| Welcome to our "Spring" 2025 newsletter!
In this issue, we're excited to share some incredible stories happening in the Harmony community this year! Included, you'll learn about the senior project taking one of our students across the country this semester, our upcoming summer camp Camp Rhino, how Harmony's commitment to community engagement has been created a tradition of celebrating Social Action Day and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and how Jana Lee, one of our parent volunteers, contributes to our Co-Op program. I hope you enjoy reading about what's happening inHarmony this spring! Steve "Roc" Bonchek Executive Director |
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| Sierra Walden Travels the Country For Senior Project |
Though summer is just around the corner, students here at Harmony are still hard at work wrapping up their end of the year projects. One of these students is senior Sierra Walden, who has been a part of the Harmony School since joining our Early Childhood Program many years ago. With her senior year drawing to a close, Sierra has begun her work on her senior project: a video documentary on the contra dance community.
Contra dance is a unique form of folk dancing, one that has interested Sierra for many years now. “When I was in the 1/2 grade class, my teacher— Claudio Buchwald— taught my class how to do a couple family dance-style contras.” Sierra said, “I didn’t realize it was Contra Dance until 3/4 grade teacher— Todd Riggins— invited a member of the community to do some dances with his class and I joined in!” Sierra has been traveling around the country to collect data, conduct interviews, and get footage for her video documentary. “I’ve always been interested in sociological topics,” she said, “and it gave me a great excuse to travel and dance.”
When asked what she hopes to gain from her experience making her senior project, Sierra replied, “I am wanting to learn more about dance, and I also wanted to see how I would handle traveling alone and having to deal with everything myself.” She also seems to be thriving while working on her assignment, telling Harmony, “At the time of writing this, I’m wrapping up the first part of my project, and I have loved every minute of it!”
After her senior project is completed and she graduates from Harmony School, Sierra plans to continue her education by majoring in Sociology and hopes that she will get to see more of the world in the future. Click here to read more about Sierra |
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Students Celebrate MLK Day at Harmony School |
Since Harmony’s beginnings in 1974, the school has committed to helping students understand and participate in democratic processes and value the importance of making their voices heard.
As a part of Harmony’s school philosophy, Harmony considers it important for students to feel
empowered to make a difference in the world, and this involves understanding the needs of the community and finding a place in which individuals can give what they’re able. Before the pandemic, Harmony devoted the day after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday to a Social Action Day, in which the entire school explores current social and political issues and examines ways in which students can get involved in the community.
This year, Harmony brought back Social Action Day celebrations for the first time since 2020
and the Covid-19 pandemic. January 21 was devoted to a variety of workshops, discussions and service learning projects relating to topics such as Sustainable Living, Protest Songs, Labor Unions, and the War in Gaza.
While social issues have evolved over Harmony’s 50 year history, Harmony’s commitment to
educating students to engage in their communities remains constant.
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Camp Rhino: Building Community Through Summer Adventures |
by Elaine Bonadies, 1st-2nd Grade Teacher |
As my first summer at Harmony approached, I asked around about summer program opportunities and had parents asking me if we had any sort of camps. A few parents asked if I would put together a playgroup basically a few half and full days a week. We chose a few weeks and made a schedule and had a fun summer of water play, crafting, building, reading, and field trips to the library, the fair, IU, and the pool. The following summer, Harmony was under a LOT of construction as the GeoThermal project was fully installed, so we did not attempt any sort of summer playgroup or camp, but we did dream about the potential for summer camps once the A/C was installed!
So, this past fall, the beginnings of Camp Rhino were born. As we thought about first and foremost making this accessible to our own community, and like other programs, giving a benefit to our “members” so to speak. We also wanted to be more accessible to families that might not be able to pay the full amount for camp up front and wanted to offer a variety of ways and plans for payment. We are so glad to have the full support of our coworkers and administration in this endeavor, and feel that it is such an incredible opportunity to get to know more community members, to get to know more of the children within our community, and to give our coworkers and others within our community a space to explore educating others within their passions. Click here to read the full story |
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EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS APRIL 15 |
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| Jana Leigh Lends a Hand Through Harmony Co-Op Program |
Every year parents and families are asked to participate in the Harmony Community Co-Op Program, a program that encourages community engagement through volunteer service here at Harmony. Single parents are required to commit 22 hours of volunteer service while two-parent households require 44 hours, giving parents the opportunity to get involved and give back to the Harmony community.
One of these volunteers is Jana Leigh, a parent who comes in once a week to clean the two downstairs restrooms here at Harmony. Though it may seem like a messy job, Jana has a positive outlook on it, saying, “ I like doing this job because then the kids can rely on having enough toilet paper! (Haha just kidding, partly!) I think it’s great that everyone pitches in because then we all feel a little more ownership and connection with Harmony.”
Taking on 22 or 44 hours of volunteer work can seem like a daunting task but through planning and hard work, the time can fly by. Choosing a duty that fits into your schedule can be a good way to make sure you stay on top of your hours, as Jana says, “For me, choosing a job that happens regularly and is straightforward helped me be able to reliably stick to filling in my hours!”
Jana is one of many vital helpers here at the Harmony School, and her work is noticed and appreciated by the staff and students alike. "Jana is one of the hidden gems of Harmony School. They have been one of the most consistent people in the community in their dedication to the cleanliness of the building. Jana is enthusiastic about Harmony and making it a safe, clean place for their children and everyone else. They are a perpetual source of positive energy and an exemplary member of the community!" said Dustin Feathers, an administrative assistant for the Harmony School.
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