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Table of Contents
ALL-SCHOOL NEWS
Yearbook Photos Due Pirates Of Penzance You're Not The Boss Of Me! 30th Anniversary Celebration Grandparents Day May Faire All School Forum Tour Dates Rudolf Steiner's Birthday PARENT ASSOCIATION NEWSNext Meeting Tent City Thanks & Move-Out Day HIGH SCHOOL NEWSBasketball Diversity Leadership Retreat GRADE SCHOOL NEWSBreak Care Lost & Found - Deadline Jump Rope Class Report From Grades EARLY CHILDHOOD NEWSPreschoolers COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTSProvided as a free service to the SWS community.
February 11, 2011Dear , We hope you will enjoy this current issue of the Connection with the latest SWS news. Feel free to forward the newsletter to interested community members using the Forward email link at the bottom of this newsletter, below our logo. They will then be able to subscribe to the newsletter.  Yearbook Photos Due Next Wednesday, Feb. 16! Please submit your full-size high-resolution photos on a CD or DVD to the grade school or high school office by Wednesday, February 16. Please contact Jane Higgins at 206-890-2031 if you have any questions or need help. Thank you!
Pirates Of Penzance - Arrrr!
Students from grades 6, 7 and 8 are busy brandishing swords and songs. Please join us for one of the four performances in Huckleberry Hall at the grade school campus the weekend after Winter Break. Friday, March 4, 7 pm Saturday, March 5, 2 pm & 7 pm Sunday, March, 6, 2 pm Buy your tickets at the high school or the grade school office or click here to buy them online from Brown Paper Tickets. $9/adults, $6/students/children. You're Not The Boss Of Me! - March 16 The Charms  and Challenges of Raising Healthy Boys March 16, 2011, 7-9 pm, Stroum Jewish Community Center, Mercer Island Melissa Borden and Tim Bennett, SWS Kindergarten teachers will lead this interactive presentation as part of the Parent Map Lecture Series. Expect to learn about the different qualities of boys from birth through the teen years, to laugh, and to walk away inspired and with a new appreciation of your son.
Tickets are $20 and available now through the Seattle Waldorf School grade school office (preferred) or click here to buy them online through Brown Paper Tickets.
The flyer is available online here. 30th Anniversary Celebration - March 25 & 26 Save The Dates & Dust Off Your Dancing Shoes Join us on March 25 and 26 for two days of special events in celebration of our community achievements.
Friday, March 25, 7 pm - Ronald Koetzsch will entertain us with his humorous show about the quirks and foibles of Waldorf Schools, including our own. Ronald Koetzsch is a graduate of both Princeton and Harvard and currently a faculty member at Rudolf Steiner College, as well as the editor of Renewal Magazine. He also is a professional stand-up comedian who often deals with themes related to Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy. He has performed and done workshops at schools, centers, and conferences all over North America and in other parts of the world.
Saturday, March 26, 6:30 pm - Honoring the Past, Preparing the Future - This 60 minute presentation will be followed by sweets and drinks, a chance to meet old and new friends, and a community dance to end the festivities with joy and energy. We have asked our generous and talented volunteer bakers to create cakes for the event (30 cakes for 30 years) and have quite a few offers already. Even if you did not receive that email invitation to bake, you are welcome to add your special concoction to our line-up of birthday cakes for the event. Click here to let us know that you would like to contribute a cake. Grandparents & Special Friends Day - April 15 - New At High School! This year, grandparents and special friends can choose to visit not only the grade school and Kinderhaus, but also the high school. Click here to see the invitation with the details. Hard copies of the invitation are now available at the high school and grade school offices, if you would like to send one, or email Gabi to have us mail an invitation on your behalf.  May Faire - Saturday, May 7, 9 - 3 Grade School Campus - ALL ARE WELCOME! Celebrate with Maypole dances, outdoor games, or take part in a Japanese tea ceremony. Each class is helping with a part of the Faire and volunteer opportunities abound. Find out how you can take part by talking to your class Parent Rep, Volunteer Coordinator Maria Galvao on Thursdays after school at the Volunteer Table, or visit our online sign-up page. A favorite activity is making flower crowns. If you have flowers to donate, or can help procure flowers for this joyful event, contact grade 1 parent Marcia Fischer . Also, be sure to attend the March 8 Parent Association meeting where we will discuss this year's Faire and finalize activities based on parent input. More Notes From the All-School Forum In this issue we would like to publish information that was requested at the recent All School Forum: what amounts have historically been raised at SWS, including the different methods utilized in different years. Click here to see a table that lists the major fundraisers that have supported the school's operating budget along with their net proceeds. (Office staffing expenses are not deducted.) This fundraising would not have been possible without the labor of our generous volunteers. Let us take this opportunity to thank all who contributed their talents, time, and financial resources to support our of school over these past years!
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Tour Dates
Grade School Tours: First Tuesday of the month, from 8:30 to 10 am: March 1, April 5, May 3
Thank you for letting your friends know about our school!
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Rudolf Steiner's Birthday  February 27 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf Education. Many celebrations are planned in Europe, including a Rudolf Steiner Birthday Express Train, which will travel from Cologne, Germany to Vienna, Austria, visiting his birthplace and many other important stations of his life. Click here for more information. (Image of Steiner at 18 years thanks to Verlag am Gotheanum.)
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  Next meeting: Tuesday, March 8 - All are invited!
7 pm, grade school campus, music room Please read the minutes from the February 8 Parent Association meeting in the Parent Association section of our website. Tent City 3 Wish List Drive & Move-Out Day Saturday, February 26 Thank you for the many donations to our Wish List Drive - they were delivered to Tent City and gratefully received.
Tent City 3 will be moving to its new location soon. If you would like to help, come by anytime on Saturday, February 26 from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Tent City 3 would love your help. Snacks will be provided. Bring your work gloves to the parking lot at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church - 100th & 32nd Ave NE. |
 Basketball As many of you may be aware, the first SWS High School boys basketball team has been formed and is playing its inaugural season in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) High School League. Spearheaded by the initiative of senior Johannes, this team of 8 players (2 freshman, 3 sophomores, 2 juniors, and 1 senior), came together on December 13 for their first practice.
I quickly realized something about the wide variety of basketball experience among the players when one of them asked me "When is it ok to dribble?" After delineating the rules of basketball vs. ultimate frisbee, off we went!
In trying to describe this team, the best word I can come up with is "plucky", and after consulting the dictionary to be sure, I know it is spot on: "the trait of showing courage and determination in spite of possible loss or injury."
These 8 players, with limited experience, playing together for the first time, are competing against junior and senior boys, many of whom have played together for years in CYO leagues. Despite all that, our team has approached practice and the games with joy, enthusiasm, camaraderie, and good humor, as well as courage and determination.
Given the circumstances, the team is winless after 5 games, but played their best game of the year last Saturday. They are all steadily improving in all areas: passing, defense, rebounding, shooting, running plays. They are a fun, spirited bunch, and it is a joy to watch them play.
Three games remain, and although the team is getting better with every game, they face 2 strong opponents the next 2 Sundays. We then finish the season on Sunday February 27 at noon at Our Lady of Fatima school in Magnolia against a team that is also heavily laden with losses. It would be fun to have a great crowd of supporters at the culminating game of our first season.
The SWS basketball roster: Johannes, Tristan, Joe, Jamie, Nick, Duncan, Conrad, Hantela.
Coaches Jeff Rahlmann and Jeff Stephens
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STENCIL PAINTING, ARIELLE, GRADE 11
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All are invited to join us in cheering on our basketball team at the following games:Sunday, 2/13 3:45 pm - O'Dea HS GymSunday, 2/20 12 pm - O'Dea HS GymSunday, 2/27 12 pm - Our Lady of Fatima Court Student Diversity Leadership Retreat Five students from our grade 9 class, accompanied by Lisa Ayrault, our high school director, will be attending this overnight retreat this weekend. We look forward to hearing about their experience. |
 Break Care For Mid-Winter Break - February 21-25 There have been a number of inquiries from parents about Break Care during Mid-Winter Break, but we have received only one registration form. We strongly encourage parents to meet the new, extended deadline if you are interested in Break Care for your child, so that our Extended Care staff can plan the activities for the program and ensure adequate staffing. This will also help other parents who need to confirm plans for their child, so that no one has to wait to make other arrangements.
For Mid-Winter Break, we are extending the deadline to 5:00 on Tuesday, February 15. Parents will be notified on Wednesday morning if any of the Break Care days are cancelled due to lack of enrollment. You may register your child for care from 8:00 am - 5:30 pm or half days ending at 1:00 pm.
Registration forms can be found in the grade school office or online here.
Lost & Found - Going Back Home or Going To Charity?
All lost and found items will be displayed on a table in the lobby or outside this coming Wednesday, February 16 through Friday, February 18.
All items not picked up by Friday, February 18 will be donated to a charity on Monday, February 21.
Please check the Lost & Found regularly. Small items are held in a basket in the office.
Register Now For Jump Rope Class - Starts March 9 A five-week session of Jump Rope classes will be offered again this year for grades 2-6 on Wednesdays, starting March 9, from 3:15 - 4:45 in Huckleberry Hall.
Hot Dog USA national speed champion Jesse Bica and his team will teach single rope and partner skills, double dutch and long-rope jumping and turning.
The fee is $66 payable in advance, and jump ropes are provided for the class. The registration forms are available in the grade school office. Register by March 1, space is limited.
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Japanese Assembly Waldorf students in grades 1-5 presented a Japanese assembly last week to parents, grandparents, friends and their classmates. What a full house, and what a treat it was to see how much our students had learned. The program opened with a number by all of the teachers who sang a beautiful song that let us know we would be part of a special assembly.
The Japanese language was used in songs, skits, choral reading, or in a combination of Japanese and English. Everyone was able to understand what was being said or what was happening. The students were so engaged in their parts and they really seemed to be enjoying them. Sometimes you could see members of the audience mouthing some of the words! Perhaps those were family members who had helped with memorization. Everyone appreciated the effort that the students and teachers took to make this event such an enjoyable and educational experience.What resonates for me as a grandparent who has attended a number of such events is that these "whole school-home family experiences" give our Waldorf students such a good grounding for life. I especially appreciate that there is not just one end-of-the-year event but rather several such events each year. Multiply these performance opportunities by the number of years a child is at Waldorf, and you can see that this approach will nurture students to become confident, creative as well as accustomed to facing and overcoming challenges. I can't wait for the next event, because I know that whatever it is, it will be adding to my grandchildren's growth. Sandy Keefe, grandmother of several SWS students Grade 3 - Surprising Measurements From a letter to grade 3 parents by class teacher Sara Canady  "The block on Measurement was great fun, and many of the third graders now know whether or not a "jigger" of water is truly a mouthful in their own case. Some of them also found out that two jiggers at once can cause water to come out of one's nose. Oops!"Aerials class Ever popular, Aerials class with Elaine Klansnic, grade school Games teacher, and support from Una (grade 8) and Ezra (grade 11) is open to grades 5 to 8. By the way, Una and Ezra will be touring with Circus Smirkus for 10 weeks this coming summer.
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This section provided as a free service to the SWS community. What Are Our Community Members Up To?  | |
PENCIL DRAWING BY CLARE, GRADE 12
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First Solo Art Show Clare O'Connor graduated from the eighth grade of SWS to attend a non-Waldorf high school. After 2 years, she decided to return to the SWS high school, and you can read about her journey here. Clare is is currently in her sophomore year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Writing emphasis (BFAW). Her academic classes are a combination of visual arts-drawing, painting, printmaking and liberal arts and writing courses, and she recently had her first solo art show. Outside of the classroom, she takes acting classes at The Second City and voice lessons with a vocal coach. She continues her dance training with nightly classes at the Joffrey Ballet School and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Last summer she had the unique opportunity to serve as studio assistant for printmaker/painter Craig McPherson who taught her the technique of mezzotint printmaking. In addition to an online blog, Clare's writing has been published in several print and online magazines. She has also taken on commissioned artwork, graphite dog portraiture being a particular specialty. She doesn't know which path she'll choose after graduation but plans to keep pursuing each and every interest until someone explains why she shouldn't. Sculptur es At Art/Not Terminal Dave Rockenbeck, grandparent of a SWS high school student, has a show of his abstract sculptures at the downtown gallery Art/Not Terminal through March 3. Dave uses wood, metal and his own handmade papers in his explorations of the structural, textural and often sharply contrasting qualities of natural and man-made materials. Dave has been making paper by hand since 1976, and his studies have taken him to papermaking facilities as far away as Europe and China. Lectures, Workshops, Etc.
The Evolution Of Consciousness According To Richard Wagner March 3, 7:30 pm, Seattle Waldorf School, grade school campus, Music Room An interactive presentation by George Hastings, author of a newly published book titled, "Richard Wagner, Rudolf Steiner, and Allegories of the Ring: From the Mundane to the Esoteric". This book is the result of over twenty years research and the presentation will be an opportunity to gain a new understanding of Wagner, his music, his sublime messages, and how they relate to the cosmology of Rudolf Steiner. Especially relevant for those interested in the status of freedom in our time. By donation only. Call 206-985-2059 or 206-465-4201 for more information. Sponsored by Rudolf Steiner Book Store & Children's Shop. Queen of t he Sun: What are the bees telling us? Don't miss this movie beginning its run on March 4 at The Northwest Film Forum!
Queen of the Sun is a profound, alternative look at the global honeybee crisis from Taggart Siegel, award-winning director of The Real Dirt on Farmer John. Film.com calls Queen of the Sun, "stunning... as soulful as it is scientific, as uplifting as it is alarming."
Screening daily, check out The Northwest Film Forum's website for exact show times!
Q & A with Director and Producer on March 4.
For more information, visit QueenOfTheSun.com. Click on the image to see a trailer.
Raw Milk Warrior
In November 2006, Michael Schmidt's farm in Durham, two hours north of Toronto, was raided by over 20 armed officers. They weren't looking for drugs or guns.
They were looking for milk.Michael's crime: Selling and distributing raw milk. Click here to read more. Also, see the note below about the Raw Milk Coop in Seattle.
Becoming A Young Woman April 17 to April 23, Sacred Groves, Bainbridge Island Rite-of-Passage Journeys organizes Coming of Age trips that quite a few SWS students have attended. Below, read an article by the Director of Youth Programs, Amanda Ayling. On Being Welcomed into Womanhood
When I was leading my first Coming of Age Trip for Girls with Rite of Passage Journeys, we ended up, after two and a half weeks of backpacking, at a moonlodge -- a sacred space devoted to the feminine. Therese Charvet, who owns Sacred Groves, was hosting a Maiden Ceremony for the girls on the trip - a welcoming to womanhood. I knew that a handful of women, some of whom had traveled for two hours to get here, had gathered to perform this special ceremony and I puzzled at their extreme generosity in doing this for a group of girls they had never met and had no direct connection to.
As an adult leader of the trip, I expected to help the girls through the ceremony, maybe holding the drumming and singing or fixing a snack for the end. However, as we were decorating ourselves in preparation for the ceremony, Therese told me that any adult women who had not yet been "initiated" should participate in the ceremony as well. Click here or scroll down to read the rest of the article. Divine Sophia - Holy Wisdom For Our Time
Friday, July 8, 7-8:45 pm, grade school campus, Huckleberry Hall
Lecture by Robert Powell, PhD. Robert will draw upon The Sophia Teachings and the ancient wisdom of the stars in a new way, including a "stellar code" for unlocking the secrets of world evolution. This information is a new source of inspiration for understanding the past, present, and future. Concert pianist, Wolfgang Wortberg, will accompany the lecture. Visit sophiafoundation.org for more information.
Suggested donation: $20. Contact Anouk Tompot: 206-364-2074 or atompot@seattlewaldorf.org.
Sponsored by the Seattle Branch of the Anthroposophical Society. seattleanthroposophy.org
The Zodiac and World Evolution in the Light of Divine Sophia
July 8-10, Friday 7 pm until Sunday noon, grade school campus, Huckleberry Hall
This weekend workshop with Robert Powell, PhD, will be a combination of lectures and eurythmy. The aim is to come to a living experience of the signs of the zodiac. The cosmic dance of eurythmy, is a schooling through music and movement, engaging the body, soul and spirit with the intention of aligning oneself harmoniously with the spiritual-cosmic world. The workshop offers a path to participants leading to the experience - over and beyond being earthly citizens - of becoming "citizens of the cosmos". No previous eurythmy experience is necessary, just wear comfortable shoes. Piano music played by California based pianist and composer Marcia Burchard. Visit sophiafoundation.org for more information.
Suggested donation: $170/$190. Contact Anouk Tompot: 206-364-2074 or atompot@seattlewaldorf.org.
Sponsored by the Seattle Branch of the Anthroposophical Society. seattleanthroposophy.org Classifieds
Buy Certified Organic Raw Cow's Milk From Washington State Join our buying group and have this delicious, nutritious, creamy raw milk delivered every other week right next door to the grade school, ready for you to pick up. Visit the Pride and Joy website for product and ordering information. Our location is titled "U District/Lake City" on the schedule. Order by 12:00 pm (noon) Saturday for Wednesday pick up!
We are hosting this delivery site for Pride and Joy Dairy. Feel free to call us with questions: 206-729-2534. The dairy is working to provide butter, cream, and cheese in the future. Tim Love and Lisa Wolfe Kelty Kids Framed Back-Pack Carrier to carry your baby or toddler while hiking, camping or walking around town. $30. Call 206-545-1955.
Multi-color wood Children's Table, Bench, 2 chairs with Dog & Cat design in seat back. No longer available through Ikea. $40. Call 206-545-1955. Wanted - Unicycle & Violin
I am looking to buy or borrow a 16" unicycle and a small violin for my 7 and 5 year olds respectively. Michelle Pearson, 206-789-9053 or mqpearson@gmail.com |
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Should I be Buying or Selling a Home in this Market? With over 15 years of local experience, Cally Fulton (ex-Waldorf parent and current SWS substitute), and her daughter/real estate partner Danielle Johnson, can provide you with the information you need to make a truly informed decision. Customized commission packages are also available. For more information contact Cally Fulton at 206-786-5061 or cally@infinitiRED.com, or visit www.infinitiRED.com.
In case you missed it in the last issue...
Seattle Public Theater at the Greenlake Bathhouse offers full and half-day drama camps for grades K-12 over Mid-Winter Break, February 22-25. Clowning, Shakespeare, Creative Drama, and more - including an exciting partnership with the Seattle Opera! All experience levels welcome; financial aid available. seattlepublictheater.org or call 206-523-1370.
Seattle Family Dance
Sunday, February 27, 3-5 pm at the Phinney Neighborhood Center-Community Hall.
Continuing 20 years of folk dancing for children and families - all music is live, all dances are taught, no experience necessary! Come and dance to the joyful music of Quebec! Louis Leger leads the dancing with music played by La Famille Leger.
SFS/PNA Members: $5 per person, $15 per family; all others $6 per person, $18 per family.
Find the Community Hall at 6532 Phinney Ave N., Seattle and go into the brick building using the the lower parking lot entry.
More info: Rosemary parent Clare Woolgrove clare@seattlerolfer.com or seattledance.org/family
House For Rent In North Matthews Beach
Only 1 mile from the Seattle Waldorf School. Perfect house for a family with kids. Located on a quiet street within city limits, the house is on a 8,000 square foot fenced-in property surrounded by mature trees which is maintained by owner at no cost to the renter. The house itself has refinished wooden floors throughout the top level along with crown molding and french doors that overlook a back deck and large backyard with a huge willow tree. The house is western-facing which means maximum winter light and amazing sunsets over a territorial view during spring and summer. The upstairs has a large master bedroom, a smaller kids room, a remodeled bathroom, a large living room and a dining room. The completely finished daylight basement has another bedroom with a private 2nd bathroom and a very large carpeted living area that can also be used for additional sleeping space if needed. Both upstairs and downstairs have working fireplaces. The house has a completely empty and functional 1-car garage. The location is walking distance to Burke-Gilman, Lake Washington, and Matthews Beach, and a short car or bike ride to Magnuson Park and UW and U-Village. Email if interested: forestgarden@cdenturytel.net or call Neil at 206-930-6137. Serious inquiries only please! Open to less than 1 year-lease. Click here for a picture.
Sound Circle Center Offerings:
1. Introduction to Anthroposophy
Saturdays, 9-10:30 am, Seattle Waldorf Grade School, Huckleberry Hall
These lectures are open to the public on a drop-in basis. You are welcome to join the Foundation Year students for these upcoming themes:
February 12: Rudolf Steiner's Biography I with Michael Soulé
March 5: Rudolf Steiner's Biography II with Michael Soulé
$10 per lecture
2. The Flame of Love: the Legend of Tristan and Iseult
Saturday, February 26th, 8 pm, Bathhouse Theater by Greenlake
Love, passion, magic and death ... the story that enchanted an Age, told by Patrick Ball and Shira Kammen.
$20/adults, $18/seniors/children. Click here for more information.
Ripples, Sound Circle's new quarterly newsletter, is now available online.
Sound Circle will begin its eighth Foundation Year in September, 2011.
Learn about Waldorf Teacher Training program and our upcoming Visiting Days this spring at
soundcircle.org
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Continued....
On Being Welcomed Into Womenhood
...Therese told me that any adult women who had not yet been "initiated" should participate in the ceremony as well. I thought this was a bit silly, seeing how I had started menstruating and "stepped into womanhood" 15 years prior, but went along with it.
It was a lovely ceremony.
Later that evening, I left the girls in the care of my co-leaders and went off into the woods to be alone for a bit. Reflecting on the ceremony and the experience of receiving gifts and wisdom from older women, I found myself sobbing.
First I cried for my teenage self, who had not had the opportunity to celebrate the step into womanhood and be welcomed into it by women who had gone before. I wondered what difference such an experience could have made in my teenage years.
Then, I cried for the elder women in my life, who had not had this opportunity either. It wasn't as if my mother, grandmothers and aunts had withheld such an experience from me. They simply had never had it themselves -- such rites were lost many generations ago in our culture.
And then I cried with joy and gratitude for having had the experience, finally, in my late twenties. And suddenly I understood why six women had each spent a day of their lives traveling here to do this ceremony for us. They had come because they knew how powerful the experience of being welcomed into womanhood can be. They had come because they knew that every single girl, finding herself plunged into puberty, deserves that welcome.
It is this same knowledge, of course, that has inspired Rite of Passage Journeys' Coming of Age Trip for Girls every summer, honoring and celebrating the step out of childhood and into youth and young womanhood. And now it is inspiring a new program at Journeys, a week-long retreat that aligns with the Seattle Waldorf School's spring break, called "Becoming a Young Woman." Ten middle school girls will spend a week at the moonlodge at Sacred Groves, exploring what it means to become a young woman through heart-centered conversation, art, song, reflective activity and ritual, including, of course, Therese's Maiden Ceremony.
You can learn more about "Becoming A Young Woman," a spring break retreat for middle school girls, our 3-week summer Coming of Age Trip for Girls, and our amazing trips for boys at: riteofpassagejourneys.org
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Links
For information on Waldorf teacher training and other course offerings, visit www.soundcircle.org
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Connection is published bi-weekly when school is in session.
Please email all submissions directly to: newsletter@seattlewaldorf.org.
All articles or ads for the next issue are due by noon on Tuesday, March 1.
Submissions Guidelines © 2010 Seattle Waldorf School.
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