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Housatonic Valley
Waldorf School
40 Dodgingtown Road
Newtown, CT 06470
203-364-1113
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Handwork Morning
Sunflower Kindergarten
Scenes from the Open House 
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Greetings!
Tired of the snow yet? As you can see in the sidebar photos of the Sunflower Kindergarten students (and siblings) on a sledding and hiking field trip, our students aren't!
We were pleased that King Winter spared us last weekend at least, and we were able to host an Open House on Saturday. It was wonderful to see so many new families! We had an excellent panel of alumni helping out. The questions posed to them by prospective parents seemed to focus on two issues: was it difficult adapting to public school after leaving a Waldorf school, and was it difficult adapting to technology use?
In answer to the first question, one alumna responded that HVWS graduates really know themselves, which is an attractive quality and made it fairly easy for her to make new friends. While I had never thought about it in exactly those terms, this idea of HVWS graduates "knowing themselves" struck a chord. It is a characteristic of our graduates that I have noticed repeatedly and is, in fact, one of the reasons I decided to send my children to this school.
We could run a whole symposium on the technology question, but the simple answer is, yes, our graduates are great at adapting to using technology (see our Alumni Spotlight section of this Newsletter)! In fact, they are good at adapting, period. They are flexible, creative, confident, curious thinkers. To me, as a parent, the technology question boils down to this: would you rather your child become a consumer of technology, or a producer? For my money, a Waldorf education is the surest path to the latter.
Stay warm,
Christina Dixcy
Communications and Outreach Director
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For a full calendar listing, please visit the Calendar page of our website.
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Re-enrollment Contracts Due
FEBRUARY 7
First Grade Readiness Evening
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Fourth Grade Play
FEBRUARY 13, 6:00 PM
Eurythmy Room
"A Pageant of Ungodly Behavior"
by David Blair
This play was originally written for and performed by Fourth Grade teacher Miss Remensperger and her class when she was a student in 1992. "A pageant of Ungodly Behavior" follows a cast of colorful characters from Gods and dwarfs to giantess maidens, as they navigate a world rife with love, greed and hopefully loyal friendship.
Verging on tragedy but then plummeting straight into hilarity, our play offers you mere mortals a glimpse of the many follies of the Norse Gods.
Students will be treated to an in-school performance on Wednesday.
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PTA Meeting
FEBRUARY 14, 8:30 AM
Administrative Cottage
The PTA meets the second Friday of each month. All are welcome!
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We are pleased to announce that Bernardo Navarro (HVWS Class of 2005) has kindly volunteered to be our new Alumni Coordinator. Bernardo will help track down alumni as we prepare to celebrate our upcoming 25th Anniversary year. Bernardo already manages the HVWS Alumni Facebook page. If you have any updates to alumni contact information you'd like to share, please e-mail him at bernardo.navarro17@gmail.com. Thank you, Bernardo!
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As a fun part of their Shelters block, the Third Graders will be building an igloo on the playground and need your donations of empty cartons.
Please send in your empty plastic salad clamshells (the larger the better) and half-gallon waxed paper milk/juice cartons to make and freeze ice blocks. The Third Graders need to collect the empty cartons as soon as possible.
Thank you!
A blackboard drawing from the Shelters block:
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Annual Appeal: Matching Gift
We have received a generous, anonymous matching gift for our Annual Appeal! HVWS can receive an additional $25,000 if we can raise $25,000--this is a one-for-one match. Every dollar donated becomes $2 with the matching gift.
Help us reach our goal of 100% school community participation by making a tax-deductible donation today!
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Join CAST
The Capital Asset Strategy Team (CAST) supports the short-term and long-term development of our infrastructure, including all physical properties of HVWS. CAST is currently looking for new, energetic committee members! If interested, please contact Jeff James at jjames@trueblueenvironmental.com.
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Jared Parker (HVWS Class of 2010) has been accepted to his top college choice: Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. Jared has also been offered the Wentworth Merit Award Scholarship, an annual renewable merit scholarship of $15,000. Jared intends to study engineering. His family reports that he was drawn to WIT in part because of their hands-on learning approach, similar to what he was familiar with at the Waldorf school. Congratulations, Jared!
Burleigh Prahl (HVWS Class of 2013), who was accepted into Nonnewaug High School's Agriculture, Science and Technology program - one of the top Ag-Tech programs in the state - received High Honors this marking period and was also Student of the Month. He is being recruited by their robotics team - they need a welder! Burleigh learned how to weld for his HVWS graduation project.
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Sixth Grade Parent Evening
Inspired by the class's geology block, the Sixth Grade parents paint pictures of volcanoes.
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Third Grade Spanish Lesson
Bread made by the Third Grade
Each loaf is as individual as each child! Not only did they speak, sing, and learn Spanish while making the bread, but they practiced their volume measurement skills as well.
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A Gift from the Newtown Rotary Club
Each year the Newtown Rotary club presents our Fourth Grade class with dictionaries. Pictured here, Brian Amey of the Rotary Club presents student Patrick Alvord with a dictionary. Thank you, Newtown Rotary Club!
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Annual Spring Benefit: Save the Date!
WHEN: May 17, 2014
Funds raised through our Spring Benefit are integral to balancing our budget and each year we are overwhelmed by the generosity of our community.
This year we will be asking our school community to donate TIME, TALENT, or TREASURE to help ensure the success of the Spring Benefit. More details to follow!
All are welcome at planning meetings. For more information about the Benefit, please e-mail Marisa DelMonaco at mardel100@sbcglobal.net, or visit our Spring Benefit homepage.
THANK YOU!
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Our Gratitude
Thank you to Diane Barnes for speaking to the Early Childhood parents about pentatonic music at the EC parent evening.
Thank you to all those who generously gave their time to make the Open House such a success: parents David Amdur, Aliz Mihok, and Rachel Iazzetta; staff members Christina Dixcy, Isabel Gandara, Leslie Lew, Lark Bergwin-Anderson and Joanne Andruscavage; HVWS alumni Rachel Crosby, Shami Khoshabo, Maggie Disbrow, and Eric Mihok. Thank you to all those who took time to provide delicious treats for the Open House: Aliz Mihok, ClareAnn James, Sandy Proksa, Nancy Disbrow, and Lena DeFeo.
Thank you to the Sixth Grade Parents for a delicious faculty meal.
Thank you to Carol Reznikoff for leading the handwork workshops for parents.
"Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages
in the biography of souls."
~David Thomas
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Articles
Here are the most recent articles posted on the HVWS Facebook page. If you haven't already, ...so you'll never have to wait to read the articles we post!
Suggested Links:
Learning to Think Outside the Box: Creativity Becomes an Academic Discipline
The New York Times
How Inactivity Changes the Brain
The New York Times
A Waldorf School In China
The New Yorker
What is really at the heart of a Waldorf School?
WWS Questions & Answers
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Mission
The mission of the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School is
to develop each child's unique capacity
to engage meaningfully in the world.
Guided by the principles of Waldorf education,
the faculty inspires in our students
creative thinking, moral sensibility, and a passion for learning.
We offer a classical education that integrates
experiential and artistic learning, in an environment emphasizing
academic excellence, respect for diversity,
and reverence for the natural world.
Our faculty, board of trustees, and parents work together,
with dedication and warmth, to support our school community.
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