Klahanie School May 2024 Newsletter

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I’m not saying we need to save the trees. I’m saying that we need to not overlook their capacity to save us. Put it in your yard and watch it for a while. And pick it carefully because it’s hard to get a tree going. You know if every seed turned into a plant, we’d be living in a very different world. So choose well and open your eyes to give it everything. ~Hope Jahren, NPR interview April 29th, 2016 “Lab Girl”

May 2024 Curriculum Topics

Intersession days, no class sessions May 13-May 24th for teacher inservice and education days as well as scheduling our summer Specialists. Any content we do not get to complete in May, we will roll into June studies. 

No Class Memorial Day May 27th

Opinion | The Phone Call Between Belafonte and King That Changed Both Men’s Lives 

“Congratulations on your anti-napalm protest. You saved the life of a dog. Now, how about saving the lives of tens of thousands of people in Vietnam.”

Born in the Heart Mountain, Wyoming incarceration camp in 1943, Kiyoshi Kuromiya (May 9, 1943 – May 10, 2000) was a lifelong activist participating in several movements including the Black Freedom Struggle, the movement against the Vietnam War, the gay rights and later queer liberation movements, and AIDS/HIV advocacy.

Kuromiya spent the spring and summer of 1965 in the South fighting for civil rights, and became friends with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When King was assassinated, Kuromiya helped take care of the King children.

Kuromiya participated with the Gay Pioneers in the first organized gay and lesbian civil rights demonstrations, “the Annual Reminders,” held at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969. He was one of the founders of Gay Liberation Front-Philadelphia and served as an openly gay delegate to the Black Panther Convention that endorsed the gay liberation struggle. Diagnosed with AIDS in 1989, Kuromiya became a self-taught expert on the disease, operating under the mantra “information is power.” He founded the Critical Path Project, which provided resources to people living with HIV and AIDS, including a newsletter, a library, and a 24-hour phone line.

Learn more about Kuromiya from “You Should Know This Gay Asian-American Civil Rights, Anti-War, and HIV/AIDS Activist” by Juan Michael Porter II and from this remembrance video by friend Alfredo Sosa: KIYOSHI on Vimeo

  • Sock puppets, Stage Productions & large puppet projects: starting to form stage design/ props, write scripts and acting.  Please donate clean mismatched socks, dress up clothing we can turn into multi-textile puppets, sets and costumes.  Please look for production dates the children establish for June! 
  • Murals and Throw painting introduction.  We use murals to begin forming our class Story boards and explorations of the importance of murals in communities (10 US cities with the best street art collections plus: Melbourne, Australia, Belfast N Ireland, Cape Town South Africa just to name a few!) and as reference for our class as we form symbols of our time together in animals and images.  These will be in front of the garage door to appreciate.
    • Please dress kids in clothes you do not care about getting dirty or stained in the months of May, June and July.
  • Fun Music Dance Parties–featuring wide DJ variety of musicians/ songs!
  • Woodworking continues and dive in with tools and some local fabulous Trades representatives who will visit in June–please look for details to come.
  • Bumblebees, Mason bees with an all bee study 
  • Botany up close: Using our classroom microscope (and sanitized in between each child’s use), we will scientifically honor the life growing around us.  Both classes will get to use this tool in our downstairs class from sea life and garden life surrounding us.
  • Phytoplankton3 Amazing Things About Phytoplanktonhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/Vj3JU9iM7VWRmbEH8 Please explore this album for Dr. Gornall and our incredible Specialist visits!
    • Dr. Tag Gornall, we will be honored and to welcome as a special guest back this spring/summer, one of the world’s foremost Marine Mammal Veterinarians to explore his work and commitment to Phytoplankton education. He worked with the heart and diving studies of Namu, the first orca in captivity. He worked with sea otters during the Exxon-Valdez oil spill and has helped design aquariums around the world.
    • He has been the consulting veterinarian for the Seattle Aquarium, Pt. Defiance Aquarium, Woodland Park Zoo, and other national and international aquariums. He has had an amazing life and career. I now have a new passion for phytoplankton:)
  • Guinea Pig care: more intricate focus on care of animals in our domesticated opportunities and Pepper being our gentle and patient, kind classroom friend.  We are seeking to adopt another Guinea Pig (elders welcome) to support, please let us know if you hear in the community of a loving home needed for a GP friend.
  • Environment deep cleans–mopping, soaping scrubbing of classroom spaces and tools inside and outside.
  • Marine Life Exploration: naming of shells and local seaweed and water plant and animal life.  We begin clear conversations about beach awareness and marine life etiquette.  
  • The Earth:
  • Introduction to Teamwork through jump roping, climbing, clapping-drumming, story spoken word and rhyming add-on games.  Getting prepared for our June day with local leader Mr. Mike Kirk!
  • Serving Tea to Friends: harvesting herbs from the garden to invite and serve tea to a friend and Salad making from the garden
  • Continuing the gift of Listening awareness and practice in friendship conflict resolutions.  Using the listening and observation tools in our tool belts to make the play longer by being kind and listening, children learn and practice bravely listening and speaking about the uncomfortable moments to find amends to resolution and collaboration to consent and longer play.  We practice the period needed for a “plop down to listen” and be present, acknowledging what feelings and facts are being shared.  And finally, and finding a trusting solution for the present and next time.

Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.

– Karl Menninger

  • May and June Specialist Visits & Thank you:
    • Dr. Tag Gornall, one of the world’s foremost Marine Mammal Veterinarians
    • Kelly Simmons: DOVE Specialist / focus on Race discussions
    • Teacher Toby Leibowitz and Gillian Simmons and alumni Griffin Simmons helping us create our class mural!  Huge hugs!
    • Shelly Stumpf for all and Bake Sale organizing and gathering!  
    • India for the Tie-Dye help!!
    • Mr. Mike Kirk this June!!

Reminders, Thank-Yous, Dates to Save

  • Intersession days, no class sessions May 13-May 24th for teacher inservice and education days.
  • No Class Memorial Day May 27th
  • Tie Dying: Please help this June! Thank you India Helena Alarcon & Gillian Simmons, please contact India to help create a fun day for the kids in June! 
  • Conferences Please feel free to come early and walk the garden, peek in the upper toddler classroom.  Conferences will be held in the 3-6yr lower classroom. Conferences are for guardians only please.  Thank you for getting child care coverage for the quick 20 mins.   

May 2024 Conferences Spring 2024 Klahanie School Conference Sign-up

  • 2024 PIE AUCTION SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER: Please help organize!  Please contact Ellen Weir for the online fundraiser details, we need a volunteer committee head to gather people as well as organize the pie auction and Klahanie School Strawberry Festival booth to sell tickets, donations and school advertising.  The school scholarships are fed by these fundraiser earnings.  Klahanie School enrolls all economic varieties when seeking to be here, which means scholarships are always active and some years increased in need.  Emmy will be a support but unable to organize scholarship fundraisers to concentrate on writing grants, lead teaching, and facilitating AMS Accreditation and WA Licensing.  Thank you for the invaluable school teamwork of volunteering and continued care in our communities advocacy care focuses on your children over the years attending and alumni growing in community.  Mahalo!
  • Community Messaging for our School: Thank you for sharing with the community that we enroll students from all geographic locations-on and off island, and admit families of (DEI) Diversity Equity and Inclusion foundation and welcome warmly all economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.  
  • Enrollment and just a couple Spots Open, thank you for referring neighbors and family.  Klahanie School – Welcome   Siblings encouraged and we have a sibling discount as well as collaboration of what can work for young families in schooling and commutes, please contact the school.
    • Please see below for the updated Childcare After School and Intersession Break program to support families working outside the home.  This program is open for enrolled 2024-2025 students, with more details below.  

Childcare After School and Intersession program  Klahanie School – Welcome.  In order for the school to afford the hire and implement sustainably reliable payment for an additional Childcare-Afterschool programming teacher we need two more (total of five) interested families to move forward with enrollment, and to keep the tuition lower.  To maintain supportive ratios, a new teacher and program, we might not have much wiggle room in our budget to offer much in scholarship/reduced tuition until licensed and DCYF funding is secured and state grant opportunities open up for us, or seven children enroll and the amounts below can be lowered.  If you three families are serious and seek to enroll and no one else approaches, we will maintain the program with ample communications in the summer with updates regarding scholarship amounts.  Please note: scholarships might not be reduced further due to not enough children enrolled.  

The Childcare After School Intersession program will be $305 monthly (the after school hours per month), and bit higher during the Intersession breaks due to increased attendance hours in November and May (Intersession breaks plus the after school hours, $410 top month of May).

  • Please consider starting carpooling!  Keep finding ways to support each other through spring and summer.  
  • REMINDER JUNE 1ST 2024 WE BEGIN NEW SCHEDULE 8:30AM-1:30PM MON-THURS (NOON pickup for 2-3yr class/ nappers).

April 2024 Reflection

Our class has leaped into the spring with enthusiasm and creativity in imaginative play and classroom material exploration as well as amazing recycling and earth conscious exploration through our own choices. The garden has taken new shape and inspired creativity in exploring play in the space as well as respect for the garden; hosting habitat to many insects (we have created Insect Hotels), arachnids, earthworms, beetles, garden snakes and birds. We began planting seeds and discussion of plant life cycle and plant care. With the increase of imaginative role-playing during garden time we will be introducing more performance encouragement on the garden stage and movement to theater moments and ideas of puppet shows.  The swing area and obstacle course, and have offered many opportunities for hand and arm strengthening as well as balance and imaginative play.   Friendships are deepening and we are working in pods towards showing Inclusion, Kindness and Much Fun in play together.

2023-2024 Klahanie School Year Round Calendar: please take note of summer ending dates.  Graduation is a graduation and closure of the school year at Klahanie School where we honor all the children graduating and a conscious, celebration ending to the amazing school year spent building trust and friendships, connections and community.  Details will be sent in your July newsletter.  

Calendar – Klahanie School 

Niche In Nature I’ve got a Niche in nature, no matter what you say.

I’ve got a niche in nature and it’s going to stay that way.

We’ve each got a niche in nature, whether we’re big or small.

If niches are protected then there’s room enough for us all! 

Dirt Made My Lunch

Dirt made my lunch, boom boom boom. 

Dirt made my lunch.

Thank you dirt, thanks a bunch for my salad, my sandwich, my milk and my lunch.

Dirt you made my lunch.

Inch By Inch

Inch by inch, row by row

Going to make this garden grow.

All you need is a rake and a hoe, and a piece of fertile ground.

Inch by Inch, row by row

I thank these seeds I sow, going to warm them from below til the rain comes tumbling down.

Vashon Island School District

Vashon, WA. 98070

April 25, 2024

Dear VISD School District Board Members, 

We represent the staff and board of Vashon-Maury’s AMS Montessori Antibias Early Childhood school that supports students moving into Vashon Island School District as well as ongoing advocacy for those students-families and district Interns who receive support in mentorship abilities at Klahanie School.  Since 2009, we continue to support the student learning process and necessary trained school supports.  We value student individualized learning and needs in all three of the schools CES, McM, VHS. We are writing to you because we as a school community are concerned about the district Certified Reductions In Force for many teachers and specialists who offer the key services our district and community of students desperately need and benefit from in the Social Emotional arenas.

VISD Certified Reductions In Force has a negative impact on families/schools because of the possibility of cutting key services that allow children to survive in a system that might not fit their learning needs specifically and require the consistent services Tier II and Counseling arenas provide. We as a community are vested and continued advocates in student’s ongoing support and have seen and experienced firsthand how Certified Reductions In Force affects families and students. Our alumni students with district IEP are referred to the district early (first in services like Child Strive) and found successes reducing student anxiety levels in their learning process, and simply being able to get to class, because of specific services in danger of being cut.  Students in our district who learn outside of the system grid (such as those seeking Trades or varying hands-on work arenas) need equitable staffing and budget reflection of services available to feel trust in the district and equitably seen, heard and supported in a state school district.

CES Tier II and McM Counseling is essential for students with IEPs and many times the highest ACEs, finding emotional success being able to maneuver in a system that already feels confusing and anxiety ridden.  These services mitigate that and offer chances for students to find resiliency when knowing they have trained, certified adults capable of supporting their varying needs as well as caring for the majority of the school support systems.  

For these reasons, we strongly urge that you consider students with high needs and the educators, counselors who support their successes and growth becoming upstanding adults for this world. Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions for our school Executive Director, please email klahanieschool@gmail.com. 

Sincerely,

Klahanie School Students & Interns, Teachers, Families, Board 

—

Klahanie School

PO Box 2426 

Vashon Island, WA. 98070

(206) 491-9465

http://www.klahanieschool.org

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