south city community school gateway newsletter spring 2013

A Cold Adventure by Jennifer Foss

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Gateway the

Volume 6 :: Issue 2 Winter /

Spring 2013

Inside

A Place to Call Home…

What am I?: a book about camouflaged animals by the SCCS K/1st class 5

Meet…Three SCCS Families by Roshaunda Cade 6

Haiku Poetry & Quotable Quotes 7

5 Photos, Erin Duggin & Kristal Yancie Editors, Valerie Barclay & Jeremy Huggins

a bi-annual newsletter of south city community school

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On behalf of the SCCS Administration and School Board, we are pleased to formally announce that we are entering into a long-term agreement with the Journey to remain at 4926 Reber Place.

Though the finer details are being worked out, the general agreement is in place. SCCS can now proudly call this building our “home”! Many thanks and praise to God and to the Journey for this generous agreement; we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship. This is the building we hoped for, and this agreement allows us to continue in our commitment to offer a first-rate and affordable education to your family and our community.

With this development, the school’s leadership has begun assessing long-term plans and vision for what this space can offer us as we grow to a Pre-K through 8th grade school.

Lord willing, the next steps will include the following…

• Re-designed Entryway & Exterior Sign to improve security, flow, and provide a welcome feeling (signage pending approval by Southwest Garden neighborhood association)

Good Enough Mother by Kelley Munger 4

the Gateway Volume 6 :: Issue 2

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• New lighting to improve the atmosphere for learning • New flooring overlay on front stairs and 3rd floor • Technology initiatives for interactive whiteboards in 2nd – above classrooms and

laptop cart to be shared by 3rd - 6th grades • 3 upper grade classrooms to move downstairs in fall 2013 • Creation of a dedicated “Art Studio” classroom in fall 2013 • 3 small in-classroom bathrooms added in all Pre-K rooms • Pursuit of accreditation through a national, reputable agency

We have formed a small building committee, including architects who are SCCS dads, to draw up plans and estimate costs for necessary improvements and additions. We hope to share more detailed information and some renderings with you all in the coming months! We’re so excited to put down roots here at 4926 Reber Place. It’s fun to look ahead to what the school will be in 5, 10, even 30 years! These developments will enable us to live out our mission to serve students and families in new, deeper, and broader ways.

If you’re interested in talking with someone at SCCS about ways that you can support our building and facility improvements through financial gifts or through gifts of labor or materials, please contact Valerie Barclay at [email protected].

In Thanksgiving and Hopeful Expectation,

Valerie Barclay, SCCS Co-Head of School & Abraham Mohler, SCCS Board President

south city community school Winter / Spring 2013

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Eagle Watching: A Cold Adventure by Jennifer Foss, SCCS parent

Spring Enrichment Trip Highlights 2013:

St. Louis Art Museum PreK-3 & PreK-4, 1/24 & 1/25

Eagle Watching @ Audobon Center at Riverlands Kindergarten, Fri 2/8

Symphony: Carnival of the Animals PreK-4 classes, Mon 2/25

Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL 2nd Grade, Thurs 2/28

Abraham Mohler Studios 1st- 4th grades, Fri 3/15

Stinger’s Honeybee Apiary PreK-4 classes, 4/4 & 4/5

World Bird Sanctuary PK3 & Kindergarten, 4/25

Pere Marquette Park & Lodge 3rd & 4th Class, Fri 5/3

Butterfly House Kindergarten, Wed 5/8

On an overcast, early February day I set out with four fellow learners to explore the Audubon Center at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary in West Alton, MO. The wind was cold outside our car but our hearts were warm as we listened to animal stories on tape, spotted birds, marveled at the properties of binoculars, and anticipated what we might see once we reached our destination.

Eagles! We were excited and our visit did not disappoint. We joined up with the entire Kindergarten class at the Audubon Center and saw bald eagles. The kids watched through a scope on a barge docked along the shore of the Mississippi just north of its confluence with the Missouri River. The regal birds were so close, occupying the trees on an island in the middle of the river.

We rounded out our visit with more eagles: eagle dress-up, eagle museum exploration, eagle video footage, construction of a replica eagle nest, and passing around eagle feathers, talons and pellets. We left our trip with the gifts of insight, fun and a paper eagle-head hat, courtesy of our guide.

Later that evening, I took my daughter to an art gallery. She had worn her eagle hat most of the day. The owner of the gallery admired Lydia's hat and turned to me saying; "I have always wondered why bald eagles were called bald when they have feathers. " “Excuse me,” Lydia said and waited for the lady to look her way, “‘bald’ used to mean ‘white’ during the time of the Revolutionary War. That’s why." The owner was tickled and delighted with the lesson, and I was grateful for the gift of great learning we’d received that day.

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Would you believe me if I told you that you are a good enough mother? What if I made you a t-shirt (as my counseling practicum supervisor suggested) that said:

This is what a good mother looks like. Would you wear it? Or would you, like I, feel compelled to first put a few things in order? Would your pre-t-shirt-wearing-to-do-list look something like mine? (Put your seatbelts on folks, things are about to get real.)

1. Rid mini-van (aka home-office, affectionately called “White Lightning) of various fast food wrappers (Wendy’s, Lee’s, McDonald’s, Starbucks—who can really afford to discriminate in a time pinch?) as well as food remnants from said restaurants.

2. Follow through with that plan to wake up at 5:00 every morning to spend time with God, do some power yoga, mop some floors and have a lovely and pleasant morning routine with the kids (“Sure, honey, I’ll poach you an egg!”).

3. With the help of Pinterest and other user-friendly-but-shame-provoking websites, plan and prepare dynamic learning experiences for the kids, catering to each individual child’s particular interests and gifts.

4. Stop the repeated asking (yelling at) of kids (mine) to do the same thing over and over.

5. Model patience and other virtuous behaviors at all times, and stop the yelling thing. Also, stop being angry, cranky, or tired. Sunshine and rainbows.

6. I could keep going, but the list gets spiral-scary at this point.

The point is not that any of these things is bad (I mean, really, petrified chicken nuggets and yelling at your kids are gross, and power yoga and clever crafting websites are awesome). But what the list does reveals is an elaborate standard of performance I set up for myself as a mother and a human being. These standards are borne of my story, and it’s borne of the shame and contempt that evil wants to use to distort my identity as a child of God. When I’m working on the to-do list, I find myself in a cycle that looks like this: Perform (you can do it perfectly!), Fail (of course you can’t do it perfectly!), Shame (why can’t you do it?), and back around to Perform (Keep trying!). This is not restful. This produces exhaustion. This makes mothering especially difficult, with all of the unpredictability and emotional intensity that this role already brings.

But this is not what Jesus invited me into. In fact, as I have been reflecting on Scripture over the last few months, I’ve been thinking about the message that Scripture spirals toward, culminating in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That message? “Come closer.” Not “be better.” “Come closer!” The Gospel, life, marriage, mothering—they are all about relationship and about coming closer. Being a good mother is about inviting relationship. Being a good mother is about brokenness and repentance and the grace and glory of being made in the image of God, of being made to be the particular mother of particular children. I hope you can find rest in that today.

Now who wants to help me clean White Lightning?

A Good Enough Mother musings on motherhood and the Gospel By Kelley Munger, SCCS Parent


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1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8.

Thank you for taking the time to read our class book! We had a blast making this book (it took 4 days!). The students are enthralled with learning about camouflage and are finding camouflaged creatures all around them. In creating this book, the students (1) picked their creatures (2) thought of and illustrated their creatures’ camouflaged surroundings, and (3) came up with their own riddles. We are concluding our camouflage unit with this amazing book! ~Ms. Katelyn, K/1st Teacher

(see the answers on p. 7)

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At SCCS we have so many delightful and diverse families in our school community! SCCS parent Roshaunda Cade gets the scoop from three of our families… Holmes Family John, Veeda, Jackson (7), Levi (4), & Aysa (1) Where are you from? John and Veeda are from the Seattle area. Jackson was born there, but Levi and Aysa were born in St. Louis What is your family’s favorite St. Louis thing? We enjoy discovering new restaurants in the city. In the summer we take our kids and friends to Ted Drewes. Another favorite activity is taking our kids to City Garden to play in the water fountains. What ethnicities are represented in your family? John is Caucasian (Dutch, English, Welsh). Veeda is African American, Native American, and Indian. Our kids are a beautiful mix of mom and dad. What are some of your family's favorite books? We love The Chronicles of Narnia, Goodnight Moon, and any book by Ezra Jack Keats. What drew you to a Charlotte Mason education? We enjoy how the Charlotte Mason curriculum fosters a love for learning in a very experiential and God-centered way. We also appreciate the intentionality of diversity. Mohler Family Abraham, Rachel, Bella (8), Aria (4), & Micah (9 months) Where are you from? Abraham was born and raised in Tombstone, AZ, best known for the showdown at the O.K. Corral. Rachel was born and raised in Springfield, IL. What is your family's favorite St. Louis thing? We live very close to Tower Grove Park, so naturally we're over there several times a week when the weather's nice. We also live very close to all the yummy ethnic restaurants on Grand, our favorite being Pho Grand. What ethnicities are represented in your family? Caucasian (Scotch/Irish, German)

Meet the…

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What is one unusual fact about your family? We're part of a wonderful community of musicians and singers meeting at Hartford Coffee Shop every 3rd Saturday of the month: "The Hartford Hootenanny"! What has your experience as an SCCS family been like? We love the open communication we have with our girls' teachers. One of our daughters needed extra practice and assistance with meeting different reading milestones, so Ms. Brandy put together some very helpful packets to work on at home. We so appreciate the attention that is paid to each child. We also love that the truth of Christ Jesus can be taught openly and unashamedly! Cornejo Family Alejandro, Sandra, Saylah (4), & Victor (7 months) Where are you from? Sandra is of Mexican heritage but was born in Detroit. Alejandro is from El Salvador. Both of our kids were born in St. Louis. What ethnicities are represented in your family? Hispanic What is one unusual fact about your family? We have had an immediate family member or friend living with us for the last 4 or 5 years. What drew you to a Charlotte Mason education? The fact that it is a well-rounded curriculum. What has your experience as an SCCS family been like? Our daughter has really enjoyed attending SCCS. She has made good friendships with classmates and loves her teacher. We are excited about her growth and her joy in learning and experiencing new things.


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Quotable Quotes ~ by the children of South City Community School

(a PreK lunch-time success) “I opened the cheese all by myself, I’m a rock star! ~ Annie, PreK-3 (commenting on a guitar strings tuning demonstration during music class) “That sounds like a robot getting dead!” ~ Anna, PreK-4 “God has so much love He’s actually shaped like a heart!” ~ Dylan, Kindergarten “You seriously don’t want to read about Abraham Lincoln?!” ~ Eva, 2nd (on reading directions for origami, on their own) “This must be written in Chinese – we can’t understand it!” ~ Eva, Sophie, and Bella, 2nd

Haiku Poetry ~ 2nd Grade (Ms. Kelsey’s 2nd grade class recently completed a cross-studies unit on Asia, including writing their own Haiku poems. They are entering their poetry into a national poetry competition, and we wanted to share a selection with you!) After winter, Turtle swims, Fast Horse, A purple violet… Water in a pond… Broncos strong… Stripes pop out. See a ripple. Time to race!

Such a rainy day… Waves splashing the rock The clouds are dark and lonely. Foam sparkles on the water… Crack! The lightning strikes. The shells sparkling. The cat sleeps Mice come out of wall… Cat wakes up!

Wh

at am I? an

swers k

ey: 1. a goldfish 2. a slu

g 3. a ch

eetah 4. a tiger! 5. a sh

ark 6. a n

ewt 7. a poodle

8. a grasshopper 9. a caterpillar

the Gateway

a bi-annual newsletter of south city community school

Mailing address: 724 Dover Place

St. Louis, MO 63111

www.sccommunityschool.org

www.facebook.com/sccsstl

the Gateway :: south city community school Volume 6 :: Issue 2

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Grandparents & Friends Day Thurs 4/18 & Fri 4/19* :: 10am – 1pm SCCS, 4926 Reber Place 63139 *Check for your grandchild’s schedule to determine the best day to attend. If you’re coming as a friend / school supporter you are welcome to join us either day!

Trivia Night: All Things British Saturday April 20th, 2013 :: 7pm-10pm SCCS Gym, 4926 Reber Place 63139 Join us for jolly-good fun, costume & table prizes, & lovely silent auction items! For details and to register online: sccommunityschool.org/Trivia_Night.html

SCCS Annual Arts Festival Tuesday May 21st :: 6:30 – 8pm The Journey Sanctuary

south city community school gateway newsletter spring 2013

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