UPCOMING EVENTS
What People Are Saying
“The retreat served to rejuvenate or reinvigorate my purpose in education. We took time to reflect on our particular gifts and how we can channel them in our roles. The agenda was well planned, giving us plenty of time to connect with one another in meaningful discussions, sharing honestly in a safe space, and listening sincerely in return. Both spoken word and silence, words from the wise as well as our own were valued. It refreshed mind, body, and spirit!”
— Participant from Exploring the Inner Teacher Retreat (Feb 2023)
“This retreat allowed me to take a pause and focus on myself, and reflect on how my sense of self impacts how I show up in my roles at work. I was able to connect with others and myself in authentic ways and came away from the experience with a better understanding of myself and my identity as an educator.”
— Participant from Exploring the Inner Teacher Retreat (Feb 2023)
“This retreat was so very helpful to me because I was able to discover and think through ideas and challenges I had not thought before this retreat. Considering what is true to being authentic of oneself is inspiring and has motivated me to incorporate more of my true self into my work, with my colleagues, and with my students. I cannot image becoming an even happier self at work than how I am currently feeling! There are so many struggles, stressors, and family guilt we all hold and bottle in. This weekend has sparked my biggest "WHY" I do what I do and "WHY" I continue to push on.”
— Participant from Exploring the Inner Teacher Retreat (Sept 2023)
Growing, Adapting, and Thriving with Courage: A Circle of Trust® Seasonal Courage to Teach® Retreat Series
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Join us for a series of 4-weekend retreats as we explore the changing seasons in nature and in our own lives. Practice listening to your inner wisdom, the natural world, and the stories of others in a community of trust. Encourage and embolden your authentic self to show up fully in your life and work. Embrace your core identity and strengthen your integrity so that you will thrive through times of stability and in times of change in all aspects of your personal and professional lives.
REGISTER HERE
DATES OF THE 4-WEEKEND RETREAT SERIES:
Santa Sabina Center, San Rafael, CA:
March 1-3, 2024
October 18-20, 2024
Villa Maria Del Ma, Santa Cruz, CA
January 17-19, 2025
April 11-13, 2025
*Each Retreat begins Friday at 4:00 pm and ends Sunday at 1:00 pm
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
This Courage to Teach® Circle of Trust® retreat series offers four weekends of reflection, renewal and rejuvenation. A cohort of 20-24 people will create our Circle of Trust® community over five seasons and in two different landscapes. Together we will draw inspiration from the changing seasons in order to reflect, renew, re-inspire, and re-engage in our professional and personal lives.
You can expect time in solitude and in community; time to speak from your heart and to listen as others speak from theirs; seasonal, thought-provoking, and heart-inspiring excerpts of essays, poetry, art, nature, photography, and music from a variety of sources.
Throughout each weekend, you will be invited to engage in honest self-reflection and to increase your capacity to listen to yourself and to others more deeply. Everything we will offer is by way of invitation, not demand. Our expectation is that you will participate in ways that are life-affirming for you. Everyone is welcome, regardless of previous Circle of Trust® experience.
In a time when stress and pressure on teachers and administrators continue to rise because of internal and external demands, Courage to Teach® provides educators with an opportunity for rest, renewal, and re-engagement with their identity and integrity as teachers. The program, originally conceived by esteemed educator Parker J. Palmer, and supported by the Center for Courage and Renewal, offers educators an opportunity to reflect on the inner dimensions of teaching and leading.
VENUE DETAILS:
Santa Sabina Center, 25 Magnolia Avenue, San Rafael, CA, USA
March 1-3, 2024 and October 18-20, 2024
Santa Sabina Center is a lovely contemplative space nestled in a wooded hillside just north of San Francisco. Comfortable meeting rooms look out over beautiful gardens. Other areas include an incredibly well-stocked meditative art space, a calm and quiet inner courtyard, several private outdoor seating areas, a chapel, a small bookstore, and a library. Meals are lovingly prepared and served three times a day, with coffee and tea available all day long. Santa Sabina is located in a lovely, walk-able neighborhood near the Dominican University of San Rafael.
Villa Maria del Mar, 21918 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
January 17-19, 2025 and April 11-13,2025
Villa Maria Del Mar is a beautiful and serene house of hospitality, located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Cruz, California. Comfortable meeting spaces, serene outdoor areas, and beach access make this a one-of-a-kind retreat experience. Meals feature locally sourced and organic food, where possible, and are served in a dining room with an incomparable panoramic ocean view. Coffee and tea are available all day long. Also on site are a meditation room, library, and chapel.
LODGING and FOOD PREFERENCES:
All rooms are single occupancy unless otherwise requested. Upon registering, you will receive a Google Form to complete regarding your lodging preferences and Dietary Needs.
EVENT SCHEDULE DETAILS:
Please plan to check in at 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon. We will meet at 5:00 p.m. for welcome and orientation, break for dinner, and meet again until about 9:00 p.m.
Breakfast will be served at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. We will meet all day (9:00 am -9:00 pm) in our large group, small groups, and in solitude, with breaks for lunch, extended afternoon quiet time, and dinner. There will be an optional and informal social gathering after our evening session concludes.
Breakfast will be served at 8:00 am on Sunday and we will begin again at 9:00 am. We will conclude around 12:00 p.m. and share lunch together before heading home.
COST:
$3000 (cash price)
$3100 (credit card price)
50% is due upon registration, and the remaining 50% is due prior to March 1st.
CANCELATION POLICY:
50% of the registration fee will be refunded if cancellation is requested (by emailing facilitators) by January 1, 2024. No refunds will be issued after that date.
SCHOLARSHIPS:
Partial Scholarships may be available. Please inquire with Teri and Rona before registering. We will ask you for some additional information.
COVID POLICY:
At the time of this posting, Santa Sabina Center requires proof of full COVID vaccination (including booster). Mask mandates will be at the discretion of the Center, depending on COVID conditions at the time of the retreat. You will receive a welcome letter a few weeks in advance of the retreat weekend clarifying these details.
Because our Villa Maria dates are in 2025, we will notify participants of the COVID policy as the dates approach. Assume that they will be the same as Santa Sabina’s.
REGISTER HERE
Teri O’Donnell M.Ed. spent nearly 30 years as a high school Biology teacher, encouraging students to explore the science and beauty of all living things. Trained by the Center for Courage & Renewal, Teri facilitates Circles of Trust® retreats, providing deep reflection and renewal for teachers. Teri has also guided online circles for Forum for Teacher Well-being at Millennium. Email: Teriodonnell6@gmail.com.
Rona Zollinger, Ph.D. For 25 years, she has integrated transformative learning, place-based education, career exploration, and outdoor play into the lives of young people as a high school teacher, mentor, industry partnership developer, program director, and agent of change. Alongside her daily work in public education, she supports the development of K14 career pathways that lead to self-sustaining, liveable wages in the Bay Area. In all her work, she focuses on building school, community, and career connections, relational trust within adult work environments, real-life learning, and projects that build connection, creativity, and healing in schools. Email: ronazollinger@gmail.com
See full bios on Facilitators page
A Circle of Trust as Sanctuary: A vibrant place for our souls to show up
Taking an inner journey toward rejoining soul and role requires a rare but real form of community that I call a “circle of trust.” —Parker J. Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness
A circle symbolizes equality, wholeness, and open space for movement and interaction. Trust embraces, awakens and invites our true self to inner reflection and courageous sharing. In this introductory retreat we are invited to create a circle of trust together.
Just as circle has a center and a circumference this retreat will flow in and out, from focusing on our inner teacher to listening to the wisdom of others in our circle. We will be introduced to the Touchstones, the blueprint of how a circle of trust is created. There will be significant time for silence and for reflecting on stories from our own journeys, as well as insights from poets, storytellers, and musicians. We will practice learning how to respond to someone’s sharing with open and honest questions rather than judgment or advice.
We create this circle/sanctuary to renew our courageous spirit and cultivate the stamina to keep showing up for ourselves, others, and the causes we care about.
You can find more information about the Center for Courage & Renewal® at www.couragerenewal.org.
Meet your facilitators
Alan Claassen is a Courage & Renewal® Facilitator prepared by the Center for Courage & Renewal®. He has long believed that the arts open pathways to our heart and soul, and move us to be compassionate toward all creation. In the Circle of Trust approach to personal authenticity and social responsibility, developed by the Center for Courage and Renewal®, Alan has found a practice that brings together his love of creativity, people, and non-violence. He and his beloved partner now live in Vancouver, Washington where they enjoy kayaking, hiking, and attending music concerts and modern dance performances.
Troy Brunke, M.S, applied the transformative experiences from Courage & Renewal® work to discern a career change from healthcare to the world of education in 2017. He is loving his work as a School Psychologist at the Salinas City Elementary School District, and currently in the final stages of becoming a Facilitator for the Center for Courage and Renewal. His free time finds him singing Bach, thumping an upright bass or bowing a Viola da Gamba in small ensembles throughout the Monterey Peninsula. Troy lives in Marina, California with his husband, their cat “Rocco” and a backyard chicken, named “Ova”.
Location: All Saints' Episcopal Church. 9th Avenue & Dolores Street, Carmel, California 93921,
Cost: $185. A light lunch will be provided, with vegetarian options. There are scholarships available so that cost is not a deterrence to attendance.
Troy is the retreat registrar. Email: brunkedc@gmail.com Phone: 831/521-0310
Please register by Friday, April 26, 2024.