{"id":9216,"date":"2017-10-26T15:00:21","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/2017\/10\/26\/clonlara-school-marks-a-golden-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2017-10-26T15:00:21","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T15:00:21","slug":"clonlara-school-marks-a-golden-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/2017\/10\/26\/clonlara-school-marks-a-golden-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Clonlara School Marks a Golden Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kevin Fitzgerald,<\/em>\u00a0Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

Clonlara School celebrated its 50th anniversary in a two-day event that brought together guests from across the United States and as far away as Japan. The festivities included a proclamation presented by Ann Arbor City Council Member Kirk Westphal on behalf of Mayor Christopher Taylor that showcased the school\u2019s decades-long commitment to letting its students\u2019 interests guide their learning.<\/p>\n

Day One: 50th Anniversary Party<\/h3>\n

The free, public celebration on Saturday, Sept. 30, saw a crowd that filled the building and grounds of Clonlara\u2019s Jewett Avenue location. Guests enjoyed a bounce house, face painting, and \u201cDrummunity<\/a>\u201d circle led by Lori Fithian; and participated in a tree-planting ceremony commemorating Clonlara\u2019s deep roots in Ann Arbor and subsequent growth into a global school that now serves students in 40 countries through its Campus, Off-Campus, and Online Programs. Founder Pat Montgomery debuted and signed her new book titled The School That\u2019s Inside You<\/em><\/a>, and a silent auction was held to benefit Clonlara\u2019s scholarship fund.<\/p>\n

Day Two: 50th Anniversary Brunch<\/h3>\n

On Sunday, Oct. 1, a more intimate gathering of Clonlara students, families, staff, and other supporters representing the past 50 years met for brunch at Zingerman\u2019s Greyline. Keynote speaker Patrick Farenga\u2014a writer, publisher, and leading voice for homeschooling and self-directed education\u2014emphasized the significance of Clonlara staying true to its founding vision throughout the years. \u201cPat\u2019s sensitivity to the context and the personalities of the learners in her school and her programs is so unusual compared to today\u2019s standardized, point-click-and-rate education,\u201d said Farenga. \u201c[Her] knowledge and generosity have directly helped thousands of adults and children learn in their own ways for 50 years, and the team she handed her legacy to at Clonlara continues this important work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The festive weekend culminated with a rousing performance by Jeremy Kittel<\/a>, a former Clonlara student who is now an award-winning violinist and fiddler, accompanied by cellist Nathaniel Smith.<\/p>\n

Thank You!<\/h3>\n

Chandra Montgomery Nicol, Clonlara\u2019s executive director and first student, thanked the event sponsors for making the celebration possible, and made a pledge on behalf of the staff to nurture and protect Clonlara School far into the future.<\/p>\n

Clonlara gratefully acknowledges the following partners for their sponsorship of this special weekend: ACE Digital Academy<\/a>, Aprill Insurance<\/a>, DKSS CPAs+Advisors<\/a>, Art French, and Kristine and Ray Iglesis.<\/p>\n

Whether or not you were able to attend, we welcome your memories and stories. Tell us about your connection to Clonlara in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kevin Fitzgerald,\u00a0Editor Clonlara School celebrated its 50th anniversary in a two-day event that brought together guests from across the United States and as far away as Japan. The festivities included a proclamation presented by Ann Arbor City Council Member Kirk Westphal on behalf of Mayor Christopher Taylor that showcased the school\u2019s decades-long commitment to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}