The Image Emerges
As promised in the October 7, 2021 blog: The Facility Vision Timeline, here is the first imagery of the Blu Sky Observatory shared back...
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Mary Jo Dyre
- Oct 19, 2021
Perpetual Up-cycling
The day I first met with the parents of Jess, our former student, now a member of the Learning Center staff, I quickly concluded that...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Oct 14, 2021
Back to Preschool
As our architect James Hanis first shared imagery of Blu Sky Observatory with me starting in October 2019, he simultaneously began to...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Oct 11, 2021
The Big Picture Vision for this Writer
I realized recently that several of my readers have questions: Why do you share the many stories that tell The Learning Center story on...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Oct 7, 2021
The Facility Vision Timeline
October 2019: The first image of "Blu Sky Observatory " was shared by James Hanis, Architect, with Mary Jo Dyre, Educator. ( I will...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Oct 5, 2021
Entrepreneur in the Making
Eli Sylvester recently got my attention as I experienced first-hand this young entrepreneur in action. In August, Eli joined his father,...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 30, 2021
Facility Dream + E-STEAM
Over the course of 2017-2019 the facility dream, designed by Architect James Hanis and driven by The Learning Center approach to...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 28, 2021
The Pressley Twins
I remember the day these amazing twins enrolled in The Learning Center. Their Appalachian roots run deep in these beautiful Blue Ridge...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 23, 2021
PROJECT BLU SKY: EARLY PLANNING
The immersion planning stage of PROJECT BLU SKY officially began in spring 2017. Correspondence with James Hanis, Architect, continued...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 21, 2021
May the Circle Be Unbroken
Learning Center students inevitably move on. Nothing pleases us more, however, than to have some of our former students find their way...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 16, 2021
The Think Tank Homework
Long before this inspiring graphic was created to capture Project Blu Sky, a team came together forming an in-house Strategic Planning...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 14, 2021
Endless Lessons from Nature
Their talk is never loud as they walk along with their teacher in T.O.L.C. (The Outdoor Learning Center).I am reminded of the sacred way...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 9, 2021
PROJECT BLU SKY: Part 2: Architect + Artist
Within a few days of first meeting with the architect who showed up, unexpectedly to say the least, in the parking lot of The Learning...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 7, 2021
Surprised by a Former Student
I walked into the renovation site early hoping to shoot a couple of pictures before the workers arrived. Across the big expanse, I could...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Sep 2, 2021
PROJECT BLU SKY
Late December 2016 brought James Hanis, NCARB certified architect, to North Carolina to visit friends in Asheville and Murphy who had...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Aug 31, 2021
The Best Teachers Find Us
Louise Smith, Kindergarten Teacher Extraordinaire at The Learning Center Charter School, shares her story. "I have always wanted to be a...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Aug 26, 2021
Project Blu Sky Story
I would not have said even a week ago that the time has come to split my blog writing between the ongoing chronicles of The Learning...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Aug 24, 2021
Got Fiber?
There are so many steps in turning the ballroom of an old hotel into innovative learning space for The Learning Center's 7th-9th grades....
Mary Jo Dyre
- Aug 19, 2021
Forever Home to a Giant
During Ian's Learning Center years, we watched a preschooler grow into a giant of a young man. Yes, his physical build served him well...
Mary Jo Dyre
- Aug 17, 2021
School and Parents TOGETHER
Education works best when the school and parents are working together. Learning Center teachers and staff appreciate parents who are...
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