Sunrise School of Miami
Sunrise Waldorf School Newsletter
A Newsletter for Family & Friends of Sunrise School
 December 2009
Autumn Leaves
Greetings!

December has arrived so fast, it is hard to believe. And with it comes a time of much opportunity to be together and celebrate. The days are short and for the next two weeks, they will continue to be shorter until we arrive on the shortest day of the year: December 21st. On that day the daylight is the shortest and the sun has its lowest arc in the sky.

We all share an awareness of the significance of this time of year, whether we observe the candles of the Hanukkah Menorah or the candles of Kwanzaa's Kinara; the lights on the Christmas tree or the candles on the wreaths in the children's classrooms. Each tradition honors the light in our hearts which shines in spite of outer darkness and when we come together, it spreads from one to the other. Candles, evergreens, feasting and generosity - are echoes of a past that extends many thousands of years further than we ever before imagined.

Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, occurs around this time every year. The placement of Hanukkah is tied to both the lunar and solar calendars. It begins three days before the new moon closest to the Winter Solstice. It commemorates an historic event - the Maccabee's victory over the Greeks and the rededication of the temple at Jerusalem. But the form of this celebration, a Festival of Lights (with candles at the heart of the ritual), makes Hanukkah wonderfully compatible with the other celebrations at this time of year. As a symbolic celebration of growing light and as a commemoration of spiritual rebirth, it also seems closely related to other observances.

"Shall we liken Christmas to the web in a loom? There are many weavers, who work into the pattern the experience of their lives. When one generation goes, another comes to take up the weft where it has been dropped. The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet never begins quite anew. At first, we are not sure that we discern the pattern, but at last we see that unknown to the weavers themselves, something has taken shape before our eyes, and that they have made something very beautiful, something which compels our understanding." - Earl W. Count, 4,000 Years of Christmas

The winter holidays means a time for family and friends. It's a time to give to those in need and also to embrace the seasonal spirit. It's a time to reflect on the past year, our triumphs, our mistakes, or upheavals and our good deeds, a chance to give something personal from you to friends and family, a time to rejoice in the past year and embrace the year to come with good intentions and hope.

Here at Sunrise School of Miami it is a time of reflection which is present in the many festivals that are celebrated with the children. St. Nicholas, the bishop, will be visiting and reading from his golden book to each child, St. Lucia and her crown of candles - visiting each class with a treat to share, Winter Spiral a chance to spiral inward to the light and spread it outward to the world as we set our light in the spiral. All of these times reside deeply, not only in our students, but in our community, as we look with hope to a brave new year.

On behalf of the faculty and staff, we wish you and your families a joyous holiday season and safe travels should you be planning to visit out of state.

With much warmth,

Patricia Russell

Calendar of Events
December
Calendar

December 4th - Visit from St. Nicholas - in school activity
December 5th - Parent Workday - School Beautification Projects
December 6th - Winter Spiral - 6:30PM Outdoors in the courtyard St. Nicholas Day
December 11th - Hanukkah - begins at sundown
December 12th - Open House - Prospective Parents 3:00PM
December 13th - St. Lucia Day
December 14th - St. Lucia Visit - in school student activity
December 18th - Winter Assembly
December 18th - Early Dismissal - Early Childhood 12:30PM, Grade School 1:00PM - Please note there will not be any aftercare on this day
December 19-31 - Winter Holiday - No school

See the Yearly Calendar online - Click Here
December Festivals and Celebrations
Throwing Leaves

In Waldorf schools worldwide, December is a month for celebrations of light. At Sunrise School of Miami we celebrate the Winter Spiral, Saint Nicholas Day and Santa Lucia.

December brings a time for contemplation for what is to come - Advent, from the Latin "to come", is the period including the four Sundays just before Christmas. In the tradition of the Christian churches, one candle is lit each Sunday until the light of four candles heralds the birth of Christ. Yet Advent and even the feast day we now celebrate as Christmas have a far wider traditional context. For thousands of years before Christianity, the Egyptians celebrated the Festival of Osiris, the Celts and Druids held great festivals of fire and light, and the Jewish people celebrated Hanukkah. This holiday has had festival connotations of light and the sun, of the time when winter draws to its close and spring begins. Nearly all cultures have acknowledged the mystery of this moment. At the time of the winter festival, we can recognize that we too will ultimately triumph over the darkness in our lives. The Advent weeks can honor and revere the kingdoms of nature. In the first week attention may be directed to the mineral kingdom. In the second week respect may be given on the plants, in the third week, appreciation may be given to the animal kingdom. Respect for the human being is then the culmination of the fourth week.

Winter Spiral
The Winter Spiral is one of light, movement and symbolic change. A spiral of greens is laid out and decorated with crystals, shells, plants, carved animals representing the kingdoms of nature. Each child walks to the center, carrying an unlit candle, which is lighted from the tall brightly burning candle there. Moving outward the child places the candle somewhere along the spiral pathway, lighting the way.

The Winter Spiral is also perhaps the most deeply moving community festival of the year. Parents and friends are provided the opportunity to watch the children walk the spiral and experience its beauty and the powerful symbolism it provides. The children are asked to honor the mood of quiet contemplation.

St. Nicholas Day
This is a European tradition in which Bishop Nicholas and his mute, Ruppert, visit children. In December, Saint Nicholas will make a visit to the Early Childhood and the grade classes. Golden nuts, Clementines (tangerine) and other treats are left in the children's shoes that are placed outside the classroom. In many traditions, on the eve of his visit children place a shoe outside their door hoping St. Nicholas will leave a treat. During his visit, St. Nicholas shares words of wisdom with each student.

Santa Lucia
This festival is a gift from our second grade students to the entire school. A second grade student, dressed in white as Santa Lucia and wearing a crown aglow with four candles, leads a procession of classmates. The second graders are busy ahead of time helping bake some of the cookies they will share, as the procession travels to all the other classes, including the Early Childhood they serve them with a small cup of hot chocolate.
Martinmas Lantern Walk Update
lantern walk

Thank you to all that helped and participated in the set up and cleaning for our annual Martinmas/Lantern Walk Festival. It is always a beautiful sight to stand apart and watch as the wonderful handmade lanterns parade across the grounds. Our story teller wove a wonderful tale for the children and all enjoyed the wonderful soups, breads and drinks provided by our families. A wonderful tradition to begin with the lanterns would be to place them in the child's bedroom and light it while saying their nightly prayers or as part of their bedtime routine. A warm thank you to all the families that donated items for the Migrant Farm Workers of Homestead, the donations were picked up this week and they were very appreciative of the generosity of our school families.
Thank you again!
News from the classrooms

Miss. Emily Chase-Jacobsen's students are pleased to announce that they are selling beautiful Christmas Wreaths. They will be using Christmas Forest as the company that will be making and shipping these beautiful wreaths from the Pacific Northwest. The class will receive 10% of all sales. The money raised will go toward their class trips Greek Olympics (Tennessee) and camping. To place your order please log on to http://www.christmasforest.com and at checkout be sure to enter the club code of SMIAMI - to ensure that the class will receive credit.

You can further help them out by recommending to family and friends to log on and purchase wreaths - be sure to tell them to use SMIAMI as the club code.

Age of Discovery
The end of November finds our seventh grade students on a journey with their teacher, Miss. Rosana as they begin to look at their geography block from a historical perspective. They will learn about this great art through the visionary eyes of some courageous figures such as Henry the Navigator, Marco Polo and Magellan. The students will begin to understand how politics, religion, and science come together to create important advancements in mankind, while at the same time seeing how the three can often be at odds, creating situations with dire consequences. Their study will also take them to the study of physical geography and culture as well.

North American Geography
Miss. Emily is weaving her students across the great expanse of North America in the fifth grade main lesson this block. The students begin where they left off in fourth grade, where they studied local geography. They will experience the two great spines of mountains on the continent - the Appalachians and the Rockies - the huge 'bread basket' of the Great Plains, and the directional flow of our river system. The students will be studying the states and their boundaries, and will write and present individual state reports. Miss. Emily's students will come to appreciate the varied wonders and gifts of the land through their hand drawn maps, demonstrations and presentations by their classmates.

Measuring the world around them Our third graders are in a math block, which involves measurement and measuring the world around them in every way they can - time, linear measurement, volume, and weight. They apply all four processes to larger numbers. They are working with "carrying" and "borrowing" and to prove their answers. They are practicing their mental math in morning circle, as during the week after math skills class.

Autumn Leaves
The Early Childhood children have been busy making fall leaf headbands. The children used maple leaf cookie cutters and beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, green and purple wool to make their fall leaves. The leaves were made using a wet-felting technique, which the children enjoy and also provides for a wonderful sensory experience using all natural materials, and were placed on felt headbands that they have proudly worn during playtime. The children have also been enjoying the changing colors of the leaves from the "fairy-skirt" tree and spent an afternoon jumping in a huge pile of fallen leaves.

An act of compassion
Our 7th and 8th students were saddened to learn about the teen that had been set on fire, Michael Brewer, and learning that he would be needing much in the way of medical care - organized a bake sale to raise donations that could be sent to help with the growing cost of his care. Some of the 8th grade students reached out into the community for donations of baked items that could be sold in addition to what they made themselves. Whole Foods, in Pinecrest, graciously donated several whole pies and many other items for this noble cause. The students proudly sent a check for almost $300.00 to Neighbors 4 Neighbors (sponsored by Channel 4) - the organization that is overseeing donations on behalf of Michael Brewer. Congratulations to all of these students and their act of compassion.
Conflict Resolution

Conflicts are bound to arise where striving human beings interact. Thus, they are not avoidable and are not necessarily a sign of immaturity. Without conflicts we would fall into a blissful but dulling sleep. Among other things, conflict awakens us - it calls us to consciousness!

Situations of conflict are always opportunities for inner development and growth. We should not therefore fear conflict but must see and trust that everything that comes to us has a reason and purpose designed to further our individual and social development. When a conflict is truly well resolved, the relationship is stronger and better than it was before the problem.

These principles being part of the Mission Statement that every parent agreed to when enrolling their child at the school, are not only principles that will make our small community life easier, but can be applied outside of the community. With the end of the Fall Term fast approaching, perhaps a review of your Parent Handbook can make us flow more freely in our small yet big spirited circle.
Thank You!

As a community we have been very busy the past few months. We would like to express words of gratitude to our involved parent body and a striving, caring Faculty. We often don't point things out for the fear that we will miss someone. If I have missed you, I hope I recognize that and speak my gratitude freely at the next opportunity. I would like to recognize all the parents that showed up for the last parent workday and the ones planning to come out on December 5th, to the many parents who donated for our garden and playground improvements - Al Cazzoli and Annette Palaez, Ludmilla and Tom DeFaria, Esther Sampedro. To Yvonne Arias for all of her hard work at the various Home Depot stores for donations of air conditioners, to Emmi Lappaiainen for starting the Parent Craft group and making the beautiful Advent Wreaths along with Cecilia Staubli, Irina Toyne, and Liseth Guadagno that will grace our classroom Nature Tables during December.

Sunrise School of Miami
phone: (305) 274-6562
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