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March 4, 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.  30th Anniversary, March 26 - Celebrate With Us  | |
ART BY IRIS KULASIC
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR INVITATION.
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We are deeply honored to send you this invitation to our school's 30th Anniversary events. A momentous event in the life of our school, our 30th Anniversary celebration is an occasion for us all to celebrate our wonderful endeavor, our shared past accomplishments, and our future dreams.
We sincerely hope that you will join us!
Geraldine Kline & Nettie Fabrie
Turning 30 - What Does It Mean?
From a conversation with Nettie Fabrie, Head of Pedagogy In the ancient Greek culture, turning 30 was a very important milestone in the life of those privileged enough to receive an academic education. That time marked their entry into the world of mentors, an acknowledgment of the wisdom now ready to be shared. People younger than 30 were considered to be on their way to adulthood, not yet mature enough to provide advice to others. Beyond 30 they were considered capable to advise and guide younger people. In our modern world, the declared adult age has been brought first to 21, then to 18, and in this too, we differ greatly from ancient Greece. We can readily observe how much we grow in our 20s, and how maturity begins to shine in a much brighter way as we reach 30. It is interesting to consider an institution's development in the light of the human phases of development. Of course institutions have their own developmental phases, and the comparison can only be used as illustration. Institutions are composed of many individuals who join in and leave over time - pioneers and founders, new faculty and staff, and of course new students and their families. Yet it can be interesting to draw certain analogies. Click here to read more, or simply scroll down to the end of the newsletter. Want To Make A Birthday Cake? We have asked our generous and talented volunteer bakers to create cakes for our anniversary celebration (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. Financial Aid - What Are The Criteria?As we promised you during our last All-School Forum, we are now publishing the criteria we use internally for processing your applications. These internal criteria are applied in addition to the extensive information and processing of data required by the SSS services. We derived these additional considerations over the years through our experience with our own community and through close collaboration with other independent school Financial Aid offices. At this time, at the height of our financial aid applications season, our business office is processing over 120 applications for the 2011-12 school year. This volume of applications and considerations of fairness are the reason for our insistence on obtaining complete sets of documentation before an application can be considered. Click here to read the SWS internal financial aid criteria. Field Trips - What Role Do They Play In The Waldorf Curriculum?From walking to the park to working in the woods, field trips are designed to enrich the experience our students have during their in-class studies and offer another opportunity to practice social skills in a completely different setting. Below are just a few examples from this year, including pictures and samples of students' work.  The character of field trips necessarily changes as our students get older and their world expands. For our youngest students up to grade 2, exploring the neighborhood through walks is their first experience of field trips. For example, Kinderhaus students go on many walks to Woodland Park where they explore the many nooks and crannies of the woods near the zoo. Just before the  mid-winter break, grade 3 students were excited to take our new school bus on its maiden voyage to Snoqualmie Pass for an igloo building adventure. This trip was part of the block on Shelters, in which students studied dwellings from different cultures and then built models in class. Click here for more pictures of the igloo trip. For a short story about the igloo trip and pictures of the model houses, scroll down to the Grade School News. It is in grade 6 that the field trips take on an increased study component with the goal of awakening an interest in the wider world. In the fall, grade 6 studied  geology for a couple of weeks and then embarked on a four-day trip exploring the area around Mt. St. Helens and Spirit Lake. Upon their return, students incorporated their experience in short stories and drawings. ( Click here to read more about the trip, see more photos, and read the clever and amusing short story "The Woes of a Tree" by Will and Ben.) Parent chaperones often remember their experience fondly as a wonderful opportunity to get to know other parents and students. In the high school years, students take on a much bigger role in the preparations for excursions. In May, grade 10 students will embark on a self-supported bicycle camping journey. Students will plan, pack, do all the work and break everything down upon their return as part of the outdoor education program, which offers progressively more challenging situations as they move through high school. It would take too much space to write about all of the wonderful field trips at one time, but we will continue to share parents', students' and teachers' experiences from the Potlatch (grade 4), the Olympiad (grade 5), the Renaissance Faire (grade 7), Forestry in Hyla Woods (grade 10) and more in future issues of this newsletter. You're Not The Boss Of Me! - Wednesday, March 16 - Only A Few Tickets LeftThe Charms  and Challenges of Raising Healthy Boys March 16, 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.
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Tour Dates
High School Tours: Tuesdays, 8:30 - 9:30 am: March 8, April 12, May 10
Grade School Tours: First Tuesday of the month, from 8:30 to 10 am: April 5, May 3
Thank you for letting your friends know about our school!
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  Next meeting: Tuesday, March 8 - All are invited!
7 pm, grade school campus, music room Look for the minutes from the February 8 Parent Association meeting in the Parent Association section of our website. |
 New: High School Parent Association Forming! Please join us for an informal meeting at the home of Brian and Sonia Frank on Thursday, March 31 at 7:30 pm to come together as a group to help support the students and staff of the Seattle Waldorf High School. All parents for grades 9 - 12 are invited. The address is 908 12th Ave. East, Seattle (North Capitol Hill). Questions? Call 206-323-2605.
Work Party - Thanks! Many thanks to all the parents, students, teachers, and staff members who came to our high school work party over the break to begin improvements to the North Wing. We removed the old vinyl floor fro m the kitchen, and Dr. Fraser rewired for the new oven. Progress!Basketball Fans in attendance at this basketball season's finale were treated to an especially thrilling last match. Congratulations to the team for leading the way in this founding year for basketball at our school.  Chemistry Is Not Just For Students Parents at the grade 9 parent evening were treated to some time in the high school chemistry lab, working on the same experiments their students are currently studying. |
 Reminder: Daylight Savings Time Starts Next Sunday, March 13
Ultimate Season The grade school has three (!) ultimate teams and if you would like to cheer them on, click here for their games schedule.
Lost & Found
Please check the Lost & Found bin (the wicker chest in the lobby, right inside the door) regularly for items that may belong to your family. The chest tends to fill up quickly! Small items are held in a basket in the office.
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The Pirates Of Penzance - This Weekend! Friday, March 4, 7 pm Saturday, March 5, 2 pm & 7 pm
Sunday, March, 6, 2 pmGrade School Campus, Huckleberry Hall
Please join us for one of the four performances with students from grades 6, 7 and 8 this weekend!
Tickets are $9/adults, $6/students/children. Come early to get your tickets! |
Grade 4 - Norse Mythology  And Fractions
Grade 4 students recently delighted their audiences with their performances of Baldur, The Beautiful. Now the class has moved on to again study fractions, and Ms. Golden reports that some students lamented the lack of pie that was a feature in the first block on fractions. Grade 3 - Building Shelter In The Classroom & In The Snow Grade 3 students have been very busy studying, painting, drawing and building a wide vari ety of shelters. The block included a field trip to build an igloo on a sunny Friday in February. (See also the article on field trips in the All School News section above.) Click here for more pictures of the grade 3 construction zone. After the igloo field trip, students created stories and artwork about their experience. Here is Dahlia's story:"We went to the mountains to build an igloo. First, we cut blocks out of the snow in a circle, and then we cut out more blocks, and we stacked them on top of each other. Each time, we put a block on, we leaned it in a little bit until we had an igloo." Grade 2 - Open Eurythmy Lesson for Parents About a week ago, grade 2 families were invited to experience the story of The Enchanted Hog, shared by the students in their Eurythmy Lesson with Ms. Freundlich. 
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This section provided as a free service to the SWS community.
Charlotte's Webpage: Why Children Shouldn't Have The World At Their Fingertips
Thomas Edison was a great inventor, but a lousy prognosticator. When he proclaimed in 1922 that the motion picture would replace textbooks in schools, he began a long string of spectacularly wrong predictions regarding the capacity of various technologies to revolutionize teaching. To date, none of them-from film to television-has lived up to the hype. Even the computer has not been able to show a consistent record of improving education. Read the full article here. (Found in newsletter for WaldorfTeachers.com.)
What Are Our Community Members Up To?
Yoshiki Nakamura, parent of a grade 8 SWS graduate, is a fabulous photographer and his images are often featured in The Seattle Times Thursday Weekend section of the paper. Click here for a dreamy image of ducks on Shadow Lake or here for Yoshiki's Facebook page.
Mike Kline, SWS parent and faculty member, is also an artist and you can see some of his work on display at Seattle Healing Arts until May at 6300 - 9th Avenue NE . You can also visit his website mklineart.com.
Lectures, Workshops, Etc.
Art Lessons from Janet Lia
Come learn art with Janet Lia, Waldorf art teacher for over 20 years and Teacher Trainer at Sound Circle.
· Veil Painting Watercolor
Wednesdays, March 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6, 10:30 - 12 pm
Starting abstractly, everyone will paint a beautiful picture of pure, radiant veils of watercolor. Then with supportive guidance, participants will discover the theme of the painting and learn painting techniques to make it become visible, creating a beautiful watercolor picture arising from the imagination. Students use easels, large paper and acrylic brushes for the technique of layering watercolor glazing. $185 (includes all materials).
· New: Acrylic Painting
Fridays, March 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 9:30 am-11:30 am
This class will combine traditional acrylic painting techniques such as color mixing, shading, glazing and creating definition with opaque paints, with Janet's unique approach of developing individual artistic style. Participants will begin by creating tonal spaces of color which will allow them to discover the theme for the painting. Then photos may be referenced for realism. Each class will include instructor demonstration, class review, and plenty of individual attention. $200 (includes all materials).
For more information, visit janetlia.com or call 206-522-1937.
Short Course in Biodynamic Husbandry
Fridays, March 11, 18, & 25, Saturday, April 9, 10 am - 5 pm, WSU Puyallup Research & Extension Center & Zestful Gardens, Tacoma, WA (March dates) and S&S Homestead Farm, Lopez Island (April 9)
This four-day course will introduce participants to proven biodynamic approaches to soil, crop, and animal husbandry through lectures, experiential exercises, hands-on learning, and on-farm activities.
Tuition: $210-260, depending upon number of participants. This includes tuition and field trip expenses (two farm-produced meals & ferry fares). Text: $40 (Bio-Dynamic Farming Practice, by Sattler & Wistinghausen at discount from BDFGA). Pre-registration required. Limited to 25 participants.
For more information and to register, visit sshomestead.org/workshops. Contact Barry Lia at barrylia@comcast.net.
Sound Circle Foundation Year 2011-2012 Visiting Day
Saturday, March 12, Seattle Waldorf Grade School The visit will start with Singing at 8:15 am with both the Foundation Year and third year teacher training students, led by Robyn Jones. This is how most of our Saturdays begin. This will be followed by a lecture at 9 am by Elan Leibner introducing Waldorf Education. At 10:30 am there will be snack, followed by an overview of the program at 10:45 am, which will give an opportunity to ask questions to a panel of faculty members and students. You may come to the whole morning or for any combination of these sessions.
Introduction to Waldorf Education with Elan Leibner
Saturday, March 12, 19, and 26, 9 -10:30 am at Seattle Waldorf Grade School, Huckleberry Hall
Waldorf education is the foremost application of anthroposophy in this country. Visitors to Waldorf schools see a whole unusual range of activities, methods and curricula. These, interesting and impressive though they are by themselves, are all outer manifestations of a profound set of basic principles. In these talks, Elan will explore the underlying core of Waldorf education and seek to demonstrate how inherently artistic and profoundly spiritual the education can be. $10 per session. Parenting with Awareness: Cultivating emotional balance on the spiritual path of parenting
Monday evenings, March 7, 14, 21, 28 and April 4, 11, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Learn ways to connect with yourself and the other adult participants through stillness and movement, in silence and in dialogue. We all need a safe and supportive environment to acknowledge how challenging parenting can be. Together we can summon the courage to meet these challenges. Participants will receive a workbook with written information, questions for self-reflection and precise descriptions of the weekly exercises to support their progress outside of the class. SWS parent and psychologist Lucianne Hackbert, PhD is the instructor. Cost is $260 ($240 if you sign up with a friend). Email luci@campselfdiscovery.com Spring Break Drama Camp April 18-22, 10 am - 2 pm, Phinney Neighborhood Center, Seattle Looking for a meaningful activity for your child during Spring Break? Veteran children's theater teacher/director/actor, Martha Murphy, founder of Whidbey Children's Theater in Langley, WA. on Whidbey Island, will be in Seattle to work with a group of young performers (ages 9 -13, no experience required) producing an adaptation of the delightful children's classic, Treasure Island. Students will get scripts and work as a team learning the in's and out's of producing a play. Students will be involved in all the aspects of the production and a public performance will conclude the week-long camp. The focus of the camp is #1 Have Fun! but also learn to work as a team, develop confidence and expression and learn about live theater. Tuition is $200. For more information: murphy@whidbey.com, 360-221-7880 or cell: 360-914-0912 Laura Ingalls Wilder Summer Camp July 18-22 and July 25-29, 9 - 3 pm, Maple Leaf Area, Seattle
Re-live the life of a pioneer girl! Do pioneer chores, hand-sew patchwork projects, and do crafts from the Little House books. Bake strange and sometimes delicious pioneer recipes, dress in pioneer clothes, and learn more about life in pioneer times. We will also play in my big and beautiful back yard (complete with trampoline and pool, swings and slide), read aloud from the Little House books, and visit the nearby creek. $275 (includes all materials and 2 authentic Laura and Mary snacks per day). 1 mile from SWS. See website at pioneergirlsummercamp.com, contact Jacqueline at tppoems@comcast.net, or call 206-526-1373 for more information or to reserve your spot.
Seattle Family Dance Sunday, March 27, 3-5 pm, 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! Caroline Oakley will call the dances and Forrest Carrol & Friends will supply the tunes.
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
Classifieds
Nanny in Exchange for Housing in Ravenna Hello! We rent a large, beautiful home in Ravenna, and we are in need of some assistance from someone with experience as a nanny. This unique opportunity is available for someone who has no criminal background, is available, reliable, and has references. Our ideal candidate is familiar with the Waldorf education, is health conscious, a non-smoker, and has a clean driving record. We need someone who has 25 hours a week to be with our son and some cooking and light cleaning will also be required. What we would offer in return is a lovely apartment in exchange for your help & caring for our 5 year old son. The neighborhood offers many amenities and is a great place to live. If you feel you can meet our needs, please do not hesitate to email and tell us about yourself and your experience. For more information, click here to read about the apartment, or contact Paul, Michelle, and Sage Filinson at 415-717-4414 or pfilinson@mac.com. |
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In case you missed it in the last issue...
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.
Queen of t he Sun: What are the bees telling us?
Don't miss this movie beginning its run today, 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.
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
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:
March 5: Rudolf Steiner's Biography II with Michael Soulé
$10 per lecture
2. 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
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
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Continued....
Turning 30 - What Does It Mean?
As an institution - such as our school - is born, the pioneering phase is of course in full swing. Much enthusiasm, creativity, and efforts are needed in this phase, which can last up to 10 years. This is often characterized by a small and very close community of founding members who dedicate their lives to an extent rarely seen afterwards.
Following this initial phase (one could call it the institution's early childhood phase), we move into the teenage years with many wishes, desires, and possibilities, and its accompanying problems and difficulties. Often decision making is not sufficiently evolved to manage the many challenges of growth, and initiatives are curbed as the expertise is still limited. Conflicts abound, despite enthusiasm, and know-how is sorely needed. This phase can last five to eight years or so, generally long enough for a school to establish its kindergarten through grade eight programs. The first 15 years are often needed to firmly establish a viable middle school. It seems that many schools get 'stuck' at that vital juncture, the point where the motto is ' We HAVE to change."
If all goes well, the institution will have acquired a bit more thoughtfulness and reflection, and will have developed a certain degree of institutional memory. In other words, the group will have learned from its past mistakes, and will feel the need to expand once more. That is the time when a school begins to consider preschool and high school. It will take many years for these wishes to come to life, but a new wave of enthusiasm is on its way. At that time it is not unusual for the community to feel a certain degree of tension between the long-timers, traditionalists who have worked tirelessly to make the institution what it now is, and those - often newer members - who wish for more. This tension, if handled wisely, will give birth to renewed intentions, with a solidity and stability much enjoyed by those who have survived the upheavals of the younger years.
As the institution continues to mature, these tensions come to resolution, entering a phase of integration. The willingness and ability to face and manage challenges and difficulties has greatly increased, and much is accomplished at that time. Often, as an institution reaches its 30s, a test will arise. It is very interesting that SWS undergoes its accreditation specifically in its 30th year. The result of the accreditation - whether SWS obtains accreditation or whether it receives recommendations that will delay its accreditation status - is in this context not that important. What is essential is that the school has sufficiently matured to be able to stand open for critique. This in itself is quite a demonstration of maturity.
As we look into the next decade, with the feeling of newly acquired maturity, we think once more of the ancient Greek traditions and our role as mentors for other schools who ask for help. For example we recognize the individualities of other Waldorf schools and how they differ from ours. Yet we now feel wise enough to provide support devoid of the urge to convince. We can only take our next steps into full adulthood if we ourselves continue on our journey of growth and evolution, which for our school lies in the further integration of our programs and our ability to diversify, so we can serve the ever-widening scope of our students' needs.
We are proud that our reaching 30 comes with this feeling of accomplishment!
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GRADE 3 ARTWORK FROM THE BLOCK ON SHELTERS
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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 15.
Submissions Guidelines © 2010 Seattle Waldorf School.
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