May 31, 2015

Hello Folks,

It's hard to believe that the school year is winding down!  I have been working on end of semester Progress Reports; this task always make me simultaneously nostalgic for who the Turquesa students were at the beginning of the school year, impressed with how much each of them has grown intellectually and excited for their futures adventures.

Speaking of adventures, this coming Friday, June 5, is our annual Upper Elementary Feast. This year we are celebrating our history studies with a Renaissance Feast! The Renaissance Feast is our way of using our history studies to bring our community together one final time to celebrate this wonderful school year. Tomorrow, students will research the culinary traditions of the Renaissance and will be designing a menu using authentic recipes from primary sources (of which there are quite a few, thanks to the printing press!).

We are approaching the feast is a slightly different way this year. My goal is to make an even more immersive practical life experience. Students are involved in every phase - from research and menu planning to budgeting and shopping to cooking, setting up and hosting to cleaning up!

After we choose our menu, we will create shopping lists. This year we are taking teams of interested students on shopping expeditions to a local grocery store so that they can fully immerse themselves in the experience as a community. We will conduct these excursions on Thursday morning. 

If, for some reason, you and your child are not able to join us on Friday evening, please let me know as soon as possible.

We will spending all day on Friday cooking and preparing the feast. In past years, the food is delicious and plentiful! We have plans for a beautifully arranged banquet - manners and protocol and arrangements had an extremely important role during the Renaissance.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks, Nicole