Gathering

Part of the OES Identity Statement defines who we are in the following statement about our Episcopal identity: 

Rooted in a rhythm of gathering and reflection, we educate toward a larger purpose--toward inclusion and respect, understanding and compassion, service and social justice, toward meaning and commitment beyond ourselves.

As we designed both our new building and our new schedule, we turned our eye to increasing our capacity to practice that rhythm of gathering and reflection beyond our weekly Chapel time, hoping to therefore increase the children's capacity toward that larger purpose. What do these gatherings look like throughout Lower School?

In the Lodge, Gatherings give our PreK, Kindergarten and Primary students a chance to share songs and learning. We gather as a whole community twice a month, and weekly in smaller groups for Strategy Workshop. 

 

A favorite component of the Kindergarten-Primary Strategy workshop have been appearances by puppets Nuts and Foxy, who introduce the students to strategies like "Use a clear and gentle message" and "Ask a question" as problem-solving strategies.

   

After gathering has ended the children explore and apply the strategies in their classrooms and on the playground, and gather again in classroom groups or small groups throughout the week for further reflection and synthesis. These photos show some group reflections from kindergarten classes, as well as PreK students putting the strategy "extend an invitation" into practice. 

 

After a week of practicing a strategy, our Primary class volunteers recently used role-play to reflect on their understanding to the larger community of "Use a clear and gentle message." 

In this first part of the year, many of our gatherings throughout Lower School focus on the kind of community we'd like to be together and how we'd like to treat each other. Last week our First Grade students gathered in one classroom to share their classroom agreements and to sing together.

  

They also used role-play, in this case by one representative from each First Grade class, to demonstrate how to accept a friend's clear and gentle message. This enabled students to build on their prior PreK, Kindergarten or Primary learning, to share vocabulary with children new to our program, and to expand their skills with the collaborative aspects of problem-solving beyond their own responsibility and actions. 

Second Grade gathered together to create commons agreements for their affinity commons. Then they brainstormed how 1st and 2nd could use the space together. Second Graders are the older members of their affinity space and have taken on a leadership role to "lead by example" and set the tone of the space. They are working to be good stewards of the space.

Curriculum and reflections on group field trips can take place in a grade level gathering. In this Third Grade gathering, the 3rd graders are reflecting on their first few weeks of school. They are sharing their appreciations and surprises. "I like more choices in lunch" and " I wasn't expecting so much research about OES in 3rd grade" were a few of their offerings. They also discussed the good elements of the new 6 day rotations and problem-solved some of the challenges as a group. It was beneficial for the whole grade to see how others were feeling and to take time to honor the amazing changes of the year.

Gathering times can also be a time for presentations. In this Fourth Grade gathering, Mr. Arensberg shared some pictures and facts about hatcheries and natural streams. They watched a short documentary. The grade level was preparing for their field trip by building some schema (background knowledge) about the places they were going to explore. When they went on their field trip, the students were asked to be critical thinkers. Their charge was to go beyond observation and to ask themselves and others: What does it mean within the larger context and to different perspectives? Who is giving me this information? How do these two experiences compare? 

Gathering is also a place for fun and games. In this Fifth grade gathering, students are playing a trivia game about presidents. Questions centered around students' American history and President facts. These students had just returned from a theatre field trip. The performance was on American Presidents and really challenged students through its fun and faced paced delivery on content. Fifth graders met in the library to connect with the library resources they would need to deepen their studies. 

Rooted in a rhythm of gathering and reflection, we educate toward a larger purpose--toward inclusion and respect, understanding and compassion, service and social justice, toward meaning and commitment beyond ourselves.

Where does gathering play a role in your family life and the life of your community?