Wednesday, May 8, 2013

What will summer bring?


West Marin Freeschool has a summer re-launch waiting in the wings...

The best way to stay in the loop with all the most current news and happenings in the West Marin Freeschool network is to join the email list. We send out an email with class descriptions and other important info regularly, and in order to respect your inbox, no more than once a week.

Sign up now by sending an email to: june@westmarinfreeschool.org

To learning! 

Friday, January 25, 2013

Now Accepting Class Proposals for Spring 2013

Nice to see you here on the other side of this new year...
West Marin Freeschool is gearing up to, once again, host your classes this Spring. The next quarter runs from March-May 2013, so get your class proposal together, fill in the form here, and let's get to sharing!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Exciting developments in the works 

for West Marin Freeschool!


One of the greatest challenges to the viability of WMFS has been in finding no-cost hosting spaces for our teachers. It will bring great relief to the foundation of the network, as well as great delight, to be able to offer a consistent option for meeting space, classroom, and outdoor lands, to support lifelong learning. 

An exceptional schoolhouse for children 

& multi-genterational lifelong learning


West Marin Free School founder June McCrory has been working for many months with visionary entrepreneur Alden Bevington to lay the groundwork for a new children's K-6th grade school in Inverness. 
During weekdays, Inverness Valley School will be a uniquely exceptional learning grounds for Kindergarten through 6th graders, built from best practices of a number of time-tested pedagogies (detailed here). 
In the evening and off-school hours, the schoolhouse will be a community continuing learning center,  as home and convening place for the West Marin Freeschool. 


Supported by the foundation of an Educational Land Trust 


Inverness Valley School founders and advisors are working to fundraise to purchase a specific piece of property in West Marin, California, which is now on the market. The intention is to hold this land in an educational land trust so that the learning environment is preserved for the community for generations to come. 


Learn more about how lifelong learning is 

building a home base in West Marin at 

http://invl.org 

Offer your support and help by calling (415) 323-8803. 




Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Stay Current! Join the WMFS Mailing List

The best way to stay in the loop with all the most current news and happenings in the West Marin Freeschool network is to join the email list. We send out an email with class descriptions and other important info regularly, and in order to respect your inbox, no more than once a week. 

Sign up now by sending an email to: june@westmarinfreeschool.org 

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Spring Calendar

Here's a teaser, to prompt you to view or pick up a calendar at various West Marin establishments.
We try to keep some at Pt Reyes Library, Toby's Feed Barn, Tomales Bay Foods, The Blackbird Cafe in Inverness, The Bolinas Community Center, Library, and People's Store, and on the Freeschool Panels on the Grandi Building in Downtown Pt Reyes. Its got a handy tide chart too : )
Enjoy! 

Monday, February 20, 2012

WMFS Spring Fundraising Drive: Using all of our resources (including money) to establish sustainable networks beyond the modern monetary system.

The paradox of asking for money to support a mission that revolves around creating moneyless systems is a rich one. In recognition of this paradox, I would like to share one point that has, in recent months, become crystal clear for me: In order to continue and thrive through this time of transition, we must ensure that every one of our skills, talents and tools is actively in use. I have found this assertion to be true on many levels- from personal to global. Undeniably, money is still one of our most effective and powerful tools, especially when used in conjunction with our incredible collective skill set, values and wisdom.


Incongruent as it may seem, we intend to walk this line of contradiction consciously and mindfully, to an ends that is different than where we are today. And in this way, a lot of good can be done with a relatively small amount of dollars.


The WMFS mission is an evolving document, and it has changed as our work has become more and more clear. What seems to be emerging through WMFS (and many other projects, locally and across the planet), are networks in which people are able to collaborate and tap into the wealth of the whole, in ways that are nurturing, sustaining and healthy.


Amazing. It certainly takes a village. I'm glad I'm living in this little one called Earth. Here's to sharing with friends and neighbors!


Thank you kindly for your support.

Warm Regards,

West Marin Freeskool


Donations may be mailed to:

PO Box 683

Point Reyes Station, CA 94956


Please make checks out to our fiscal sponsor Mow&Sow. Your donation to WMFS is tax-deductable. Please include a SASE if you would like a receipt.


Our goal in the next month is to raise $3000 for the coming quarter (That's $300 for calendar design and layout, $300 for printing, $1500 stipend for administration, plus an additional one-time cost of $750 for a new website, and $150 to go towards class materials, fees and other misc.)

Consider this, your tax-deductible donation of:

$10 will allow for the printing and distribution of a small stack of spring calendars. When you see them out and about you can smile and think to yourself, I helped get those there!

$25 could help a local teacher pay for the rental of a community space, giving them the means to host a class that they otherwise may not have been able to.

$50 will compensate a wonderful individual for over two hours of data entry or email correspondence, crucial to the framework of the project- and crucial to our good eating habits ;-)

$75 will cover one tenth of the cost for our new website and help a lovable local web designer pay his rent.

$100 will cover one third of the cost to design the spring calendar. When you see it, you can really own any complaints about what you may not like about it, since you helped make it happen. Just kidding, it's going to be gorgeous!

And onwards and upwards! You get the idea. Your donations will be immediately put to work, and benefit the community directly through improved access to learning and skill sharing, as well as compensating the good work efforts of real local people. We'll keep you posted on how we're progressing on meeting our fundraising goal through regular emails (if you're not on the freeskool email list, now would be a great time to sign up atwmfreeskool@gmail.com).


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Now Accepting Class Proposals for Spring Quarter! MARCH through MAY 2012

Sign up to teach!
What would you like to gain better understanding of?
The answer to this question holds the perfect theme of your Freeskool offering.

Deadline for Spring quarter class applications is Sunday, February 5th.
We're looking for classes, workshops and gatherings dedicated to, but not limited to:

communication and facilitation
safe space for open dialog
handcrafts, wood and metal working
fiber arts and crafts
fine arts and music
gardening and permaculture
social architecture and circle systems
dance and creative expression
exercise and fitness
food preparation and preserving
strengthening knowledge of self

The other requisites are that the class is free (sometimes it's acceptable to request small donations for materials or fees but no one may be turned away for lack of funds), supports community building and encourages personal growth.

You decide when, where and how often your class meets (Spring Quarter runs March-May 2012). You decide how you teach and what the format is. You decide who the class is for (adults/ children/ all ages/ men only/ women only/ couples/ etc.) You will be asked to do a certain amount of your own promotion, the extent of which will be determined by your energy and dedication to creating a successful draw, and attend one Teacher Orientation at the beginning of the quarter.
If you don't see your idea here, feel free to make a proposal. We'll let you know if, for some reason, we don't think it's a great match with freeskool. And even if we decide not to publish your class in the calendar, there's nothing stopping you from hosting and promoting your class on your own.

To get started, simply fill out the form HERE, or follow the TEACH link at the top of this page.
It will guide you through all of the details that we need to publish your class through the West Marin Freeskool quarterly calendar. And feel free to reach out to us if you could use a suggestion or two. We aren't all-knowing, but have learned a few tricks over the past year.

Remember, the deadline for Spring quarter class applications is Friday, February 3rd.

Warm wishes,
june and west marin freeskool

PS Pass it on! Please feel free to extend the invitation to host a class to friends, neighbors, relatives and by all means use it as an excuse to approach mysterious and clearly intelligent strangers.