Explorer Class Update and a Word From Our Director

Explore Class Update

Explorer students have had so many interesting things happening lately! To name a few: poems in our pockets, Ankur's lesson about Gandhi's Salt March, gathering marine debris, studies in electromagnetism, pen pal letters, building bat houses with Jeremiah, prepping for the backpack, and a visit from a Chilean poet. It's difficult to choose one thing to highlight! Here's a pic of students acting out a scene from "Hamlet" with Claudius, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the Prince of Denmark himself.

A Word from Our Director

Weekly “group gatherings" and “community meetings” in our Five Acre School classrooms are a long-standing integral part of the Five Acre School educational philosophy. I first experienced a group gathering while completing a teaching internship in the Explorer classroom in 2012. Recently, Juanita Ramsey-Jevne sent me information about “Klassens tid” (Class Time). In Denmark, many schools have something called “Klassens tid” (Class Time). It’s typically a regular (often weekly) classroom meeting where students and teachers:

• talk about social dynamics
• address conflicts
• build classroom community

Five Acre School’s practice of group gatherings focuses on experiential learning, meaning that students learn through direct experience and reflection. It also emphasises the importance of dialogue and open communication between students and teachers, which helps foster greater mutual understanding and respect. Another focus of group gatherings is creating a positive and inclusive environment where students feel safe can fully develop as individuals and active members of their school community.