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Parent Perspective:
The Third Grade Farm Trip
by Kimberly Trent and Steven Mania
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May 2, 2011 - As many third grade classes have done before us, we gathered in the school parking lot to board a leased wheeled giant destined for Hawthorne Valley in Ghent, New York. Parents and children attended to luggage and last-minute exchanges before departing for a much-anticipated, five-day pilgrimage - the Third Grade Farm Trip. The children carefully packed for the journey and perhaps a bit uneasy of what was about to happen, boarded the bus with excitement, vigor, and anticipation. Accompanied by their teacher, Ms. Richardson, and two parent chaperones (us), the children set off. For some or perhaps all of the children, this was the first long separation from the familiar structure of family life filled with its everyday comforts ... To read more, click here.
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Alumni News
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Andrea Schofield '01 is pleased to announce her eurythmy graduation performance titled, "... among burning flowers" to be held at the Kimberton Waldorf School on Sunday, June 19, at 4 p.m. The program will feature a diverse selection of poetry from John Donne, T. S. Eliot, ee cummings, and David Wagoner interspersed with music from Bach, Barber, Debussy, Ginastera, and Takemitsu. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. Children under 12 are free.
Dylan Karchere-Sun '10 won the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament first-singles title in tennis. For more information about Dylan and his game, click here.
Gwen Shockey '02 writes, "I am traveling to Peru in July in collaboration with NYC-based non-profit Art in a Box (www.artinabox.org) and the U.S. Embassy in Peru to initiate an empowerment project for under-served girls through art. Art in a Box conducts training programs to help at-risk women and girls generate their own income through art and design.
As a volunteer with Art in a Box, my trip will be completely self-funded. To make this trip, I need to raise $1,000 by June 25, 2011. If you can help, please make your tax-deductible contribution by check payable to Art in a Box and mail it to Gwen Shockey, Art in a Box, 463 West St., Suite G-122, New York, NY 10014 and note "Peru Paper Doll Project" on your check. Or pay online through Network for Good: DONATE NOW and indicate "Peru Paper Doll" where it requests "Designation" under checkout.
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This and That
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Essentials of Waldorf Education Course at Sunbridge Institute
Have you ever wished you had gone to Waldorf School when you were a child? This summer you too can engage in the Waldorf Curriculum for a one-week immersion into the Essentials of Waldorf Education. Come learn why Waldorf works, experience the arts that your children receive at school everyday, and enjoy the beautiful campus of Sunbridge Institute in the summertime.
Visit the website or e-mail Kathleen Morse for more information.
Japanese Disaster Recovery Fund Update
From Fumiko Bauer, WSP Parent
Thank you for supporting the Japanese Disaster Recovery Fund at May Fair. Thanks to the school's support, the Waldorf parents group collected $1,159.25 at the fair. We were thrilled that this amount exceeded the goal we had set of $1,000.
After weighing several possible options, we decided where we are going to send this money. Mukaiyama Kindergarten, located in Eastern Japan, is a school whose approach to teaching is based on Rudolf Steiner's philosophy. This school sustained no significant damage during the disaster. However, with the guidance of a professor of early childhood education at Miyagi Gakuin Women's University, it has started a project dedicated to supporting the education needs in the area under reconstruction. It is providing such items as books, new desks, and chairs to schools that the disaster hit the hardest. From our limited perspective, it makes sense to let people on the scene make judgments about what issues most need attention. We are so happy to support their project and will keep informed of their activities.
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SAVE THE DATE
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Opening Day 2011-2012
GS: Tues, Sept. 6, 9-12:40
EC: Wed, Sept. 7
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REMINDER
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Third graders enjoying the warm weather
with tools in hand.
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The end of each school year brings with it warm feelings of accomplishment. The children have grown by leaps and bounds! We see the change both in their short pants and in the multiple lesson books and amazing projects slowly making their way home. New students now blend with the crowd, clearly oriented in the ways of the school and the secrets of the campus. They know that Old Man Tree is not just a tree, and can maneuver up the slickest of sledding hills! We smile remembering the children deeply engaged with their class plays, their stories from the day, and the waist-deep snow. What a year!
So many people play a role in creating this amazing learning environment that it is almost impossible to tease out the influence of one single individual. Instead, we see the rich colors of a multifaceted group of adults encouraging the students at each step. I would like to recognize all of these people and thank them for their dedication to helping each child find his or her way; and for the late nights and weekends they spend studying, imagining, and preparing for the coming day! The school is so fortunate to have such a capable and caring faculty.
Thank you all for a wonderful, event-filled year. We hope you and your family will find the summer peaceful and fun; please look for our next Willow sometime in early September!
Nancy Lemmo
School Administrator
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SCHOOL EVENTS
End-of-Year Assembly
Saturday, June 4, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Montgomery Upper Middle School
375 Burnt Hill Road, Skillman, NJ 08558
609-466-7603
Please join us for this event, which offers a glimpse into the wonderful things our children have learned during the year. The assembly is a morning filled with not-to-be-missed student performances in grades one through seven. All grade school children are asked to arrive no later than 9:15 a.m. and to join their classes at that time. Children who are playing stringed instruments need to come at 9:00 for tuning. Please leave some extra time for parking and entry into the school. Early Childhood families are encouraged to attend!
First Grade Play: "Water of Life"
Wednesday, June 1, 6:30 p.m.
Hagens Hall
Sixth Grade Play:
"Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady"
Friday, June 3, 9:15 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.
Hagens Hall
Grade School Field Day Friday, June 10, 10:45-11:45 a.m. Parents are welcome to watch the mixed-age relays in the lower field that celebrate the last day of school. Save the Earth: have students bring water in a reusable container to stay hydrated in the heat, then bring it back home to use again.
To view our complete events calendar, please click here. |
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FROM THE OFFICE
From the Registrar
Friday, June 10, is the last day to withdraw (in writing) your enrollment agreement and the financial commitment for the 2011-12 school year. After this date, enrollment agreements are binding for the full amount of yearly tuition. Deposits are nonrefundable.
2011-12 Back-to-School Forms Have Been Mailed! Remember to complete your forms now and return them to the office before the end of this year. Questions? Contact Solveig Pearson, registrar, or call 609-466-1970, x114.
Parents, please note: Tuition invoices for the 2011-12 school year will be mailed by June 15. Please also note that monthly coupons will have a different format this year. From the Bookkeeper Reminder to teachers and parents who may have invoices to submit for reimbursements for the 2010-11 school year: please submit green sheets with receipts attached to the bookkeeping office. Green sheets are available in the Golden House upstairs copy room. All green sheets must be submitted by June 30, 2011. Nothing submitted after that date will be reimbursed. Deadline Approaching for the Waldorf School
of Princeton Community Walkway A week and a half left to join in the building of the WSP Community Walkway, to be installed as part of the Tractor Barn Classroom Renovation Project this summer. Inscribed bricks may be purchased for $100 and $300. For more information and to order, click here. Deadline to order is June 10. Contact Diane Barlow with questions. One Month to Go for Our
2010-2011 Annual Fund Campaign! As of May 27, 71 percent of our current families have made gifts and pledges to the Annual Fund. There's still time to make your gift or pay your pledge by Visa or MasterCard online or by sending it to the school. Currently, we've raised $97,802 in gifts and pledges (payable by June 30) toward our $115,000 goal. Class participation: 76% - Grade 7, class agents: Wayne Rebarber 80% - Grade 6, class agent: Stephanie Gray 68% - Grade 5, class agent: Mark Hornung 84% - Grade 4, class agent: Doug Jackson 87% - Grade 3, class agents: Tara Romanowich 100% - Grade 2, class agent: Mary Langeron 100% - Grade 1, class agent: Jennifer Murray 93% - Rose Kindergarten, class agent: Maja Von Doehren 85% - Sunflower Kindergarten, class agent: Chi Park 67% - Lilac Pre-kindergarten, class agent: Sara Young 80% - Buttercup Nursery, class agent: Bill Bauer 38% - Peach Blossom Nursery, class agent: Liesl Fisher 33% - Morning Glory Parent-Child Thanks to all who have participated in making this a successful year of fund-raising for WSP! We are still hoping for 100% participation by all classes by June 30. Gifts of any size are welcome! |
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SCHOOL NEWS
2011 May Fair a Success!
A Thank-You from Marla Hanan
Thank you to all who helped to make the May Fair a success - and that is most of you! Surely the children enjoyed themselves and visitors had the chance to experience the dedication, positive energy, and creativity of our school community. In particular I'd like to thank Melissa Printon and Marian Seliquini for their help with the fair vendors; Bill Bauer for helping to organize the open mic and for playing his wonderful music at the fair; G.G. Armstrong, Seth Breitman, and Andrew Wynn for sharing their fabulous music with us; Shyam Singh Maharjan for providing delicious food; Brunda Moka Dias for her help with the food; and of course all of the parent representatives who helped to organize each of the class offerings:
Karleen Aghevli, Nicole Breitman, Siobhan Darrow, Tami Denette, Bella Jaikaria, Lauren Jones, Angela Kneppers, Aimee Knerr, Susan Hsieh Su, Susan McCoy, Jeffrey Mershon, Beth Miller, Melissa Printon, Marian Seliquini, Amy Shor, Maja von Doehren, and Janice Zuzov.
Grandparents' & Special Friends' Day Recap
We welcomed more than 100 guests to our annual Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day on May 13; a combination of grandparents, relatives, special friends, and parents were here to join in our kindergarten classes' May festival celebrations and to enjoy the grade school mini-assembly and visits to the classrooms. Many thanks to our teachers for their work in preparing for this special event and to our students for their presentations. Thanks also to Siobhan Darrow, Ondy Wasem, Christina Sacalis, and Angela Kneppers for providing homemade refreshments; to Tracy Ashcroft for her help setting up the reception; to Kimberly Trent for taking photographs; and to Angel Heller and Marilyn Del Valle for welcoming guests in the kindergarten classes.
Seventh Grade Class Trip
The 7th grade is going on a bike and camp trip June 6-10 on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal along the Potomac River. They've set a goal of biking 40 miles a day, but of course this will depend on the heat, the wet, and their will. Their end goal is to reach Harpers Ferry for a sneak peak of next year's history curriculum.
First Grade Camping Trip
Saturday, June 11
WSP Campus
Interested in Teaching in the After School Enrichment Program?
Do you have an activity, interest, expertise, or hobby that you would like to offer to our students and those of the wider community in this after school program? These teaching opportunities could be a one-time basis, a 4-6 week course, or a full semester of 10-12 lessons. The possibilities are wide: chess, the arts, cooking, outdoor games, special academic skills, and nature exploration. This past year was full of wonderful experiences for the children such as Acting with Carol Kehoe, Cooking with Shyam Maharjan, Abacus with Ondria Wasem, Morris Dancing with Jamie Watson, and Chinese and Calligraphy with Seow-Chu See. We hope to continue many of these classes but we are also interested in the untapped talents and possibilities in the community.
Thank you, Class of 2010, and to Our
Greening the Golden House donors! The landscaping of the Golden House has finally begun. Thanks to the work of fifth grade parent and landscape architect Joseph Chambers and the legacy gift from the graduating class of 2010 plus contributions from our community, we are able to continue the green beautification of the Golden House. Joe researched non-poisonous native shade plants that will offer berries and fragrances to engage the children. This plan is designed to be installed in stages with little professional help. We will install the phase two plants in the fall. We are excited to see this design mature and fully planted. New Members on the Board of Trustees On May 25, the Board of Trustees elected two new members: Nicholas Rumin and Kurt Steinert. Nick, who was already serving on the Board's Finance Committee, is a lawyer and the founder of Rumin Search Consulting, which performs attorney placements for law firms. His daughter, Katie, will enter third grade in the fall. Kurt Steinert has a background in corporate and public interest communications and is currently a director of corporate communications at Alcatel-Lucent. Kurt's son, Emmett, is entering the third grade in the fall, and his daughter, Ila Pearl, is in kindergarten. Three experienced Trustees are stepping down from the Board, after many years of dedicated service: Jeffrey Olkin, Heide Ratliff, and Bob Rose. Each of them helped the school in more ways than we can count. Jeffrey served as Board Chair and as Board Treasurer prior to that. Heide and Bob have each been deeply involved in development work in recent years, and have been active parents and Board members in the past. A profound Thank You to each of them. Scrip Update We are pleased to announce that by the end of this school year, our Scrip Program will have earned our school approximately $5,000! It is with much gratitude to our 45 families plus WSP Staff for participating in this fundraiser. Our Scrip income was generated by the coordinated efforts of our dedicated community members, volunteers, and vendors. We would like to extend a special thanks to our numerous Scrip assistants including: Karleen Aghevli, Jessica Alfaro, Amy Krause, Julie Martin, Jennifer Murray, Melissa Printon, Tara Romanowich, and Marian Seliquini, as well as our local participating vendors including: jaZams, McCaffrey's, Nomad Pizza, Princeton Day Spa, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, and Whole Earth Center. Stay tuned to learn the winner of the final Scrip raffle and for more information on next year's Scrip program! WSP Summer Camp-It's Not Too Late! Are you seeking a summer full of exciting and developmentally appropriate activities for your child? If so, join us for three two-week Summer Camp sessions from June 27 through August 5. Specialty Camps for 10- to 14-year-olds include: Sports/Circus, Naturalists, Theater, Sculptural Arts, Woodworking, and Art. Register soon, as there are a limited number of spaces still available! Visit us online to download a camp registration form, or e-mail inquiries to summercamp@princetonwaldorf.org. |
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