Sunstone Academy
76 Inglis Place B2N 4B4 Truro, NS, Canada

Last night at our trusty old Sunstone. Gratitude to my amazing landlords for riding the waves with us. See you at the next spot.

Due to continued interest in our lower elementary program we are tentatively opening up 6 more spots for that age group. If those spots are filled there will be 2 classes of lower elementary. If you have a child in grade primary, one or two and were interested we would love to hear from you. Our village is growing.

We are happy to say that we are full in the lower elementary class. We have two spots available for our upper elementary class. This also means we will only have a few spots next year for primary. We have 2 spots already taken for the next school year. If you are interested now is the time to reach out and ask questions. We may have some employment opportunities opening up so keep your eyes peeled.

In the world of uncertainty some things are becoming more certain. One certainty we are seeing at Sunstone is parents who are yearning for a more holistic, nurturing approach to education. A realization that the old structure of education is out dated. Realizing we need an education that teaches us about privilege, consent, compassion, justice, conflict resolution, respect, emotional intelligence, resiliency, empathy, environmental stewardship, well being, self awareness and... social responsibility. Connection. Deep connection. We need to educate people differently, so they see things differently, so they can become change makers with an entire different lens. We also recognize that private school is a privilege and so we would invite anyone who is not in a position to commit to our tuition fees but feels aligned with our vision please reach out. Due to the inquiries we are recieving we would like to put a proposal out to see if we have enough interest to begin a middle school. We would need 5 students to make it happen. If you are interested in a spot from grade 6-9 please send us a message.

If you are looking for a nuturing educational experience for your child we have just that. Our staff strives to honor the uniqueness of your child, foster healthy relationships, nuture their individual learning needs, harvest a relationship with nature, get messy, make art and have barrels of fun. Reading buddies, weekly science experiement, character building circles, writers cafe, poetry study, art, art history, themes (i.e chemistry, history of theater, native birds) outd...oor education and play time fill our days at Sunstone. We are moving and will have a classroom for grade primary to grade two, and another for grade three to six. We will have a peaceful library space and a space dedicated to play. We only have 1 space for the younger class to keep our numbers of 1:14 teacher ratio. We have 3 spaces for the older class. We have a very dedicated, amazing group of families who have made Sunstone a beautiful village to be a part of. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. We can not wait to get back to puddle jumping and for the adventures that await us. See more

We have room for just a few more in our village. We love learning, playing, getting messy, being creative, working as a team, problem solving, climbing hills and playing in puddles. Any questions? Just ask.

Sunstone tries to instill resiliency in our young leaders by playing in the rain, hiking through bumpy terrain, solving problems independently, learning who they are and honouring their strengths and weaknesses. Discovering what they need as a human in any given moment and speaking their truth even when it is difficult. This last little while has taught me to use all of those strategies and fight for what I feel is right. I have had to engage in resiliency, fight through my ...own fear and uneasiness about the future. And I stand now stronger than ever that Sunstone needs to remain for our current families and those to come. In this shared experience it has been highlighted the dedication and community that makes Sunstone what it is. Sunstone has become a village of people who believe in nurturing the human side of children, the wonder, exploration, curiosity, empathetic, generous, adventurous side. We will continue. We will grow. We welcome you to join us. Stay well world, we are all in this together. See more

Sending love to all the broken hearts of today's tragedy.

We are so busy looking ahead to next year we forgot to post some updates! We have spent the last bit of time exploring robots. We made squiggle bots and bristle bots. We learned about a different type of robot each day for one whole month. Who knew there were so many types of robots to investigate!?! We are enjoying the changing of seasons and eagerly awaiting warmer puddle jumping weather. (The puddles recently have been cold! )... We have explored leaders such as Katherine Johnson, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., and others through story and song. Art has consisted of a little Da Vinci, Wharhol and Emily Carr to name a few. You may not realize the cute factor in 5 years olds discussing these artists... we can assure you it is pretty cute! Also, we are in the process of rebranding and expanding. Please note there will be some upcoming changes with tuition amounts and programming. If you are interested in one of our limited spots now is the time! We are very grateful for our amazing village and the families that support our vision!

Have you ever wondered how we promote self-directed independent learning? Our classroom materials ofcourse. The learning shelves consist of a variety of materials that encourage independent learning. In conjunction with our lessons, sharing circles, morning workplan, guided reading and writing programs, these materials engage students in a hands on manner. Fostering the love of learning.

Did you know you can find the shape of the number four in a branch? Or make a rain cloud in a jar? We are loving our hands on learning experiences. And have exciting new ones on the way. We will begin our geology next week and look forward to learning about different types of rocks, minerals, soils and sifting for gemstones. We also have a guest speaker joining us to share their knowledge and help us identify some of our treasures.

We finished off May with our final engineering challanges. Students had an exciting month of understanding resourcesfulness and problem solving as true engineers would. We learned about how Davinci had ideas that are still used today. We learned about being strategic with materials. We made mazes , bridges, boomerangs, catapults and painted with pendulums. Many students were seen with a great deal of concentration and all of them took their daily engineering challanges very... seriously. We were proud of their individual efforts and their teamwork. We finished up our blankets for the IWK and our genius hour presentations. Genius hour is an hour each week for 4 weeks to research a topic of their choice. They compile information and present to their classmates. This year topics ranged from the world's largest sand castle to the titanic. We are enjoying the sunshine and are happy to be in the forest once again. We are happily moving through our Aviation unit as we unhappily move to the end of our year together. See more

Art by Scott Froschauer

Wholesome fall learning!

One of the most noticeable benefits of teaching at Sunstone is the children are familiar with the routine and the teachers can dive right in where they left off. Leaving us with a very smooth transition for our new students. Allowing the returning students the opportunity to show leadership by helping the new students become familiar with the expectations of our school community. We are guided by the community standard of creating a relational classroom climate. Everything is... centered around the language of being peaceful, purposeful and respectful. We head into October after smoothly flowing through September. With lots of positive experiences under our belts, some giggles, dirt under our nails, rain water in our boots and less hiccups then we anticipated for the beginning of the year. We are welcoming fall and the beauty of changing seasons that bring new found learning experiences. We are excited to add some new adventures this year and are looking forward to what year 3 will bring. See more

Taco Week is here. We completed out Llama pinata. Inspired by a class favorite song "Long legged Llama". The kids sewed, finger knitted, paper mac`hed, painted and made felt tacos for our lovely llama. It will be displayed at Truro Mall. Please take a second to vote for our labour of llama and taco love. Here are some pictures of the process.

Today we stood in solidarity with our community to voice our concerns about the need to change our relationship with the Earth. Sunstone is fortunate to have very passionate protectors of even the smallest of creatures. Our outdoor program is used to cultivate a deep respect for the gifts the earth gives us. We see how important it is to the children to have an opportunity to live from that loving place that naturally exists in their hearts. As we left the protest we pass...ed by some freshly dropped litter. We stopped to pick it up and had a conversation about how just like in nature sometimes the smallest of creatures have the biggest job to do. We were reminded no matter how old we are that we all have the opportunity to be teachers to one another and we can always choose to live respectfully. Hopefully in turn, gently stirring the reminder within another to also come from that place. Thank you to the organizers for the wonderful presenters. We all walked away with something different and beautiful! See more

We are on your team David!

What a way to start the 2019-2020 school year. We had a wonderful first day. We love catching up with our returning students and getting to know our new ones. All of our students settled into the routine and got a chance to re-connect with each other. We are all ready for tomorrows adventures. School is on for us!

Engineering is so exciting already! We have learned about blueprints and resources. How to solve problems using only the materials that we have. Created inclines and measured distance. We made magnetic cars and worked to create the tallest tower that we could. Our sunny outdoor day was filled with play and team work activities. We had a peaceful meditation by the brook. Played an echolocation game of bat and moth. We have had some snuggly reading time and some activities for some special women in our lives, in some cases known as Mom. We are only a few days in and can't wait for more.

More photos of what we have been up to.

Our classroom has been changed around and is perfectly placed for the beginning of year 3. There is a lot of excitement looming as we wait for our students to return. We have a lot planned for an exciting year of hands on learning, outdoor adventures and plenty of art! Did we mention we love art? Happy back to school everyone! We wish all the teacher and students out there a wonderful school year!

Spring may have been taking it's time but it did not slow us down. We spent the month of March exploring continents. We learned about the compass rose, hemispheres, the prime meridian and the equator. We enjoyed exploring animals and habitats on different continents. It was interesting to taste teas, snacks and fruit from around the world. April's focus was botany. We used science experiments to explore photosynthesis and osmosis.Our favorite was the Gummy bear science lab.... We were invited to tap maple trees and collect sap. Some of us acquired a new appreciation for the lengthy process of making maple syrup. We ended the month learning about desert plants with a succulent planting workshop led by our very own little entrepreneur. We are enjoying the sunshine and exploring the changes as Spring settles in. We started our Engineering theme today so stay tuned. See more

Savoring the next few weeks of summer adventures. We are looking forward to having our village back together so we can create, learn and grow together. We still have a couple spots for September for families with a shared vision. After next year we should be full capacity for our space. If you are interested in learning more feel free to ask questions. We encourage curiosity.

We hope everyone is enjoying summer and nurturing the important parts of childhood play.

We finished off the year with a unit on aviation. We decided to hand over the focus to the students asking what they wanted to know about aviation. Here are some of their inquiries? How do eagles glide for so long? Why can humming birds fly backwards?... How do airplanes stay in the air? How do helicopter propellers work? How many wings do dragonflys have? Exploring student's questions led to some interesting findings. In addition we made 7 different types of airplanes and measured the distances they traveled. Amelia Earhart was a fascinating part of our learning and we were shocked when we referenced the map how far she was able to travel so long ago. We explored flight in the natural world comparing birds, bugs and butterflies. Students finalized and presented their genius hour projects. It is quite amazing to see primary students in a multi aged setting confidently present their findings. We had a range of topics from flamingos, worms, the Titanic, wolves, the worlds largest sand castle, why some crows are white to dinosaur digestion. Our staff agreed that themes are the way to go moving forward. We have already settled on some exciting ones for next year. We won't spill the beans on all of them but here is a sneak peek. We will explore greek mythology, the history of the theater, birds of prey, and robotics in addition to our curriculum. This gets even more exciting when our creative team comes up with exciting art activities to tie everything together. We have also decided to add a writer's cafe one afternoon a week. The classroom will be transformed into a cafe in hopes of creating a unique writing experience with a little tea and crumpets on the side. We finished up our blankets for the IWK, which took a little longer than expected and will make the delivery in the fall. We had a wonderful field trip, enjoyed the nice weather on our final outdoor days, and had a successful art show. Students where happy to receive their character awards and were accurate in guessing who was the recipient of each award. We had our final celebration of life ceremony for our students with summer birthdays and created a web of gratitude for growing alongside of one another this year. We are grateful for all of the people in our village who have made year two a great success. Our village hopes you enjoy the summer sun and take time to recharge. Happy Summer from all of us at Sunstone Academy. On to year three! Photo credit Adelaide Rodgers Photography

Spread the word...we have a few spots available for next year!

February kicked off with some exciting literature around our African American heroes. We learned about Ruby Bridges, Viola Desmond, Harriet Tubman along with other courageous change makers. Jazz, blues and traditional African drumming music often played in the background while we moved through our work plans. The students learned about Kente cloth and worked to create their own. Using the colors and symbols to guide them. We asked our students on March 1st, if they think M...arch has come in like a lion, and will go out like a lamb? Or has it come in like a lamb, and will go out like a lion. We asked their opinion before telling them what those sayings traditionally have meant. We asked them to share their thought process behind their choice. One student who had picked in like a lion said, "I picked in like a lion because it is sunny today, lions are golden like the sun and their manes also reminds me of the rays of the sun". Needless to say we all loved his reasoning. We have missed the sunshine and are happy about the thoughts of Spring. We are looking forward to our upcoming themes. Students are currently learning about the continents which will involve mapping, learning about the compass, hemispheres, prime meridian and the equator. As well as exploring animals, languages, folktales and foods. We end the year will botany, engineering and aviation so stay tuned for those upcoming adventures. See more

Oh the places you'll go! Some of us have been exploring the Ancient Egpytian God of RA, and created an artistic response to self directed research. In art children explored the history of the lotus in Egyptian culture, and many beautiful pieces of art were created. The one pictured was made by a very a hard working primary student. We recently had a fort building day, after discussing ways animals adapt. We decided due to the cold weather we better adapt too!... Students were given an animal in a mystery box. They were given the task of creating a small book about that animal, once completed they were given a "survival pack". Supplies included helped build a fort and light it up so they were able to create a clay sculpture of their new friend. January has been dull outside but vibrant and full of life on the inside! Congratulations to our very own Gr.4 student for winning an Ocean conservation art contest. Students discussed how pollution negatively affects the ocean and created an art piece informed by that conversation. Thank you to our amazing art teacher for finding the contest and encouraging students to participate. We are very proud of his effort and compassion for the earth! See more

We are excited to share our social learning project that is underway! Our Sunstone leaders will be making fleece blankets to be delivered to the IWK! Each blanket will be accompanied by a special letter from the students. We are hopeful that this will bring a bit more than warmth to the children who spend their days inside the hospital walls. Encouraging our own students to be grateful for their health and practice empathy.

We share the same wish!

Wondering what we have been up to? Time is flying by on our learning adventure. November was spent exploring Earth Sciences. We explored forces like friction, gravity, push/pull. Solids, liquids, and gases as well as the cycles of the moon. We especially loved imagining what it would be like in space and were fascinated that there is no sound there. December was spent learning about Medieval times. We made pomanders to ward off bad smells, feather pens to practice Roman Num...erals, learned about the distasteful jobs in history, cracked secret codes and ofcourse designed and built our own castles. We finished off December with a small show for families that included music and a short play. The weather outside has certainly been frightful making outdoor day the day of resilience. We have had to be adaptable at the hands of Nature and have been using our field journals to monitor and record the weather. Students have settled in to their morning work plan. Giving them an opportunity to independently work through skill development. Our learning block involves independent learning along with focused mini lessons, guided reading and guided math. This is a powerful opportunity for them to be self guided, develop independence and nuture their love of learning. As we move into January we are learning about Ancient Egypt. So far we have explored the mathematics behind pyramids, how to spell in heiroglyphs, Egyptian numbers, making cartouche necklaces and Egptian metal art. We are working on a social learning project which we are excited to share details about very soon! From all of us st Sunstone we wish you a year of an abundance of happiness! See more

Have you been over to our Blog lately? It's a great way to hear about what we've been exploring at Sunstone Academy!

We are very excited to begin our year with intriguing themes, studing world leaders of change, outdoor learning and endless experimenting and investigating. We wish all of our fellow Educators, EA's, Administrators and students and wonderful year. Ready, set, go!

As the summer moves forward we are planning adventures for the upcoming school year. Our team is excited for year two. We equally value learning opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom. Our classroom atmosphere nutures childhood wonder and imagination in addition to academics. Only a few spots left on the magic school bus!

We have updated our website. Please take a minute to check it out and share. We only have a few spots left for next year, we would love to fill our little village. www.sunstonelearningacademy.org

Schools out for Summer! Our Sunstone team is feeling proud to have survived the learning curve of year one. We are taking away some valuable lessons that the children of Sunstone have taught us. The year ended with sadness that we would not see each other for the summer. Our Sunstone village has been built on mutual respect and we certainly feel grateful to have spent the year with our young leaders. See you in year two!!!!

Our final outdoor days have taken us on many field trips. We have been lucky to explore other people's passions and take the residue of that with us in your hearts. Our goal at Sunstone is to inspire our little ones by being in spaces created from passion. To have the opportunity to recognize the authentic happiness that comes from celebrating your gifts.

Lunch time at Sunstone Academy equals the School of Rock.

Some of our recent adventures.

April has been an exciting month. We were able to stay outside for the entire outdoor learning day after a long winter. We have put some of our environmental stewardship into action and adhere to the perspective that we are guests in the forest. Our chick hatch was successful and allowed us to put our empathy for smaller creatures into practice. We learned some new forms of art and their cultural origins. One of our older students taught a visual art class, which has turned... into a well-loved activity that has been practiced independently ever since by a few aspiring artists. We had another opportunity to make art with our senior partners from Munro Ct. and are seeing some beautiful intergenerational relationships flourish. Our first field trip was a hit at Londonderry Play Forest. We are excited to take our field journals and explore a few more local natural habitats to learn about their species and characteristics of the land. We have been busy preparing for our art show in June and have an additional artist joining us for the next 4 weeks to explore textile art. We are a bit sad to think that it is almost May, time really flies when you are having fun and learning through experiences. We are looking forward to making the most of the weeks ahead. See more

Today was our final day with our 24 fluff babies. We are so grateful for the experience. We aren't going to lie, we were a bit sad to say goodbye.

Final count 24. We have names and bios for all the chickens. Photo shoot planned for this week. Stay tuned!

We have atleast 22.

We have a chick! Hatched during yoga after sending love to it. We did not ask it's mom but we named it Yogi.

We have a crack!!!!!

When your heart leads to art. A perfect message for the entryway of our classroom. Created by an artist who understands the power of being kind and celebrating each other's differences.

Spring brings new opportunities to be innovative and excited by possibilities. We are ready to get back out into the community and learn new things. We are heading to cook for the residents of the homeless shelter and finish our second art class with our senior partners at Munro Court. We began our Genius hour last week. Children spend an afternoon researching a topic they are interested in and come up with creative ways to present it to their classmates. Our local library wi...ll be providing us with a room and technology so we can search for interesting facts. Our deck is almost finished and our chicks are 8 days away from hatching. Our environmental focus has been on service in the community and the older students will begin writing persuasive letters addressing some of their ideas and concerns. We are excited for the newness that awaits us! Happy Spring. See more

As Spring energy starts to wiggle us back to life, things begin to awaken. Our focus today was around Environmental Service. We talked about advocacy and activism, brainstormed about ways we can be socially responsible in the spaces we borrow. The children (yes, even the 5 year olds) at Sunstone have come up with some pretty amazing interconnected ideas that we can not wait to share as the wiggle grows into action. Stay tuned.

Our babies have arrived. Fingers crossed.

The small folks at Sunstone have enjoyed the roller coaster weather pattern. One minute we are living in a snow globe the next we are hanging out our coats in the sunshine. Here we are on our latest adventures.

Thank you to everyone who came to our open house. It was nice to see the place bustling with new energy. We are excited for year 2!

Our effort to be kind to the earth. We have switched from paper towel to wash clothes for hand wiping. Trying hard to live green each day.

Join us for our open house Feb. 28th 6-7pm.

Sometimes you find peace by the edge of a babbling brook with a few good friends.

Our talented Vocal Director. Brenna Conrad is a professionally-trained Soprano with ten years of experience in Vocal Performance, Music Education, and Music Ministry. A standout talent from a young age, Conrad honed her craft at University of Toronto’s prestigious vocal performance program and has been a regular performer at the Nova Scotia International Tattoo since she was a teenager. Subsequent to her education, she continued to perform both in Canada and Europe before e...mbarking on a career as a choral conductor and music educator. Prior to moving back to Nova Scotia, she served as Choral Conductor and Youth Music Director at Islington United Church in Toronto while also teaching privately. Brenna is thrilled to be back in Nova Scotia and is currently the conductor for Cantabile Impact!, a mixed voice youth choir with a focus on bringing awareness to social justice issues, through music. She is also the Music Director at First Baptist Church, Truro and runs a thriving private vocal studio. Brenna is thrilled to be joining the team of Sunstone Academy! See more

Our fabulous theater director. Lisa Fanning -CEO of NeXt Factor Entertainment Inc -originally from Calgary, Alberta, now based in our community of Truro is very pleased and excited to be offering her Acting Out Workshop to our school and it's inspiring students. The Acting Out Workshop has been developed by Lisa Fanning as a way for children or adults alike to access their natural inner potential and find a fun, creative way of expressing themselves through the art of acting.... Lisa has been teaching this workshop for over 15 years in such faucets as - talent agencies throughout Calgary and its surrounding areas -Children's Acting camps, The Retired Teachers Associations, Acting schools, Community Theatres, Private lessons and more! Lisa is a professional actress; along with other profiles in the entertainment/performing industry -working in Major Motion film, Television, and stage for over 25 years and has developed this workshop to assist in character development through play. In these classes, she and the children will focus on teamwork, self-esteem building techniques, script work, character development, role playing, high-level improv, games, and so much more.

The dance portion of the middle school program will be created and developed by Melissa Paige-Webster. We are excited to share the details with you. Melissa Page-Webster, RAD RT, TDip MCPA Owner, CDA... Melissa began her dance training at the age of 3 at Halifax Dance. Throughout her training, she has had the privilege of being taught by several influential and prominent teachers including Sally Brayley Bliss, Robert McCollum (NBS), Suzette Sherman, Donna Krasnow (York University) Peggy Baker and Christine Wright. Melissa is a Registered Teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance and a graduate of the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts' Teacher Training Program. She has trained in Toronto at Peggy Baker's annual Educator's Seminar and at Canada's National Ballet School in the work of Irene Dowd. As a choreographer and performer, Melissa is currently a member of KickTalk Collective. In the past, Melissa has been a member of Symphony Of Movement (Consumer Experiment, gender bender), originated roles with independent choreographers, and choreographed a piece for Ballet Jorgen Canada's Solos and Duets Series. Melissa also sits as a Director on both the Downtown Truro Partnership and Cobequid Arts Council boards. Program Description: Delivery - Approx 48 hours (1.25 hours per week) Outcome - A collaborative, student-created piece of choreography Additional Outcomes - Development of own creative process for choreography. Ability to work collaboratively with other creators for a common goal. Students will begin each class with a movement warm up to bring their minds and bodies into the creative space. From there, students will be given various methods for creating and analyzing movement. We will use different strategies such as Overlie's Six Viewpoints (space, story, time, emotion, movement, and shape), Joyce Morgenroth's methods for Dance Improvisation, site-specific creation, and art-to-art creation (movement inspired by student artwork, music, poetry, etc.) to explore develop each child's own creative process. This program will give students the tools to confidently create, analyze and examine their own creations, as well as the ability to appreciate, respect and be inspired by the work of their peers. Students will work individually, in small groups and as a collective to create small works, and one full-length piece to be presented at the end of the year.

SUNSTONE ACADEMY is excited to announce we are offering a middle school program next year. If enrollment allows we will house a grade 6-9 program with a fine arts focus. We have a team of talented professionals who are excited to offer a lively, creative program. Lisa Fanning who has an extensive background in theater in Calgary, AB will be our theater director. Brenna Conrad accompanied by her brilliance will be our music director. The talented Melissa Paige and CDA are crea...ting a creative dance program for Sunstone. Students will have drama, visual art, music and dance throughout the year, with a show or two open to the public. We will share their vibrant biographies shortly, we feel very lucky to have such talented artists working to create this opportunity for the young people of Truro. Our program will follow the Nova Scotia Department of Education curriculum and operate from the same philosophy and aim to create space that honors character development, social justice awareness, wellness, community work and environmental stewardship. If you have an interest in our middle school program, contact us to begin the application process. See more

The proof is in the pudding.

We have been messy and busy these days. We have been extremely lucky with the weather on our outdoor day and have established a winter routine of tracking temperature, weather and our wonders based on those facts in our field journals. We are discovering analog, digital and military time and how to abbreviate the date. The other day we began a demonstration based on the question "why do we have seasons?". Through that conversation we ended up discussing orbit, the solar system, vibration, listened to sounds of the planets and somehow ended discussing Mozart. When children are allowed to wonder it leads us to many unexpected places. The organic flow of curiosity is a beautiful thing to witness.

Happy 2018! Sunstone has some exciting news for the upcoming year.