The Leaflet a newsletter for parents and friends of Ashwood Waldorf School

Serve-A-Thon
The Service Part of Serve-A-Thon
The new green-and-gold-leafed tree near the gazebo is a great visual to track progress toward our $25,000 goal. But the Serve-A-Thon has another, broader goal: to make a meaningful difference in our midcoast community.

Friday, April 29, will be an all-school service day. After main lesson, students, teachers, administrators and parent volunteers will engage in service projects from Rockland to Lincolnville. Class parents will be coordinating rides and volunteer placement. Here is a quick rundown of what we have planned:

Early Childhood students will be cooking for a local soup kitchen. Children who don't usually attend school on Fridays are invited to come with their parents to help make soup and bake bread for Loaves and Fishes lunch program in Rockland. Look for a sign-up sheet soon!
Grade 1-2 will be on the slopes at Camden Snow Bowl cleaning up trash. 
Grade 3-4 will divide into two groups, each heading to a humane society to help clear dog-walk trails and to make toys for animals.
Grades 5-8 will work in three mixed-grade groups. One group will head to Tanglewood to help clear hiking trails and assemble a bridge. The second will ferry from Owl's Head to Monroe Island to clear trash and marine debris from the shoreline. And the third group will work at Youthlinks in Rockland, preparing garden beds for the coming growing season. In case of heavy rain, we have wonderful indoor projects lined up.

Saturday, April 30 is our final Serve-A-Thon day of service. This will be a fantastic opportunity for families, alumni, alumni families, and our friends and sponsors to join us in helping our community. We've worked with many local nonprofits to organize great work projects. We hope that with many hands working together, our greater Ashwood community will make a meaningful difference.

Sign up for service work on Saturday here.

-Sar
ah Ewing
Fundraising Coordinator
 
Julia Dodge adds a leaf to the tree.
Open House
Ashwood Waldorf School Open House
Save the Date!
Saturday, April 2, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Enjoy fresh pancakes with maple syrup; learn a French song; see a puppet show; test your skills on an obstacle course; learn about the shocking properties of electricity; and create a colorful geometric drawing. Ashwood's teachers will lead these activities, and will be on hand to answer questions about the school. Students' work will be on display.
Everyone is welcome; please come, and bring  your friends! This is a great opportunity to socialize, to experience highlights of the Waldorf curriculum, and to introduce our school and all its wonderful resources.

Schedule
10:00-10:30  Obstacle Course
10:30-11:00  Geometric Drawing. Puppet Show.
11:00-11:30  Learn a French Song
11:30-12:00  Movement
12:00-12:30  Physics: Electricity: It's Shocking!
12:30-1:00    Puppet Show

Contact Judith Soleil for more information:
207.236.8021
Safety
Parking
Dear Parents,
People have been parking in the temporary drop-off spaces while they are on campus for extended periods of time. This space is for drop-off and pick- up only. Our teachers often use the area for outdoor movement activities. Also, please do not park along the inner circle behind the temporary drop-off parking spaces. Thank you.

-Tamara Cody
Business Office Manager


Early-Childhood News
Welcome Spring!
A fingerplay:

I have a little nest, look inside, look inside!
Hungry baby birdies with their beaks, open wide! Open wide!
And the little birdies grow, day by day, day by day
Till they get all their feathers, then they all fly away! Fly away!

Little signs of spring are just beginning to be seen in the early-childhood classrooms.  Colorful handmade baskets line the window sills, and the green grass is beginning to peep through! Around the building, daffodils are starting to show the first signs of growth, and the crocuses are displaying their colorful coats by the play area. Our own coats are a bit muddy these days! It is so much fun to play in the water and sand; there are usually nice puddles that call out for buckets to dip in and collect water for a stream in the sandbox. Shovels are hard at work, creating rivers and moats.

Mrs. Thaw has appeared on the nature table in the hallway. She has her broom to sweep the snow away, while King Winter peers from behind a branch, knowing that his reign is soon coming to an end.

Last week our story was "Mashenka and the Bear"  (a Russian fairy tale), which the children also enjoyed as a puppet show on Wednesday.

Springtime blessings!

-Ms. Beth
Grade-School News
Eighth Grade Physics Block Starts on Sound Footing
To kick off our physics block this year, the eighth grade visited the home and workshop of Ashwood parent Jim Doble in Union, Maine. Elemental Sound Studios is a fascinating marriage of art and science and was a perfect way to get students thinking about the nature of sound. Below is one student's report. -Laura Purdom, class teacher

The Chamber of Sound
Jim Doble creates percussion instruments using propane tanks, wooden planks, stones, and scrap metal. I have a strong passion for music and art, and the instruments at Jim's house were a curiously perfect combination of the two. It was interesting making music from such seemingly non-musical items. My favorite instrument was a big, blue propane tank that could fit two people. Anikka and I went inside and used mallets to strike loops cut out of the metal. We improvised two beautiful songs and tried to harmonize as much as we could. Since I love music, being inside a spaceship-esque instrument surrounded by music was awesome to me, even if there were a few accidental CLANGS along the way!
-Isabella LaBranche
Announcements
Spring Concert
Please join us at the Rockport Opera House on Friday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. for a concert featuring grades 3-4, 5-6, and the upper school vocal and string ensembles. The hour-long concert will feature song, dance, violin, and recorder selections from this year's music program at Ashwood. The public is invited.

Performing students must arrive at 5:30 p.m. sharp for rehearsal and warm ups.

Assembly dress is required.

Best regards,
-Laura Purdom
Class teacher
Wanna Dance? Save the Date!
Saturday, April 30, from 7-11 p.m., PRIMO CUBANO will be playing for our benefit dance at the Rockport Opera House! Tickets go on sale April 1, and we expect them to sell quickly; get the jump and get yours at Ashwood, at Zoot in Camden, or at the Belfast Dance Studio. Two left feet? There will be a free lesson at 7:30. Bailemos!

Summer Camps at Ashwood!
Jump for Joy! 
July 11-15 * 9:00-3:00 * For children entering grades 1-4 * $200
Ultimate Frisbee and Archery  July 18-22 * 9:00-3:00 * For children entering grades 4-8 * $200
La Cuisine Fran�aise July 25-29 * 9:00-1:00 * For children entering grades 2-4 * $135
Le Th��tre Fran�ais August 1-5 * 9:00-1:00 * For children entering grades 5-8 * $135

In This Issue
Important Dates
Thursday, March 24  
Let's Play! "Old Gnome in the Winter"
Farnsworth Art Museum
10:30-11:30 a.m.

Friday, March 25
All-School Assembly
8:40-9:15 a.m.

Tea and Puppets at Ashwood
10:00-11:00 a.m.
For children 2-6 years with an adult. Come meet new friends, sip tea, and enjoy a puppet play! 

Wednesday, March 30

Grade 3-4 Class Play Performance
9:45 a.m.

Thursday, March 31
Grade 3-4 Class Play Performance
9:45
a.m.

Friday, April 1
Grade 3-4 Class Play Performance
9:45
a.m.

Grade 3-4 Class Play Performance
4:30 p.m.

Let's Play! "Mashenka and the Bear"
Toy Library, Rockland  10:00-11:00 a.m.

Saturday, April 2

Open House
10:00 am.-1:00 p.m.
Fun for all! 
 
Community Classifieds
Got Hot Lights?
We need chili pepper or other fun strands of colored lights for the Primo Cubano dance. If you have some to lend, please bring them to the office. Thanks!
New Teacher Seeks Housing
New teacher and family in the community seeks  3-4 bedroom farmhouse (1500-2000 sq. ft.) with acreage (3+) and outbuilding(s) for homesteading lifestyle. Location should be roughly 20-30 minutes from school (between school and downtown Damariscotta).
Elizabeth Doshi  ph. 513-516-1472
Seeking a Play Set
Has your child (or children) outgrown their wooden, CedarWorks-type play set? Does the play set still have plenty of play left in it? If so, we would be happy to give that play set another life with our son, Isaac. We'd be happy to discuss cost and transportation with you. Please email or call Robert Kaczor: 315-525-4897.
Enroll Now for the Christian Community Camp This Summer
The Christian Community Camp has moved to Maine! The Christian Community, a Rudolf Steiner initiative, has operated its camp for over 40 years on the East Coast, offering a nature-loving, child- and community- centered overnight camp experience for 100 campers ranging in age from 8 to 13. The camp will be in session from August 4 - 20.  Click here for details. Local contact person is Richard Ailes: 207-236-0505.
Farm Hands at Aldermere
Starting April 4, Maine Coast Heritage Trust's Aldermere Farm in Rockport will host Farm Hands, a free, experiential program for youth ages 10 to 18 to practice haltering, grooming, and leading young calves. Program runs from 3:30-5:00 p.m. every Monday, April 4 to May 16. Space is limited. Registration is recommended by Friday, March 25. FMI, call 236-2739 or email.
We publish community-service announcements from and for Ashwood community members at no charge (50-words max.). Send to: Judith Soleil. 
Support Our Sponsors
Summer Tours to France!
Waldorf French teacher has led tours for over 20 years, focusing on areas that are full of beauty, culture, and isory. Tour Normandy and Alsace for 12 days (June 17-28) or Provence for 13 days (June 29-July 11). View details here or phone Lorey Zahn: 603-654-9817.
Be a Sponsor
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.
Why Waldorf?
Pygmalion Performance
Pygmalion Performance

Have fun with this grand performance of G.B. Shaw's Pygmalion by Grade 8 at a Waldorf School in India!
Submissions
Do you have a story to tell about Ashwood? A review of a book or an event? A reflection on Waldorf education? Photos you've taken?
A question about the Leaflet?
Send us an email! We would love to hear from you. The next Leaflet will be published on Wednesday, April 6. Deadline for submissions is MONDAY, April 4, at 9:00 a.m.
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