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Robin Skeen

Elementary School Program Director, First and Second Grade Teacher

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In the summer of 2014, Robin and her family packed up all of their belongings and moved to North Carolina in search of a more natural life.

Robin received her undergraduate degree from the University of Akron in Early Childhood Education, which included Pre-K through 3rd grade age students. After teaching for a few years, she took time off to be with her two daughters, Ella and Julia. While Robin was home with her girls, she finished her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on reading. When both of her children entered school, Robin returned to the classroom as a founding teacher for a new charter school in Los Angeles. She also worked in an inner-city school in South Los Angeles before moving to Asheville.

In Robin’s class, students become authors, readers, inventors, and entrepreneurs! Her systems help create self-awareness and inner regulation and in keeping with the Essential Learning Skills and the Integral Process of Research and Reflection. She also leads centering to help students connect with their internal world.

For Robin, the most exciting part of teaching at Odyssey is the way that students integrate their subject studies within broader thematic investigations. Every year we learn about cultures, ecology and do amazing projects and IRPs! It is also wonderful to have the space to teach the whole child. We have class meetings to discuss topics that are important to students like understanding each other’s feelings and needs or simply how to share the swings at recess.

Rebekah Walker

First and Second Grade Teacher

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After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Central Methodist College in 1997, Rebekah moved to these glorious Blue Ridge Mountains to be closer to her dad. At CMC, she won The Elizabeth Stephenton Award in Art Education for making a four foot Babar hand puppet and discovered the amazing world of children’s literature. Rebekah found ArtSpace Charter School in 2001 and fell in love with art integration. Art is all around us, whether it’s in us or our environment. Looking at the world through the arts allows everything to be seen through a lens of love, creativity and acceptance. Rebekah has witnessed how this benefits children when learning new things and she has seen how it has helped herself and her two daughters. Rebekah has also witnessed the benefits of yoga in herself and in her students. In 2018, Rebekah became a RYT-200 Purna Yoga instructor and brought Sri Aurobindo’s “All life is yoga” concept into her teaching. Art is magnificent, yoga is delightful and Odyssey School, where all humans are valued for their whole self, is the best place to be. Rebekah has found her Ithaca and couldn’t be happier. When not in the classroom you will find Rebekah reading children’s books outside under a tree, creating fiber art in her art room, in the kitchen baking deliciousness, wandering around with her dog, Molly, meditating/doing asana on her mat, or laughing with her friends and daughters.

Celestial Soiree

Join Odyssey School parents and many others from the greater Asheville community as we celebrate spring together in a fundraiser and silent auction that is Out of this World! Heavy hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, live entertainment, and more rounds out this galactic party.

Special thanks to The Collider for providing a beautiful, downtown sunset view!

Positively Stardust Party

Give peace a chance, grab anything with fringe on it and join us for a groovy cocktail! This year’s Positively Odyssey party has time traveled to the stardust age of the 1970’s! Gals, leave the macrame at home. Get down with blue eye shadow, bells, leather or chiffon flutter. Guys, break out the silk butterfly collars and sunglasses–just because.

We will have a best dressed awards ceremony and DJ’ed music from art waves — Studio 54, CBGB’s all the way to Graceland. Come in high-heeled disco glam, hippie, soul, or punk– as party-goer, you bring the funk and charitable support to Odyssey.

Purchase your tickets for $15 until November 15th by clicking here!

$20 at the door.

Autumn Faire – Saturday, October 28th

This is one of Odyssey’s biggest celebrations of the year, as we create a fun carnival-like event out on our tennis courts, complete with bounce houses and pie throwing! Autumn Faire is open to the public – all family and friends are invited!

Each class creates a booth – which students, teachers, and family volunteers help run – with activities or homemade wares for sale, in addition to local vendors. This is a great time to start holiday shopping, to come and support classroom fundraisers, to throw a pie at our pie-throwing booth, and to be a judge in our annual Chili Cook-Off.

When: Saturday, October 28th from 11 am – 2 pm
Where: On Odyssey’s Tennis Courts
Who’s Invited: Everybody!
Do we need to RSVP? Nope, not for attendance. However, if you’re interested in volunteering, please let your classroom teacher know.

Elders Day

We are excited to welcome and celebrate Odyssey elders on October 27th! This Fall Festival is a coming together of generations as we invite grandparents, or another special elder in our students’ lives, to join us in celebrating the coming autumn. Together, we find the beauty in changing leaves, cooler weather, longer nights, and the wisdom that follows a full spring and summer.

Elders will get to experience Integral Education, visit classrooms, enjoy a picnic lunch, and celebrate the changing of the seasons with us!

River Guerguerian

Administrative Advisor, Music Director, Teacher

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River brings to Odyssey his rich and extensive experience as a multi-percussionist, composer, and educator. Born in Montreal, Canada to Armenian-Egyptian parents, he received his Bachelor of Music from the Manhattan School of Music Conservatory in 1989. For over 25 years, River has been performing internationally with such groups as the BBC Concert Orchestra, New Music Consort, Grammy and Oscar winning composer Tan Dun, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Tibetan Singing Bowl Ensemble, Talujon Percussion Quartet, Chuck Berry, and Ziggy Marley/Gipsy Kings project. His compositions have been commissioned and performed by chamber ensembles, universities, modern dance companies, and new music festivals throughout the U.S.

River has performed in concert halls in New York, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Rome, Sydney, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Athens, Istanbul, London, and has recorded on over 150 albums and film soundtracks.  In 1994, River sold all possessions, left civilization, and lived in a wildlife sanctuary in the Himalaya Mountains.   This immersion in nature initiated intense research and experimentation into the physiological effect of sound on brainwave states.

In addition to working with Odyssey students in small, advanced classes and with older students on recording and album production, River also runs Asheville Rhythm and conducts rhythm and sound exploration workshops throughout the country.  Visit him at www.ShareTheDrum.com.

Garden Party

You are invited to join us on Saturday, September 30th, from 12:00-5:00! This party is brought to you by Odyssey’s Garden Committee, led by Chelsea Potter and Carrie Chisholm, and is sure to be a great time had by all.

Parent Orientation on September 6th

Please mark your calendars with this very important date! Parent Orientation is not a night to be missed, as so much valuable information is shared and connections are made. Start the year off right, earn volunteer hours for your attendance, and join us!

Here is some information that will likely be covered in your meetings:

• How your child’s teacher incorporates Odyssey’s philosophy into his or her teaching
• Classroom policies
• Technology at Odyssey
• Daily schedule
• How we communicate
• How to volunteer and get involved
• Ways to connect with other parents in your class
• Registration for Listening Conferences.
• The Parent Handbook.

Middle & High School meetings will also cover:

• Grading Philosophy
• College Readiness
• Experiential Seminar
• Journey Week
• Absences Policies

Child care will be provided with RSVP!

Community Pool & Pizza Party!

We are excited to see you on Friday, August 25th!

Our pool party is a great way to get your feet wet (pun intended) before the first day of school, meet your teachers, see old friends and make new ones. Faculty will make sure you get all the information you need to feel ready on Monday, August 28th, and there will be plenty of time to enjoy handmade pizza cooked in our student-made cob oven and swim in the pool!

Please remember to register so that we ensure we have enough pizza dough, and so that we know what toppings your family is planning to bring. The registration link was included in your Back to School newsletter, sent on August 8th. If you didn’t receive your newsletter, please let us know right away! You can also search your Promotions tab for the title: “Welcome Back to School! 💚 Odyssey School Supplies & News.”

Let’s go swimming!

Elders Day on October 27, 2017

We love celebrating intergenerational relationships, and every year we look forward to this celebration with our community elders – grandparents and other great, grand family members our students hold dear.

Please save the date for this day of shared stories, discovery, and play! Stay tuned for scheduling and other details as the day approaches!

Founders Day on August 28th, 2017

Join us as we celebrate the first day of school, our founders, and Odyssey’s 10th birthday!

There will be light snacks and coffee in the cafe for parents and guests leading up to the celebration, and we have the honor of welcoming our beloved 2015 commencement speaker, Kat Williams, back to our campus for a Founders Day performance. Attendees will join our students in the traditional weaving of a natural object into the Web of Life, and kick off another wonderful academic year!

Looking forward to see you there,

Megan & Cory