In This Issue
In the News
Parent Council Corner
Community Events
Save the Dates
School Events
From the Enrollment Office
School News
In the News

Your December AWSNA Inform is here!

  

Helping Children to Develop Wonder and Respect by Henry Barnes (from Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School's Calyx newsletter; first published in the Fall/Winter 1999 issue of Renewal magazine)

 

Did you miss the October screening of the film Discovering Waldorf? Discover it here and more!  

 

Reading at Five: Why? by Joan Almon

 

Daily Rhythm at Home and Its Lifelong Relevance by Helle Heckmann

 

Why the Brain Prefers Paper

 

Help Motueka Rudolf Steiner School  find a home!

 

Stress-Free Learning at a Waldorf School in India

 

Follow us on Twitter @NJWaldorf!

Parent Council Corner

by Susie McCoy & Lilian Sampaio, Co-Chairs

  

Greetings, families and welcome to December! What a great time to join friends for a warm cup of tea, make crafts with your children, or participate in thought-provoking discussions with our teachers. Here are a couple of reminders:

 

Parent Council meeting on December 10: this is a daytime meeting at 8:45 in the multipurpose room. There will be tea and treats while Ms. Shafer and Ms. Daley speak about "Outer Structures/Inner Freedom" and lead us in a holiday craft. All are welcome, including your young children!

 

Tea on Tuesday: Parent Council is offering free coffee and tea during school store hours Tuesday mornings, starting December 10! Stop by to warm up with us before heading back out into the cold.

 

Don't Forget! The Holiday Collection for Non-Class Teachers/Staff is due by December 11. Forms are in the Community Kitchen.

 

Please check the bulletin board in front of the school for more information on PC-sponsored events as well as community activities for families.

WINTER BREAK

 

Starts Friday, Dec. 20

(Grade School Half Day - 12:40 Dismissal;

EC Classes, please check with your teachers)

 

NO extended day or aftercare programs

Windy Hill Is Out!
  

Windy Hill 2013/2012-13 Annual Report has been mailed. Did you get yours? If not, please contact the development office, or view it here.

Lost & Found

In this season of mittens and hats, boots and snowpants, please remember to label your child's things, and look under the stairs in the Golden House basement for any missing items.

WSP Is an Amazon Associate!  

 

If you're shopping on Amazon.com this season, why not help earn some cash for WSP at the same time? Our school is now an Amazon Associate, meaning that we earn a minimum of 6% on any purchases made through the portal on our website. Not ready to buy? Add items to your cart or wishlist and check out later; WSP still receives credit! (Just make sure it's through the link on our homepage!)

Community Events

 

Kimberton Waldorf School

37th Annual Artisan Village Craft Show

Friday, December 6
6-10 p.m.
Preview Night (Adults Only): $10 Entry Fee

 

Saturday, December 7
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Shopping & Children's Activities

Adults: $5 Entry Fee

 

Home for the Holidays:
Sunday, December 15
4 p.m.

Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall

Princeton University

Ring in the season with the American Boychoir (including WSP alum Simon Gutierrez!) for our annual family program of much-loved holiday classics, including Christmas Medley.

Save the Dates

 

Grades 4-8 Art Exhibit

at Small World Coffee

Opening Reception

Friday, January 10

 

Foundations Studies

Graduation

Saturday, January 11

 

Open House & Alumni Panel

Saturday, January 11

 

Community Meeting

Tuesday, January 14

 

MLK Day - NO SCHOOL

Monday, January 20

 

Grade School Assembly

Saturday, January 25

Join Our Mailing List
December 2013
Winter Garden

Dear Friends,  

 

December is one of my favorite times of year. No, this is not because I am a big fan of cold weather. Nor is it because this month's calendar is packed full of joyful events, or because of the upcoming winter break and the additional time I will be able to spend with my family, although I certainly do look forward to these things.

 

Instead, what I find most wonderful about this season is its celebration of possibility. I love that this darkest point of the year holds the seed, the possibility, of the coming spring and summer. I love that the natural rhythm of this time of year provides an opportunity (if I am awake to it) to slow down, to take stock, and to reflect upon the possibilities that lie ahead in the coming year. I love the many ways in which the seasonal celebrations provide possibilities to rekindle or strengthen ties with friends and family, both near and far. 

 

In accepting December's invitation to live with openness to possibility, I am rewarded with the hope, vision, and inspiration that pull me through the dark winter months and sustain me until spring.   

 

Like a gift yet unwrapped, 2014 sits before us. What possibilities await you in the new year? Is it a renewed commitment to health, more time with loved ones? As we head into a long winter break, I want to hold on to that feeling of possibility - that anything may happen - because that is where magic lives.

 

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season!


Warm Regards,

 

Janine Cleland

School Administrator

SCHOOL EVENTS

 

Winter Garden Walks

Hagens Hall

Saturday, December 7:

4:30 p.m. Mrs. Cirianni-Jones's Rose Garden

5:30 p.m. Mrs. Kessler's Sunflower Garden

6:30 p.m. Community Walk 

 

Sunday, December 8:

4:30 p.m. Ms. Beatty's First Grade

5:30 p.m. Ms. Cardenas's Second Grade

 

YuleFest 2013

Saturday, December 14, 1-4 p.m.

Golden House

Come for a festive afternoon of crafting, shopping, live music, and refreshment ... stay for the puppet show!

 

Folk Tale Puppets Presents "The Speech of the Beasts"

Saturday, December 14, 3 p.m.

Hagens Hall

Tickets are $5 per person at the door. Most appropriate for families with children age 5 and up.

 

Online Holiday Auction Ends This Sunday!

Sunday, December 8, 8:30-10:30 p.m.

(closing times are staggered)

Less than a week left to bid on your most watched items (325+ in all)! If you haven't already, please share the link with friends and family! (Don't forget, you can keep an eye on your auction items on your mobile device.)

 

Have you taken advantage of our scrip offer through the auction site? Click on the scrip logo under our sponsors for a chance to win a gift card of your choice!

 

"Outer Structures, Inner Freedom":

Parent Council Morning Enrichment Meeting

Tuesday, December 10, 8:45 a.m.

Multipurpose Room (upstairs in the Golden House)

Come listen to the talk and make a craft for the holidays with teachers Pamela Shafer and Kristen Daley. Hot beverages will be served.

 

"Why on Earth? Biography and the Practice

of Human Becoming": A Talk by Signe Schaefer

Co-sponsored by the Waldorf School of Princeton

and the Princeton Chapter of the Anthroposophical Society

Sunday, December 15, 4:00 p.m. 

Hagens Hall

Can we really meet the challenges around us without also attending to our inner life and to our own evolving biography as it reflects and informs the outer world? Teacher and author Signe Schaefer invites us to explore our own meaning-filled life journeys, to bring conscious attention to how we go our path, so that we may more freely perceive our possibilities and our responsibilities along the way of our personal and shared becoming. You can read more about Signe Schaefer's work here. Free and open to the public.

 

Grades 4 & 5 Strings Recital

Monday, December 16, 2 p.m.

Hagens Hall

Parents welcome!

 

The Shepherds' Play

Friday, December 20, 7 p.m.

Mackay Campus Center, Princeton Theological Seminary

At this time of the year, faculty and staff at Waldorf schools around the world perform this reverential and humorous medieval Nativity play as a gift to students and to the school community. Click here for directions.

 

Alumni & Alumni Parents Holiday Open House

Saturday, December 21, 4-6 p.m.

Golden House

Featuring friends, star folding, eurythmy, and more!

RSVPs are appreciated but not necessary: alumni@princetonwaldorf.org.

 

 

COMING IN JANUARY ...

A Special Open House & Alumni Panel

for Current and Prospective Families

Saturday, January 11, 2014, 10 a.m.-Noon

Childcare available for current families, pre-registration required, contact admissions@princetonwaldorf.org.

Co-sponsored by the WSP Parent Council.

 

For details of school events, please contact events@princetonwaldorf.org.

FROM THE ENROLLMENT OFFICE

  

Grade School Tours and Observation Mornings in 2014

We are scheduling grade school tours and observation mornings for WSP early childhood parents after dropoff on weekday mornings. If you are interested in registering, please contact Diane Barlow at x115.

 

Financial Aid Applications Due February 1

Visit TADS to apply now, or contact Diane Barlow with questions at x115. 

 

Attention, Parents of the Seventh and Eighth Grades!

Choate Rosemary Hall, a boarding/day school in central CT, visited our school last month. They look forward to Waldorf applicants! More information about their school year and summer programs can be found in the Parent Library on the second floor of the Golden House. A representative from George School will be visiting next. Please contact Diane Barlow at x115 if interested.

 

Mock Interviews for Eighth Graders

Members of the administration are available to conduct mock interviews with interested eighth grade students. Please contact Diane Barlow at x115 to schedule.

SCHOOL NEWS

  

Study Group to Begin in New Year

Parents have expressed interest in participating in a study group beginning in the new year. Under consideration is Rudolf Steiner's "The Kingdom of Childhood," a series of lectures given to a small group of pioneering Waldorf teachers in England. The meetings will take place on Mondays or Wednesdays after dropoff (8:40-9:30 a.m.) in the multipurpose room. If you are interested, please contact Diane Barlow, x115.

 

Call for Gently Used Books Now through January 17

WSP is planning a community book fair for Groundhog Day! All subjects accepted; please, no magazines, board books, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, or other media. Light wear OK, but please no torn covers/pages, broken bindings, stains, writing or water damage. Contact Jamie Quirk to schedule a dropoff.

 

Attention Waldorf Grandparents!

We are looking into ways to connect WSP Grandparents with the school and each other. Currently we have our monthly community e-newsletter and Grandparents' & Special Friends' Day in May, but we are exploring ways to build this part of our community further. Some possibilities include monthly meetings or even an online chat group. If you are interested in exploring this or have other ideas, please contact Beth Miller at x121.

Waldorf School of Princeton   1062 Cherry Hill Road   Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 466-1970   www.princetonwaldorf.org