As you have been leaving the elementary school in the morning this spring, you may have noticed a pack of determined looking 5th graders heading out for their distance run practice around the block, or fiercely hurling javelins at Carpenter Park, or flying through the air for long jump practice in the playground.

These students were training for an exciting day of athletic activity at the Fifth Grade Greek Olympics. This past week, students met with five other Waldorf Schools from throughout New England. After all of the training, they were finally able to put their athletic abilities to test in six events: a 50-yard relay, a long run, Greek wrestling, discus, long jump, and javelin.

In the 5th grade, students study Greek mythology and history, and through these Olympic Games they are able to embody their studies and experience first-hand the thrill, dedication and power of participating in these original Olympic events.

The Olympics in ancient Greece were not simply an athletic contest, but were also religious festivals in which citizens of the Greek city-states paid homage to their deities. In this tradition, the Waldorf 5th grade Olympics begin with each participating school offering a gift in the form of song, music, poetry or dance. The opening ceremony concludes with a lit torch being passed around the Olympic circle of athletes and lighting the Olympic flame, which burns throughout the day in honor of the Greek gods; then the athletes take an oath to compete fairly and the games begin.

Each Greek Olympic event calls forth different physical, mental and emotional qualities in the children. The running races build up stamina; the javelin and the discus improve aim and grace; the wrestling matches teach children to stand up for themselves as they face a contender eye to eye and hold their ground. To succeed in the long jump, children must learn to use the power of strength, speed and grace in a disciplined manner. Training for all of these events teaches children the value of persistence. Girls and boys, who are roughly similar in muscle mass at this age, compete, and participants are judged with equal weight given grace and balance as well as strength and speed.

As every person who has attended this event can attest, seeing the students participate in these events is truly an experience of seeing each child's fullest potential manifested at that moment. As the movement teacher to these students I am blessed to work with them toward this goal of achieving these lofty goals in movement. On this Greek Olympiad day it always feels like such a gift to the beauty, grace, and skill that the students have achieved—truly the culmination of a year's work both inside and outside.

~Jan Lyndes, Movement Teacher

Gathering Waters in participating in the Artwalk Keene June 3-12.

ArtWalk Keene is an annual celebration of local artists. Every year, Main Street in Keene comes alive with art. It is an opportunity for residents and visitors to take a self-guided tour around town as artists partner with local shops and storefronts to set up a personal gallery for their creations. Work from our students will be displayed in the windows of the Keene City Hall. Stop by and take a look!

The place to be on Tuesday evenings June - August is at Orchard Hill Breadworks! Pizza night is a weekly celebration of food and friendship at The Pizza Pavilion at Orchard Hill in Alstead, NH. Join us for an evening of live music, wood fired pizza and safe outdoor socializing, all while supporting worthy local causes. Orchard Hill provides the crusts (GF available), tomato sauce and cheese.  Also available for sale are special toppings from local producers, house made green salads, fresh baked desserts and drinks. Find out more HERE

Gathering Waters has been assigned to be the beneficiary on Tuesday, June 21!

Thank you to Noah Elbers and the staff at Orchard Hill for this opportunity.

We need 15 volunteers for this event. Please note: All volunteers need to be there for a training at 4pm (regardless of the shift that is chosen).

Please click on the button below to claim your shift. This is a fun and social event!

The seventh graders composed beautiful poetry throughout the month, experimenting with different voices of poetry including lyric, narrative, and dramatic poetry. In addition, the students individually memorized and presented works spanning from Shakespeare to Billy Collins, and together as a class memorized "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. Please take a moment to view their work HERE.

Week 1: Cooking Week, June 27-July 1: This week we will work with the children to prepare and enjoy different simple recipes. From fruits and vegetables to bread and desert, we’ll explore how our care and consciousness with food helps us create joy and nourishment together.

Week 2: July 5-8 TBD

Week 3: Drama Week, July 11-15: Students will have fun "playing" in the theater arts. Drama activities, acting games, and stage arts will lead to an end of week performance.

Week 4: Earth Week, July 18-22: Students will explore topics of environmental sustainability, recycling, and nature based projects.

Week 5: Circus Week, July 25-29: We are excited to offer beginner circus activities with our very own Circus Teacher and alum, Finn-Ann Cotton. Students will learn introductory circus techniques including tumbling, partner acrobatics, trampoline skills.

Week 6, Music Week, August 1-5: During Music Week, students will have an opportunity to learn, create and perform music. We will explore different areas of music by learning something new, for example, a song or a dance, creating our own song or dance, and then performing our creations for one another.

Week 7, Art Week, August 8-12: Let’s explore the color wheel through painting and fiber arts! The main event this week will be our tie-dye lesson, where the children will be led in making their own wearable creations.

Week 8, Water Week, August 15-19: When the summer gets hot, the children will cool off with a week full of water games. We plan to finish the week and our summer programming with a water filled field trip.

Give your child a place to play and learn outdoors—join us at Gathering Waters!

We have created a private Facebook group for our school community. We hope that in these times of limited in-person gatherings this will serve as a community building resource. Please follow this link and request to join, making sure to answer the questions so we know you are a currently enrolled family. https://www.facebook.com/groups/627795845196793

What are those colored parking fliers?

We have been working with our neighbors to be supportive of good neighborhood parking habits.  Please DO NOT park or idle on the north side of Church St. when parking for Gathering Waters School. You may park on the south side of Church St. Please be sure not to block driveways or park on the grass at anytime.

You can review our Traffic Flow and Parking Guidelines HERE.

Thank you for your cooperation.

If you have any questions please contact School Principal, Luke Goodwin at luke.goodwin@gatheringwaterscharter.org

Help for families displaced by fire: A two-alarm fire at 193 S. Lincoln St. on May 24th caused heavy damage and displaced 2 families. Kindly consider offering support HERE.

Immersion in the Arts Summer Camp: In Harrisville, Ages 7 and up.

3 spaces in week 2 available!

Join Keene PRIDE & The Monadnock Food Co-op on Friday, June 24, from 6 – 8 PM in the amphitheater (behind the co-op) for an evening of stories, music, & art from LGBTQIA+ youth from around the region!

Interested in participating? Fill this Out!

We are asking for 18 & under LGBTQIA+ youth from around the Monadnock Region to share (in a safe space), music, art, stories, & more! Send any questions to outreach@monadnockfood.coop