Tuition Assistance Packets are available in the front office.  

Contracts and deposits plus tuition assistance applications are due to the enrollment director no later than March 3. 

-Tamara Cody, Business Manager

Hello Everyone:
We have had two very cold and wintry weeks, but inside the kindergarten life has been buzzing. We have braved the weather, with the exception of a couple of days where the wind chill made it unbearable. Thank you for remembering those warm clothes!

Our circle still revolves around the winter theme, with King Winter himself front and center. The "Snow Maiden" was our story for the second week of January and "The Boy Who Went to the North Wind to Get His Flour Back" was last week's story.  It is great fun to act them out at the end of the week; last week's version was particularly amusing!  We will be having an EC parent evening February 13 from 5:30-7:00. I will serve homemade soup and bread, and we will be discussing "Stages of Childhood" as well as what we look for in a first-grade-ready child. Come prepared with questions!

Sadly, we don't expect Ms. Ursula to be back before the February vacation. Thank you to all who have extended your care via phone calls, etc. Miss Liz (Ferrero), Lisa Newcomb (aftercare teacher), and Liz Sizeler (seasoned substitute and longtime Ashwood parent) are all stepping in to help. I am so very appreciative of these women; having them helps our world to flow along seamlessly during this time.

Socially, this is a very cohesive and healthy class. It really becomes like a family after a while, and the children are respectful to each other and to their teachers. While we can become boisterous at times, especially at dismissal, there are also times when I am amazed at how well "formed" they are as a class. The reverence at these expected times (grace before meals, circle time) is quite touching to all who have visited the kindergarten. I am thankful for each and every one of these lovely children.

With fondness,
Ms. Beth

Parent-Child classes with Cherry Short Lee have begun. Mothers and children are getting to know each other, and enjoying the lovely atmosphere and warm environment Cherry has created.

There's still time to register for the next six-week session, which starts on April 7. Tell your friends, and reserve a place now!

There's still time to register for the last session of WinterKinder Crafts, to be held Wednesday, February 12, from 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.  Enjoy Valentine baking and tea with your children ages 3-6 around our cozy table! The cost is only $5.00 per family. Register by Monday, February 10. 207.236.8021
enrollment@ashwoodwaldorf.org

It was a damp, foggy, almost springlike day on Friday, January 17, when the Grade 3-4 class left campus to hike Beech Hill in Rockport. We had been studying local geography and it was my hope that we would be able to see and sketch some of the islands and mountains the students had been learning about. It was obvious even before we left campus that the low clouds and thick fog were going to be a hindrance on this endeavor but I decided we would go for it anyway.

 

 

Though my plan would certainly need to be modified, the students seemed unperturbed by the conditions. As we hiked/ran/splashed/trudged up the dirt path to the top of the hill, the students sang, talked, and joked with one another in high spirits. As we looked out, the blueberry fields faded away into the fog and, before us, the path itself seemed to disappear into nothing.

 

"It looks like we're walking off the end of the world," one student observed. More

-Robert Kaczor

Randi Stein on Therapeutic Movement
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
What can parents do at home to help our children with learning and behavioral difficulties? Movement is a powerful key. Waldorf educator Randi Stein will present practical suggestions and demonstrate movements to address specific issues and situations. This is a special opportunity to learn from a warm and caring expert. Suggested donation: $5.00.

February 5, 2014, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
High Mountain Hall, downstairs
5 Mountain Street
Camden,ME 04843
Questions? Jennifer Lavi 207.653.2166

The PCC has joined the Clynk program through Hannaford supermarkets. This means that you don't have to bring your returnables to school, just fill up one of the Clynk bags and drop it off at your local Hannaford. The label on the bags will identify the money to be put in Ashwood's PCC account. Bags are available at the Community Building, the Early Childhood building, and in the bottle drop-off by the Community Building.
So far we've raised over $50!

Questions? Call Lora 323-1962

In less than two weeks the online auction opens! It will run from February 14 to March 14. The enticing items on offer range from a sweet Camden cottage stay to a Colorado adventure vacation. Get your body moving with all sorts of opportunities, from the YMCA to a Sacred Sweat class to a dance class from Belfast Dance Studio. If someone in your family needs braces, both Dr. Zanca and Dr. Laliberte have offered their services. A massage, a garden consultation, a car detailing, and dinner at a favorite local restaurant are all among the great items and services donated to this year's auction.  

How can you help?  
1. Once the site is live, send the link to your friends and family.  Last year, over 50% of winning bids came from those outside our immediate school community.  
2. Be sure to thank our auction sponsors and donors by supporting their businesses.  

Huge thanks to our event sponsors:
Equinox Island Transit
Bella Luna
Schooner Bay Printing
The First
Comida
Artisan Boatworks
Adventure Advertising
Belfast Dance Studio
The Ray Family
The Newcomb/O'Herin Family in Honor of the Children of Ashwood
The Chandler Family in Honor of the Chandler Children

Also, buy your tickets now for GLOW: A Celebration of Light with Music, Food,and Community, the live event at the Rockport Opera House on March 15! Tickets on sale at HAVII, Good Tern, Belfast Co-Op, Rising Tide, and Ashwood. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door, and $200 per table.  Perhaps your class would like to go in on a table together.

Hope Clay is offering an opportunity for Ashwood students to spend an hour in their studio on Sunday, February 9, 3-4 p.m., making colorful tile "hands." Hope Clay will donate the studio time, one 14" bowl, and any extra tiles to Ashwood's auction.
Hope Clay Studio, on the ground floor of Hope Spinnery, 725 Camden Rd. (Rte. 105). See Kari Luehman (Sadie's mom) or contact Avery Larned:
avery@hopeclay.com   www.hopeclay.com

Congratulations Grade 3-4! You are the proud winners of a chocolate strawberry cream cake for your next parent evening. Get your forks and your palates ready! Good job, gang.

 

Ashwood, we really are close to meeting our $40,000 target and our 100% participation goal.

 

Here's why it matters that all of us give to our school. One, it feels great to be able to see that sort of coming together. Two, we teach our children how to be givers by example, not by what we tell them. Three, when we ask individual donors for their support and/or apply for grants, it's a very powerful statement. To the donor who can see the whole community come together, it's as good as it gets. Why should they give to us when we don't give to ourselves? It's a question that comes from both foundations and individual donors, and one that we can answer with strength and conviction.

 

We aren't that far away. Only 23 more families to go before we hit our 100% mark.

 

Here are our percentages by class:

Board 100%

EC - 53%

Grade 1-2 - 66%

Grade 3-4 100%!

Grade 5 - 78%

Grade 6 - 50%

Grade 7 - 45%

Faculty - 50%

- Laura Purdom, sixth grade teacher

Keep Eating!
Stop by the office to purchase a gift card, sold in denominations of $50 and $100. Then, the next time you're at Hannaford, use it to pay for your groceries. The gift card works just like cash.

Ashwood earns 5% on the weekly expenditures of everyone who participates!
Let your friends and relatives know that they can make a contribution to Ashwood simply by doing the grocery shopping. Or, tuck a grocery card into a holiday, birthday, or special thank-you card.

In This Issue

Grade 5 Assembly

Display or text ads appear here, in the right column of the Leaflet, and link to your website. The cost is $5/edition for a square ad (170 x 170 pixels) and $10/edition for a long ad (170 x 340 pixels). Discounts are available for long-term ads. The Leaflet appears every other week except in July. For more information, email  Judith Soleil.

 

The Goderich Waldorf School is a tuition-free charity run school in Rokel, about 14 miles outside of the capital, Freetown, Sierra Leone. It is the only Waldorf school in West Africa. It serves a population of children orphaned or displaced during Sierra Leone's ten-year civil war, children who early in life learn to work for their survival, some as street vendors, others as prostitutes or drug dealers. The Goderich Waldorf School offers them not only primary education, but a safe haven where they can receive nutritious meals and medical care. See how they built a beautiful building of earth with the help of Michael Reynolds.