Juniper Hill School’s End-of-the-Year Celebration’s culminating event on June 17 was the planting of a sugar maple tree on the site of its proposed expansion.

The day opened three hours earlier when families and friends met, ate and shared in the beauty of the grounds of the school. Children from families entering September 2012 easily joined in play and exploration with the currently enrolled children.

Anne Stires, the director and co-teacher with Zoe Foster, then called everyone together for a gratitude ceremony where she recognized and thanked individuals and groups for their contributions to the school. The parents in turn thanked Stires and Foster for their vision and tireless efforts. The celebration concluded with an extensive slide show of the year’s activities. The slides showcased the children’s involvement with nature, as well as their academic experiences and social activities.

Juniper Hill School is a place-based, pre- and elementary school in Alna on Golden Ridge Road, serving 4- to 8-year-olds (preK through second grade). Founded in the fall of 2011, Juniper Hill will add a grade each subsequent year, culminating in a preK-eight school.

Juniper Hill School is continuing to accept enrollment applications for the fall in all programs, including a five-day school program, a three-day pre-school program, and two single-day nature immersion programs for preschool and homeschooled children.

Using an integrated curriculum, immersion in the natural world and social understanding, the School strives to create peaceful, creative, loving children who are becoming masters of their own learning and actively helping to make their community and the world a better place.