Upattinas

Evening of the Arts!!

2010-05-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of last night's Evening of the Arts, our annual event showcasing the art, music, photography, and creativity of our students. First up, a group of obviously camera-shy students, past and present.

We'll be adding some professional stills to the website, but in the meantime a smattering of student work. The show was full of amazing work, from whimsical to thought-provoking.

We had great music....

and fashionistas!

What a fun night for all of us - kudos not only to our artists, but to the staff and students who worked so hard to transform the gym into a beautiful gallery and stage. More pics are on our Facebook page - check them out!

test

2010-05-01T05:52:00.001-07:00

test

Setting up for Evening of the Arts

2010-04-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone is busy transforming the gym into a stage and an art gallery...

Morning Music Parade

2010-03-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

It's a bit blurry but the photographer had to move quickly with a Blackberry when a musical parade made its way through the office, unnanounced!

Upattinas at WHYY

2010-02-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

A super fun project and we'll be doing that again!

All photos courtesy of Emily Savill

Help for Haiti

2010-02-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

Our friend Sam Cantrell at Maysies Farm posted this on his blog and we thought our families might like to know about it. We have known Sam for a long time, have had students intern at his CSA, and are happy to hear about his plans.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Message from Maysie's- Haiti

Greetings Friends -
       If you have been interested in helping the people of Haiti in this time of their desperate need, but have been unsure of the best way to provide that assistance, I can offer you a means of reaching out, if not exactly person to person, at least community to community, to directly aid suffering individuals.
   I will be leaving for Haiti next Sunday, February 7th, and hope to be able to deliver financial donations from people in my community to members of a community there. I also hope to be able to offer assistance in the form of advice on planning and implementing sustainable food production, as I have done on my three previous visits to Haiti.
       I will be traveling with my friend, Aldo Maggazeni, who accompanied me on my 2001 trip to Haiti and then became involved in implementing a water system for a village in Afghanistan. His approach of offering some financial assistance, recruiting local engineers and engaging the villagers themselves in the project, was so successful that he replicated it numerous times in that country and in Kenya and in Mexico. He created a non profit organization, Traveling Mercies (travelingmercies.org), to raise funds for such very efficient, very effective, community level "foreign aid" projects and humanitarian efforts. Now he even has a donor interested in funding the construction of a school.
       We will be working through the Living Hope Mission (livinghopemission.org), near Cap-Hatien, where I designed and started an organic vegetable garden in 1999 that still feeds the Mission staff and their community. Wilbert Merzilus, the Haitian Director, and Meg, his American wife, will be able to connect us to a community or communities that will benefit directly from our financial assistance and project expertise.
       If you are able to offer assistance to people in Haiti I would be very grateful if you could do it by writing a check to Traveling Mercies and sending it to me as soon as possible (though our assistance will be ongoing, continuing after we return from the trip). We will deliver 100% of the donations received to people who will use the funds wisely to ease the suffering and begin the healing process in Haiti.
       The country of Haiti has been in an unbelievable state of desperation for many years - far more so than any of the three dozen-and-some other countries I have visited in my four years-and-some of traveling (mostly in third world countries). There has been almost no infrastructure - pathetically inadequate education, health care and transportation - and governments that were woefully negligent in the good times and brutally oppressive in the bad times. A decade ago it was clear to me that the country's resource base was gone, totally depleted. It looked like the badlands of south Dakota, mountains once covered with tropical forests, now only mountains of gravel. But the people there are human beings - desperate human beings for sure - but capable of love and hope and good will despite their desperation. It's almost unbelievable that that is so, but if you would put yourself down among the mass of people trudging through the sewage filled gullies beside a pitiful track in Port au Prince, if you would open yourself up to engage an individual and look into his eyes, you would see that it is so.
       And now this devastating earthquake has increased their pain and suffering and desperation immeasurably. But it has also brought their situation to the attention of many of the people in the developed world. There is no question about it: we must look at this catastrophy not only as an opportunity to help some of our fellow human beings heal from their terrible wounds, but also as a chance to facilitate the rebuilding of a dysfunctional and devastated country into something better, a place of hope instead of a place of despair.
   I hope you can help.
   Thank you so much -
                                             Sam

Think Globally, Eat Locally
Maysie's Farm Conservation Center
15 St. Andrew's Lane Glenmoore, PA 19343
(610)458-8129 www.maysiesfarm.org

Upattinas and WHYY

2010-01-29T07:05:00.000-08:00

A variety of students, staff, parents, and alumni will be answering phones today from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. during WHYY's pledge drive. Tune in to 90.9, listen, and pledge!

Conference week, aka EVALUATIONS!

2010-01-25T04:54:00.000-08:00

Last week was conference week at Upattinas, which meant writing evaluations for high school students. Families meet twice a year with teachers and advisors to review the previous semester and plan for future work. High school students write an evaluation for each of their classes, outlining their course of study, books and materials, projects, and field trips for each. Teachers add their comments and assign credit along with their signatures, and the evaluations are reviewed as part of the family conference.

The computer room is a flurry of activity during the week leading up to conferences. Students are encouraged to make duplicate copies and to save their evals electronically but there will still be a:
lost,
found,
misplaced,
abandoned,
deleted,
tossed,
unfinished,
unsigned,
unfiled,
undated,
or
unnamed
evaluation or two, which can be tragic or just mildly annoying, depending.

In the end, students enjoy seeing the file grow thicker with each passing year as a collection of writing accumulates to represent years of high school work. It's a valuable process we should all participate in periodically, taking the time to review what we've done, and plan next steps.

Conference week is over and "writing evals" is off the table...for a few more months!

Our Longwood Tree

2009-12-04T06:26:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of the outdoor Wildlife Christmas Tree decorated with ornaments our students made. Beautiful!

Be on the lookout....

2009-11-24T05:57:00.001-08:00

for the next Community Courier, where you might recognize some front page faces!

The Community Courier is helping us publicize the Solstice Fair with a front page article and picture of some of students showing off handcrafted wares. I'm going to try to nab some preview pictures of my favorite items before the show...

Walt Strauss!

2009-11-04T04:23:00.001-08:00

Upattinas Music Series

proudly presents:

An Evening with

Singer/Songwriter

Walter Strauss

www.walterstrauss.com

Upattinas Alumnus 1980

Live in Concert @ Upattinas School

Saturday, November 14, 2009

7:00 p.m. $10 admission

Please join us for a special evening with highly acclaimed musician, Walter Strauss.

Over the last five years, Walter has engaged in unique crosscultural collaborations, touring periodically in a duo with Malian kora virtuoso and 2005 Grammy nominee Mamadou Diabate, and in a duo with Malian kamal'ngoni (hunter's harp) master Mamadou Sidibe. Indeed, Maverick Magazine (UK) credits Walter's music with "an enormous sonic and musical and ethnic palette... world music on guitar." Of late, Walter has been performing solo and with The Walter Strauss Trio – with bassist Sam Bevan (David Grisman, Joe Craven) and drummer/percussionist Kendrick Freeman (Alison Brown, Rob Ickes).

Walter is a graduate of Upattinas School and fresh off a tour of the U.K. and Ireland.

Check out his website www.walterstrauss.com for music, photos, personal background,

and tour dates.
Please invite friends and family to this unique musical event!
All are welcome!

NEWSFLASH!

2009-10-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

At this moment, a handful of Upattinians are manning the phones during WHYY's pledge drive! Tune in to 90.9 and pledge!

Checking in....

2009-10-22T06:14:00.001-07:00

Yes, it is October and school certainly started more than a month ago! Apologies for the lack of pictures and updates, but we're gathering steam to streamline photo transfers and updates on a regular schedule. Stay tuned!

Courtesy Posting

2009-05-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

This, from our friends Jim and Nao:

Internship and Volunteer Opportunities
For Alternative Learning Center
Wandering Seed
www.wanderingseed.org

The Alternative Learning center for Middle school Youth along the Thai Burmese Border; The Wandering Seed Project, is the growing pilot project from Whispering Seed Foundation, 501 (c) (3) USA. And with cooperation from Global Village School, International Home School USA, Children Village School, Thailand , Children and Youth for Development Foundation , Thai Volunteer Service and student volunteers from various universities and with cooperation from education organizations and the local District Organizations

Internship for these positions for 3 months June-Aug 2009

1. Teaching English for students ( teenagers age ) in program and ethic Thai-Burmese-Karen tribe adults
Teaching Position in Alternative Education for teenage, middle school age, Experience in Walkabout passage will be highly interested.
2. Vocational Training teacher in Wood carving and Sculpture/Pottery/Ceramic
3. Documentary Filmmaker and Animator and Graphic Designer and Children Literature

Volunteer
( At least one week in all above areas and… )
1. Fundraiser
2. Writer for articles, Journalist
3. Teaching academics, English, Math, Science, Social, Ecology, Non-violence communication etc.. for Middle school student, teenage.
Etcs…

For more info contact ; Saowanee Sangkara ( nao )
Email; nao@wanderingseed.org
www.wanderingseed.org

Darling, Darling, Darling

2009-05-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

Finally, at the end of this string of NCACS posts, we come to Darling. I cannot list all that she did, or how many months she spent planning, or how many hours of sleep she got in the weeks before and during the conference. From brochures and registration packets to camping space and name tags, Darling anticipated the needs of the conference and held the project in her heart and hands for a very long time. The equivalent of planning a three-day wedding, the flow and success of the conference was not a surprise to Darling, who knew all along what she - and we - could do.

A final THANK YOU! to Darling, who was pulled in multiple directions and had an answer for eveyone during the conference and managed to look glamorous at the same time!

*Note - Just a few days after the conference ended, at the weekly All School Meeting, Darling's announcement was for everyone to rally for the next event, Evening of the Arts. Relentless.

THANK YOU!

2009-05-10T05:35:00.000-07:00

There is always the danger, when trying to thank a group of people individually, that someone's name will be left off the list. The size of this event and the level of participation make it nearly impossible to list everyone's contribution - you know who you are, and we know we can count on each other.

While it shouldn't be a surprise to any of us, our community rocked before, during, and after this conference! Staff, students, parents, board members, and alumni worked together on workshops, cleaning, planning, transporting, cooking, serving, directing, wiring, networking, greeting, nursing, washing, sweeping, stocking, supplying, sweeping, singing, presenting, organizing, shopping, weeding, recycling, laundry. . . this could go on. Really. And then there are the conference attendees, students and staff alike, who pitched in and offered workshops, volunteered in the kitchen, ran meetings, cleaned up, organized games. . . really, how cool are we?

So THANK YOU everyone and CONGRATULATIONS on being an amazing group of people!

Conference Randomness

2009-05-08T06:07:00.001-07:00

The folks in the kitchen had a pleasant surprise - the Peace Tomato! Lycopene and harmony in a salad; can't beat it.

Gratuitous picture of Indy.

Coffee!
We were happy to have Hobo Ed* and his fabulous coffee on Saturday. It was an unusually hot day and his iced coffees were moving like, well, iced coffees on a hot day. Ed and his family have long ties to Upattinas and it was fun to have him back on campus!

*I don't know why I can't get that link to work, so check him out hoboed.net!

More!

2009-05-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, I still have more pictures. And yes, there are still a few things to be said.

Think about this: Every room that had a workshop using a microphone or projector had to have been set up. So did the stage, and the music studio. Power had to be run all over campus. AV equipment distributed, connected, checked, maintained. Aren't we lucky we have JEFF DOMENICK???

And on top of all that, he sings.

Hooping!!!

2009-05-02T07:04:00.001-07:00

Shout-out to the new NCACS Board

2009-05-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

A little bit of business-reporting here; there is a new board, after all! It's too early to alphabetize so here, in no particular order besides the executive committee listed first, are the members of the new NCACS Board.

Kristin Lamoureux, Chair
Darling Bonjo, Vice Chair
Cheryl Kruckeberg, Secretary
Terri Wheeler, Treasurer
Vikram Babu, Tech Advisor
Andrew Oak, Student Rep
Maria Corse
Justin Colella
Mary Ellen Bowen

Thank you for taking on the responsibility!

Food!

2009-04-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

I had a hard time thinking of a catchy title for this post, one that neatly summed up how delicious and diverse the food was while hinting at the talents, both culinary and organizational, of Schuyler, our Kitchen...what? Manager? Goddess? Magician? Schuyler, who fed over two hundred people, three meals a day, but also divided those meals into vegetarian, "meat eater," vegan, and gluten free. The very same Schuyler who planned the menus, organized the shopping and storage of ingredients before and during the conference, and calculated utensils/pans/pots/serving items..midday snacks...cold drinks in a heatwave....this was huge!

Schuyler would be the very first person to point out that she had lots of help, and she did, of course, have a full roster of people from all the schools ready and willing to prep, serve, or clean up. Hats off to them and a rousing blog cheer for Schuyler, who was instrumental to the success of the conference!

Lady-of-the-moment, Schuyler!

Schuyler and Elaine doing some juggling at the stove.

Good morning!

Food line in the stone hallway. They look really hungry, no?

Some of our kitchen helpers were shy about being photographed.

Some were not.
Frosting cakes and cutting bagels, with Ayako peeking from the stove.

Dancing!

2009-04-28T05:24:00.000-07:00

I know, the pictures are grainy and I had to tweak them a bit because the gym was dark but the energy and joy in the dancing makes them worth posting! I had a hard time choosing between taking pictures or singing and dancing myself as Jeff Domenick and the Fraction - the full band - played!

COMMUNITY!

2009-04-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing builds community like a couple of meetings.....or creating in the Art Tent.....

or hanging out...(take a look at the community painting-in-progress)

or listening to music....
or listening to poetry....
or a little friendly competition!

Tents II

2009-04-27T07:47:00.001-07:00

As all of you arrive back at your schools and air tents and sleeping bags, a little revisit of the tent village you just left as a reminder of why all of today's work was worth it.....

NCACS Friday

2009-04-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful, absolutely picture perfect, fabulous first conference day!! The conference is off to a great start - workshops were well-attended all day, the food was delicious, and by this evening there was a huge game of Ultimate Frisbee just after the concert and before Open Mike time.

I have too many pictures to put up at once so I'm going to first post pictures of beautiful people on this lovely day of sunshine and sharing....

Lower school students arrived this morning and were either thrilled or overwhelmed to find a campus full of people and breakfast in full swing. The weather and the activities won everyone over in short order.

The field was a place for resting.......
and chatting.....

and greeting friends......

and music, of course.
Donna in the store
Anonymous feet
Announcements from Darling....
and from Sandy!