Wednesday Messages

Greg with Christie and her soon-to-be-shorter hair Children who will never meet him have Greg Vinson to thank in part for the wigs they received after losing their hair due to cancer treatment or medical conditions like alopecia. When he was one year old, Greg, who works in our elementary aftercare program, was constantly pulling his mother’s hair. His mother, fourth grade teacher Christie Vinson, had a solution: she had it cut so short she could put it in a ponytail that was

Scanning 50 Years of Life at The Meher Schools The first personal computer came to market the same year The Meher Schools was founded—1975. We got our first computer in 1983, when Apple Computer donated a computer (an Apple IIe) to every school in California. For the first few years, we used ours only to maintain class lists. Gradually we began to incorporate Access and Excel for some of our record keeping, but we still had to use paper forms to gather information. A major tu

Meet Jenna Chalmers, our new registrar. Jenna began working at the school last month. Her role involves helping current and prospective elementary school families navigate the application and enrollment process, managing the student data system, preparing reports, and supporting other administrators in their work. Prior to joining our staff, Jenna worked as a video game designer ( The Sims , SimCity , Spore ) and developed apps for the STEM toy company GoldieBlox. She says th

Our staff has been tootling a lot this year. Is that something to be concerned about? No, it’s a good thing! “Tootling” is the opposite of tattling. Tattling is telling a parent or teacher or other adult about something “wrong” another child has done. Tootling is noting a simple, small moment or recognizing a general quality you appreciate about someone. Staff members write “tootles” anonymously on Post-Its and put them in a box in our break room. Receptionists Katie O’Callag

Meet Sidney the Snake and her human friend Jess, Meher School parent and alumna! Jess, a naturalist from East Bay Regional Parks District, visited some elementary classes this week to teach students about native animals and their habitats. In addition to getting to pet Sidney, students compared teeth of carnivores and herbivores, felt coyote fur, observed a taxidermy acorn woodpecker, and deepened their understandings of the natural world we live in.

Our Halloween parade on Friday featured a happy assortment of princesses, animals, skeletons, angels, characters from TV, movies, and books, and more. Here “big kids” (elementary students) stroll through the preschool yard, a highlight of the day for both groups. The cleverest costume may have been one that many people at first didn’t even realize was a costume—fifth grade teacher John Murphy dressed up (very convincingly) as elementary Co-Principal “Mr. Vince” d’Assis. He ev

Preschool and TK mom Renata Michalani offers a guest a sweet treat from Brazil at Saturday’s Culture Fair. Brazilian was one of about 20 cultures represented at the event, which included displays, performances, music, and delectable samples of cuisines from around the world. No one went away hungry! From South Korea there were drumming and taekwondo demonstrations and a K-pop singing group. Check out more photos below!

This summer brought a number of exciting improvements to our campus. From new energy-efficient roofs and upgraded drainage systems to...

Parents often ask me questions about sending their children on playdates. Understandably, they wonder about allowing their children to go...

A student tries to catch her flying canister, visible as a white spot in front of the sign over the door Fifth graders on Monday took...

Our younger elementary students had what for most of them was their first taste of opera recently. Andy Truett, a tenor with the San...

Ollie (in the red sweatshirt) fields questions from transitional kindergartners in the library Monday. His mother, Mari, is seated next...

How the search for a school for a very special girl led to the founding of the school whose 50th anniversary we celebrate this year. On...

Fourth and fifth graders are building models of the school as they imagine it in 2075, which will be on display during our 50th...

Our first grade raised $1,754 at their bake sale Friday for first responders and victims of the LA fires—and they had lots of help. They...

November is Native American Heritage Month. Room 8 kindergarten teacher Caryl Morton has been interested in Native American culture for...

Our library reopened last week after being closed for three months for remodeling. Students missed the library and happily accepted...

Teacher’s New Book Celebrates Each Child’s Unique Contribution Most children feel at least a little nervous as a new school year...

Thirty grandmothers and grandfathers gathered Monday in our first-ever event for grandparents. Titled “The Gift of Being a Grandparent,”...

Vince d’Assis’s first memory as a White Pony student was riding in this cart around the campus where he would one day be elementary...