Middle School News
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!
Junior Mints Journey Week
Journey Week in Junior High is all about connection, reflection and fun!
Starting the school year with invigorating team building activities and challenging personal experiences and reflections helps to create a safe space for our students, new and old, to thrive with the ever changing dynamics of our class. We finish Journey Week with an overnight camping trip in our beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains which helps tie together our overarching theme of Courageous Learning.
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.
MS Malaprops Reading!
OCDC Performance of “Somebody / Nobody”
The Odyssey Creative Drama Collective are hard at work rehearsing the upcoming comedic play, Somebody/Nobody by Jane Martin. Come see the final product on Friday, April 27 at 7:30, Saturday, April 28 at 1:30 and 7:30 and also Sunday, April 29 at 2:30!
An intimate play setting has been created in Odyssey’s lower level, so seating is limited. Reservations are highly suggested. Please contact Melanie Wester for reservations!
This show is recommended for middle school ages and up.
Tickets are $12.00 for ages 22 and over, and $10.00 for ages 21 and under.
Civic Engagement: Student Protests
Student organizers, Bella Wells-Fried, 10th, and Kaiya Nilsson, 9th, led Odyssey 4th-12th grade students and area schools Hangar Hall and French Broad Academy, in a march from campus to Pack Square on Friday, April 20th. There they met with students from Asheville High, Asheville Middle, and Carolina Day School to gather in a peaceful protest for gun law reform.
When presented with the request to participate in this nationwide walk out, faculty and administration guided students through this learning experience in civic engagement. Students learned how to acquire permits for protest, wrote and distributed press releases, researched legislation, researched and brainstormed messaging for protest signs, and prepared for public speaking. They also sent a representative to our faculty meeting to receive feedback about how younger students, parents, and teachers will experience this day – incorporating empathy into the design-thinking process. One student’s Independent Research Project on the history of protest music this past fall prepared him well for his contribution that day.
Odyssey’s administration and faculty also spent class and meeting time preparing students to explore their viewpoints from multiple perspectives and aimed to create a safe space for differences in values and beliefs. Students who chose not to protest worked on studying legislation that inspired them and other strategies of civic engagement in democracy.
News Coverage of Asheville’s Student Protest
Virtual Design at Odyssey
We are excited to welcome local virtual reality firm Better Than Unicorns to our campus this month!
4th-12th Grade students will get an introduction to virtual design tools like Tilt Brush, a program that allows students to paint with fire, snow, smoke, and other incredible materials. Another program, developed for architectural design, will allow students to build and construct. This first demonstration aims to prepare students to engage real creativity and solutions in virtual spaces.
As virtual reality technology advances so does its potential application. In education, having a virtual reality resource means there are practically limitless methods for instruction. Better Than Unicorns, a firm which specializes in such immersive experiences, is offering students at Odyssey School a chance to explore art and design beyond any physical limitations.
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!
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.
Learn about Odyssey’s 4th-12th Grade Sex Education Program
On the evening of Wednesday, September 13th, Dr. Kelley Johnson will be offering an education night for parents who are interested in learning more about her 4th-12th grade curriculum for Sex Education at Odyssey.
We look forward to introducing you to Dr. Johnson to educate families, invite families into partnership in educating our students, and to answer any questions you might have! Dr. Johnson is offering this free evening event tonight at 6:30 for all interested Odyssey families.
We encourage you to attend to get more informed about the topics covered, strategies used, and professional approach Dr. Johnson takes in educating our students.
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!
