Tuesday Notice

Dear Siskiyou School Parents,

MOVING TO A THREE-HOUR SCHEDULE AFTER WINTER BREAK

I hope that all families had a restful and good Thanksgiving Break.

When we opened in September, we were thrilled to offer two hours to each cohort under the ODE limited 2-hour in-person learning program. In October we were approved for the Emergency Childcare license, which allows us to add more time to our program.

We will continue with the 2-hour schedule until winter break. After winter break, we will move to a 3-hour schedule for each cohort. We so look forward to having more time to teach the children in person. We will of course continue to follow all health & safety protocols and guidelines. With the 3-hour schedule, Cohort A children will be on campus from 8:30-11:30 am; Cohort B children will be on campus from 12:00pm-3:00pm. Pick-up times will vary according to each grade.

In addition, as we mentioned in the summer before school started, we are also looking at shifting the makeup of cohorts for each class after winter break. Please look for an email tomorrow from your class teacher about this. For further details regarding cohort shifts, please click on the link below to see a more detailed letter from the faculty.

We will publish the detailed 3-hour schedule along with drop-off and pick-up times next week. If you have any questions at this time, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Wishing you a light-filled and peaceful Holiday Season. ~ Aurilia

Please do your best to keep the office staff safe. When possible, email or call the office and drop off your tuition payments in the outside tuition box.

This Week:

Tues, Dec 1: Global Day of Generosity - Giving Tuesday

Next Week:

Sat, Dec 12: Holiday Sing-A-Long with Mrs. Archer via Zoom. 5:00 - 6:00 pm.

Looking Ahead:

Fri, Dec 18: Last Day of School Before Winter Break.

Mon, Jan 4: School Resumes.

If your child or anyone in your household is sick, PLEASE KEEP YOUR STUDENT(S) HOME until your doctor advises you that it is okay for your student(s) to return to school. Asymptomatic children sharing a household with an ill family member need to be carefully monitored at home for symptoms until your doctor tells you otherwise. We are more than willing to accommodate your child on Touchstone at Home during the quarantine period. Please remember to notify the office as soon as your child is not attending school for any reason and please keep the office updated on the status of your child’s health and return to school. Thank you and please take good care of yourselves!

Tune in to the Jefferson Exchange, on Jefferson Public Radio, tomorrow to hear Aurilia, Cynthia and Ms. McKissick discuss the happening at The Siskiyou School, how our hybrid program is working, and much more. The segment begins at 8:30 am and will last about 30 minutes. We will post the streamed interview in the Friday Updates.

Calling all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders interested in joining the Siskiyou School's 3rd Brain Bowl team! Our 2021 middle-school team will be competing in the Southern Oregon Middle School Brain Bowl organized by SOU Youth programs. For more information go to: https://inside.sou.edu/youth/competitions/brain-bowl-ms.html. Brain Bowl questions range over an entire spectrum of curriculum and include current events, sports, and popular culture, so we need all kinds of brains on the team! The matches this year will be remote over Zoom (they're still working on the format) and we're not quite sure how practice will be conducted, but if you'd like to join, please let Kristin know at kristin.beers@siskiyouschool.org.

The Siskiyou School is participating in "Giving Tuesday" which is TODAY! Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving and unity. Now in its twelfth year, Giving Tuesday is recognized as an opportunity for people and communities to come together in the spirit of generosity.

We welcome you to join this global movement and support The Siskiyou School through our Annual Giving campaign. Now more than ever we are calling on our community to help us through this year. We are also excited about our Scholarship Fund that will allow us to give back to our community.

This year we have made it easy to donate via Give Lively, or you may choose to donate via cash or check. Every dollar, in support of our school, is received with so much appreciation and gratitude.

If you give before the end of 2020 you will be able to claim the tax deductions on this year's tax return.

The month of December brings us a wondrous array of festivals of light to kindle our souls during the dark mood of impending winter. Indeed, the world sorely needs more celebrations of spiritual light and hope in this moment! This special time is now upon us and will provide such nourishment for our children at the Siskiyou School. In third grade, we will touch on three such celebrations-- Hanukkah, Solstice and Advent—we will explore the spiritual meanings of each one. We will even partake in an Advent Spiral! Today, the children heard me tell the Hanukkah story of the Hebrew Maccabees, some of the first humans who fought for religious freedoms and won.

In this block, we also embark on a three week math journey digging deep into the business of dry and liquid measurement. The class will imagine how early people shared recipes throughout the ages and used subjective language to communicate about their measurements of things like flour and butter. First, the children will discover how standardized measurements for practical activities like cooking became necessary. We will begin to memorize some of the commonly used measurements while learning a few new recipes. Lastly, students will continue to hone their mastery of multiplication tables and begin more complicated multiplication problems, as well. I wish everyone good health and joyful celebrations of light in your homes this month! ~ Mrs. Martin

As we finished our last block, Physiology II, and I looked at the pages that were turned into me, I had a moment of thinking, "Now, this is 8th grade work!" I saw each student rise to a new octave of care and ability with the diagrams of the reproductive systems, the brain and neurons, skeleton and bones, our nervous system, and immune system. Ms. Crawley would always say, "Eighth grade is like picking ripe fruit." As the year moves forward, I experience that more and more with this class. We are now within the last week of Eastern Religions. From meditation to The Tao, from the Dalai Lama, and his story, to Hinduism with its many gods and goddesses— by the end of the block we will cover Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Gandhi, Shintoism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Sufism. On a completely other note, thank you to all who bought wreaths from the 8th grade! We look forward to the possibility of an 8th grade trip at the end of the year! We're hopeful. 🙂 Wishing you all a beautiful week!

~ Ms. Tisdel

Happy December! Get your Holiday items at our Holiday Market and Auction.

Class 2 dropped off their items today! They have made jars of hot cocoa mix. What a great way to warm up on these cold days. You can purchase them online!

The online auction closes on December 13th. Make sure you check out all the fun things for your gift buying needs. Place your bid today, or be the highest bidder and make the items yours today!

While we're not able to host our beautiful and fun WinterFaire this year, you can bring a small taste of the magic home! Featured on the Siskiyou School store, along with the other Holiday Market treats, is a "Winter Magic Bundle". Inside the bundle are special gifts from the Fairy Queen, Pocket Person, and Go Fish Gnome. Also included are kits for making your own nut-butter bird feeder and one of the wildly popular peppermint lemons. Winter Magic bundles help bring the fun of the season to your home and support our amazing school. Bundles are $20 and available to order through Wednesday, December 16. Bundle pick-up will begin Monday, December 14.

Have something to share on our Community News and Classifieds section?

Here are the guidelines for the Classifieds:

Please keep your classified ads brief and succinct. We will run ads for two consecutive weeks. Flyers and pictures are appreciated! Send classifieds to Lora Wilde at lora.wilde@siskiyouschool.org by noon on Tuesday.

The Siskiyou School is not responsible for the content.

Nurturing, fun, holistic nanny available, over 20 years experience with all ages, lots of time outside, nature walks, creative play, and reading. CPR and first aid certified. $25 an hour for one child $5/hr more per child minimum 20 hrs per week. Contact Kamalla McNamara for more information call 541-488-6616.

Seeking temporary Nanny/Babysitter for our 8-year-old Siskiyou School Student. Must have experience and references. Requires someone who is reliable, energetic and organized, and able to assist with meal prep, and tutoring. Must have a safe, reliable vehicle. 15-20 hours per week through January. Please call or text Abby, 541-787-1238.

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/