September 13, 2010Dear , Please enjoy the first Connection of the 2010-11 school year. Here you will find all the latest SWS news and information. The Connection will be delivered to your email inbox every two weeks. 
  Welcome to the 2010-11
School Year!
by Nettie Fabrie & Geraldine Kline
Here we are, entering our 30th year of Waldorf education in
Seattle with 368 students - 30 Parent & Tot families, 32 preschoolers, 58
kindergartners, 182 grade school students, 67 high school students - and 64
faculty (including teachers and staff members). We are delighted to open the
school year with so many returning and new friends! |
 Accreditation
Our mission is clear: "We educate our students
to be free human beings who impart purpose and meaning to their lives, who meet
life with courage, and respond with initiative and creativity to the needs of
the world and their fellow human beings," and the path before us is inspiring. Our Accreditation visit will take
place from October 17th through the 20th, with a team of 10 members from PNAIS
(Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools) and AWSNA (Association
of Waldorf Schools of North America) visiting the whole school and assessing
whether we actually do what we say we do in the Self-Study we completed this
past June. (You can read the self-study via this link:) We are very proud of our accomplishments
and look forward to showing our wonderful school to our visitors!
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Tent City
As
you walk around the grade school neighborhood, you may notice signs regarding a
Tent City project which Maple Leaf Lutheran Church is poised to vote about on
September 19. As a school and neighbor, we met with the church pastor and
project team members. We shared our concerns for the safety of our students and
our campus. We will participate in the community meeting on September 14 at the
Meadowbrook Community Center. We
sincerely hope for and work towards supporting an amicable outcome for this
neighborhood project.
All of us are ready for another year of accomplishments and progress,
and will keep you updated as projects are shaped and unfold. We look forward to
yet another year of close collaboration with you all, for the benefit of the
children and the harmony of our school community.
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 Computer & Server Upgrades
During the next week our computers and server will be
upgraded. We have a plan to
continue our work without interruption, but some tasks may take us a little
longer than usual. We appreciate
your understanding.
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Welcome Back from the Parent Association:
Parent Social
Despite the rain, there was a warm fuzzy feeling under the canopies at the Seattle Waldorf School's parent social this past Wednesday morning. It was a great time of getting reacquainted with moms and dads we may not have seen over the summer, as well as an opportunity to meet and encourage parents who have students new to our Waldorf school this year. If you missed this event due to scheduling conflicts, never fear: more opportunities to socialize and create connections will be upcoming. Read on and stay tuned to this bi-weekly newsletter for further details. A huge thank-you to those who contributed muffins and cookies and fruit, etc! Your efforts were appreciated by many. |
Testing: Another Way to
Share the School Calendar
You have let us know that a calendar of upcoming events is a useful part of our email newsletter. We have found that it takes a surprising amount of staff time to format our online calendar to make it fit gracefully into the newsletter, and that the transfer of information easily generates errors. We would like to try out another route for getting the calendar of upcoming events to your inbox - directly from our online calendar. A little bit later today all of you should receive an email from [email protected] with the SWS events calendar for the next month.
We would love to hear your feedback about this.
Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2fdlnaq
You can see the survey entries here: http://tinyurl.com/2f37vd7
Thank you for helping us try out a way to streamline our work! |
Why Go to the Parent Association Meeting
on Tuesday, September 14?
If you are a parent at SWS, you are automatically a member of the Parent Association and welcome to attend our monthly meetings. You will have a chance to meet other parents, enjoy some delicious snacks and help us plan our activities for the year. All are welcome! |
 Back to School Night
Thursday, September 23, 7 to
9 pm
Grade School, 2nd Floor, Huckleberry Hall
Meet our board members, teachers, and staff as we begin our 30th year and enjoy a preview of the year to come. |
More Streamlining:
Goodbye Blog, For Now
We find ourselves unable to maintain the blog in the way that it should be maintained - by supplying new content three or more times a week. For now, we will let the blog rest until a time when we may be able to do it justice. The link can still be found online if you search for "Seattle Waldorf" and "Blog", but we will not continue having the direct link on our website for the time being. You can still find us on Facebook, and we encourage you to become friends! |
Michaelmas Family Celebration:
High School Also Invited!
Saturday, October 2, at 5 pm
Grade School, 2nd Floor, Huckleberry Hall
Join in the Michaelmas Harvest Family Celebration! Enjoy food, a dragon play, and family dance. Bring soup, salad, bread, or dessert to share in the family potluck, as well as your own plates, bowls, silverware, napkins, and a blanket to sit on. Remember to bring your dancing self! Music will be provided by Laurie Andres and there will be a caller for the contra/square dances.
Seeking Actors for Michaelmas Play!
Come one, come all! Perform in the family Michaelmas Festival celebration on
Saturday, October 2. We have a script
for the Michaelmas play, and are
looking for actors (or 'wanna be actors') to bring the script to life! All are welcome - high school students,
parents, faculty! Please contact
Cindy Scheyer for more information.
[email protected] Tel 206-545-1955 
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Paid Position! Parent
Association Volunteer Coordinator Wanted Get to know the SWS parent body and earn some extra income! This is a part-time position that is being offered by the Parent Association.
The goal of this position is to grow parent involvement through active connection with parents.
Skills Needed: personable, outgoing, organized, project management. Computer skills a must - Excel, computer and web savvy.
The role includes coordinating volunteers for the family Michaelmas celebration, Winter Faire, and May Faire. The Volunteer Coordinator is expected to attend the monthly Parent Association meetings and provide on-going volunteer management for various other events throughout the school year.
Estimated hours would be 20 hours per month for 10 months in addition to 40 hours for May Faire, 40 hours for Winter Faire, and 10 hours for Michaelmas. Total pay for the part-time position is $2,900. This position is funded by the Parent Association.
For a complete job description or if you are interested, please contact Shelly McSweyn in the school office 206-524-5320 [email protected], or Cindy Scheyer at [email protected]. |
Chinook Book Alert!
The SWS Parent Association will be selling Chinook Books this fall as a fundraiser. If you're planning to purchase a new Chinook Book, please wait until the fundraiser! 50% of the proceeds will be returned to the SWS Parent Association. Look for more information in a future edition of the Connection. |
  Incoming 9th Graders Backpacking Trip to Spider Meadow
The incoming 9th grade had their first adventure together before school even started - a hiking trip in the Cascades to Spider Meadow. On the first evening at base camp, the group enjoyed pasta for dinner, with Earth & Life Sciences teacher Bob Koon's delicious spaghetti sauce.
 On the second day, it started raining, and the rain just kept coming down, truly demonstrating the benefit of appropriate clothing. After a four to five hour hike, the group arrived very cold and dog-tired in a spectacularly beautiful "Sound of Music" meadow. Setting up the tents with everything and everyone being so wet was a challenge. The next morning blew away the storm and allowed the students to sketch in the sun, and pursue some geology observations. Later, the group hiked up to a baby glacier with a three-inch wide crevasse. We were fortunate that conditions were such that the group was able to to safely hike onto the glacier without being roped together. This allowed the the class to study how glaciers work and to glissade back down!
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The Rose Ceremony: What Is It?
First grade students are welcomed in the grade school with the traditional Rose Ceremony, held in the morning of the first day of school. During this meaningful ceremony, eighth graders, as the elders in the grade school, gift each first grader with a rose, as first graders begin their journey as a class guided by their class teacher.
Our eighth grade students sang while the first graders slowly filed into Huckleberry Hall, filled to the brim with all grade school students, teachers, staff, and the parents of the first graders. This first assembly of the year is also an opportunity for all grade school students to get a glimpse of what awaits them. The class teachers shared with their class what the year will bring, perhaps through a story or a song. This was both very entertaining and moving, showing all of us a glimpse of the creativity and talents of each class teacher. |
Parking at the Grade School
As you have undoubtedly noticed, parking at the grade school is very tight, and access to the campus at drop-off and pick-up time is difficult. For your convenience and the safety of our students, we are renting parking space from the Maple Leaf Lutheran Church on 100th Street, where our faculty and staff members already park. Please take advantage of this arrangement and enjoy a few minutes of a refreshing walk in our woods rather than an irritating 10 minute wait in your car.
If you must use the school parking, please enter the campus cautiously (no faster than 5 miles per hour), and respect parking instructions and guidance. We would like to reserve the use of our campus parking for parents of young students (preschool, kindergarten, and grade 1). If you have a student in another grade, please support us and park at the church. Thank you! |
 A Marigold Story
Our preschool classes started on Wednesday, whereas the kindergarten classes will start on Monday the 13th. Here is a little story from the Marigolds. Please do not share the story with your little ones!
On the first day, one little boy decided to be a bear and walked around growling "I am a bear. Grrrrr!" Another boy, worried about this, sat on Miss Martha's lap to be safe. Miss Martha was able to reassure him that "this is a friendly bear, with very good manners!"
The next day, Bear again prowled and growled, with the boy, not on the secure lap this time, calling to Miss Martha "Come here, come here." Miss Martha walked over, as did the bear. Bear gave the boy a big gentle hug and Miss Martha said "Look, this is a bear who likes to hug." Bear added "And I like to kiss, too!" The boy looked startled, then reassured, patted the bear and all was well.
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This section provided as a free service to the SWS community.
Parental Choice in Education is a growing movement in the United States. Read about it in the AWSNA newsletter Inform. AWSNA is the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
Upcoming Sound Circle Center Offerings
Introduction to Anthroposophy
Lectures start September 18
Speakers: Johanna Steegmans, Janet and Barry Lia
Family Foundations:
A Course to Nurture Parents of Young Children
Starts October 2
Master Storyteller Ashley Ramsden
Workshop and performances
First event November 13.
Click for more information. . .
Janet Lia's Art Classes
Wet-on-wet painting classes for adults.
Session 1: Wednesdays 10:30 am to 12:00 pm
September 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20
Class cost including materials is $180.
Session 2: Fridays 9:30 to 11:30 am
September 24, October 1, 8, 15, 22
Class cost including materials is $200.
For complete flyer and to see classes for kids, click here.
Stone Soup Theatre offers fall classes and will be holding auditions for A Child's Christmas in Wales. Register for other classes or make an appointment to audition ASAP. Click for details.
Willow Branch Puppet Theater presents Little Red Cap
Marionette Performance on Sunday, October 3, 11:00 am & 1:00 pm
Three Cedars Waldorf School, Bellevue. For ticket prices and more info, click here.
Peer Support Group for Children of Divorce (Ages 6 to 12)
October 13 through November 10, 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm
Capitol Hill. For cost and other info, click here.
Waldorf Educated Nanny Need a date night or just a couple hours to rejuvenate without the little ones tagging along? I am a K-12 Portland Waldorf-educated artist with my Bachelors in Fine Arts.
I moved to Seattle this summer and have taught handwork and cared for Waldorf children off and on for the past 10 years. Email [email protected] or call 503-789-6529.
Bluebell Playgarden A former Madrona School teacher will be opening up a Waldorf-inspired home-based preschool (for age 3 and 4) at her house in West Seattle. Enrollment is limited to 6 children. Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 12 pm. Please contact Aiko Shimada at 206-937-1964 or [email protected]
Free Parenting Coach! (half hour) Work with your parenting style.
If you would like more time, $30 for the next half hour, prorated.
Your choice of phone or in your home. Call Merryl Woodard at 425-379-6382 [email protected]
Job for Junior-High Student I am looking for a junior-high student interested in making a little spending money by hand-addressing 100-150 letters each week for my consulting business. The requirements are straight-forward. . . neat handwriting and organization ability. This work can be done at home or at our office (near post office on 35th Ave) and on a flexible schedule. If you are interested and would like to know more, contact me at 206-550-1863 [email protected]. (Rick Blythe, father of 2nd grader Julian)
Kelty Kids Framed Back-Pack Carrier: $30; IKEA Multi-color Children's Table, Bench, two chairs with dog and cat design in seat back: $40. Call 206-545-1955.
Connection is published bi-weekly when school is in session.
Please send submissions to [email protected].
All articles or ads for the next issue are due by noon on Wednesday, September 22. � 2010 Seattle Waldorf School. |
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SWS Wishlist
Digital camera for the grade school Wireless router to borrow for the month of October, for Accreditation team visit Container to house a small supply of replacement clothing items for the grade school If you have an item to donate or loan, please contact Gabi at gmccarthy@
seattlewaldorf.org |
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Mission
We educate our students to be free human beings who impart purpose and meaning to their lives, who meet life with courage, and respond with initiative and creativity to the needs of the world and their fellow human beings. |
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