Klahanie School June 2025 Newsletter

Only if we understand, can we care.

Only if we care, will we help.

Only if we help, shall all be saved.  

~Jane Goodall

We speak with more than our mouths.  We listen with more than our ears.

Whether we’re a preschooler or a young teen, a graduating college senior or a retired person, we human beings all want to know that we’re accepted, that our being alive somehow makes a difference in the lives of others.

Relationships are like dances in which people truly find whatever happens to be the mutual rhythm in their lives.  

― Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember

Thank you for such wonderful conferences and intersession two week classroom pause, and all the hard work you each provide for this lovely group of early learners and practitioners.  Thank you parents-guardians for moving so fluidly back into the school schedule, supporting your child and the entire group with your organization, care and time put forth for your children.  We see and thank you.  Our days are fantastic back together, with fun lunch and quiet time break added every day is such a treat for us all to enrich our connections and thoughts about the world, and beyond.  Thank you for supporting our cherished time learning your child’s learning and your family’s thoughtful preparations and hard work getting to school, thank you.   

Klahanie School Important Dates, June-July Special Guest & Field trips

• June 5th 10:30am-11am Amy Mercer leads some body-neuro fun here @ Klahanie School lower classroom!  Lucky kiddos and this will be recorded and shared in our June class photos album.  

• Last Bake Sale! June 7th please help Shelly create a successful end of the year Klahanie School bake sale and please help learn from her to take that baton for the next year on how to facilitate this important quarterly fundraiser for the school, we need your help! 

• June 26th meeting @ VISD VHS Track and Field fun 8:30am-9:30/10am!  Please look for dates and times in an email to follow with volunteer signup, or confirmation attending with your child and driving them to school following the field trip fun.

• July TBA field trip to visit Townes Jensen’s family horses! Please look for dates and times in an email to follow with volunteer signup, or confirmation attending with your child and driving them to school following the field trip fun.

• July 23rd 10am with education specialists from Vashon Nature Center @ KVI beach for a hands-on learning experience with a -3 tide which will be a great time to look at tide pools and other beach experiences!  We will start the day at school and walk down.  Parents are encouraged to pack a lunch and join us, with pickup at KVI!

Special Guest and Field Trip emails will be sent individually closer to the dates listed above.  

June Curriculum Topics

• LGTBQ+ Pride Month 
• Games, Friends, Experiments and Leadership: Klahanie School Kindergarteners will be matched daily with younger multiage friend pods to Show What They Know and practice leadership ways to explore creation of shared games, science experiments and varying lesson moments for them to practice out.  This is a large month of celebrations of each elder child’s learning accomplishments at Klahanie School and younger friends benefiting the practice alongside mentoring and mentorship.  
• Sock puppets & large puppet projects: starting to form stage design/ props, write scripts and acting.  Please donate clean mismatched socks or socks with holes and other old clothing we can turn into multi-textile puppets using sewing, hot glue and fabric glues, paper mache to explore.  
• Murals and Throw painting introduction.  We use murals to begin forming our class Story boards that will have 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 stained, dirty in the months of May, June and July.
• Tie-Dying fun with Klahanie shirts –please contact the school to help!
• Daily nature walks and explorations.
• Lushootseed Is Alive Calina Lawrence -Calina Lawrence might be the first person to ever record vocals on a hip hop track in the Lushootseed language – a language that was almost lost. In the 1990’s, only 60 fluent speakers of Lushootsed were alive. Lushootseed is a Coast Salish language. It’s the language of the Duwamish and Suquamish people, as well as other nations around the Pacific Northwest. In a 2019 Sound & Vision interview, Lawrence talks to Gabriel Teodros about the power of language: https://www.kexp.org/read/2019/10/16/sound-vision-calina-lawrence-power-language/
• Jeremy Dutcher “I hope people feel a sense of celebration – and resilience.” More information on Kehkimin Wolastoqey language immersion school – the first Wolastoqey immersion and land-based school – creating a new generations of fluent Wolastoqey speakers that will help to re-connect to the language and life ways of the Wolastoqiyik, and will empower us to carry the language and ways of life forward for future generations. Kehkimin
• Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu: Kanakka Maoli Teacher and Culture Keeper, Activist Luce Fellow Spotlight: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu | First Nations Development Institute , Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu 
• Mabel Pike: Tlingit Beadworker and Moccasin Artist Handmade Portraits: Mabel Pike, Tlingit Master Artist Mabel Pike Passes Away – Alaska Public Media 
• Gyo Fujikawa https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/how-gyo-fujikawa-drew-freedom-in-childrens-books  
• Bryrd Baylor https://www.pima.gov/217/Pima-County-FYI-External-Newsletter?contentId=d7ad3738-8027-460b-b8ea-6bfff7335dc1 
• Local Hummingbirds Hummingbirds – Seattle Audubon , Hummingbird Nests 101: Answers to All Your Questions – ABC 
• Crows honoring our Mama Crow that visits daily, we will explore the life of American Crows and their incredible facts.  10 Fun Facts About the American Crow | Audubon, American Crow Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Facts about Crows, The Intelligent Crow: Exploring Human-Animal Relationships Cross-Culturally, Did Crows Actually Make These Gifts for the Human Who Feeds Them? | Audubon 
• Mason bees with an all bee Mason Bees: Raising Beneficial Pollinators — The Mountaineers, 3 things Mason bees need to flourish, and to give a boost to your garden | The Seattle Times, Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria) 
• Jane Goodall studies continued!  Jane Goodall Institute Homepage Jane Goodall Institute
• Phytoplankton Always! 3 Amazing Things About Phytoplankton
• 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.  Salish Sea Vashon/Maury beaches, grace and courtesy behavior with beaches and marine animals–being a dear friend/Klahanie School alumni parent as well as marine biologist educator at Vashon Nature Center, Maria Metler set us up early on educating early about Salish Sea etiquette for humans, and how important our role is with local marine life.  We bask in the learnings of our surrounding kelp beds, eelgrass habitats and precious estuaries we hold here on Maury and Vashon islands.  As families we encourage kind relationship building with your local beaches and will encourage the children to use their hands in beach and forest cleanups all seasons. https://vashonnaturecenter.org/   
• Garden Food/ and continued discussions of living in homelessness and food insecurity and how we who live with food and shelter, safe homes can support those in need. How we as a school can be supported for saving and matching school donations to share with Feed Washington in August.  Our 2023-2024 school year class collected $75 and the school matched this, totalling $150.00 donated to Feed Washington, https://www.feedwashington.org/ a wonderful program feeding children living in food insecurity of Washington state.  We will match this again and encourage children in Klahanie School to talk about homes, about families in need and varying ways to support.  Our end of the year donation will again be made in August so we have plenty of time to save!
• Transitions and Emotions, Preparation Talks/Journaling for the Ending of our Fantastic School Year: supporting all the emotions and responses to changes and how we can stay in the active present moment of now and how to honor our relationships formed and ideas to maintain those connections when changes occur.  We also have encouraged children to not compare schools and rather share what their excitements and jitters are.  For us to be here for each other.  We have broken it down logically, sharing that First Grade and Kindergarten are offered in four schools in Vashon- Klahanie, CES, Carpe Diem and Green School.  The three other fantastic schools- some larger than others–are great schools where the main difference from Klahanie is that Kindergarteners are the youngest and go up to elementary grades and schools go from September-June every year.  And at Klahanie, Kindergarteners are the oldest, the seniors and we go Year Round for student consistency support.  And accepting changes is the practice together, using techniques how to move with life in practices of calming acceptances. 
• Healthy Relationship explorations continue: Continued practice of inclusion to new friends in school, Permission/Consent Play Practice and Coaching with friends in class to continue the sensory science learning (what happens in our bodies/brains to our fingertips) and emotions (more about what they are and what they can feel like and look, sound like).
  • We are going to break down moments that feel uncomfortable and find ways to empower ourselves and others around us.  Exploring that no matter what age, we deserve to be heard and seen and respected and we can call for that for ourselves, and for other people-living things (environment, animals).  
  • We will explore age supported, what it means to love and ways we can show that to ourselves and to our families, our friends, our communities.  We honor starting in our backyards for making and sustainably honoring Peace in our world and also supporting when we need specific space.   We will be asking students and teachers and the community to Show What We Know by acting and discussing in homes, classrooms, play moments, what Peace and Peaceful play means to us.  Exploring, what does it mean to you, to me?  And having fun with the richness of exploration in games, songs and puppet pauses diving a little deeper into self care moments as well.  
  • In circle, we have been discussing moments when we feel “topsy-turvy” and do not know what to do with our bodies-choices, when feeling overwhelmed methods we can use to find best matches for ourselves in environments and encourage students to practice Pause and observation, sense-into their environment and choices, before moving to an action or choice.  We are starting to become aware of empowerment in time we feel overwhelmed, actions we can take to ground ourselves to make insight with silence, and a chance to gather our awareness to one focus.  Pause has become a great language focus and role playing practice in the classes, with wonderful impacts we are observing in both the classes.  Square Breathing practice.

May 2025 Reflection, Reminders Thank You 

Thank you parents, families for all you do for your children!

Thank you teachers – teachers aides for all you do and more!

Thank you islands, Pacific Northwest and time to be here in this safe biome with you all to continue welcoming the work of Inclusion, Kindness and Equity through our learning, growing, changing, allying and creating side-by-side meaningful learning moments with your fantastic child.

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   

• We would like our faculty hours to be secure and increased hours, and filling these last class  spots can create that security, thank you for the help filling the spots!

Thriftway receipts PLEASE SUBMIT!  Name and phone # written on the top of each receipt.  Thank you for this important fundraising!

Please consider carpooling to connect your children and families further!

Accreditation and Licensing Update

Klahanie School has entered American Montessori Society Accreditation final stages of assessment and will be visited by accreditors autumn 2025 and spring 2026.  This exciting movement for the school, and is a long time coming, making the opportunities for the school become broader in community outreach and potential programming connections, greater grant opportunities.  Here is a description of the benefits from the AMS website, AMS School Accreditation.  

Please look for information late autumn 2025 for updates on when our AMS representatives will be visiting and we will be hosting a gathering potluck to introduce Klahanie School teachers,  current and alumni families to our AMS accreditation team.  

Opportunities for Co-Accreditation

AMS is recognized by the National Council for Private School Accreditation, a national organization that serves as a review panel for the standards and review procedures of private-school accrediting agencies.  Every school that is accredited by AMS gains automatic recognition by NCPSA.

In addition, AMS partners with more than 20 other national and regional accrediting associations, enabling you to participate in cooperative accreditation. The cooperative accreditation process is seamless and results in 2 valuable accreditations. You complete 1 self-study and host 1 onsite visit with representatives from both associations. Cooperative accreditation demonstrates compliance with both Montessori-specific standards and with school standards that apply to non-Montessori schools. You can find a listing of the accrediting agencies with which AMS partners in the AMS Accreditation Handbook, included as part of the AMS Accreditation Information Packet.

AMS Accreditation Recognition by State Policymakers

At AMS, we proactively advocate with state-level policymakers on behalf of our accredited schools. The result? AMS accreditation is increasingly recognized nationwide, granting our accredited schools significant advantages that may include:  Recognition at the highest level of their state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), a systemic approach to assessing, improving, and communicating the level of quality in early and school-age childcare and education programs. Possible exemption from state child-care licensing requirements and possible access to exclusive state funding sources available only to accredited schools.

During our school months we are able to share collective resiliency, creativity, innovation, adaptation, and great love and care to the school community, and the greater world we live in by sharing trusting space while practicing this new world.  Thank you for the care you all offer teachers, school community celebrating our foundations of connection and witness to grow, to learn together as an amazing team.  Mahalo for riding the river securely together.  Such sweet inspirations of connection. And as we ease into the sweet late spring and summer weeks together, we will continue to build fun moments to continue practices together that will socially, emotionally assist as preparations transitioning into new environments in the autumn for some.  We all transition together, preparing to close a very special school year in August and moving to opportunities here and afar.  Wishing us all a joyful summer 2025 together!  

Dr. Maria Montessori quotes to enjoy:

“If we are among the men of good will who yearn for peace, we must lay the foundation for peace ourselves, by working for the social world of the child.” —International Montessori Congress, 1937

“Education is the best weapon for peace.” —Education and Peace

“The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child.” —The Absorbent Mind

“An ordinary teacher cannot be transformed into a Montessori teacher, but must be created anew, having rid herself of pedagogical prejudices.” —Education for a New World

Photo of Dr. Maria Montessori 1938 on her birthday August 31 in a garden in Laren, The Netherlands. 

News from VashonBePrepared

The Prepare in a Year action plan breaks up getting ready into small manageable tasks. In February we covered designating an out-of-state emergency contact, making an Emergency Contact card, and signing up for emergency alerts. In March we talked about things to consider before possibly needing to evacuate from home, including having an emergency kit already assembled to take with you. In April we discussed how to make water safe to drink, and how to store water. Catch up on the series of action steps via this handy link mil.wa.gov/personal

The Prepare in a Year series continues in May with more details about kits you can grab and go, also known as go bags or go kits. A small duffel bag, rolling suitcase, or old school backpack can hold a kit for each family member that’s tailored to their needs. You probably already have many of the items you’ll need: water, snacks, flashlight or headlamp, important phone numbers and documents, some cash, a cell phone power bank and charging cable. Maybe you already keep a kit like this in your car, at school or at work. Children may keep a kit at school or daycare. It’s a good idea to review the contents periodically – snacks have a way of getting eaten and not replaced. We love go kit lists – here’s ours: vashonbeprepared.org/en-us/Are-You-Ready/Residents/Go-Kits 

Don’t forget to include an item for comfort or amusement like a teddy bear, crayons and a coloring book, or a crossword puzzle. (Those can really help during long ferry waits.) Building go kits makes a great kids’ summer project, because kits can start small and get really creative. If you’re feeling ambitious and would like to save money, go in with friends or neighbors on a bulk buy of pre-portioned snacks or ready-to-eat meals.

Your Invitation: A Community Gathering

Everyone is invited to a VIFR community meeting on wildfire risk and what to do about it. You can hear from experts, get handouts with checklists, and get answers to your questions. Plus, you can meet VIFR’s new Wildland Firefighting Team!

The event runs from 10 am to 12 noon on Saturday, May 31st, at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s main Station 55 on Bank Rd.

The event will give you practical tips on how to prepare your home and property for wildfire season. Plus, attendees will get take-home items such as wildfire mitigation kits, step-by-step instructions for hardening your home, and campfire extinguishing buckets. VIFR asks that you RSVP so they can plan for supplies:

vifrwildfiremitigation.rsvpify.com