Last night we extinguished the 700 luminarias we assembled this week. Each paper bag held a candle and two cups of playground sand. At various times different crews made up of staff and parent volunteers set up the bags, hung lights, charged the solar spotlights, and created installations for last night’s Celebration of the Winter Solstice. After lunch recess we placed the luminarias strategically to form a path that lit up the evening. As the sun faded, our sparkly celebration began. Once again the evening captured the essence of what Awakening Seed is all about, as I expected it would.
This morning kids stepped up to demonstrate in a different way what the Seed is about when one of our Seed parents, who lives in the Heard neighborhood nearby, arrived around 8 am with a trailer. Industrious helpers of all ages loaded up the bags for transport to a neighbor’s house. The luminarias will be refurbished and reused on Christmas Eve to light up their neighborhood.
Our Celebration of the Winter Solstice always invites me to reflect on the year, both personally and as a member of the Seed community. I will be honest, personally it’s been the hardest year I can remember. In mid-July, my 20-year-old granddaughter, Grace, died in a hiking accident, and four weeks later, my 99-year-old father passed as well. I’m still recovering emotionally from both losses, and am certain the grieving process will continue. Being a part of the Seed is one of the most healing aspects of my life. In addition to its positive influence on my personal life, there is much to celebrate in 2024 at Awakening Seed. Here are but a few of the highlights:
• We paid off our mortgage!
• The multipurpose room was upgraded and transformed into a classroom for our large group of 1st/2nd graders. The combination of staff and students in this arrangement has been highly successful.
• Mindy stepped into a new position as the Seed’s social-emotional teacher, allowing teachers and students to have additional much needed support.
• We hired several additional staff members this year, which eased coverage and added extra support in many aspects of the school’s operation.
• Our professional development has focused on brain states, safe space, and children’s emotional well being.
• The APA has stepped up its presence with additional activities such as the fall festival, classroom gatherings, movie nights, event support, Garden Club, and door decorations. So appreciative of our APA!
• Enrollment hit 151, up from 135 in the previous year.
• Two successful community service drives: a jacket drive in partnership with Community Yoga, and supplies to support the Eat, Sleep, Console program at Chandler Regional Hospital.
• The Día de Los Muertos celebration was expanded to include more classrooms and resources for teachers and parents.
• Plans are underway to upgrade our shade screen/mister system, playground fencing, and adding more landscaping to the front of the building.
• Two new Seed staff babies: Luna Lopez and Kolter Behnke.
We wish you the best for a wonderful holiday season, and look forward to continuing our work with all of you in 2025. Blessings to all of you.