directly. We will continue to notify the student body of any positive cases through email with the same respect for privacy we have previously offered. As always, we will continue to work closely with Jackson County Public Health for any additional instructions they may have. It will be the responsibility of the local public health authority to trace any additional contacts outside of the student body, (this would include any sports teams or camps that are not affiliated with the school). We are asked to allow Jackson County Public Health to do this additional work as part of their protocols. Our primary goal is to have a safe and healthy campus.

Thank you to the 8th grade parents (Katie LaCroix, Tom Marks-Ladd) and Dolphin Class students that have made our first week of hot lunches a success!

It’s not too late to order lunch! Please return the form below (also available on the front hall table) with payment to the office.

FALAFEL TUESDAY - please remember to pack a fork!
PIZZA WEDNESDAY - please bring a “pizza plate”.

The Siskiyou School is looking for a receptionist! Please click on the button below for the position description. Please send cover letter, resume, and list of references to Aurilia at Aurilia.McNamara@siskiyouschool.org.

TO FIND YOUR PHOTOS:

1. Go to www.bryondevore.com

2. Click on “Your School Photos” in the top right.

3. Scroll down to the Siskiyou School.

4. Find your class.

The order DEADLINE, to have prints delivered FREE to class, is SUNDAY, Nov. 7th.

__________________________________

bryonDEVORE Photography

Ashland, Oregon

541-621-6698

photo@bryondevore.com

www.bryonDEVORE.com

Beginning tomorrow, you will receive a separate newsletter that is just for the Holiday Market & Faire. Until then, please see all the links below for easy access to volunteering, the silent auction, and wreath purchasing. Thank you!

The second grade has just completed their first block of arithmetic studies for the year. With the help of the often-used Siskiyou School resource, the children’s book Miss Suzy, we made our way through organizing, counting, adding, and subtracting numbers into the thousands. By gathering and counting actual acorns, and diving deeply into images, we built the context that bridged the gap between the concrete world of images and the abstract world of numbers, which will lead the way toward true number literacy. Through slowly developing the understanding of place value, the second graders now have the tools needed to add and subtract two- and three-digit numbers horizontally, just by considering how many hundreds, tens, and ones are shared between a set of numbers. When they saw they could correctly arrive at sums made from such large numbers, they were filled with shining excitement.

This week, with Martinmas just around the corner, we will be building lanterns and considering our own inner light and how it can be shared with others. The second grader has a strong sense of goodness, fairness, and even a tendency toward mischief. Part of balancing these traits in ourselves is to learn how our outward efforts are received by those around us and that we have a responsibility to that end. The children in this class beam with pride when they talk about a time in which they have helped another or noticed a problem that required attention. I can’t wait to see them reach their lanterns forward to light the way as we walk through the darkness.

Moving forward, we’ll bring attention to our own natural call to experiment with mischief. Through examining the less than perfect characters in traditional fables and animal stories, children can draw parallels to their own behaviors and choose their actions based on their own understanding and feelings. Throughout November, our writing and drawing will center around these stories, and the children will have plenty of time to draw their own conclusions around how they might want to treat others, and how they themselves would like to be treated. ~ Mr. Criswell

The 7th grade is in our first science block: Physiology. I have held a deep love and appreciation for the material in this block since I was a middle school student myself. It is an utter joy that I get to teach about the human body and help young teenagers appreciate their body’s capacities. Today, the 7th grade went outside and drew a sketch of a tree in our wood chip area. The purpose of this activity was a mystery to the students and was only unveiled when we came back into the classroom and began drawing a diagram of bronchioles. Our bodies and their relationship to the natural world bring much joy and wonder to the class. Here are a few fun facts about the body that we’ve been learning about in 7th grade:

• Your body produces a glimmer of light, but unfortunately, it’s invisible to the naked eye.
• Your body sheds about eight pounds of dead skin a year.
• Around 80 percent of what we think of as taste is actually smell. ~ Ms. Franczak
  

This week we are sharing a school favorite cookbook "Festivals, Family and Food". You will find many great recipes, verses, songs and more. Click here to order the book: Festivals, Family and Food.

Join us for our Portland Waldorf HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE. PWHS graduates are confident, critical thinkers who approach college, world travel, careers and life with competence, engagement, compassion and agency. PWHS students excel in a range of subjects and are consistently welcomed at the college of their choice. PWHS offers a wide variety of interdisciplinary and holistic academic experiences.

Learn more about our Shadow Days in October at portlandwaldorf.org/high-school

Open House November 6, 11am – 1pm. Call 503-654-2200 for details.

Former alum student, Julienne Adams, is organizing a materials drive to help battle future fires in the Rogue Valley as part of the Stanford University Climate Leaders Fellowship Program. If you have any CAMPING SUPPLIES that you can and are willing to donate it would be beyond appreciated. If you are able to donate please drop your materials off at the fire station on the south side of town on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH BETWEEN 11AM & 3PM. Thank you for your support and generosity!

"Never be late to school again!"

We are selling our home at 2691 Mickelson Way which less than three minutes walk from the school. It was the perfect location and neighborhood for our family as our kids grew with the Siskiyou School. Maybe you or someone you know who is looking for a wonderful home close to the school? Please contact Kelly Burns (father of 8th grader, Raquel) (541) 482-3376 if you're curious, and click the link to the listing for pricing and details: https://apexvideotours.gofullframe.com/bt/2691_Mickelson_Way.html

Kelly & Ashleigh

The Siskiyou Field Institute and Mt. Ashland are offering a pretty neat Snow School program for 5th - 7th graders this winter. The program itself is free, and I think snowshoes are provided. They may even have some outerwear available in case kids don't show up with proper snow attire. Schools/ groups need to arrange their own transportation to and from Mt. A.

I've heard good things about the snow school program -- sounds like some interesting snow science that kids enjoy. I can find out more about it if you have any questions or are interested.

An Alpine Adventure for Local Middle Schoolers
Join Siskiyou Field Institute for SnowSchool at no cost this winter.

Siskiyou Field Institute is offering SnowSchool in partnership with Mt. Ashland Ski Area. Up to twenty school classes/groups can participate FREE of tuition this winter. The program will run from January through March.

Educators seeking a fun way for students to learn about alpine winter environments are encouraged to reserve SnowSchool dates by November 30th. SFI’s SnowSchool is part of a national program operating across 70 different sites. At Mt. Ashland, students will strap on snowshoes and head out for a fun-filled day of winter exploration! They will make vital connections between the snowpack – the largest water reservoir in the West – and the water they rely on every day.

Program content includes:

• Citizen science with Oregon State University and NASA
• Snow pit analysis
• Watershed science
• Snow crystal study
• Snow to water equivalency
• Animal tracking and adaptations
• Fun winter games & belly sliding!

Ready to reserve the date for your group of 5th-7th graders? For priority booking and to ensure funding, register by November 30.

Nurturing, fun, loving, holistic nanny available, over 20 years experience with all ages, lots of time outside, nature walks, creative play, yoga and reading. CPR, first aid and water safety certified. ECE credits, Kids yoga certification, $25 an hour starting rate for one child. Looking for 20 hrs per week , available weekdays.
Kamalla M.
541-488-6616

Short-term rental in beautiful furnished home close to the Siskiyou School on Clay St. Two bedrooms,( third bedroom may be available if needed) 2 1/2 baths. The rental is from November 9 - February 11. Contact Leah Avital by text for more information. 541-301-2398 Please don't share publicly.

~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

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/