First week!

I hope everyone is having a restful Saturday. I congratulate all of you in getting through our first hectic week together. What we are trying to do, all at the same time, is a very big thing. Build a learning community. Build a learning environment (and furniture!). Build this year's curriculum. Build a schedule into which all of these other "buildings" can fit. I am very impressed with the energy and creativity and friendliness and patience and willingness to jump in and participate that I have witnessed in our circle. I am also feeling a little overwhelmed. A word that means "turned upside down," or "swamped," or "rolled over by a big wave at sea." As in the Japanese printmaker's image below:

His name was Hokusai. That's Mount Fuji in the distance.

Actually, for me personally, this picture may be closer to the truth:

Funny coincidence: my last name, Rosane, when pronounced with a French accent, sounds like the French words for "pink donkey." So, here's me, just hangin'out.

But there's so much to do!

I'll confess to you now. I am an introvert. That means that although I love people and am fascinated by people, I gradually lose energy when I'm with people. To recharge my batteries I need some peace and quiet and solitude. That's why my favorite activity as a younger man was to be outside alone at dawn or dusk or in the middle of the woods at noon, painting the sky and the ground and everything in between. Occasionally a doe or a woodpecker or a fox would wander by...

An extrovert, on the other hand, is someone who recharges his or her batteries by being with people. I've got a feeling we have both extroverts and introverts in our Junior High group. So one of our big interior design issues in the new space will be how to provide a space for groups to gather and converse and also provide a space where individuals can read or work in quiet. I was encouraged to hear the design Occupations team already beginning to think about how to separate out those two needs and accomodate both styles of learning.

These last few days I've been thinking about stories and curriculum for our next few weeks. Cynthia has tabulated all your choices for afternoon electives. She has also been back up to Monroe and has ordered in more storage space for all of you and our materials. We'll be discussing electives and other matters later this weekend.

I look forward to seeing all of you on Monday. We're going to have a great experience there at Jim Creek. Thanks again to Dana Strickland for setting it up. Remember, what we're focused on there are the team-building exercises on the ground. The tower and swing challenges are entirely optional. We need as a learning community to be able to work together collaboratively. We also are called to follow our own challenges where they lead us. I'm expecting that our adventure on Monday will be a good place to begin putting those linked objectives into practice.

In spite of being born an introvert, I want you to know what a thrill it is to get to learn with you all this year. ZOOM!

Andy