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February 8, 2013 Kinderhaus parents have been busy creating an amazing play kitchen, complete with felted fruit and vegetables, for their Inspire! project.
Click on any image to see a larger version.
Next issue: March 8
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A L L S C H O O L N E W S
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Living With Gray
"I have come to understand that the world is not a series of objects, but is instead a series of relationships that are expressing themselves in beautifully and intricately harmonic ways."
So began Michael D'Aleo on Tuesday evening in his lecture at the high school, during which others and I sat captivated for more than 90 minutes as he shared how students' capacity for thought develops through their final four years of Waldorf education in high school. An engineer by training, Michael teaches physical science and math at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs, and serves as Director of Research at the Saratoga Experiential Natural Science Research Institute (SENSRI). (Let me preface this by noting that I avoided chemistry and physics at all costs in high school, preferring the worlds of Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen.) So I came to the lecture hoping that I could perhaps catch every other word and leave with at least some understanding of his presentation.
Instead, the evening was one of those "hold on for a wild ride" experiences for me. Michael guided us through the progression of how adolescent thinking and understanding develops within the context of Waldorf science curricula, beginning with the sense-based thinking of 9th grade and culminating with the complex capacity of 12th graders to consider an idea or concept from a multitude of perspectives - essentially, to hold different or even conflicting understandings of the same topic simultaneously.
Wednesday evening I joined the circle of 6th grade parents, and listened to class teacher Kate Golden share openly and beautifully why she is handing over this wonderful class to Mike Kline for their final two years of grade school. Kate reflected to the parents that this healthy and joyful group of students is ready to branch out and extend themselves to one another and into the larger community - which can best happen with a new teacher, who holds them in a different way. While she could very capably and with great love take this class to 8th grade, the opportunity for growth that will come with Mr. Kline calls to these children - and to Kate. She could not ignore that.
And now for the connection between these two experiences - my "aha" moment at 5am this morning (yes, out running!) Our rising 1st grade families, our 6th grade families, and all of us are asked to do exactly what Michael D'Aleo described that evening - hold an array of images on a single idea: that your child will make his or her journey through grade school with a single teacher holding that class for eight years.
I wrestled with that notion for a bit, trying to resolve what felt like cognitive dissonance between conflicting ideals. How can we, on the one hand, put forward the eight-year loop, and then support a teacher's decision to step away prior to that point of completion?
A second "aha." Our Waldorf pedagogy asks us to know and see every child, to discern and meet their intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual needs. For a teacher to recognize that someone else could meet his or her students in a new, different and deeper way does not contradict our beliefs at all. In fact, it underscores and further validates our pedagogical approach - that we believe children's capacities and relationships with the world unfold uniquely over time, and the role of our teachers is to truly see and meet these children for whom they are, whether in 1st, 4th or 8th grade. Whether the same person can do that at every point along the way cannot be known on that first day of 1st grade, and to not reflect and re-evaluate throughout this journey would be a serious oversight and disregard for our Waldorf pedagogy.
I'll close by circling back to Michael's opening thought - that our world is a series of beautiful relationships. Relationships that are wonderfully rich and rewarding, yet evolve and change over time. SWS offers our students, and us, a safe place to engage fully in these relationships, even when they are difficult, disappointing or "messy." An old friend used to challenge me to get more comfortable with "living in the gray area, " rather than continually seek the security of the black or the white. It has taken me a long time to get there, but letting go of that need for certainty and understanding that there are multiple perspectives of the same idea with no right answer has certainly made life easier. And a lot more fun!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Tracy
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Win A Stay At "One Of The Top 500 Hotels In The World" 
Travel and Leisure Magazine lists The Inn At Langley as one of the top 500 - and you can win a trip to this amazingly romantic local treasure at Inspire! Click here to read about the Inn.
Fantastic auction items, fabulous food, fun music, great company - all that and more comes with your ticket to Inspire! on March 16. Buy your ticket now - click here. Ways to be involved:
- Make a dessert - click here.
- Join the party as a volunteer - click here. (We will feed you well!)
- Donate your favorite wine to our Instant Wine Cellar live auction item - click here.
- Connect us with additional sponsors for Inspire! - click here.
We are very grateful for our event sponsors! Click on a logo to learn more.
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News From The Admissions Office
Recommitment Days Are Coming Up On Wednesday And Thursday
Tuition agreement forms and checks can be mailed back or dropped off in the Garden House at the grade school campus on February 13 and 14 from 7:45-9:30 am and 2:30-4 pm. Please bring the signed tuition agreement along with separate checks for the tuition deposit and the recommitment fee.
Whether mailing or dropping off, all recommitment materials are due no later than 4 pm on Thursday, February 14. All families that meet the deadline will be entered in a raffle to win 2 tickets to the Inspire! auction taking place on March 16. Recommitments received after this deadline will be assessed a $250 late recommitment penalty in addition to the deposit. Please call Meg Petty at 206-524-5320, ext. 1 if you have any questions or need to make special arrangements.
Financial Aid Deadline
If you are planning on applying for financial aid for the 2013-14 school year, please remember to submit your application to SSS by February 8. You can access the SSS website from the Forms page on our website or click here. SWS's school code is 7249. All requested supporting documents are due to SWS at recommitment days and no later than February 15. Please make arrangements to have your 2012 income taxes and all other required documents ready to submit to SWS at that time. (Click here for the SWS financial aid application checklist to help you get ready.) Please call Marlinda Siegfried at 206-588-2034 if you have any questions about the financial aid process.
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My Peek At The High School
By Susan Ingham, Marigold parent and member of the Facilities Committee
Earlier this week, I received an invitation to tour the high school, meet with some of the administrators, and see classes in action. I had never been to the high school campus, and I was curious to see it and get a glimpse of Waldorf education at the high school level. What kinds of things were these students learning? How does a Waldorf education compare to one at a regular high school today, or to the high school education that I received many years ago? How do the teachers and students relate to each other in class? How do the Waldorf principles of educating the whole person manifest at the high school level? These were all questions that were running through my mind as I stepped into the building and was greeted warmly by Brenda Baker, the high school admissions coordinator. Once our group was assembled, Brenda explained that we would be visiting each grade during their morning lesson block period. At the high school, these three week long special study blocks are in addition to the regular classes with which we are more familiar: English, math, history, foreign language, music, art, etc. The blocks include more specialized topics such as astronomy, world religions, organic chemistry, comedy and tragedy, civics and mechanics, to name a few. The content and sequence of the blocks are very carefully considered for each grade level, especially in how they integrate with the rest of the core curriculum throughout the academic year.
Our first stop was ninth grade, where Mr. Freundlich was conducting an animated discussion on thermodynamics. The class was learning about the laws of thermodynamics, and how the equations work as long as the state of matter remains the same. Instead of lecturing though, Mr. Freundlich was posing a series of questions to the class, so that they were actively figuring out for themselves how these formulas worked and when they were to be used. In one instance, he used the example of our hands being able to detect differences in temperature, relating the abstract concept of heat differential back to the human body and personal experience.
The next stop was the tenth grade, where the class was broken up into small groups working on trigonometry. They had just learned the magic word soh-cah-toa, a mnemonic which assisted them in computing the sine, cosine, and tangent of any given angle in a triangle. In observing what they were doing, I was immediately transported back thirty years to my own high school experience, learning trig using the same mnemonic. The difference, though, was that this was not just a class on trigonometry, but it was part of a lesson block titled Practical Trig. The class teacher, Mrs. Fischer, explained to us that soon the students would be utilizing their new trigonometry skills in the design and building of a city, complete with bridges, flag poles, towers, and other structures. As a practicing architect who uses trigonometry occasionally in my professional work, I was fascinated with this idea and very impressed with this practical use of an abstract math concept. It also sounded like a lot of fun - I would have loved to have participated in a block like this as part of my high school curriculum. Next we entered the eleventh grade classroom where guest teacher Michael D'Aleo was in the middle of a discussion about the nature of matter as part of the Periodic Table block. The first thing that I noticed in this classroom was that most of the students were standing, crowding around Mr. D'Aleo and the other students who were sitting in the front row. Mr. D'Aleo had written two columns on the blackboard, one titled "Touch" and one titled "See." The students were asked to name objects or bits of matter that one could touch or feel but not see, and objects that one could see but not touch. The excitement of the students was palpable as they shouted out answers and tried to think of more examples. The repelling and attracting characteristics of magnets was demonstrated as something that can be felt but not seen, and the aurora borealis and holograms were examples of things that could be seen but not touched. Were these examples considered matter? Unfortunately we could not stay for the rest of the class, but Lisa Ayrault informed us that the discussion would lead to consideration of elements in the Periodic Table and in particular the recent discovery of the Higgs-Boson particle, a scientific break-through in the field of quantum mechanics that has far-reaching implications in furthering knowledge about the nature of matter and the nature of the universe. Pretty theoretical stuff, but as in the previous classes, this class was another example of the teacher illustrating very abstract concepts using our sensory experiences as a basis for further knowledge. Our last stop was twelfth grade. The students in this grade were studying the politics and history of the Middle East as part of a modern history block. Ms. Bowman was describing the huge shifts of power and subsequent remapping of the region following the break-up of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. She explained the British Mandate of 1922 that created a homeland for the Jewish people, and the inherent weakness of that document in failing to define the exact nature of that homeland as a separate political state or not, which then became the beginning of the Jewish/Palestinian conflict that continues to the present day. In explaining the mandate, Ms. Bowman not only stated what it was, but she also included a more personal account of the mandate by reading an excerpt from a letter outlining the terms sent to Lord Rothschild, a prominent Zionist of the time, from the British Foreign Minister. I noticed that every student had on their desks a copy of The Lemon Tree, Sandy Tolan's book about the Jewish/Palestinian conflict as seen through the eyes of a young Palestinian boy and a Jewish girl whose families claimed ownership to the same house - yet another example of connecting abstract world events and concepts to the more personal experiences of the individuals involved. As I walked away from the class, I thought about how appropriate it was to have twelfth graders, who are about to go out into the world to be a part of new communities, study this very complex conflict about the challenges of different people claiming the same land, and whether it is possible to work this conflict out and achieve a peaceful coexistence. At the end of the tour, we had a chance to ask questions and look through some of the main lesson books that the students create as part of their studies. I always enjoy looking through the lesson books - admiring the beautiful drawings and reading the thoughtful prose - but this time I had a deeper understanding of what I was looking at. These books are compilations of knowledge - abstract concepts, universal facts, figures, and methods, conceptual ideas and scientific theories - but knowledge that is learned and communicated through the individual experiences of each student, made manifest through their artwork, penmanship, book design, and personal thoughts and observations about each subject. This holistic approach is one of the unique aspects of Waldorf education, and as I observed clearly on the tour, it carries through from the integrated curriculum, to the teachers teaching a balance of universal/conceptual and personal/sensory knowledge in the classroom, to the culmination of a handmade book that honors and integrates all of it.
I traveled back to my office trying to absorb what I had just experienced. I felt different somehow - freer, more aware of and connected to my surroundings, but at the same time very in tune with my body - similar to the feeling that I get when I walk out of a yoga class. I sensed that I had experienced some lessons that morning that were not purely academic; lessons that could be applied to other areas of life - my life, as it is a part of a larger whole. It made me want to go home and create my own handmade book...
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P A R E N T A S S O C I A T I O N
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Community First - Next Friday, February 15
Please join us after dropping off your child for coffee, tea, cookies and good company. Please park in the church lot to help keep our morning traffic flowing smoothly. Thank you!
Building A Scrip Program Benefits Our People, Places And Program
You may have heard that SWS earned $10,000 last year through parents shopping at PCC and using their Scrip card. Now imagine being able to double, triple, even quadruple that amount by expanding the Scrip program to include other retailers. We can! SWS is pursuing the creation of a more comprehensive Scrip program, but we need your help! If you are interested in helping out in a fun committee and would like to be a part of creating fun, informative pieces, or volunteering your organizational skills, the Scrip program would love to have you! Please contact Peggy Eulensen at dpjm@sbcglobal.net or Muffie Signalness at development@seattlewaldorf.org.
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H I G H S C H O O L N E W S
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High School Sweetheart Challenge
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
You can be an
SWHS Sweetheart too!
Disclaimer: This really bad poetry was not written by a SWHS Waldorf student!
Please take a moment today to help us meet our $10K Sweetheart Challenge by February 14. All gifts to the Annual Fund made by high school families and friends will be doubled by our Sweetheart Donor and designated directly to faculty professional development and programs at our high school.
To join the challenge, click here and make your gift via PayPal (as you complete the form you will see a field for adding special instructions to the seller: type in "Sweetheart"), or send a check to Seattle Waldorf School, 2728 NE 100th Street, Seattle, WA 98125, and write "Sweetheart" in the memo line.
Thank you for your participation at whatever level is comfortable for your family!
Chinese New Year
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G R A D E S C H O O L N E W S
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STOP! In The Name Of Law....
Please remember to come to a full stop - long enough to look to the left and to the right - at the stop sign as you leave the grade school parking lot. In addition, we ask that you do not drop children off on 100th Street.
Thank you for keeping everyone safe and for modeling safe driving for our children!
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Break Care For Mid-Winter Break, February 19-22 - Forms Due Next Tuesday
Break Care will be offered on Tuesday-Friday, February 19-22 for students age 5 through grade 5. You can register for a full day (8 am - 5:30 pm) or a half day (8 am - 1 pm). We offer a morning and afternoon snack, and ask that you provide a lunch for your child. Registration forms are due by Tuesday, February 12. Click here for the form or pick one up in the office. Please contact Diana Wolfe at dwolfe@seattlewaldorf.org with any questions.
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Lost & Found - Will Be Donated On Friday, February 15
The Lost & Found basket by the door is filling up. All of the coats, sweaters, shoes, water bottles, hats, etc. will be displayed in the lobby or outside, weather permitting, starting on Monday, February 11. Items that are left behind when school is out for Mid-Winter break will be donated.
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Hot Lunch Program - Place Your Order Here
The Hot Lunch fairies keep taking orders and producing yummy food... If you would like to order a hot lunch for your student, be sure to place your order by Friday of the week before the delivery. Click here to find all you need to know about the grade school hot lunches.
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E A R L Y C H I L D H O O D N E W S
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Daffodil - Visiting The Briar Rose Play Yard |
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C O M M U N I T Y A N N O U N C E M E N T S
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This section provided as a free service to the SWS community.
What Are Our Community Members Up To?
Brady Millard-Kish, grade 2 & 3 parents, will be bringing his group Downright to Egan's Ballard Jam House tomorrow, Saturday, February 9 from 7 - 8:30pm. Reservations are recommended and kids are welcome at this show! Following through with his New Year's resolution, Brady has written some new music, which he will be debuting that evening. Click here for a link to one of the songs that Downright played at their last gig,
Muffie Signalness, our Director of Development, is preparing for a trip to Shanghai, where she will be visiting with her baby grandson, and celebrating the Chinese New Year! Safe travels, Muffie!
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Lectures, Workshops, Concerts, Festivals, Summer Camps Etc.
Looking For A Summer Camp? Found A Great Camp?
Click here to share information about a summer camp you would recommend. Click here to see a list of camps for all ages that community members have suggested.
VIVA EURYTHMY - Classes For Adults At The Grade School - Drop-Ins Welcome!
Six Mondays from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, January 28 - March 11 (no class on February 18) Huckleberry Hall, grade school campus
Move with us into spring with the enlivening art of Eurythmy, including verse and music, guided by SWS Eurythmy teachers Bonnie Freundlich and Andrea Preiss. All are welcome, no experience is required. Please bring Eurythmy slippers or gymnastic shoes and arrive at 7:15 to allow transition time. (No problem if you have no shoes - we should have something for you!) Cost is $60.00 for the series of six sessions, or $10 per session if you drop in. Click here for the registration form or pick one up in the office. Call with any questions: Bonnie Freundlich at 360-381-0329 or Andrea Preiss at 206-383-7705.
Seattle Family Dance - Simple Dances For Kids Under 10 And Their Families
Sunday, February 17, 3 - 5 pm, Phinney Neighborhood Center-Community Hall
Amy Carrol will be calling the dances to tunes from Eva Reich, fiddle and Cynthia Dillard, piano - come join the fun! All dances taught. 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 lower parking lot entry. More info: Rosemary and grade 2 parent Clare Woolgrove: clare@seattlerolfer.com or seattledance.org/family.
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Classifieds
Looking for a home for 2 adorable 5-year old cats. Clover and Inkspot are delightful indoor/outdoor cats and would be a wonderful addition to any family. An allergy requires us to part with them, sadly. Please email Tracy at tracy.bennett@seattlewaldorf.org or call 425-466-4748. Will deliver and provide first two months of food.
Leadership And Organizational Development Consultant And Somatic Coach
Are you looking to get promoted? Want to shift old patterns of behavior that don't serve your future? Want to take your teams performance to the next level? Let us help. Call Tracy Rekart at 206-948-0606 or check us out at mccarthyconsulting.net or http://inviteperspective.wordpress.com/. We look forward to helping you shape your future!
The Leadership Adventure: Mindful Integration of Presence and Partnership
Thursday, March 13 through Saturday, March 16, 9 am to 5 pm
Explore your leadership style through three days of connecting how the story we have in our mind lives in our body. Learn powerful skills and practices to be more confident, calm and effective in any situation. This workshop is dynamic and interactive. We explore patterns of behavior within partnership such as: asking for what we want, saying no, listening with more than our ears, seeing another person's perspective, and other ways to improve our experience internally with ourselves and in our external relationships. Neil McCarthy and Tracy Rekart have been teaching leadership skills for 20 years on mountaintops of the world and in the board room; join us for an adventure you won't forget! Click here for more information. Call (206) 948-0606 or email Tracy ( tracy@mccarthyconsulting.net) for the "special" Waldorf parent rate.
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Looking For Childcare? Offering Childcare?
Click here to see an online page to assist our community in exchanging this kind of information.
For information on Break Care for children age 5 to grade 5, see the Grade School News section above.
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S O U N D C I R C L E C E N T E R
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Upcoming Events at Sound Circle Center
Please consider joining us for the following lectures or parenting courses.
See below for summaries with links to our website, which will provide more details.
Introduction To Anthroposophy With SCC Faculty And Guests
Saturday mornings twice a month from 9:15 -10:45 am, Huckleberry Hall, Seattle Waldorf School
Join the new Foundation Year students for presentations on essential themes in Anthroposophy. Drop-in: $10 per session. February 9 and March 2: Evolution of Consciousness These two presentations will look at what Rudolf Steiner and other Anthroposophists have to say about the evolution of consciousness that parallels the evolution of the natural world. The first session will explore the eras of what are called the "Consciousness Soul" and "Intellectual Soul"; the second session will focus on the "Sentient Soul" era, with glances at the earlier eras of planetary evolution and at where our future evolution might take us. Storytelling As A Healing Art Friday Evening, March 1, 7:45 - 9:15 pm, Seattle Waldorf School Explore the dynamics of resilience, and how stories support the need of both children and adults to survive challenges and to thrive. This presentation will offer vital new perspectives for health practitioners, parents, teachers, creative artists - and all who love stories. The Storyteller As Peacemaker: Renewing Our Relations, A Workshop With Nancy Mellon Saturday, March 2, 11:30 am - 4:30 pm and Sunday, March 3rd, 9 - 10:30 am As we meet fear, anger, and hostility within ourselves and others, what guides us to the wisdom of loving acceptance and non-violence? Here is an unusual opportunity to develop and practice the art of peacemaking through exploring a sacred myth of the Iroquois nation. For more information, click here. The Healing Power Of Stories Certificate Training, Northwest Sunday, March 10, 2:30 - 5 pm, location TBA Join us for an introductory session to learn about a two-year Healing Story training with Nancy Mellon beginning in the Seattle area in the autumn of 2013. The course will meet for three long weekends per year and a final five-day intensive, with teleconferences and an online community.This session will give an overview of the training, introduce the method of training with experiential exercises, and provide the opportunity to inquire about the training. For more information, click here.
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VEIL PAINTING, SOUMYA, GRADE 6
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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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The Connection is generally published twice a month while school is in session. For publication dates, click here and type the word Connection in the search window.
Please email all submissions directly to: newsletter@seattlewaldorf.org.
All articles or ads for the next issue are due by noon on Tuesday during the week of publication.
Submissions Guidelines © 2010 Seattle Waldorf School.
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