Halloween Events
Children participate in a variety of fun, age appropriate, non-scary Halloween festivities. Primary students enjoy a Pumpkin Hunt, Petting Zoo and costume parade. At the Toddler level, celebrations are kept as close to the natural world as possible. Toddler students celebrate the Fall season with a Pumpkin Hunt on the Toddler playground and also have the opportunity to paint and take home pumpkins. Lower Elementary classes each have a holiday art project and a class party. Lower Elementary students also participate in a Halloween Game Fair hosted by the Upper Elementary class. Upper Elementary students design and host booths with a Halloween theme. Preparations for this event begin weeks in advance. Students spend time recording their ideas, drafting procedures, gathering materials and building their activities. This fun event allows Upper Elementary students to experience the stages involved in bringing an idea to fruition.
Thanksgiving Celebrations
Thanksgiving activities are celebrated differently at each stage of the Montessori cycle. The school staff has carefully considered the maturational needs of our students. At the Toddler and Primary levels, students participate in a Thanksgiving feast which is designed as a family event and parents are encouraged to join. This is an age where merging the home and school community around a certain event can create a special sense of security and unity amongst the two areas of their lives. At the Elementary age, friends and peers become more important in students’ lives. In fact, for healthy development, they need to experience events on their own, bonding with their peers without parents watching over. Classroom Thanksgiving parties at the Elementary campus are designed to be fun and build school community.
Aztec Ceremonial Dance
All students at both the Primary and Elementary campuses participate in the “Danza Azteca” ceremonial dances. We feel privileged to have a long history of Khalsa families sharing this special Thanksgiving tradition with our students. The Aztec ceremonial dances differ from folkloric dancing, which might include choreography & heavy emphasis on entertaining. This ceremonial dance involves recognizing & giving thanks to the life-sustaining elements, and our place among creation. Each of these are dances with a specific energy & purpose.
Holiday Program
The annual Khalsa School Holiday Program is an evening of song, music and movement. Students at each level will regale you with performances that are charged with holiday hope and goodwill. Each student is working hard at memorizing their parts in the weeks leading up to the performance. In addition to each of the classroom performances, Upper Elementary students also share their many talents with individual performances or smaller group performances.
Fat Man’s Pass All School Hike
The annual family hike at Fat Man’s Pass is a time honored Khalsa tradition. Teachers, Administrators, Staff, Parents and Students all join together for this 1.5 mile hike that leads to a narrow pass where all can enjoy sliding down a natural rock slide.
Spring Carnival
Each spring, the Khalsa PTO organizes a school-wide spring carnival fundraiser to bring families, staff, and the community together to raise funds for the Khalsa classrooms. The event is run entirely by parent (and even some Upper Elementary) volunteers involved in setting up and manning the various booths. Activities at the spring carnival include arts and crafts booths, carnival games, bounce houses, a cake walk, a rock wall, a silent auction, and more.
