September 25, 2010Dear , Enjoy this current issue of the Connection. Here you will find all the latest SWS news and information. The Connection will be delivered to your email inbox every two weeks. 
  Letter from the SWS Board
September is a time of new rhythms, new learning and new
opportunities for growth. As we enter this school year, the Board of Trustees
offers you a hearty welcome back to school!
Every year members of the Board are asked about the role of the Board in
the life of the school. The work of the Board at times is not so much visible
as palpable. The Board is responsible for ensuring the long-term health of
Seattle Waldorf School as an institution. This work includes the oversight and
hiring of the Co-Directors, and the development and implementation of a
Strategic Plan for the school. Right now we are also engaged in the PNAIS and
AWSNA accreditations that are in process. (You can find the Accreditation Self-Study on our
community website: click here.)
The by-laws define that the Board consists of 6-11 members.
These volunteers come with a wide range of personal and professional
experience, but all share an enthusiasm. . . click to read more (or scroll to the bottom of this email) . . .
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Michaelmas Family Celebration
Saturday, October 2, 5:00 to 9:00 pm
Grade School Campus
High School Also Invited!
Click for Flyer
Join in the Michaelmas Harvest Family Celebration! Enjoy
food, a dragon play and a family dance.
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.
cscheyer@comcast.net Tel 206-545-1955 
Music will be provided by Laurie
Andres, so bring your dancing self! Please remember to park at the Maple Leaf
Lutheran Church at the corner of NE 100th & 32nd NE, up the hill from the
grade school.
This all-school celebration is organized by the school
parents, and we need your help, mostly with set-up and clean-up, to ensure this
wonderful community event runs smoothly. Please visit the Waldorf Community
sign-up page at http://seattlewaldorf.pbworks.com/Michaelmas to see how you can help and to
sign up. You can also sign up in the grade school office.
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 Photo Day
Jesse Michener will be returning to SWS to work magic with
her camera for class and individual photos. Please see the letter from Jesse to
find the date that applies to your student(s), as well as ordering information. http://tinyurl.com/2bbgbsf. Hard copies of this information will be sent home with the
students early next week. Please make checks payable to Jesse Michener Photography,
and return your order with payment to the grade school office, high school
office, or Kinderhaus in advance of the photo day for your child. For preschool
and kindergarten children, Jesse will take class photos only. Grades 1-12 may
order individual and class photos. Please contact Jesse if you have any
questions.
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 See Your Student(s) and
Their Class in the Yearbook!
We would like to include candid photos in the
yearbook because those images are so much fun to look back on year after year.
To make this happen, we need YOU to send us your photos from this school year
or the past summer. Class trips and activities, playground shots, potlucks, camping
trips, or classroom visits -- all are welcome! Please submit your
high-resolution photos on a CD to the school office (HS or GS) by Monday,
February 14. Thank you!
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Yearbook Orders Due Friday, November 192009-10 Yearbook  |
The 2010-2011 hardcover yearbook will again feature
all classes from preschool through grade 12. Order your copy by turning in the
yearbook order form with payment of $30 to the HS or GS office by November 19. Late orders cannot be guaranteed. Students will receive their their yearbooks in June. Click here for the yearbook order form.
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Update: Another Way to
Share the Event Calendar
The
past two Sundays we have sent a calendar of upcoming events directly from our online
calendar to your email inbox. We appreciate the feedback we have received about
this new feature in our communications. As is often the case, it works well for
many families, while others prefer not to receive the email.
How Do You Opt Out? You can unsubscribe from this calendar email at any time by
scrolling down to the bottom of the email and clicking on the link to remove
yourself from the distribution list. We can add you again later, if you wish. Feel free to email Gabi with questions:
gmccarthy@seattlewaldorf.org
You can still give us feedback here: http://tinyurl.com/2fdlnaq
You
can see the survey entries here: http://tinyurl.com/2f37vd7
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  High School Ski Club: Need a Ride?
Sam Hranac (grade 6 & 9 parent) is willing to organize
carpools:
"One of the many signs of Fall in our house is prep for ski
season. In the past we've pulled together a ski club coordinated and
sponsored
by the parents (it's not an official school event) in the
grade school
and we would like to create one for the high school.
Basically it is
just a way to make carpooling easy. This season we're
looking for
people who would like to carpool up to Stevens pretty much
every
weekend of the ski season, provided we have the drivers.
Already I
have almost enough names for two cars! Most likely we would
be goingup on Saturdays, depending on when people can drive,
weather, etc."
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/242m6m4
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Jubilee Farm Trip
Next week grade 9 will make their first visit to this
bio-dynamic farm near Carnation. The students can look forward to helping with
the harvest, making their own lunch with food grown on the farm, meeting the
cows, and learning about the essential preparations that set bio-dynamic
farming apart from all other forms of agriculture. Look for a more in-depth
article about the Jubilee Farm experience in a future publication. Here are a
couple of pictures from last year's farm trip:
These students took a break from their work to spend some time getting to know the cows of Jubilee Farm. The cows proved to be as curious as the students!  |
As always, art is an integral part of the learning experience.  |
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Chuseok Celebration in Grade Two
Thanks to the grade 2 Celebration team, Mr. Gottenbos'
students learned about this Korean festival this past Wednesday morning. The
class celebration
included traditional rice cakes and a display of some traditional clothing. The
students learned about proper bowing (there are different bows for boys and
girls!) and about giving thanks to their ancestors as it is done on this day in
Korea.
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Grade One
From Mary Ellingson's letter to the parents: "Tuesday
night four teeth fell out of assorted first grade mouths and Wednesday another
fell out during the school day -- five teeth in one week, with the likelihood
of more by the end of Friday. All is as it should be."
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Fire Marshal Gives Grade School an A+
The surprise tests of the fire alarm system and our school's
emergency procedures always add some excitement to the school day, to say the
least. We were very happy to be told after the test this Wednesday that the
building had been evacuated not only in an orderly fashion but also with record
speed!
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Break Care Alert for Monday, October 11
Please note that there is no school on October 11 because it
is a teacher workday. Break Care will be provided for students in grades 1
through 5 from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm on October 11. Registration forms are
available online, at our grade school office, or
from Carolyn Harris, the after-care provider. The deadline for turning in the
registration forms is Monday, October 4.
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Grade School After-School Activities
Coming Up
Aerials Class for Grades 5-8
Starts November 1, 3:15 to 4:14
The cost of the series of six classes is $60. Sign up sheets will be available in the
grade school office.
Look for an article about Circus Class, Jump Rope Class, Ultimate
Frisbee and the Middle School Musical in the next Connection.
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 Sunflower Preschool
Here
is a story a dad shared at Back To School Night. (Please do not share the story with your little ones!)
"We
live about two blocks away from the grade school, and so we walk to school and
back. On the second day, our son
sang all the way to school. On
Saturday he was VERY disappointed "No school?!?" The following week, he
pulled on mom's hand, running all the way. On Friday (baking day) he made a second roll for his little
sister. He likes school!"
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This section provided as a free service to the SWS community.
Halloween in the Forest
Sunday, October 31, 4:30 to 6:00 pm, Licton Springs Park
The 11th annual Halloween at Licton Springs Park will take
place Sunday, October 31, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. Calling all families of little
ones who would like to trick-or-treat along the pathways of the park and meet
the costumed "friends-of-the-forest" who have sweet treats to share.
Nothing too scary, we promise! Join us at the playground for music and warm organic apple
cider. Licton Springs Park is in North Seattle, about a mile north of
Greenlake.
By the way, I am always looking out to recruit new
"friends-of-the-forest," so if you know anyone who would like to
dress up and give out candy to children, please send them my way. Groups are
welcome and usually more fun than just standing by yourself. Minimum age for
"friends" is 12 years old. If you are interested, please call Betsy
at 206-527-1949 or email beeweill@gmail.com
Skandia Family Dance: Free for Kids Under 18
Friday, October 1, 7 pm, Lynnwood
Beautiful live music including an SWS parent -- come find
out who... Dances will be geared for everyone ages four and up. No dance
experience is necessary! Be inspired by Lilla Spelmanslag, a children's fiddle group
(ages 5 through 17). For more information about the free pizza and salad dinner
at 6 pm, crafts, location and more: http://www.skandia-folkdance.org/parties.html
Questions? Email Rachel Downes (Briar Rose & Grade 2
parent) rachel.a.downes@gmail.com
What Are Our Students Up To?
Circus of Dreams is an aerial circus show at ACT Theater to
benefit pediatric brain-tumor research. Ezra Weill (grade 11) will be
performing in the 8 pm show on October 9 and Una Bennett (grade 8) will be
performing in the 4 pm matinee on October 9. Check out their website: www.circusofdreams.org
Parenting with Awareness
Four Tuesday Mornings in October, Roosevelt Neighborhood
Join us this fall for a four-class series entitled Parenting
with Awareness. We will practice meditation and explore how the practice of
non-judgmental awareness, or mindfulness, impacts our presence in the world.
The class will be co-facilitated by Lucianne Hackbert, PhD (Briar Rose and
grade 2 parent) and Senior Yoga Teacher Jenny Hayo. Suggested donation is $150
for the series of four classes. If you sign up with a friend, you can each
receive a $15 discount. More specific information about the class and online
registration are available at www.campselfdiscovery.com or contact Luci with questions:
hackbert@u.washington.edu
Upcoming Sound Circle Center Offerings
Family Foundations:
A Course to Nurture Parents of Young
Children
Starts October 2
When parents consciously work on their own development and
self-discovery, the lives of their children are affected in a positive way.
These classes draw upon a spiritual approach to parenting children from birth
to age seven to inspire balance, self-discovery, joy, hope, health, and most of
all, trust in one's self as a parent. The course is designed to be taken as a
whole, October through May. For more info: http://soundcircle.org/
Introduction to Anthroposophy Lectures (ongoing)
Learn about Goethe's artful approach to science, the
rhythmical seven-year cycles of a human being between birth and death, the four
temperaments (phlegmatic, melancholic, sanguine and choleric) and much more. For more info: http://soundcircle.org/
Experience Master Storyteller Ashley Ramsden
Workshop and performances (first event November 13).
More info: http://tinyurl.com/2dh4e93 (Scroll down)
Adult Educaton at Portland Waldorf School:
The Challenges of Being a Waldorf Dad &
Parenting as a Path of Self Development
Cedarwood Waldorf School in Portland will host author and
educator Jack Petrash, October 8 and 9. Jack is the founder and director of the
Nova Institute. He is an educator with over 28 years of classroom experience
and is currently teaching fourth grade at the Washington Waldorf School. For more
information about his upcoming talks, click here: http://tinyurl.com/28jsglx
A Cedarwood family has volunteered to host a visiting
Seattle family. Contact Gabi in the grade school office for information.
Babysitter Available
Ahoy, my name is Madeline Frank. I am an 11th grader at Seattle Waldorf and am interested in babysitting. I am available after school and on the weekend. 206-323-2605
Piano Teacher Available
Are you looking for a piano teacher? Molly Knight has openings in her studio on Phinney Ridge for children and adults. If you want exciting, fun, and at the same time comprehensive classical training, then this is the place for you. She has 20+ years of teaching experience, award-winning students, various methods up her sleeve, and she guarantees a rewarding experience. 206-234-7958
Home for Sale
We are a long-time SWS family from way back who are now selling our home, just 12 minutes from the grade school: organic vegetable garden/ several fruit trees, rose garden and cutting gardens, lovely large yard (nearly 3/4 acre), several energy-efficient appliances and some GREEN as well. We would just love to pass our home along to someone who has some good anthroposophical appreciation. Here is the flyer: http://tinyurl.com/2929f8h
Home for Sale In Shoreline
Just 20 minutes from SWS: Three bedroom, 1.75 bath. Blueberries, strawberries, Italian plums, apples and vegetable beds. Large swingset, fully fenced yard. Bigger than it looks, this updated tri-level home in a quiet neighborhood has lots of storage, sunny daylight basement with grand fireplace, beautiful hardwood floors, formal dining room plus eating space, sunny back porch and more. $349,749. More information: http://tinyurl.com/29usrl9
Wizard of Oz at Seattle Public Theater
The folks at Seattle Public Theater at the Greenlake Bathhouse invite you to join them this fall for exciting drama adventures, such as the Wizard of Oz. Positive, dynamic, inclusive, and enriching, Seattle Public Theater youth programs are a great way to get kids engaged with community while expanding their personal horizons! Go to http://www.seattlepublictheater.org/education-programs.htm for more information.
In case you missed it in the last issue. . .
For Sale
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. |
Letter from the Board (continued)
The by-laws define that the Board consists of 6-11 members.
These volunteers come with a wide range of personal and professional
experience, but all share an enthusiasm for the Seattle Waldorf School and feel
a call to leadership. Potential trustees apply for membership, and through a
structured review process, current trustees select new members. Board members
serve three-year
terms and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. This year we
voted to extend the transition date for departing trustees to the end of
October, which will provide the best support for the accreditation panel's
visit in mid-October. At that time we will be replacing our outgoing members.
If you are interested in learning more about Board service, email us at
board@seattlewaldorf.org.
Several years ago the Board adopted the Policy Governance
system to facilitate its work. The underlying goal of Policy Governance is to
keep the trustees focused on long-term goals, or "Ends", and delegate the
operational responsibilities of the school to the experts: the directors,
faculty and staff of SWS. Accountability is maintained through the linkage with
the Co-Directors, who report directly to the Board and whose activities are
directed by a comprehensive set of Executive Limitations policies. The policies
set the least restrictive context in which the Co-Directors can fulfill their
responsibilities. The Co-Directors submit Policy Monitoring Reports every month
to articulate how well they are in compliance with the policies set forth by
the Board. If, upon reflection, the Board feels existing policy needs to
include more specific parameters, it can vote to change policy. The Board is
not responsible for making the myriad of day-to-day operational decisions that
are made at SWS; rather, it is responsible for making sure these decisions are
in alignment with the mission of the school and support the continued
well-being of the school.
The SWS Strategic Plan was first established in 2002 and was
updated by the Board last year. The updated document outlines the goals for SWS
for the coming five years. The Board will adopt annual plans supporting the
Plan. This year's Annual Plan will be set at our first of four quarterly
workdays or "retreats" to occur later this month. Goals for the coming year
include supporting the next steps in the accreditation process, as well as
developing specific targets for updating policies, improving communication with
our broader community, and work on site related issues. These goals reflect
the input of the Faculty, the Co-Directors and the Board. From the Strategic
Plan, the Board, with the Co-Directors, will write an Annual Work Plan to
better guide the process to achieve the goals. As these documents are
finalized, they will be available to the community.
It seems obvious to state that SWS is a Waldorf School, yet
it is vital to defining the institution and the work of the Board. The
principles of human development brought by Rudolf Steiner are the foundations
of this school. The Board is regularly engaged in better understanding how the
teachings of Steiner can best manifest in the work of the Board (and the school
as a whole). Trustees come to this study from a range of perspectives and
levels of experience. Those trustees further along in their study have been
leading discussions in meetings. Meetings are opened and closed with a verse
that exemplifies the values of a Waldorf School and lays out the ideals for a
healthy social life:
The
healthy social life is found when, in the mirror of each human soul, the whole
community finds its reflection and when, in the community, the virtue of each
one is living.
In the spirit of harmony and health, the Board wishes you a
peaceful year!
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Connection is published bi-weekly when school is in session.
Please send submissions to newsletter@seattlewaldorf.org.
All articles or ads for the next issue are due by noon on Wednesday, October 6. © 2010 Seattle Waldorf School. |
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Focus on Faculty
In this section we will introduce faculty members, starting
with teachers new to our school.
Anouk Tompot joined our school from Denver a year ago as a
parent. Last year she focused her energy on raising her three children, writing
her thesis for her Waldorf high school teacher training at the Rudolf Steiner
College, and mentoring Mike Fleming, the former science teacher at the high
school. When Mike accepted a position at another school, Anouk agreed to teach
the high school biology blocks. She taught those blocks at the Denver Waldorf
High School for the last couple of years. Prior to that, Anouk assisted in the
Waldorf kindergarten for many years and was part of a regional kindergarten
study group. Before she had her children, she taught as an assistant teacher at
the faculty of biology of the University of Amsterdam. Instead of pursuing a
PhD, she decided to get her public high school teacher's credentials. Coming
from a family of teachers, this was not a big surprise.
Anouk loves to hike and to cook; her house always smells of good food! When she first came to
the US and her children were still very young, she taught cooking at her home
to parents of their school.
Anouk is very happy to have the opportunity to work with the students in our high school.
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Chinook Book Alert:
Parent Association
Fundraiser "I've
been buying multiple Chinook Books for years because I can more than make up
the $20 cost, and make money back on each book. They are a great deal."
Tricia Enfield,
Rosemary and Grade Two parent
You can buy YOUR Chinook books from your class parent rep
before October 12. The Parent Association will receive $10 for each Chinook Book
sold. They make great gifts, and many a neighbor might be glad to buy one as
well. |
SWS Wishlist
Several card tables to borrow for Sunday, October 17 Small refrigerator to borrow for October 15-21 A digital camera
for the grade school A wireless router to borrow for the month of October for
Accreditation-team visit A container to house a small supply of replacement clothing
items at the grade school If you have an item to donate or loan, please contact Gabi at gmccarthy@
seattlewaldorf.org |
Quote
"We learn through all our experiences and they enrich
our store of knowledge. But in order that man may learn on the earth, he must
be allured by, [or] involved in enjoyment." Rudolf
Steiner, Founder of Waldorf Education
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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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