Discovery Weeks

February 27th - March 8th

Tomorrow kicks off two wonderful weeks of discovery as the children begin their deep dives into the special interest projects of their choosing. Children have chosen a wide range of topics this year - Dungeons & Dragons, the art of organizing, 20th Maine, and the Titanic just to name a few - making this year's final presentation a sure delight!

Join us March 9th to share in the culmination of this exciting annual project. Potluck to follow!

As a parent, how should I help my child during Discovery Weeks?

Special Interest Projects are first and foremost child led. Parents are asked simply to facilitate: help your child access the information they need via the web or library, if possible offer to take them to "the source". Years ago Becky's son's special interest was "snowmakers" so he met with the crew at the Snow Bowl to talk shop!

Check out the Discovery Week blurb in the Riley Handbook in the Family Portal to learn more!

Riley Community

Book Club & Discussion Group

March 30th, 4 p.m.

March's Topic

Screens, Social and Scroll:

How our devices affect kids and adults

Join us Thursday March 30th for the first ever Riley Community Book Club and Discussion Group! Meeting the last Thursday of every month we will come together to discuss a monthly topic.

Join us Thursday March 30th for the first ever Riley Community Book Club and Discussion Group! Meeting the last Thursday of every month we will come together to discuss a monthly topic.

This month we will focus on screen time and focus, for kids and adults alike, with two books recommended; Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World by Devorah Heitner, and Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention--and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari. FYI Audible listeners: Screenwise is currently available as a free download!

If reading books isn’t your thing or you simply just want more to chew on, click the link below for a list of articles, podcasts, and more about the topic. Please contact Caroline Saxe-Cobaugh at caroline.saxe.cobaugh@gmail.com with any questions. 

More details to come, but in the meantime: borrow, download, or order your materials, and invite your friends to join the fun!

Field Notes from the Sugarbush

We’ve boiled down 90 gallons of sap so far! Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to come and help collect over the break, and to the facilitators who have been so helpful in the process as well. We will continue to collect throughout the month of March with all children having a chance to participate with their Reflections Groups. It takes a village! And we have a lovely one. 

~Hattie

March ArtLab for All

Saturday, March 4th, 2-4 PM

Drop-in, Free and open to all!

Join our very own Tori Marsh for a creative few hours next Sunday! Inspired by artworks on view in our galleries by Biennial artists Elyse Grams and Rachel Adams, participants will learn the basics of embroidery and create their own small embroidered piece and explore making our own painted mini quilts. Participants are encouraged to depict their own viewpoints of today’s world, a kind of embroidered “diary” entry. These improvisational patchwork pieces will be influenced by the natural world through color, pattern and texture. Quilts will be painted with watercolor to give a dyed look and sewn together, time permitting, or glued onto a piece of heavier paper. Bring together these two fiber forms by combining imagery and text.

Ways to Get Involved

with Sugaring

Sign up to help collect sap…

Donate MASON JARS- 8oz and 16 oz- used and clean are fine! 

Borrow a tap and a bucket to collect sap from home and we will boil it down for you! 

Watch for Maple Sunday Volunteer sign up..

Evening In A Sugar Orchard

Robert Frost

From where I lingered in a lull in march

outside the sugar-house one night for choice,

I called the fireman with a careful voice

And bade him leave the pan and stoke the arch:

'O fireman, give the fire another stoke,

And send more sparks up chimney with the smoke.'

I thought a few might tangle, as they did,

Among bare maple boughs, and in the rare

Hill atmosphere not cease to glow,

And so be added to the moon up there.

The moon, though slight, was moon enough to show

On every tree a bucket with a lid,

And on black ground a bear-skin rug of snow.

The sparks made no attempt to be the moon.

They were content to figure in the trees

As Leo, Orion, and the Pleiades.

And that was what the boughs were full of soon.

Summer Camp 2023

Registration is open!

On these wintry February days it's hard to imagine running through green fields with the warm sun on our skin, but those days are just around the bend and we can't wait to enjoy them with your family!

The Riley School is once again offering a fun filled summer camp option for children 5 and up. Starting Wednesday July 5th and running through Thursday July 27th, camp will be in session Tuesdays . Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9-3 and will cost $1100 per child.

Reach out to Tammy to secure a spot today!

***

Riley's Summer Camp is looking for one more set of hands - know anyone who would be a good fit?

Spring Equinox Dance

Friday March 17th

Mark your calendars for a

spring fling of a thing!

While winter's grip will remain on the midcoast for a bit longer, new light has begun to pour in on either end of our days. In no time fall's bulbs will be poking their little spring fingers through patchy snow and there will be much to celebrate! Join us Friday, March 17th to welcome spring in all its blooming wonder. More details to come!

A Call for Donations!

In celebration of Riley’s 50th year we will be holding an online spring auction with items donated by Riley community members and local businesses.

Are you an artist, maker or craftsperson? Do you own or work for a local business that might be interested in donating? Do you have a skill you could use or teach someone to do? Get creative and reach out, all ideas are welcome and no donation is too small. We want the auction to be inclusive and community led!

Contact Caroline Saxe-Cobaugh at caroline.saxe.cobaugh@gmail.com with questions, donations or if you want to volunteer.

More details to follow.

Steel Band Classes for Beginners

Wednesdays 5:45-7:30

Starting March 1st in The Riley Theater

Starting Wednesday March 1, Pen Bay Pan, Midcoast Maine's local steel drum band, will be running beginner Steel Band classes for adults and teens from 5:45 - 7:30 pm in the Riley School Theater. Instruments are provided, no prior music ensemble experience or music reading skills necessary. 

Anyone interested in joining us can RSVP by messaging Kyle von Neumann, the director of Pen Bay Pan at Kyle.vonneumann@rileyschool.org

There is no registration fee but there will be a collection basket for those who want to donate to Pen Bay Pan. The suggested donation is $10 for those that are able to contribute; all who are interested in joining are encouraged to come regardless of their ability to donate. Donation dollars help us keep the instruments in tune, purchase music, and transport our equipment to community events.