The weather was perfect for our whole school to assemble on the field to celebrate Earth Day.
Katie (teacher in Magnolias) and Wren and Alice (students from Uinta) led us in singing the Garden Song. Katie played guitar and was accompanied by Alice on strings and Wren on keyboard. The had only one opportunity beforehand to rehearse together but it was a polished performance nevertheless.
Donda (teacher of OC and GO) read us a beautiful book by April Pulley Sayre called Thank you Earth- A Love Letter to Our Earth.
And then the moment we had all been waiting for arrived- the butterfly release. Brandi (school director) and Jenn (teacher in Stars) brought the butterfly enclosures into the middle of the grass and gently opened the tops. Infants through 6th grade watched and waited as the butterflies warmed up in the sun. Oohs were heard as some of the butterflies experimentally flapped their wings. Finally they flew.
Around the world people view the butterfly as representing endurance, change, hope and life. Our hope is that we learn to have a greater appreciation for all the earth provides and that we revisit our responsibility to preserve and use her gifts in a respectful manner.
