“A festival is a joyous celebration of life and has the quality of lifting us out of the ordinary and into the mysteries and magic of the rhythm of the seasons.”
Michaelmas | Sept 29
A festival of courage, the Michaelmas celebration is observed at the turn of summer to autumn, at the fall equinox. There is an opportunity for an inbreath of courage here. As the time of harvesting is in full swing, energies are high and sometimes so are tensions, as we leave the long and warm days of summer. We take the time to notice the season shifting, the earth takes one more breath as we begin our final preparation before winter.
At the Academy, we celebrate Michaelmas with popcorn and snacks, but most importantly with a community play about George, and a village that needs a little help with an unruly dragon. This play shares a story about facing our inner “dragon”, of being truthful, and brave. Everyone wears a red shirt, a symbol of passion and energy, of our ability to be brave and to take action. [Watch Video]
Dia de los Muertos | Nov 1st
A time for celebrating life! Dia De Los Muertos or “The Day Of The Dead”, is a welcoming of the souls of relatives that have died. As a traditional Hispanic and Mesoamerican holiday, it is also a celebration of culture.
At the Academy, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated together, by song, colorful art and stories. Everyone is invited to bring photographs of loved ones, flowers, or anything that they want to set on the table to hold the memory of their ancestors. Within classes, students get the opportunity to share the stories of their loved ones with each other or listen to others stories if they haven’t yet had the experience of losing someone close to them.
Death isn’t always talked about in North American culture but that doesn’t make it any less a part of our lives. This is a beautiful time of community as we take time to hold the space for students and staff to share something that is deeply part of this human experience.
Martinmas (Lantern Walk) | Nov
A festival of compassion, a time of shining our inner lights at the dawning of winter.
At the Academy, we celebrate this by making lanterns, and learning songs. On the dusk of Martinmas, we light a pathway of candles around the school, and families of the Academy are all welcome to gather together at sundown after school. We start by sharing ways we lend a hand, show compassion to someone, or just things that might give someone a big smile. Then everyone lights their lanterns together and as we wander the candle-lit pathway, sing songs about light, blessing our school for the wintering months to come, as a reminder of the compassion and light that shines within each of us.
Fall Art Exhibit
Normally corresponding with the Lantern Walk. This is an opportunity to celebrate and display all the art that has been created so far this year. Families are encouraged to come and take time to enjoy their children’s art and their students’ fellow classmates’ artwork on display.
Thanksgiving Family Feast | Last Friday before Autumn Break
A time of gratitude and thanksgiving! Gardens are bursting with harvest, autumn is dwindling, we are barreling towards winter. Thanksgiving at the Academy is a time to be thankful for the bounty of our community and what we have accomplished so far this year.
Celebrated with a potluck dinner, in combination with some of the harvest of the PARC gardens that the students have been cultivating, we sit down together as families and feast together in gratitude.
Sebring Christmas Parade | First Friday of December
This is where we take pride in our school. The float is decorated with all the things that make us stand out. We have the black smithing anvil, maybe the archery target, some of the students’ recent projects displayed, musical instruments and a whole lot of smiling faces.
Parents and children of the school are all invited to walk beside or ride on the float, and as we parade through the downtown streets of Sebring, being apart of the parade is a fun way to get involved with the community, to sing carols, smile and wave to show by observation just how amazing our school is.
Spiral of Light | Dec 21st
An invitation to silence and the journey of carrying your own inner light. At the Academy, we celebrate the winter solstice, with a darkened room, a spiral of greenery adorned on the floor and the lighting of beeswax candles, made by the students and educators leading up to the event.
Parents and families are invited to join and watch as each child takes their journey into the spiral. This celebration had a lot of deep meaning, you will have to join to really see it all, but the spiral represents the seasons of spring to winter. The journey each child takes through the spiral represents the inner journey to find his or her own “light” within.
Spring Art Exhibit | March
Spring is here, new ideas are breaking through! Each art exhibit is an opportunity to see each child’s creativity continue to blossom, as well as a time to see what projects they have been working within their classes and in their art and theater blocks.
Families are again encouraged to join an evening of honoring, viewing some of the best pieces of art created by the Academy students over the last few months. With the likelihood of a few theater productions, you won’t want to miss this exhibit.
Earth Day | April 22
A time to give back. We don’t have just one way to celebrate earth day. Earth is really everyday at the Academy, but on April 22nd, we make sure to set aside a special time for caring for our earth. We collect a little extra trash somewhere, take a little extra time to read and write some poems, and share about our unique native Florida ecosystems. Earth day at the Academy is a time to go even further into nature and pause to take in the beauty and sacredness of this place, we get to call home.