On Friday afternoon, TNCA mom Juliette Benezra-Winston brought her drum circle, Wild Bodema, to school for some West African drumming fun with the pre-K through 5th grade classes. (The middle schoolers were off on their own adventure in downtown Asheville.) Thanks, Wild Bodema, for making us smile, getting us moving, and giving us a nice tie-in with our school-wide geography unit on Africa to boot!  

We learned how different drummers add in different rhythms, so what starts as a simple beat ends up layered and complex. 

Everyone got an instrument--and a chance to practice keeping time; some students joined the circle for a bit with some makeshift drums. 

We learned how to do a traditional harvest dance--tilling the soil, sowing the seeds, and bringing rain and sunshine for a good crop.  

And we ended with a joyful free-for-all. 

All in all, it was a glorious afternoon. 

On Monday of this week, storyteller, strummer, and child whisperer Sam Maren visited with our pre-K through 2nd grade students in honor of granddaughter Nora's seventh birthday. The kids were entranced.

Here's a sampling of the "Pop"-style fun, along with lots of smiles and giggles:

Today, the entire school was honored with another Veterans Day visit from Owen's dad, Major Allen White, who did an army-style show-and-tell with his collection of berets, bayonets, dehydrated food packets, and other sample equipment; he also discussed army uniform history and the evolution of camouflage. From pre-K all the way through eighth grade, our students were wide-eyed and brimming with questions.

We are so lucky to have such involved family members. Thanks to Pop and Major White for sharing your time with us!

TNCA 1st-5th graders spent the morning at Manna Food Bank, helping to pack a weekend's worth of nutritious meals for at-risk elementary school kids across Western North Carolina. This was the first of what will be monthly service learning trips to Manna for these two classes.

Students took a tour of the facility and learned more about hunger in our region. Then, after donning their gloves and cafeteria caps, they got to work!

They worked assembly line-style for two solid hours--scooping, measuring, and packing rice and dehydrated soup mix.

By the end, they had prepared 400 pounds of rice for distribution.

Good job,Team TNCA! Thanks to Manna Food Bank for doing such important work, and for letting us help out. Thanks as well to the TNCA parents who drove and participated today.

In the afternoon, doctor and TNCA parent Becca Carchman came to school to discuss her recent trip to Haiti with Mission Manna (no relation) to provide medical care to the country's malnourished children. We learned that in addition to treating acute health problems like intestinal worms, she and fellow doctors gave Haitian families packages of mixed grains (much like the ones our students prepared this morning!) as well as live goats and rabbits for sustained nourishment. Becca also talked about the impact of last year's hurricane, and the importance of clean water--something we tend to take for granted.

Ms. Kelly helped locate Haiti on the globe while Becca gave a bit of historical background.

Awesome laptop slide show presentation above.

And below, the special measuring tape used to diagnosis malnourishment. Everyone wanted to give it a try. For the record: not a malnourished kid in the bunch!

Becca also brought some samples of Haitian craft items and art... 

...as well as some other tools of her trade for kids to test out.

That was fun, but these kids are smart enough to know there's much to learn by watching an expert.

Becca, we loved having you visit. Thanks for inspiring everyone to make a difference in the world.