FORAGED, FOLD AND WEAVE

Art Lab at CMCA

February 20-23, 10 am-12 pm

Drop-in for one or all four days of CMCA's Art Lab February vacation week art making sessions, led by teaching artist Rachel Alexandrou. Using wild foraged materials and paper from old books we will bend, weave, and fold small sculptures inspired by artworks on view by Rebecca Hutchinson.

About the instructor

Rachel Alexandrou is an interdisciplinary artist who uses her education in plant science, and collaborative practice, to create experiential work about food, flora, and innovating human relationships to the natural landscape.

Sugar Season is Officially Here!

Over the past few weeks we've been cleaning buckets, building the evaporator, and setting taps in our old Maple friends while bellies across campus curiously began to growl...Riiiiley Gold!!

The sugaring season is officially upon us and we couldn't be happier. Stay tuned for impressive sap haul totals, sweet pictures of sugarers big and small, and Maine Maple Sunday details.

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.

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. 

What in the world is Steel Band? Often referred to as a "steel orchestra," the steel band is an artform invented in Trinidad and Tobago in the aftermath of World War II. After having their local forms of music making at Carnival increasingly restricted and banned by governing bodies, Trinidadians began to use discarded 55 gallon oil drums to make music. You can see an example of a steel orchestra in the video below (extra credit if you can spot a teenage Kyle!). 

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.

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!

Natural Science

with Craig Letowski

Many of you may already know Craig from around campus- assisting in the Magnolia classroom, hosting some fun Thursday electives, and being a general helping hand with the Riley to-do list -but let us all give him a warm welcome as our new part time Natural Science facilitator! ( KyleA our Hurricane partner will continue part time too)

Bio

Craig's earliest days were spent at a Quaker Friends school where tolerance, equality, and a belief in each person's inner light shaped his view on childhood and the world beyond.

After becoming an avid potter in high school, Craig landed at MassArt where he focused his energy on ceramics and sculpture, eventually traveling to Poland to assist in the rebuild of a 14th century castle with 14th century tools.

For the last decade Craig has been leaning into the agricultural arts: growing food, raising animals, and putting it all to good use- with a decent bit of pottery thrown in for good measure. From keeping a family milk cow to raising fiber sheep, from tapping his homestead's maple trees to foraging wild foods, from butchering his livestock to preserving the bounty, Craig has immersed himself in the natural world and found himself all the better for it!

A note from Craig on the

Natural Science program..

As I prepare the Natural Science program for Riley, I consider my own children and the sense of place and interconnectedness with the world that I want them to develop. To be future stewards of the world around them, it's essential that they begin a meaningful relationship with it today. As this ever relevant article Against Forgetting by Derrick Jensen says, "..it's harder to fight for what you don't love than for what you do, and it's hard to love what you don't know you're missing."

In the months ahead we'll be deep diving into the wonder that is maple syrup, branching out into wild spring foods in Maine, and taking over the greenhouse. I'm truly excited to get to work with your wonderful children!