Family Traditions

—By The Prairie School Faculty

The Prairie community is close. To some, it even feels like a family. And like any family, Prairie has its share of customs that have been passed down over the years, habits that have formed into institutional markers, traditions that have brought us closer together. From glassblowing to graduation, members of the school’s faculty share a few of their favorites in the pages that follow.

TRADITION: GLASSBLOWING

—By Barb Volbrecht, Communication Manager

You’re probably well aware of the role glassblowing has played in Prairie’s artistic evolution. However, you might not know the medium’s start here was anything but smooth.

“Back in the old days, the furnace was breaking down all the time,” remembers Bill Reid ’73, Prairie’s Artist-In-Residence. “We had problems with the mechanics of it. There were so few, probably nobody knew how to put it together.”

America’s Studio Glass movement began in Madison in the 1960’s and Dave Drewek, legendary TPS art teacher, brought the activity to Prairie shortly thereafter. [A] “They basically started glass here when the movement was just beginning. It was trial and error, self-taught,” says Holly WolfMattick, Glassblowing Studio Manager.

And the materials students used back then weren’t the greatest. “We used to get glass from Uncle Hurricane in West Virginia or something. It was pretty crummy,” Reid says. “…where you had to get (out) the cigarette butts,” adds Wolf-Mattick.

In those early days it was common for Drewek to repurpose materials like floor sweepings from local factories for classroom projects. The teachers weren’t picky...just innovative. And from those humble beginnings, fueled by determination and dirty glass, Drewek and fellow art stalwart Kevin Pearson turned Prairie into a hotbed of creativity, a place where expression is encouraged and individuality is embraced.

Today, Prairie students have any number of mediums with which to create – drawing, painting, printmaking, fiber, metal relief, ceramics, sculpture, mixed media, photography, digital design, 3D printing and laser Glowforge – but

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the magic unfolding inside the Dave M. Drewek Glassblowing Studio continues to captivate everyone on campus.

Students in 3rd and 4th Grade use the studio to create a glass fossil project where molten glass is dripped onto nature items they’ve gathered; in Middle School students use the studio to create everything from sun catchers to blown ornaments, learning about techniques like hot casting, solid working, glassblowing, and coldworking; students in Upper School can enroll in a dedicated Glassblowing Studio elective, which many do. Several times.

“It’s a nice, small class so students get a lot of hands-on time,” says Wolf- Mattick.

Even in this day and age of cell phones and waning attention spans, it’s common, Wolf-Mattick says, for students to catch the “glass bug,” an affliction many students cure by spending their free time fusing, slumping, and kilncasting, furthering a legacy started nearly sixty years ago.

MULTICULTURAL FAIR

—By Austin Gundlach, Assistant Director of Advancement

Community is a cornerstone of Prairie’s mission. The Multicultural Fair is a true celebration of diversity that makes Prairie such a unique home. Walking through the library, you will visit dozens of different countries, learning about their cultures, holidays, and best of all...their cuisine. Students and families come to proudly share their rich heritage with eager students and faculty alike.

BUDDY PROGRAM

—By McKenzie Weaver, Director of the SRC/Librarian

Buddy activities bring our diverse student body and learning together. Big and little, young and old(er), buddy activities at Prairie unite students in a singular purpose to benefit not only the Prairie community but the larger Racine area. By reading together, carving pumpkin, making cards for veterans and seniors, and playing games, student buddies create bonds across divisions that increase feelings of being known and valued. There are few things more heartwarming than seeing a third-grade student’s beaming smile when acting as an older buddy for the first time or watching an Upper School student listen to the creative ideas of their sixth-grade buddy. Our warm, understanding, mission-driven community is what makes Prairie unique, and buddy activities are special examples.

tradition \ tr -’di-sh n \ An inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior. e e

OPENING DAY

—By Molly Lofquist Johnson, Sr. Director of Admission

Laughing children, happy parents; crying children, nervous parents – emotions run deep on Opening Day! Regardless of the specific family, excitement in the school is palpable. It’s almost as though the building has been holding its breath over the summer months. From the crisp, colorful bulletin boards in the Primary School, to the sounds of wooden lockers banging shut in the Middle School, to Upper School students claiming space in their grade-specific “coves,” Opening Day is by far my favorite tradition!

FIELD DAY

—By Brendan J. O’Brien, Director of Communication

We all know going to Prairie is awesome. However, the last day of school is still the last day of school and summer is still summer. Every Field Day, the excitement of that glorious freedom – just hours away – manifests itself in the form of giggles and screams and you-can’t-catch-me’s as students streak across campus. Home run derby, relay races, tag, water balloons, popsicles. It’s all here. A sweet reward for an awesome year mixed together with the mystery and allure of what summer has in store, all of it experienced with a community that is so good at finding ways to grow closer.

PRESENTING DIPLOMAS

—By Amber Hearn, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

All traditions have to start somewhere, and I’m hopeful the new trend of graduates choosing a family member to present their diploma sticks around for a while. You can feel the intensity of the emotion – the joy, the pride, the happiness, the connection – passing between graduate and presenter as the student marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

SENIOR SEND-OFF

—By Aliya Pitts, Chief Advancement Officer

All of the events that bring our entire student body together are special, but my favorite is, hands down, Senior Send-Off. I love seeing our graduates decked out in their college gear, and hearing their friends - many of whom have known one another for fifteen years - talk about them during the slideshow afterwards is equal parts funny and touching. There’s so much joy in watching our younger students high-five the big kids walking down the path that symbolizes their launch from Prairie into the real world.

The icing on the cake is when one of our graduates stops and thanks a former teacher from Primary or Middle School, someone who shaped them or helped them or challenged them years ago. Senior Send-Off epitomizes some of the best things about TPS: care for those around us, the importance of celebrating one another, the power of long-standing relationships, and the excitement of taking the next big leap with your community cheering you on.

HALLOWEEN PARADE

—By Callie Atanasoff, Director of External Relations You hear the drum before you see it. A rhythmic thump-thump-thump, sometimes joined by the shake of a tambourine. And then, around the corner comes a wisp of iridescent fabric from a princess gown. Or the fuzzy paws of a teddy bear. Or the hollow eyes of a ghost. Prairie’s Halloween Parade is one of my favorite traditions - a time for every student, particularly those in Primary School, to pull out their inner superhero or fairytale character and traipse through the hallways for all to admire. They are always met with “oohs” and “ahhs” and nothing could be sweeter than the Early School students bringing up the rear. It doesn’t get better than a four-year-old asking if you like their Tinkerbell wings or Avengers shield. The answer, of course, is always “yes.”