The Clearwater School

What If Kids Didn't Have to Wear Shoes at School? -- A Barefoot Mom's Point of View

2013-05-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

by Susan Milton, Clearwater parent Barefoot Zoe with Jackie and Johnna One thing that makes me feel happy every time I arrive at The Clearwater School is that I don't have to put on shoes to go and find my kids, and that I often see at least one or two barefoot kids right away as I walk through the parking lot. Maddy's walking feet Shoes are required at most schools,

Clearwater Mounts Its First Full-Length Play

2013-05-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

Scene from an early rehearsal For the first time in The Clearwater School's 17-year history, a group of Clearwater students is producing and offering public performances of a full-length play. You are cordially invited to attend a performance, scheduled between Thursday, May 30 and Sunday, June 2. Screenwriter (Jesse) and supporting actress (Lily) interact while the cinematographer (

Whistlepig! This Weekend! Be There!!

2013-05-03T14:14:00.002-07:00

It's time again for Whistlepig, The Clearwater School's fundraising festival of music, food and games. And this weekend...there WILL be sun and heat! Celebrate Cinco de Mayo or the fact that it's a gorgeous day and join us on Sunday, May 5, 1:00-5:00 pm. There will be wonderful performances by students and staff, homemade carnival games, great food and the most delicious baked good you can

What if there were no grades in school?

2013-04-29T14:07:00.001-07:00

At The Clearwater School, children are trusted with the freedom and responsibility to direct their own education. Without grades, groupings by age or mandatory tests, children engage wholeheartedly in their passions, and find their own standards of success. Students spend years setting and achieving their personal goals, becoming resourceful, self-confident and skilled adults with a commitment to

Clearwater Students Star in Professional Music Video

2013-04-17T22:15:00.001-07:00

by Shawna Lee photos by Matt Garrity In January, Clearwater staff member Matt Garrity, also a musician and 17th Chapter front man, heard from friend and music producer, Christian Hansen, that he needed two young people to perform in a professional music video for the London-based duo, Still Corners. Matt offered to find a boy and girl from The Clearwater School to be in the video. He asked

Trust, Spirituality & Raising Kids - Public Conversation

2013-04-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

The Clearwater School presents a free public presentation and discussion, "The Practice of Parenting: Trust, Spirituality and Raising Kids." The presentation will be Saturday, April 13, 2013, 6-8pm, at Two Dog Yoga, 12549 28th Ave NE, Seattle, in the Lake City neighborhood. In practices ranging from Christianity to Qigong, we work to stay present, are challenged to let go, strive to be

Clearwater Profiles - Emma

2013-03-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

by Shawna Lee, Clearwater staff member Eighteen-year-old Emma is relatively new to The Clearwater School; she has attended since January 2012. Before that, she attended Woodinville High School. One day, in Emma's English class, her teacher talked about different educational philosophies, including Clearwater's Sudbury philosophy. [Her public school teacher was Christine Traxler, whose 9-

Build it and they will come!

2013-03-11T19:23:00.001-07:00

by Matt Garrity, staff member Gregory demonstrates how to build a really tall tower during Clearwater's Play Group program. The part time program is designed for younger students and is a great introduction into the school environment.

Family Information Nights at Clearwater

2013-03-11T15:27:00.006-07:00

If you're curious--or know people who are curious--about how Clearwater students learn anything and become confident, capable and skilled adults when they are free to decide how to spend their time at school, Family Information Nights are for you. The Clearwater School has scheduled two Family Information Nights this spring. The first is this week: Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 6:00-8:00 PM. The

What It’s Like To Be the Parent of a Kid Who Doesn’t Bring Home Report Cards

2013-03-05T15:22:00.001-08:00

by Karen Hyams, Clearwater parent [photos taken at The Clearwater School] I’m the mom of a 17-year-old who has only taken two tests since first grade. When, at 15, he took a test to see if he could take freshman English at Cascadia College, I was as curious to see the results as he was; we had no past test-taking experience to compare. He might have done well, he might have done poorly--

The Fault In Our Stars

2013-02-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

by Bryan A couple of weeks ago I looked over Aidan's shoulder while he was reading The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. He read it in about three days, I think. Not long after that his sister Maddy was reading it, and Aidan had moved on to another book by the same author. And then a third. Always curious, I leafed through one of them, looking as I always do for some indication about whether the

Reluctant to Enthusiastic: A Clearwater Parents' Forum

2013-02-15T12:05:00.001-08:00

You are invited to attend this upcoming event. Please invite friends, neighbors and coworkers to attend. Parents who enroll their children at the Clearwater School in Bothell grapple with thorny issues by choosing a democratic school. Providing their children with the freedom to be responsible for their own learning can be a daunting endeavor. Parents will discuss issues such as unlimited

Clearwater Students Work for Salmon

2013-02-11T12:04:00.003-08:00

by Bryan Carr Clearwater's Salmon Restoration Marathon is underway! Clearwater staff and students are working hard on a marathon of weeding, grounds-clearing, and landscape restoration. Gabriel and Leo weeding and mulching Every day we go out armed with clippers and shovels (and protected by gloves!) to the big field behind the school, to pull and flatten grasses around saplings

Final Preparations for the Winter Cafe

2013-02-01T16:00:00.001-08:00

At The Clearwater School today students and staff were making final preparations for tomorrow's Winter Cafe (Saturday, February 2, 2013). Everyone was full of excitement and nervousness during the dress rehearsal, and lots of kinks were identified and worked out for the staging. More work, time and attention has gone into this student performance event than ever before. There is much to be proud

A Job Well Done

2013-01-26T21:41:00.001-08:00

by Shawna Lee, staff member Every week for 30 minutes or more, between 10 and 20 students pitch in to pull thistle, blackberry and invasive reed canary grass from a large area of our campus along North Creek. Clearwater's School Meeting partnered with Snohomish County Surface Water Management and Clearwater Commons to restore and replant an area along the creek with native trees and shrubs. The

Winter Cafe - Sneak Peek!

2013-01-23T01:12:00.000-08:00

by Shawna Lee, staff member The Clearwater School is celebrating Groundhog Day (February 2, 2012) by hosting the second annual Winter Cafe, an inspirational showcase of student solo and group performances. The showcase will be preceded by a potluck at 12:30pm, and performances begin at 2:00pm. Donations of $5 per person are requested for the performance. Everyone is welcome, but space is

Jamming

2013-01-18T15:35:00.001-08:00

by Bryan Back at Clearwater after several days' absence, stressed out about lots of things, and not really sure I had the energy to be fully present at school, I was asked to sit in with a number of students practicing on their musical act. That was something I could do. There's nothing like jamming with other musicians, and by now the group is at a very exciting point -- musicians are sure

Not as different as I thought (Part II)

2013-01-13T23:26:00.001-08:00

by Susan Milton, Clearwater parent Part I was published last week. As I was writing about some of the similarities between my own school experience growing up, and my kids' experience at Clearwater, I started to think about how both schools were opened in order to provide the community with an educational option that at the time was available at only a handful of schools around the country.

One Strategy for Working with Sadness

2013-01-08T23:35:00.000-08:00

by Shawna Lee, Clearwater staff member To be human is to experience a range of complex and powerful emotions. For many of us, becoming aware of and taking responsibility for those emotions is a formidable and lifelong challenge. Children, too, experience complex and sometimes overwhelming emotions. I am often dismayed by the ways adult culture can trivialize, minimize or try to talk children

Not As Different As I Thought (Part I)

2013-01-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

by Susan Milton, Clearwater parent One day a couple of years ago, I was at a playground chatting about schools with another mom while our kids played. After hearing a bit about The Clearwater School, where my kids go, and The Bryn Mawr School for Girls, where I went as a child, she said, "Oh, so you wanted your kids to have the kind of school that you had". I started to say, "oh, no, no,...",

Discovering the Power of Their Voices

2012-12-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

by Shawna Lee, Clearwater staff member When I was seven years old, I was a chatty person--so chatty, in fact, that my 2nd-grade teacher told me over and over again to stop whispering to my friends in class. My chattiness was such a problem that she pointed it out on all four of my report cards that year. When I was 10 years old, I helpfully corrected my 5th-grade teacher when she said

Learning not to bust

2012-12-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

By Bryan A game that's been making the rounds at school for the past week is Chinese Poker. I play a lot of card games with students at school, but I came to this one a little bit late. Gregory was the first student to teach me. Each player is dealt thirteen cards, all face-up (five cards to start with, then eight more one at a time) with which to make three poker hands (two of five cards

Lily - Composer & Lyricist

2012-12-06T01:37:00.001-08:00

by Shawna Lee, staff member Lily, who is almost 13 and has been attending The Clearwater School since she was five years old, has been passionate about music for a long time. (Her other great passion is chickens!) Her dad, Matt (a staff member at Clearwater), is a musician and songwriter. For a few years she was an enthusiastic part of the Clearwater Singers, the small choir at school, but her

Hide & Seek

2012-12-01T16:45:00.004-08:00

By Bryan As I was leaving campus early one afternoon, I passed by a six-year-old student standing still, facing away from the school, eyes closed, counting aloud to a hundred. The unmistakeable sign of a game of hide-&-seek. Clearwater is an excellent campus for hide-&-seek, with more likely hiding-spots than you can possibly use in a day. The game combines so much: it's a back-and-forth between

Clearwater Profiles - Mara

2012-11-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a series of profiles of Clearwater students. Clearwater students range in age from three to eighteen, and include kids who've attended since they were three and others who've enrolled later in their schooling. by Shawna Lee, Clearwater staff member Mara and I arranged to meet at 1:00 PM and talk about her life at Clearwater. When I tracked her down she was deep in a game