Parent Council Corner

Save the Dates

Halloween Walk

Saturday, November 2

Friday, November 8

Sample Early Childhood Class for New Families

Saturday, November 9 

Regional Alumni

Gathering in Philadelphia

Saturday, November 9

Folk Tale Puppet Show:

"Baba Yaga and Philipka"

Sunday, November 10

Waldorf Wednesday: Online Auction Begins

November 21

NO SCHOOL

November 21-23

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishes are made, and candles blown out, for the school's 30th Birthday Celebration on September 28. 

Dear Friends,

Watching the grade school children participate in challenges as part of last week's Michaelmas festivities, I began to reflect upon the quality of courage. I have often wondered, when I am faced with a difficult challenge, how to find the courage to move forward. The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu is credited with having said, "From caring comes courage." I believe he was right about the source of courage, both in our lives as individuals as well as in the life of the school.

I see two sides to caring: first, we must care about something in order to summon the courage to face it. For many of us, it is not easy to commit to an independent education for our children, nor is it necessarily easy to commit to an education whose approach is different from the one familiar to our family and friends.   For me, and perhaps for others, the courage to make this commitment comes from caring about the adults my children will become.

Second, when we have the support of others who care about us or our cause, we can often find the strength to be courageous. Each one of us connected to the Waldorf School of Princeton benefits from a caring and courageous community. It was the courage of our founders, three decades ago, that gifted us this beautiful school. The courage of those first teachers and parents breathed life into a dream, and the growth that followed was the result of strong wills and hard work. In the 30 years since the school's founding, we all come together each year, nourished and emboldened by one another, to re-create the best possible environment for our children to learn. And, we cannot forget the courage of those children themselves! From that first hesitant handshake on Opening Day to that poised speech at Graduation the children's ability to meet each new task is nurtured by a community of teachers who care deeply about each child. As a result, our children begin their time here leaping fearlessly from ladder to log, and they leave just as bravely, walking forth into the world as purposeful young adults, ready to rise to a challenge.

Just like the bulbs our littlest ones planted in the play yards this week, nestling them with care beneath the earth, our own acts of courage bear fruit over time.   We may not be able to check or measure the magic unfolding below the surface, but come spring, we are rewarded for our loving risk.   In the meantime, after a warm and well attended birthday party last Saturday (WSP's 30th!), and two joyful Michaelmas celebrations, it is clear we can rely on each other as a source of strength while we wait.

Janine Cleland

School Administrator

2013-14 Directories Are Here!

School directories were sent home this week with the oldest child in each family. If you have not received yours, or you have any corrections or updates to submit, please contact the registrar.
  

Easy Ways to Support WSP

There are multiple fund-raising opportunities throughout the year, but here are just a few simple ways to help the school:

• Stop and Shop: Link your card to have our school get a piece of the funding that goes to schools using this program and register your card online.
• Scrip: Purchase gift cards to your favorite stores; our school gets a percentage of the value of the gift card (2-20%). See our website for details.
• Our School Store: Open Tuesday mornings, 8:15-10:15 a.m. Come see what the store has to offer; from warm wooly socks to arts supplies, items are always changing!
• Online Holiday Auction: First, ask your favorite businesses to make a donation to the school's annual auction. Second, from Nov. 27 through Dec. 8, view the items on our auction site and bid on items that catch your eye.
•  Do you have a Target Red Card? If so, you can link WSP to the card to raise funds for our school. Please call 1-800-316-6142. An amount equal to 1% of target purchases and ½% of all other purchases will be donated to the school.
• Our school will be participating in a School Days fund-raiser with Tea Collection clothing, running Oct. 21-27. For every purchase made through their unique storefront during School Days, Tea will donate 15% of sales back to our school and you'll receive free shipping on your order. The more we buy, the more money we will raise!
• Amazon Storefront: We are setting up shop! Soon we will link to our storefront from the website, but for now you can preview our humble beginnings here.

See our website for new programs as they become available.

For more information about any of these programs, please contact Beth Miller at 609 466 1970, x121.

First Sundays in the Park