"From our experience of meditation we know
that pure creative intelligence is unmanifest in its nature: when all
mental activity comes to a stop, pure intelligence is experienced. What
results from this experience is that in our awareness and in our nature,
qualities of creative intelligence grow. These various characteristics are
the manifest value of creative intelligence, which we experience in
meditation as unmanifest."-Maharishi
Hello again and Happy New Year! I hope you all
had a memorable holiday season filled with rest and enjoyment. The
holidays allow us the opportunity to spend more time with family and
friends, and seem to have a very nourishing and rejuvenating effect for
all.
During the week, our students and teachers
prepared for the January 12th celebration, and in honor of the New Year, a
beautiful book of wishes, containing quotes and drawings done on gold
paper, was made to be sent to Holland. The following are a few of the
wishes students made to usher in the New Year:
"I wish every parent goes to the Dome.
Thank you for making the Dome.
Mickey DeAngelis, K
"I wish Maharishi's happiness will spread
all over the world.
Thomas Weiss, Grade 1/2 B
"I wish bliss and happiness.
Denai Churchill, Grade 1/2 G
"I wish for nobody to be homeless, that
they all have a nice house with air conditioning and clean water to drink,
and food to eat. I would like everybody to be able to go to a nice school
like this one. And that bad weather would stop killing people. That there
are no drugs, and everybody gets to live to at least 90 years.
Nathan Evertsen, Grade 4 B
"I wish that the success of the Global
Country of World Peace will be just how everyone imagines it would be:
enlightenment, no terrorism, and everyone would practice Transcendental
Meditation.
Nofiya Denbaum, Grade 5 G
"I wish there would be world peace, no war~
and everybody would be enlightened. There would be no pollution. There
would be a lot of new pandits. All over the world would be meditators and
so it would be a better world.
Jurgen Schooner, Grade 5 B
"I wish for love to overflow upon the earth
and open minds and strong hearts for the people!
Emily Wofford, Grade 6 G
"1 wish everyone was healthy and happy, and
always did the right thing, and helped each other-thinking about not only
themselves, but about other people. it doesn't matter what culture one is
from, or their skin color. I wish for people to stick to their routine and
not be all disorganized. I wish for people to care about everything and
not just themselves-- about the animals and all their environment.
Benji Jones, Grade 6 B
"I wish that every person could learn TM.
And have food, water and shelter.
Elysia Belilove, Grade 3 G/B
"I wish for peace on earth and
enlightenment for all. I wish for violence to stop. 1 wish for happiness
for all. Thank you for teaching us to meditate. I enjoy it a lot.
Sophia Blitz, Grade 4 G
"May beauty and love, caring and
compassion, joy and fulfillment, understanding and kindness, forgiveness
and acceptance blossom in us all.
Ms. Kathy Siemsen, Teacher
NO SCHOOL REMINDER
As per the School calendar, there will be No
School on Monday, January, 21st. This day is a national holiday
celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..
JANUARY 12TH CELEBRATION
The January 12th Celebration in the Patanjali
Golden Dome will most likely take place on Saturday. Please check the
Golden Domes for an announcement with details. Please be reminded that if
children attend the celebration in the Dome, they must be closely
supervised by an adult at all times. Campus safety rules and regulations
do not permit running, playing, or jumping in the lobby area. A valid dome
badge is necessary to attend the celebration. This is always a very
special occasion for all of us as we begin the New Year.
At School, the students had a special
opportunity for their own celebration this afternoon. There was a separate
celebration for the boys in Kindergarten-Grade 12, and for the girls in
Kindergarten-Grade 12. As we have done for the past few years now, the
12th grade boys grouped together with the 6th grade boys, 11th Grade with
5th Grade, and so on. The students prepared small gifts, cards or poems to
exchange with each other. The celebration included the traditional candle
lighting and cake cutting ceremony, as well as wishes for the New Year
from several students.
DEVELOPMENT OFFICE NEWS
Holiday Store Report
A heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped run the
Holiday Store. It was a huge success! We deeply appreciate everyone's
support and patronage. What a great community!
EMAIL INFORMATION
Our first Lower School email message was sent to
all parents on Tuesday, January 8th. We were thrilled by the immediate
response from approximately half of the Lower school families. We still
need to have correct email information from many families, regarding the
best email address for us to use, which you check on a daily basis. If you
have not already responded to our January 8th email, please do so right
away by phoning us at 472-9400, ext. 2, or emailing us at
lowoff@msae.edu.
DHARMA SCHOLARSHIP FUND STILL NEEDS YOUR HELP!
The deadline for joining Maharishi School for
second semester is fast approaching for 38 Maharishi School students. That
is the number who will not be allowed to attend School for second
semester, unless Dharma Foundation can raise an additional
$57,000, or an average of $1,508 for each of
these worthy students. Second semester classes begin on Tuesday, January
22nd.
Please be as generous as your financial
situation allows.
Contributions can be made by check, payable to
"Dharma", and mailed to Dharma Foundation at 2280 West Tyler,
Fairfield, IA 52556. Credit card contributions can be made by calling
Sheila Perry at 472-6892, ext. 249, or online at www.dharmafound.org.
As always, all donations are 100%
tax-deductible. These wonderful children represent our future.
Please help them today!
A MUSICAL NOTE FROM MISS PHYLLIS
According to Miss Phyllis, there are still a
few openings for any child in grades 3-6 desiring to sing with the
Festival Singers and Concert Choir. This is a dedicated group of singers
who enjoy public performance, group singing and challenging musical
pieces. To participate, these students should have mastered basic singing
skills, such as singing on pitch. Signed permission slips need to be
brought in. You can pick these up from Ms. Phyllis or in the Lower School
office. Attendance is taken and several performances are planned for the
second half of the year. The schedule for Festival Singers and Concert
Choir is as follows:
Tuesday: Festival Singers, 12:20 pm in the
Music Room
Thursday: Concert Choir, 5th and 6th grade boys and
girls, 12:20 pm in the Music Room.
The singers may stay for lunch with the School
lunch program in the Assembly Hall on their practice day and then go
directly to the Music Room when they finish eating.
PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
The Maharishi Preschool will be hosting an Open
House Wednesday, January 16th from 9:30 - 11:30 am. Parents and children
ages 2-5 are warmly invited to experience a typical Maharishi Preschool
day. With an SCIฎ based curriculum, the beautiful
and evolutionary qualities of Creative Intelligence become enhanced
through activities which enliven the five senses.
For questions you may call Nancy Schill, our
Preschool Director, at 472-9400, ext. 5100. We look forward to sharing our
Preschool with you.
ALL THAT IS GOOD
By Tracy Liptak
(We are repeating these columns from last year)
When people start trying to buy genetically
natural food, it can be very challenging. Over 60% of the foods on U.S.
grocery shelves contain genetic ingredients, and it takes careful label
reading to know what is good. The following GE products are in foods,
supplements, and household and personal care items: soybeans, corn, rBGH,
canola, enzymes and other processing aids, sugar beets, potatoes,
tomatoes, flax, yellow squash, and cotton. Most processed foods contain
one or more of these ingredients in some form. For example, corn syrup and
sugar are common sweeteners, lecithin is a frequent additive, canola, soy,
and corn oil are used regularly, and any non-organic dairy product may
contain rBGH. Watch out for any derivatives of the GE crops, including
sugar-like ingredients, citric acid, vitamins, "enriched" flours, "natural
flavors," and vanilla. Any animal products which are not organic are
suspect, even if they are rBGH-free, because the animals are probably
eating GE feed.
At this point, certified organic foods must be
genetically natural, though there is pressure to weaken these standards.
For now, the simplest way to avoid GE is to buy organic, but even then it
is necessary to use care. A package may have a big label proclaiming,
"Organic," but close reading of the package may reveal that while one or
more ingredients are organic, the product contains GE ingredients as well.
Mothers for Natural Law has issued a flyer called, "How to Shop Non-GE,"
which helps clarify which foods are GE-free. For more information, visit
www.safe-food.org.
When it comes to buying snacks for our
children, it may be helpful to develop your own "approved foods" list so
that in those moments when everybody is tired and rushed, you will still
make good choices. Some popular items include:
Newman's Organics pretzels and corn chips
Bearitos Corn Products with the non-GE "Pure Food" label
Stretch Island organic fruit leather
St. Claire Organic candy
organic nuts and dried fruit
Kettle lightly salted potato chips
Reed's crystallized ginger
organic popcorn with organic butter or ghee
organic fresh fruit
Howler ice cream
organic juice without added vitamins (which can be GE)
Santa Cruz or Blue Sky soda
Pavich orange juice
Duchy Originals cookies
Courtney's organic water crackers
Lundberg organic rice cakes
Organic Valley or Horizon cream cheese
Eastwind nut butter
Rapunzel chocolate
Organic Valley string cheese (& other cheeses)
Nature's Path cereal (a few do contain honey)
French Meadow Bakery breads, some of which are also yeast-free
Crofter's fruit spreads
A few quick and easy snack recipes:
Nut Butter Candy
1 1/2 cup Eastwind almond or cashew butter (1 lb. jar)
1/3 cup honey or organic maple syrup
3/4 organic dry milk (or as needed to make the mixture fairly firm)
1 cup organic raisins (opt.)
shredded organic coconut (opt.)
Blend all ingredients except coconut. Roll into three 1 x 10 inch logs
and roll in coconut if desired. Chill and slice.
Mango Mousse
2 mangoes
juice of 1 lime or 1/2 orange
1 t. grated fresh ginger
2 Th. organic maple syrup
1 cup organic cream
Peel and seed mangoes. Combine everything except cream in a food
processor and process until smooth. Just before serving, whip the cream
and fold it gently into the mango mixture.
Serves 4-6. This also makes an awesome cake filling!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Basketball Games: Please remember that Lower School students
attending basketball games at the Field House need to be supervised by
an adult at all times!
Calendars for Sale: Maharishi School senior class has produced
a beautiful and elegant 2002 calendar featuring photography and artwork by
members of that class. Calendars are available for $10. All proceeds go
toward funding the proposed senior trip toVlodrop. Calendars are available
through the Upper School office. People find that these items make
wonderful gifts.
If the Weather is Looking Bad: Please tune your radio to KMCD
1570 AM, KIIK 95.9 FM, or KHOE 90.5 FM to listen for school closings.
Also, announcements for weather cancellations will be available
here on the school's website on the announcements
page or at the website
www.RadioVillage.com. Please do not call the radio station or the
School.
Hawaii International School: The new Maharishi School in Hawaii
has students from grades 1-8. Classes started on October 31, 2001. The
school is in need of many items, especially books and science equipment.
Please call the Lower School office if you could donate any of the
following: globes, encyclopedias, art supplies, a photocopier, a fax
machine, computers, testing materials, a volleyball net, cooking
equipment, chairs, and large and small tables. Any assistance will be
greatly appreciated. Thank you.
PE Requirement: Please make sure that your child has a pair of
clean PE shoes, to be kept at school. Also, it is recommended that girls
wear shorts underneath their jumpers for PE, which need to be beige or
white colored, as stated in the uniform guidelines.
Enrichment Programs: If you have questions regarding the
Enrichment Program, the Lower School office usually does not have the
information. Please call Mark Soth at 469-5811, ext. 105, or the PE
Department at 472-9400, ext. 5535.
Email Alert: The Lower School office is almost ready to connect
with you via email. Soon we will be able to send announcements, phone tree
messages and hopefully this newsletter to you through the internet. We are
currently updating our email lists. Please call the Lower School office if
your email has changed recently or you have not previously provided us
with your email address. You may also email it to our Lower School email
address: lowoff@msae.edu.
Basketball Punch Passes for ten games are available for
purchase in the Athletic Department or at the door at a cost of $25 per
pass. This price applies to all faculty, staff and students. 'Basketball
Games: Please remember that Lower School students attending basketball
games at the Field House need to be supervised by an adult at all times!
Calendars for Sale: Maharishi School senior class has produced
a beautiful and elegant 2002 calendar featuring photography and artwork by
members of that class. Calendars are available for $10. All proceeds go
toward funding the proposed senior trip to Vlodrop. Calendars are
available through the Upper School office. People find that these items
make wonderful gifts.
Have a nice weekend! |