Weekly Bulletin

May 28, 2014
 

The Hartsbrook School

193 Bay Road
Hadley, MA

 

Main Office:
413-586-1908

Admissions:
413-584-3198

 

Quick Links

Upcoming Events 

 

Senior Class Puppet Drama "Whose Afraid of the Corn Worm?"

Fri., 5/30 11am

Grades 2-12

Behind the High School

 

Field Day ~
Grades 1 - 12

Wed., 6/4 1:30pm
  
Last Day
Early Childhood 6/5
Grades Fri., 6/6

High School Assembly
Fri., 6/6 8:30am
Followed by light refreshments
 
Final Assembly
Fri. 6/6 11:00am
  
Eighth Grade Promotion
Fri. 6/6 3pm
  
High School Graduation
Saturday 6/7 10am

Parent Meetings

 

Parent Council

Mon., 6/2 7-9pm 

 

7th Grade

Wed., 5/28 7-9pm

 

1st Grade

Fri., 5/30 1:30pm

Grade News

   

 

8th Grade Class Trip

5/23 - 5/30

 

Eighth Grade Class Night

Wed., 6/4 6pm

 

Senior Banquet

Thurs., 6/5  6:30pm
Piening Hall

 

Athletics  

 

Ultimate Frisbee-

 

States Div II games will be on Saturday, May 31st!

 

Click for Athletics Calendar 

 

 

Farm Camp

High School Graduation

Saturday, June 7th, 2014

 

Eighth Grade Promotion

Friday, June 6th, 2014

 

Announcements

Library News

  
The Children's Library is closed for the year except for internal school use. Please return all books by the end of the school year to save our staff much time that will otherwise be spent on reminders about books that are still out.

Flowers Needed!

  
Donations of flowers needed. We will be busy decorating for all the end of the year celebrations and would love donations of flowers and flowering branches.  Water buckets will be available beginning Wednesday, June 4 under the canopy of the elementary school for your convenience. Thank you for helping to make these events beautiful.

Lost and Found!

  
Lost and Found will be given to a charity on Thursday, June 5th. This will include all items left behind up to this date. 
Lost and Found from the final day of school, promotion and graduation will be given away the following Friday, June 13th.  We will try to return labeled items. The Lost and Found is located in a basket outside the adult bathroom on the first floor of the elementary building and in the High School lobby.

"Who's Afraid of the Corn Worm?"

The Senior Class Puppet Drama with Community Performances

 
 
This is a story of how a small farmer, who has been living in harmony with nature, has to change his practices because people are afraid of corn worms. The big business man Barren Mon Santo makes the small farmer buy his GMO seed and his herbicides and eventually the farmer collapses.  But a child sees what is happening and tells her family and they, the family, the farmer and the corn worm all realize that living in harmony with all beings, including the worm will yield far more benefit than can be promised by a big corporation.

  

Listen in to what the seniors have to say about their work on WRSI 93.9 The River, Monte Belemonte's morning show.   LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW 

 

  

Hartsbrook Performance:

 

When: Friday, May 30,  11am

Where: Lawn behind Piening Hall

Suitable for grades 2-12

Please join us!

 


Community Performances:
  
~ Thursday, 5/29, Noon
Greenfield, at the Solar Park

Volunteers Needed!

AWSNA Summer Conference at Hartsbrook  ~ June 23rd-26th

       

All Welcome

Teachers, administrators, board members, and interested parents from Waldorf schools all over the continent gather each summer to meet colleagues, listen to insightful lectures, and engage in stimulating workshops around a topic of great interest.

 

This is the first time that Hartsbrook has hosted the AWSNA (The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) conference. We are delighted to share our wonderful community and campus with the wider Waldorf community, and to take up the critical topic of cultivating humanness in a technological world.

 

More Info:

Conference Program and Registration Details

Community members are welcome to register for the full conference registration (for a fee) or to attend the lectures (no fee, but donations welcome).

  
The lectures will be held at the Hadley Farms Meeting House (a conference center next to the Hampton Inn on Bay Road) on  Monday June 23rd at 7:00 pm, Tuesday June 24th at 8:15 am, Wednesday June 25th at 8:15 am, and Thursday June 26th at 8:15 am.  Please note: There will be singing and announcements before each lecture.  Arrive about 30 minutes after the listed times if you want to take in the lectures only.

 

 

Volunteers Food Tent Help Still Needed:

There are still opportunities to help with food service under the tent.   Thanks to those who have already signed up!

  

 Online Vounteer Sign-up Sheet

 

Flowers Needed -
 We'd love to grace our campus with beautiful bouquets during the conference.  Contributions from your gardens and yards would be greatly appreciated.  There will be large buckets under the canopy on the afternoon of Sunday, June 22nd, and the morning of June 23rd to receive contributions.  Thanks, again! 

 

Thanks to all those that have volunteered to host our visiting families!

 

Jan Baudendistel for the Summer Conference Planning Committee

   Annual Appeal

Thank you all for your generous responses, every dollar counts!

 

Imagine 100% Participation

 

Yay Hartsbrook Families!!!

We've zoooooomed up to 65%!

We're OVER halfway there!!

(120 families have pledged - Thank you! Thank you!)

 

There is still time .....Make Your Pledge or Gift Today!

  • Email me your pledge today: kbates@hartsbrook.org and & I'll send you a reminder with giving envelope (all pledges due by August 1st)
  • Donate online
  • Mail in your pledge/donation or give it to Vesna at the main office.

Extra pledge/gift envelopes are available in every building. Thank you!

 

Remember: for families with children in more than one class - your gift counts toward the percentages in all their classes with one gift!

 

 

  

Which class will reach 100% first? Let's find out

100% = Cookies for Your Class!

Homemade cookies to each class as they reach 100% participation

- compliments of your Hartsbrook Development Committee

  

With heartfelt thanks,

Karen Bates for the Development Committee

 

Note: Many parents feel overwhelmed to be asked to give to an annual fund when they are already paying for tuition. Here's my recent answer to this inquiry:

 

 I totally understand - it's a lot to ask of our parents to give to an annual fund in addition to the tuition.  Mostly, we ask that parents, who cannot afford to give more, give a gesture donation - $1 or more - to play the participation game of 100%.  Others who can give more do, so they have a tax deduction - or they would be giving this money to another wonderful non-profit organization.  The annual fund is designed to keep tuition as stable as possible, by allowing for those who can give more to help bridge the gap between what it costs to run the school and what tuition brings in. 

 

On a side note: about 10% of our grandparents give to the annual fund - and just this 10% actually makes up 25% of the annual fund.  It's awe-inspiring.  So, we are so grateful to our grandparents.  I will be making many more connections with our grandparents in the near future - because many of them want to give, but aren't asked personally - and, then do not know how much their gifts mean to our school and to our parents.  This is also true with special friends, relatives and foundations.

 

The annual fund for our parents - is really an opportunity to come together and play - and the 100% participation - even reaching 97% like we did last year means a lot to our school families - at least, I have been told this by many people.

 

So, I hope I haven't offended you in my persistence of 100%....it's for fun...

And, it just happens that the hype and fun helps us reach our financial goal too, as well as the participation goal :)..... we always seem to get a surprise donation from someone, somewhere that we weren't expecting that makes up that financial gap...and, we all get to celebrate!

 

Yours enthusiastically,

Karen

News From the Grades

 3rd Grade Completes a New Pig Shelter

 

 

The third grade class recently constructed a pig shelter on campus, just in time to welcome two new piglets to the school.  

 

This project was months in the making, as the third graders raised money by selling birdhouse gourds, felted eggs and chicks, as well as bags of popcorn -- all handmade by them from materials produced on Hartsbrook's farm over the past year. The groundbreaking occurred over April vacation.  Almost every third grade family was there on a cool, rainy Sunday, digging into the earth, gathering stones, sinking posts, and completing the frame for the shelter.  Over the next few weeks the children cut boards and sided the shelter. The final weeks were spent on the roof nailing in cedar shingles in, at times, sweltering sun!  

 

The third graders would like to thank their parents, for all the extra work and support during this project, especially:  Tracy McQuade, Tim Viles, Jonah Zuckerman, and Mark Hensley.  We would also like to thank grandparent Rick Tierney, who generously donated lumber for the frame.  We invite you all to meet the new piglets and get a close-up view of our handiwork!

 

Warmly,

Tanya Lax, class teacher, for the Third Grade

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 5th Grade Pentathlon

At the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School

 

 

  

 

 

 


The 6th Grade Visits Montreal!

 

 The week before Memorial Day, the sixth grade class of Ms Haendiges went on a trip to Montreal.  Wednesday, our first full day, included a visit to the Basilica of Notre Dame, where the students sang a beautiful mediaeval Gloria.  The class had fun using their French when  ordering ice cream or buying a T-shirt.  In the afternoon, we went on a guided tour (en français!) at the Château Ramezay, a museum with historical items of everyday life in early Montreal.

 

The students also enjoyed discovering the narrow streets of Old Montreal through a "scavenger hunt" around architecture, developed by Christy Anderson. That evening, we enjoyed dinner at the elegant French restaurant Chez Queux, on Place Jacques Cartier.  Thursday was another busy day which began with swimming in the Olympic pool of L'Université de Montreal, then continued at the Parc Olympique, where we saw the Biodôme , the Insectarium, and the Botanical Garden. On Friday, our final stop before departure was at the Marché Atwater, where students, in small groups, were given money to buy lunch on their own, taste some "fromage," and treat themselves to attractive and delectable tarts, croissants, or éclairs.  Many thanks to our great team of chaperones, without whom the trip would not have been possible!
 

 

 

 

 

Madame Corbière, French

 

If you Missed the 7th and 8th Grade Concert....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check them out here:

 

 

Jazz 1

 

  

  
  
  
  
    
  
  

 

Chorus 2 

 

 . 

  

 

9th Grade Intensive ~ Permaculture

 

Hartsbrook's 9th grade hosted Monadnock Waldorf School's 9th grade for an intensive week of permaculture last week.  

  

The classes visited the UMass Franklin Permaculture Garden, then assessed the site at Hartsbrook, surveying climate, water, topography, vegetation & wildlife, aesthetics, and soil.  Since permaculture is also known as edible forest gardens as it mimics patterns found in nature, we took a walk to the forest edge beyond the parking lot at Hartsbrook.  On our walk we observed and discussed how leaves were acting as mulch bringing organic matter and life to the soil, different layers of the forest ecosystem and microclimates present.  Then work began on the Hartsbrook permaculture garden, with students laying sheet mulch, creating paths, and planting donated herbs, flowers and vegetables.  Students shared food and skits with parents in a potluck at the end of the week.  It was rewarding to see the bonds created through working together to create something meaningful, to hear students describe permaculture concepts and principles in their own words, and to recognize the potential to expand and create a tradition of a more regenerative landscape and community at Hartsbrook.  I look forward to visiting again and watching it grow.

 Site goals:

~Productive but low-maintenance

~Veggies and annual crops to be used by kindergarten programs/farm camp

~Annual herbs to be used for iced teas for snack and other Hartsbrook events and meals

~Hang out/outdoor classroom space where many people can gather and sit

~Contained so may be easily mowed and maintained

 

 

Sarah Berquist
Graduate Student
Sustainability Science
UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture

 

 

 

11th Grade Intensive ~ Botany

 

The 11th grade spent last week studying Botany at Stump Sprouts , a cross -country ski area in Hawley, Massachusetts.

Leaf metamorphosis drawing by Will

We were joined by the 11th Grade of the Monadnock Waldorf School. The intensive included a visit to High Ledges conservation area in Shelburne, a tour of South River Miso in Conway, and a trip to the Hawley Bog. The lodge at Stump Sprouts was the perfect place for main lessons, as well as afternoon sessions in art and nature writing. It was a rich week for everyone, concluding with candlepin bowling in Shelburne Falls on Thursday night.

   
11th Graders at South River Miso

 

Alex Workman, Life-Sciences

Up and Away

 

Where our seniors are going next year?

 

 

Aubrey Cabot-Case -  will be working with permaculture and consciousness studies

 

Eun Pyo Hong - will attend The Art Institute of Chicago

 

Lucie Latuner - will attend Connecticut College

 

Eliana Moskovitz - will attend University of Vermont after spending a year working in a Camphill community in southern Germany where she will be helping to care for mentally disabled adults.

 

Alejandra Rojas - will attend Greenfield Community college while working and apprenticing as a photographer, illustrator and graphic designer.

 

Sydney Shaw - will attend Warren Wilson College

 

Gabriel Voisin - will attend the University of Hartford

 

Nora Yamazaki Heineman - will attend Bard College                             

Celebrating Our Community

All Hartsbrook Family Camping- Save the Date!

Wednesday 8/6 ~ Sunday 8/10, 2014

Each year Hartsbrook families chip in to rent the entire Indian Hollow campground in Chesterfield, MA for our own use.  Some families come just for the day, others stay up to all four nights.

 

Children bike through the woods and build chutes in the river.  Lounge in a chair, or sing along with guitars and fiddles while you roast a s'more. Enjoy hikes, swimming holes, ultimate and capture the flag in the open fields.  On our last night, following a communal bonfire, the High School students often sleep out under the stars in the field. 

 

For information, directions (Google and state Web sites are totally inaccurate), or to find out why this is my favorite event of the summer, contact Tim McNerney at 341-1379.  Mark your calendar and save the date.  

 

Organized by Hartsbrook families; not a school event. 

Community Bulletin Board 


HOUSE /PET SITTING OPPORTUNITY:  Beautiful, spacious home in South Amherst in need of an animal savvy person to care for 2 adult dogs, possibly one 5 month old puppy and 11 chickens from 6/22-7-2.
Art studio, library/music/bicycles and other creative/health amenities offered during your stay. Contact Kathy 413 687-7591

 

AFTERNOON CARE NEEDED: Hartsbrook Family looking for afternoon childcare from Mid-May through the end of June for 3-6pm for Amherst Family. Must have their own car and experience driving. Hannah is 15 and Caleb is 11. Please email clay.joanna@comcast.net or call 413-253-7342


SUMMER HANDWORK AND CRAFTS: Handwork and Crafts at my home.  Walks to the farm to see the animals or play games with my son in the front yard to take a break. We have frog ponds and gardens. Grades 1-4 including the present 4th Grade. 1 hour is $25, 2 hours is $38, 3 hours is $48. Please call Gail Voisin at 413-256-0177

 

SUMMER MATH TUTORING by HARTSBROOK FACULTY: Robin Pfoutz, Hartsbrook math teacher and tutor, is tutoring math this summer and fall. Summer is a great time to build confidence and prepare for the next year. References available from the school and parents (and students!). Please contact Robin at   413-687-5454 rpfoutz@hartsbrook.org. 

YOGA FOR CHILDREN: Yoga Monkey Kids Program, taught by Hartsbrook mom and Yoga Sanctuary owner, Sara Rose. A summer program for children ages 5-10 this June 23rd-27th at Yoga Sanctuary in Northampton. Join Sara Rose for this spirited camp that weaves yoga and creative movement, storytelling, creative crafts and games into one fun and enchanting week! Come play, make new friends, and grow strong from the inside out. ONLY 5 SPOTS LEFT! 413.585.9642 or email info@yoga-sanctuary.com.

NEW MULTI-ARTS CAMP PROGRAM ANNOUNCED! JUNE 23 - 27, June 23 to June 27, 9 am to 12 pm. Immanuel Lutheran Church, Amherst. Multi-Arts is excited to offer a brand-new program for 2 & 3 year-olds. Children this age are very creative and now you and your children have an opportunity to experience the joy and inspiration that our wonderful teachers bring to their lessons. We will be offering classes in art, dance, music, and storytelling. Cost is $150 per week for one child (with caregiver) and $25 for each additional child. For more information, contact Multi-Arts at info@multi-arts.org.

LANDSCAPE DESIGN & ORGANIC GARDENING SERVICES offered by Jeannine Haendiges, dba foliate. foliatedesign.com. Landscape architect and NOFA-accredited organic land care professional. Services include consulting, master planning, rain gardens & green roofs, landscape restoration, hardscape and garden structure design, maintenance plans and organic gardening services. Phone: 413.687.9142.

NOFA: 40th annual Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference August 8-10th , Amherst, MA. This is a family-friendly event. While parents attend great educational workshops on gardening, farming, nutrition, and ecological sustainability, children get to experience age-appropriate and fun workshops about these same topics with other youth from all across the Northeast.

CASE STUDY VOLUNTEERS: Spacial Dynamics: Looking for case studies. Are you bent out of shape? Use movement and gentle hands on technique as an invitation to address conditions involving acute and chronic pain, sleeplessness, chronic fatigue, anxiety and imbalance. Space is alive. Free initial consultation. Text Hunter at (413) 522-0526 

COHOUSING INFO MEETING: Informational meeting Wednesday, May 21st at the Unitarian Society in Northampton from 7:00-8:30 about a potential new cohousing project at Village Hill in Northampton. We would like to reach out to all the families in the area. Kraus Fitch Architects

SCRAP METAL PLEASE! I am gathering scrap metal to build a jungle gym. If old monkey bars, trampolines, swing supports, metal fences, or other metal structures and pieces sit unused in your back yard, I would be happy to pick them up and put them to use! I can offer small compensation. Thank you thank you thank you.
Contact Alie Mahoney: le.chat.rouge13@gmail.com

CHILDREN's PROGRAM: Are you looking for a gentle childcare program for your very young child? The Cottage Garden offer lots of singing, simple puppetry, felting, home cooked, hot, organic food and lots of love.  We are a licensed, Waldorf Home Day Care Program in Amherst. We have available spaces for next year, for children ages one year to two and a half years old. Please contact Celia Riahi for information; celia@thecottagegarden.org, 413-348-6035, www.thecottagegarden.org

RAW MILK COOP: Hadley-based raw milk coop seeking a few more members. We take turns driving once a week to Robinson Farm in Hardwick, which offers certified organic raw milk from 100% grass-fed cows. Mmmm good! Start now or in the fall. Contact Jonathan Evans at jevans@crocker.com if interested.

 

PIANO AND DRUM LESSONS:   Dan Kennedy Piano and Percussion B.Mus. Oberlin, M.M. New England Conservatory. Please call (413)548-6385 or email dankennedypiano@yahoo.com.

  

NEED A BABYSITTER? Want to go out for an evening or away for a weekend? Call me, Alana Reynolds 413-626-6361. I... am a Hartsbrook Alum... have extensive experience with infants and children... am finishing graduate school for Occupational Therapy ...am available anytime until June 1st and most evenings and weekends throughout the summer.  I  ...can supply references upon request   ...look forward to meeting you and your children!   I am also available for pet care and house sitting!

 

SUMMER RENTAL In PROVINCETOWN, Cape Cod MA. We have a lovely first floor condo on the Harbor side with private access to the ocean. 2BR (sleeps 6), a full bath,  fully stocked kitchen. The front deck is a wonderful place to sit and eat meals. There is plenty of parking and it's on the bus route into Provincetown and only 2 miles from the National Seashore Beaches. We have only one week left, Saturday, June 21 to Saturday, June 28, 2014. The cost is $800. Please contact Sheila MacNab Millar at 413.549.2624 or email smacnab@comcast.net. Sorry no pets. Thank you, Sheila

 

BADMINTON SUMMER CAMP: Prepare your school-age child for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics at our own 'training' camp. Programs will also include hiking, swimming and having a joyful time! Combining 35 years in Waldorf education. Located 7 min from Hartsbrook at the Burkey/Rollinson house near Mt. Warner. 5 day week/ 9a to 2p /$250. Call for details. Week One: June 9 - 13; Week Two: July 7 - 12. Miss Burkey 513-375-8860

 

HOUSING AVAILABLE:  Studio Apartment in a house with a quiet family (Hadley, Mass) Utilities Included. Looking for quiet, tidy, warm-hearted individual. Ideal for Graduate student. No smoking at all. May through August. Potential to extend. Beautiful space in really nice condition. Hardwood floor, quiet neighborhood, private entrance, deck, kitchenette. Room for gardening. Bathroom shared with one other very nice person. 2.4 mi from Umass or Amherst.  $580 / month.  Please call John or Amy, 413-210-5400 

 

BIXBY BROTHERS YARD WORK AND LANDSCAPING: Need help around the house or yard? Evan, Reed and Tucker are ready to help with the grunt work, heavy lifting, moving, mowing, raking or whatever you need. Call Evan at (413) 658-5583.

 

HARTSBROOK ALUMNI FOR HIRE: Two Guys and a Blue Goose:  We are Hartsbrook alums now Sophomores in college. Colten McCormick, K-9, now attends UC Davis, Evan Mariani, K-8, attends Bryant University. We are 21 years old and hard workers (ask our past employers!). We have three years of experience in landscaping and are up to tacklling any challenge. We are versatile and will do any type of yard work, lawn care, spring clean-up, moving, and painting... We hope you are as excited for summer as we are!  If you are interested or want to learn more- Evan (413) 427-9895, Colten (413)-668-6841, Or on the web: www.twoguysandabluegoose.com  

 

Another week added! PUPPETS IN THE WOODS Summer Arts Camp with Beth Fairservis & Stephen Katz. Ages 6-10, 9-3pm. June 23-27 / July 21-25 / July 28-Aug 1 / Aug 4-8. A week-long immersion into Nature and Theatre Making, we gather materials and stories from the woods, then practice theatre games, make puppets and dances, dye silks, sing songs, and create a magical tale to be shared with friends and family on Friday. $300 per week. MORE INFO or Contact Beth at bethbirth@crocker.com or 413-268-3588. 

The Community Bulletin Board is for small classified-type advertisements. Each submission costs $5.00, is limited to 3 paid repeats and should be no more than 4 lines of text, about 45 words. Payment for Community Bulletin Board submissions should be made by Friday of the publication week. Please drop off or mail payment, to The Hartsbrook School, 193 Bay Road, Hadley, MA 01035.  No charge for advertisements for free events or nonprofit organizations. Submit ads to: bulletin@hartsbrook.org.

 

General Policy for the Bulletin  No political or religious advertisements.  No competitive program advertisements.  No fundraisers.  The editors will decide placement of advertisements and may edit for content and length.  The Hartsbrook School retains the right to choose not to print any advertisement.

Hartsbrook: Clarity of Thought ~ Warmth of Heart - Strength of Purpose