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 * December 2009**:
 * I've missed our fireside gatherings, and wonder if there is any interest among you in working through Robert Marzano's modules that accompany The Art and Science of Teaching? I'm going to venture solo if I need to, but I would certainly appreciate some company along the way! Please let me and/or your division head know of your interest.

Happy Holidays! Trish**

Welcome to OUR book study group on sustainability. As we read, view and experience ways to educate our children for a sustainable world, please use this wiki format to share your actions/reactions and to keep group participants informed about events of interest. Richard Louv, author of //Last Child in the Woods// will speak on Thursday, September 25, at Greensboro Montesorri School. Kathy Pounds has offered to arrange van transportation for those who are interested in attending that event. We have a myriad of resources from which to draw topics for discussion, including Louv's book, Stone and Barlow's //Ecological Literacy//, Sobel's //Childhood and Nature: Design Principles for Educators,// and Pamela Michael's and Robert Hass's project for integrating poetry, art and nature, //River of Words.// Please visit the [|SummitGreen wiki] to see the film titles that are available to us. Would you like to meet for a movie night about the Yadkin River Valley (complete with snacks, of course)?

Just ran across this list of books with a sustainability theme for children: http://www.vtearthinstitute.org/sustainableliving.html KP

On November 4, let's plan to gather in Room 10 of the Junior High at 11:15 to view the film of the Yadkin Valley, to share our impressions of our October 25th Yadkin Valley experience, and to explore Sobel's CHILDHOOD AND NATURE as well as ECOLOGICAL LITERACY. (You may want to pick up copies of those two books in the library ahead of time.) We can map our course for December and January together. TM This link to the NY Times addresses indigenous tongues and their risk for extinction. You may wish to read this before we meet on November 4 to underscore the connections to early settlements along the Yadkin as well as to chapters in ECOLOGICAL LITERACY. That link is:  TM

Many cultures are experiencing the threat of extinction for indigenous languages. Reading Lisa See's __Snow Flower and the Secret Fan__ brought Nu Shu, the secret language of women in China's Hunan Province, to my attention. Here are two related links. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4356095/ < Here's the Yadkin River website I promised to Saturday's Yadkin Valley treckers: http://fcasstevens.tripod.com/sites.html DCM

An Invitation: Remember to bring along something to 'sustain' you when we gather on Tuesday, November 18 at 3:40 in Room 10 to discuss Sobel's ideas on designing appropriate environmental/educational opportunities for life-long learners. We'll set a date for December/January then. Remind me to share what John and I witnessed last Sunday along the Yadkin River. TM

'Green' Holidays: Looking for a sustainable gift? Interested in giving a gift that is eco-friendly? Check out these websites: http://www.edf.org/home.cfm (Type in 'green holidays') http://www.sierraclub.org/holidays/ TM

Winter Reading for Reflection: Before we move to RIVER OF WORDS, I wonder if we could revisit the idea of sustaining cultures? We have touched on the contributions of Native Americans to our bioregion by watching a video and by reading essays. Would you consider continuing to read from ECOLOGICAL LITERACY, Pages 11-17, Pages 67-79, and Pages 80-84? These essays underscore the importance of sustaining traditions, sense of place, and family systems - all important themes for us as educators. If you know a second grade teacher, you may want to share these readings with her as that grade makes plans for this year's Native American Day. I'd love to share a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea with you before Spring Break. TM

Welcome, Spring! What did you take away from your readings in ECOLOGICAL LITERACY? What do you wonder about? What are you doing to sustain traditions, place, family and yourself? Deanna suggested some excursions for us in the Spring. Deanna, when would a trip to Emily's be feasible? TM

Happy Spring. I am very interested in the canoe trip that Deanna mentioned. Is that a possibility? MC

Melissa, I'd love to canoe too! The wildflower tour is April's imminent date, but perhaps we can carve some time out in May to hit the water? TM

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH! While we write poetry throughout the year, I thought that you may want to unite two resources to write 'poems of place' with your students. RIVER OF WORDS copies are available on the cart just inside the second floor library office. A sample chapter of POETRY OF PLACE is available at  TM

Wildflower Outing Update Deanna, Cathy and I visited Emily Allen's wildflower preserve (her back yard!). Emily had the foresight in the 1950's to begin collecting wildflowers and to plant them in her backyard. Since that time, weather and man have altered the path and depth of the creek that runs through her property. Now the Piedmont Land Conservancy watches over the property and the plantings. There are over 70 species of hardwood trees, ferns, ginger, mosses, shrubs and wildflowers that call Emily's backyard home. Emily is trying to interest a grandchild in inheriting her house, but so far no one has asked to do that. The house and property are separate entities. The property cannot be sold since it is part of the conservancy. Doesn't Summit need a retreat home?! TM

POETRY OF PLACE April is National Poetry Month, and April 30 is Poem-in-your-pocket Day. Consider helping your students select a poem to copy and carry with them to share on that day. There are some great ideas for poetry of place in RIVER OF WORDS. Some 6th graders have asked to write original poems for the occasion. TM

RIVER OF WORDS/Summer of Solace Melissa and Gareth have integrated water and local river systems into their curricula. Gareth's students composed original poetry in the form of haiku. I hope that they will share some student work with us. Thanks for all of the advice and support you, as members, have shared this year. Sustainability isn't a temporary topic, so I'm hoping we'll discover and create new ways to explore and to sustain our environment and ourselves over the course of the summer, returning rested and ready for the promises of the 2009-2010 school year. Please keep everyone informed of your summer outings, plantings, and simply being. If you know of an event that our members would appreciate, use this wiki space to post a notice! TM

Happy New Year! 2009-2010 Deanna reported that there was a kayaking opportunity prior to the beginning of school year. She apologized for not posting it. Let's make a concerted effort to post opportunities for our group on this wiki for the coming academic year. Don't worry about format. Be informal. Just post info about day hikes, paddling, biking, picnicking, or anything that gets us outdoors. TM