09/18/2026
Learning Highlight: Self & Community
What does it mean to be part of a community?
During our Self & Community project, students have been exploring this question through hands-on experiences that help them understand themselves, one another, and the place we call home.
We began by getting to know ourselves and our classmates through self-portraits, sharing, conversation, and lots of time building relationships. Students are practicing important speaking, listening, communication, collaboration, and self-awareness skills as they learn more about themselves and each other.
Our learning then expanded into our Wild Oak community and the forest around us. Students have been creating agreements, class bill of rights and constitutions, exploring trails, observing the natural world, and creating maps of the forest based on what they notice and experience.
We’ve also been exploring our larger community! Students visited Hendersonville City Hall to learn about local government and welcomed local Etowah Horseshoe Firefighters to learn about their work and the ways they serve our community.
Through it all, students are learning that community is made up of people, places, relationships, and shared responsibility.
Students are developing an understanding of themselves as members of multiple communities while practicing communication, collaboration, observation, mapping, and responsible citizenship.
And most importantly, they’re learning by exploring, asking questions, creating, and connecting with the world around them!
