From the Desk of Sunbeam Education Coordinator Yvonne Thomas
The students and teachers in the one– and two–room island schools looked a little different last week. Strange hairdos and mustaches, backwards clothing, and pajamas were just some of the unusual sites a visitor might have seen on any given day. These schools are part of the TLC, the Mission’s programming for island schools. The TLC, a long-standing collaboration between island schools and the Mission, stands for Teaching and Learning Collaborative. One of the TLC’s many time-honored traditions is Spirit Week.
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March is a long, sometimes hard month, and to make it more fun, the TLC celebrates Spirit Week, virtually, every year. Students make suggestions for theme days, and a schedule is made. Each day of Spirit Week for about 15 minutes, the TLC schools come together on Zoom and have a parade to show off what they are wearing that day.
A highlight of the week was Favorite Person Day. Everyone dressed up as one of their favorite people, either from real life, or from a book, movie, or TV show. Some of the adults dressed up as each other, demonstrating the high degree of mutual admiration in this group. Students dressed up as athletes, parents, and grandparents, and there were also performers and some book characters, including the time-traveling character Jack from the Magic Treehouse book series and Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh.
After the parade, students answer questions about the TLC, such as how many active schools are in the TLC this year (6), what islands are they on (Cliff, Chebeague, Great Cranberry, Isle au Haut, Matinicus, and Monhegan) and how many years old is the TLC (16). We end each day with a cheer using our loudest inside voices.
Spirit Week is one of the ways that TLC students get to have shared school experiences despite being in such unique one- and two-room school settings. Students connect with each other across the island schools, helping them feel less isolated and instilling pride in themselves, their school, and their broader island schools’ community. But perhaps the most important part of TLC Spirit Week is seeing all the smiles and fun during the sometimes-dreary days of March. 1-2-3, T-L-C!
Learn more about TLC and its impact on island communities.