In uncertain times it is important to look for the values and actions that unite us as a community. On March 4th our community was hit with a devastating tornado. In the wake of the tornado our staff, our students, and our families came together to immediately provide aid to our neighbors. What started out as one aid sight turned into twelve across Nashville. We collectively organized over 12,000 volunteers and provided over 10,000 meals. When reflecting back on this effort we are reminded of the strength and compassion of this community. We are a community that will always lean in, will always take care, and will always rise up. Directly following the tornado, on March 12th, we were asked to close our schools due to Covid 19. We were challenged during this time to think of creative and innovative ways to support and care for those around us. Though we were apart during this difficult time we remained connected through our values.
We showed our core value of community when we delivered meals and books. We used new virtual platforms to help connect us educationally by sharing morning meetings and new resources. We continued to spread joy with our community parade. We connected to our community with the Nashville Howl; a symbol that we are never alone even when we are apart. We showed curiosity and compassion when we drew rainbows and went looking for them in neighborhood scavenger hunts. Following the beginning of this global pandemic our nation experienced civil unrest in response to the death of George Floyd. In this time of sadness and uncertainty we demonstrated another value, the value of courage. Our school leaders organized the Light Across East, where we stood together, though six feet apart, as a community for love, for acceptance, and against racism in our country. Directly following all of this we collaborated, researched and prepared to open virtually for the first time in our nation’s history. We dove into our virtual learning as a community; explorers, teachers and family members working together showing craftsmanship yet again to learn in this new and different way.
Through all this we let our values and our actions symbolize our love for our community and for Explore. It therefore seemed fitting that we would then launch our next Explorations unit with the question, “How can symbols unit and inspire our community?” Through this question we studied different types of symbolism including language, music, and art as symbolic representations of our values. We learned to draw symbols to represent words through sketchnoting and studied local logos, leading us to create our own. Through this unit we explored the marketing and creative design processes receiving feedback in the form of creative critiques. Having mastered all these skills, our Explorers took what they had learned and set to work creating marketing materials, core value logos, mascots and flags as symbols to continue to unite our amazing community. Once their products were created and their pitches crafted, we set aside our work to begin learning about how we make our voices heard. In an important election year Explorers started to learn about the power and importance of voting in our country. We are excited to report that they are now ready to make their voices heard by casting a vote to symbolize their own beliefs and values. We cannot wait to see the work they have created and to hear your voice in shaping the future symbols of our community as well!
We showed our core value of community when we delivered meals and books. We used new virtual platforms to help connect us educationally by sharing morning meetings and new resources. We continued to spread joy with our community parade. We connected to our community with the Nashville Howl; a symbol that we are never alone even when we are apart. We showed curiosity and compassion when we drew rainbows and went looking for them in neighborhood scavenger hunts. Following the beginning of this global pandemic our nation experienced civil unrest in response to the death of George Floyd. In this time of sadness and uncertainty we demonstrated another value, the value of courage. Our school leaders organized the Light Across East, where we stood together, though six feet apart, as a community for love, for acceptance, and against racism in our country. Directly following all of this we collaborated, researched and prepared to open virtually for the first time in our nation’s history. We dove into our virtual learning as a community; explorers, teachers and family members working together showing craftsmanship yet again to learn in this new and different way.
Through all this we let our values and our actions symbolize our love for our community and for Explore. It therefore seemed fitting that we would then launch our next Explorations unit with the question, “How can symbols unit and inspire our community?” Through this question we studied different types of symbolism including language, music, and art as symbolic representations of our values. We learned to draw symbols to represent words through sketchnoting and studied local logos, leading us to create our own. Through this unit we explored the marketing and creative design processes receiving feedback in the form of creative critiques. Having mastered all these skills, our Explorers took what they had learned and set to work creating marketing materials, core value logos, mascots and flags as symbols to continue to unite our amazing community. Once their products were created and their pitches crafted, we set aside our work to begin learning about how we make our voices heard. In an important election year Explorers started to learn about the power and importance of voting in our country. We are excited to report that they are now ready to make their voices heard by casting a vote to symbolize their own beliefs and values. We cannot wait to see the work they have created and to hear your voice in shaping the future symbols of our community as well!
