Our annual Winterfest performance integrated our Oregon theme with the coming cold, all supported by curriculum from the Dome School's past! In the story we created, local plants and animals are gathering for the Winter Solstice when --Oh, no!-- the water animals rush onto the scene with a warning: humans are destroying the Illinois River! With song and self-reflection, the characters eventually realize that, though they may be small, they have the power to make a difference. We capped off the performance by asking the audience, our family and friends, to sign postcards for Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, reminding him that his job includes protecting all of us, including the rivers. How were we helped by Dome School's past curriculum? Well, years and years ago, Dome School teachers worked with the Siskiyou Project (now Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands) to develop a local science curriculum to teach local flora and fauna to children in elementary school. This Fall we found the curriculum and the children dove in! See below for a sampling of the curriculum, "A Siskiyou Solstice" cast list, and a copy of the script. We performed yesterday, December 12, and mailed more than 30 postcards to Senator Wyden! Our Theatre Class took to the stage this Thursday afternoon to perform "The Clock That Was Really An Egg," adapted by a story told by the Chibcha people of Colombia. What happens when a clock arrives in a town where, until that moment, the people ate when they were hungry, worked when they need to work, rested when they needed to rest, and took the time to play? What does it mean to "take" time, anyway? |