Weekly Update from the MN Waldorf School

Your Weekly Update

News from the Minnesota Waldorf School

January 19, 2010

Save the Date to Frolic-- April 17th, 5:30 pm - Midnight

317 on Rice Park in downtown St. Paul

Find a sitter! Call your friends! Brush off your dancin' shoes! The MWS Frolic is right around the corner and do we have a party planned for you! The Frolic is our spring gala-- dinner, dance, and auction. It's an opportunity to dress up and have fun with all your favorite folks from drop-off and pick-up. It's also a great way to show off the school to friends and family. We're excited to have The Tim Malloys, featuring 4th grade dad Tom Delaney, as our band this year and 317 on Rice Park is a great place to throw a party. Visit www.thefrolic.org for more information and watch The Update for details and announcements.

Please remind your children that the mats and gymnastics equipment in the Festival Hall are off-limits outside of Movement time. Please pay particular attention during the hectic time between 3:20-3:40 pm.

Experience Waldorf: It's Your Turn to Come to Class! January 23rd, 9:30 am to noon

Experience first-hand what makes the Waldorf curriculum so unique and engaging. Parents and interested adults can get a glimpse of what happens in the classroom through the grades by selecting two of six mini-classes. Learn to read with Ms. Garcia, discover science with Mr. Maier, get active with movement teacher Mr. Curtin, and more. Between classes, we'll host a panel discussion with faculty and alumni who will answer questions and share their insights. This is a wonderful workshop for parents of MWS students and also a great event to share with family and friends.

Help us spread the word about this amazing event by posting or dropping off postcards at your favorite haunts. Take as many as you can distribute from the wooden table in the front entry; if supplies run out or if you have questions, please contact Brenda Haak.

Information for Private School Families: 2009 K-12 Education Tax Credit & Deduction

The Minnesota Independent School Forum (www.misf.org) would like to share some valuable tax information specifically for families with students in private/nonpublic K-12 schools. Please consult your tax advisor with questions and a complete list of qualifying education expenses as you complete your 2009 tax returns.

New Pre-K and Kindergarten Students

If you intend to enroll a younger sibling in the Pre-K/Kindergarten classes for the 2010-11 school year, it is time to submit an application. Applications may be printed from the website or picked up at school. If you need more information, contact Brenda Haak or any other member of the administrative staff.

AWSNA January Newsletter Available

'Inform' is a publication sent by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) to all the affiliated Waldorf schools in its membership to keep parents, teachers, board members, alumni, and all those interested in Waldorf Education informed of the current events affecting Waldorf schools nationally and internationally. The January issue is now available on our website.

Donate to the 09-10 Annual Campaign

Our Annual Campaign is under way and we'd like to invite you to participate. Donations to the Annual Campaign support our talented faculty, help finance tuition assistance for families in need, buy classroom supplies, fund field trips, and more! Please give generously.

As of 1/12/10, we've raised more than $33,000. Please help us reach our goal of $60,000!

What a gift means to our school this year:

- $9,500 covers tuition for one child

- $4,800 pays for six weeks of Eurythmy

- $1,500 supplies toys and furniture for our new kindergarten

- $1,200 buys 20 pentatonic flutes

- $400 helps update our chemistry equipment

- $200 sends one class to an orchestra performance

Donate online through this secure link (with NO admin fees!), or mail or drop off your donation anytime with anyone in Admin. Thank you for your support!

School Store News

Featured items in the school store this week are Helle Heckman's DVD for parents of young children and pottery by MWS parent Sarah Bowman.

Helle Heckman, educator and director of the Danish kindergarten Nokken, visited the TC this past fall and lectured on caring for young children, having fun with boys, and "finding danger in safe places." These topics and more may be found on her inspirational dvd.

Sarah Bowman, mother of Elise (K-BH), is inspired by light in the creation of her wheel-thrown pieces. You will find her beautiful bowls, vases and other works in the school store-- each boasts details rendered in underglaze and finished with layers of translucent colored glazes. Their surfaces are reminiscent of light streaming through a cloud. Stop by and check them out.

In addition, the remaining Waldorf art calendars are now 50% off. We have a great selection of indoor games and Ravensburger puzzles for these cool winter days!

Grains & Flours Available on Mondays

Sunrise Flour Mill, owned by Marty and Darrold Glanville, grandparents of Anthony Fiorito, grade 2, will begin making organic products available for purchase every other Monday. The first date will be Tuesday Jan 19 because there is no school on Monday, January 18. Products are as follows: 2 1/2 lb bags of freshly milled bread and pastry flours $7.00 each, 2 lb bags of five grain pancake mix $6.00, 1 lb bags of fresh flaked oats $5.00, 1 lb. bags brown rice $4.00, and 2 lb bags of popcorn $5.00. The order sheet will include additional products that can be special ordered for the next Monday sale date. Home flour mills and oat flakers also are available.

Parent Handwork Group Preps for Holiday Fair '10: Craft Suppies Needed

In the interest of making Holiday Fair 2010 less stressful for parents, we are already gearing up with parent handwork activities. If you have any surplus arts and craft items, please consider donating them to us.

We can use just about anything: beads, felt, wool, cloth (we can even use cloth from clothing, sheets, etc.), buttons, embroidery floss, etc. No reasonable donation refused! A collection box will be placed in the Parent Lounge for donations, or you may give your items directly to Ting Ting Cheng 651-492-9107 or tinglcheng@gmail.com.

Parent Handwork Group

Because the Kindergarten Parent Knitting sessions that meet on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to noon in the library are actually open to ALL parents to do any kind of handwork (or none!), we are officially changing its name to Parent Handwork Group. Everyone is welcome to attend! Don't forget, in January, Marty Glanville is available for knitting help or lessons.

Eurythmy Experiences

During the time that Claudia Fontana was teaching our Eurythmy block, she also offered an evening course for parents. Each week, we'll publish reflections on that experience as shared by the parents who participated. This week's article was written by Jen Mosher and Vicki Dunlop.

Jen Mosher: I consider eurythmy to be an incredible gift to my inner child. When I am participating in eurythmy, I feel as though I am in an enchanted world that I am loath to leave. The feelings I have are of pure joy and reverence. Ms. Claudia is gifted with the ability to use language to create the most beautiful mental images, inspiring me to dig deeper from within to match the beauty of those images with my physical form. I feel as though my soul is flying and thanking me for its freedom, and words alone cannot describe how grateful I am that my children have the opportunity to be exposed to such a pure art form.