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 | | Sunday, December 19, 2010 | Volume MMX-XI, Issue 13 | |
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Winter Break Begins |
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We would like to wish the community a restful and enjoyable Winter Break, which begins tomorrow. School will resume on Monday, January 3, 2011. |
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Fair Lost and Found |
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There are many dishes and food containers left from Holiday Fair baking contributions. Please stop by the parent table shelves and pick up anything that belongs to you. There is also a backpack that needs to be claimed. Thank you for your Holiday Fair contributions! |
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Madonna Healing Series  |
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Please join remedial teacher Brigitta Witteveen and former parent Juliane Weeks as they lead the Madonna Healing Series on Monday, December 27, in the Remedial Room at 703 Mass Ave, 5-6 p.m. This will be a quiet, contemplative event. Come to experience its nurturing, healing, and warming quality. Click "read more" above to learn more about the Madonna Healing Series. |
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Upcoming Events at Waldorf |
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Monday, December 27
Madonna Healing Series, 5 p.m.
Monday, January 3, 2011
School Resumes
Morning Glories class evening, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, January 5
Foundation Studies, 5 p.m.
Wendy Margo's Kindergarten class evening, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 6
Leah Palumbo's Kindergarten class evening, 7 p.m.
Friday, January 7
Waldorf Park, noon
Monday, January 10
PCA meeting, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, January 11
Grade One Readiness Evening, 7 p.m.
8th Grade class evening, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 12
Info Session, 8:45-11 a.m.
7th Grade class evening, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 14
Waldorf Park, noon
Monday, January 17
No School
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Tuesday, January 18
Board Office Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Finance Committee meeting, 6:30 p.m.
4th Grade class evening, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 19
Foundation Studies, 5 p.m.
Development Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.
5th Grade class evening, 7:30 p.m.
6th Grade class evening, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 20
1st Grade class evening, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 21
Waldorf Park, noon
Saturday, January 22
Early Childhood Open House, 10 a.m.-noon
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Events in the Larger Waldorf Community |
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There are many anthroposophical events in and around the Boston area, and beyond, that support and enliven what we do here at school. Please click "read more" above for frequently updated information and resources from the Anthroposophical Society of Greater Boston, AWSNA, The Pfeiffer Center, and others. |
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Community Classifieds |
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Remember to check the Community Classifieds page on the school website every week for information about any items of more general interest, such as music lessons, professional services, real estate, items for sale, workshops or events in locations other than the school. Advertisers are advised that the Community Classifieds are published via the school’s website for the benefit of members and friends of the school community and can be accessed on the worldwide web.
You can easily access the Classifieds on the school's website in the Community section, where you will also find the submission form and guidelines. Please contact Luana Preston with any questions. |
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In this week's edition: |
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 Mood of the Season- In the Beginning
- Bullying Prevention & Intervention Plan
- Shepherd's Plays
- Annual Giving
- Open House Posters
- Help Maximize Our Outreach
- Too Much Pressure
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Mood of the Season |
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 The gloom of the world is but a shadow.Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.
There is radiance and glory in the darkness
a living splendor, woven of love, wisdom, and power.
Welcome it, grasp it, and you will touch
the angel's hand that brings it to you.
In everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty,
that angel's hand is there,
the wonder of a celestial presence.
And so now, at this Christmas time,
We greet you with the prayer that for you,
now and forever,
the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
-Fra Giovanni
At this time of year, despite the hustle and bustle of the season, the darkness of the late afternoons and the cold weather can also lead us to inner contemplation. In this spirit, both the seventh and the eighth grade performed some beautiful eurythmy for our school assembly to help us cultivate this calming winter mood before we all head our separate ways on winter break.
The seventh grade performed the poem above, which is an excerpt from a letter from Fra Giovanni, a monk, to Contessina Allagia degli Aldobrandeschi, composed on Christmas Eve, 1513.
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In the Beginning |
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Thank you to the Third Grade for their beautiful play "In the Beginning" which they performed on Wednesday and Thursday. It told the story of creation and the Garden of Eden through song and eurythmy and was done as part of their Old Testament main lesson block. |
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Bullying Prevention & Intervention Plan |
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The Waldorf School of Lexington has adopted a new Bullying Prevention & Intervention Plan. All schools in Massachusetts (public and non-public) are required to have such a plan in place by December 31, 2010 to meet the new state law requirements.
Much of the language and requirements in this new plan is driven by the new state law. We encourage you to review and get to know the plan (click on "read more" above). If you have any questions or feedback on this plan please contact Susan Cody or Joe O'Regan. This plan will be posted in the Community section of our website and will be included in future editions of our community handbook. |
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Shepherds' Plays |
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We would like to thank the Cape Ann Waldorf School faculty for their lovely peformance of the Oberhufer Shepherds' Play last Saturday. We were also lucky to have the Green Meadow Waldorf High School share a second performance of the Shepherds' Play yesterday afternoon with us. Many thanks to both groups for bringing their efforts to our community.
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Annual Giving |
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Thanks to our supportive community we have now raised $93,032 towards our annual giving goal of $167,000, with 53% participation (click "read more" above to see participation by class). Please note that all donations received by December 31, 2010 can be deducted from you 2010 taxes.
Our matching challenge still stands and will be in place until the end of this annual giving campaign, January 31, 2011. Our generous donor will match the increased amount of gifts over last year and all new gifts. To date we have utilized $12,544 of the $45,000 matching challenge. In addition, our anonymous donor will give $20,000 to the school's annual giving fund when we hit 90% participation. Please join us in maximizing this wonderful opportunity for our school.
Best Wishes and Seasons Greetings to all,
Joe O'Regan
School Director (Interim) |
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Open House Posters |
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 Please help spread the word about our Saturday, January 22 Early Childhood Open House. Please click "read more" for a PDF poster you can share with any friends or listservs you feel might be interested. If you would like to be part of our “guerilla poster” squad and place flyers at a local library or other family friendly location in your town, please contact Holly Kania. |
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Help Maximize Our Outreach |
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 You can help us maximize our ad dollars: If you are Googling the school (or searching on any other platform) to get our contact info, please do not click on any text ad that appears. You will know a “text ad” because it appears in a highlighted box or line at the top of the search results on the main column, or at the top of the right column. We pay “per-click” and track calls that come through our text ads, so please help us to focus our outreach spending on directing new families to our school! Thank you. |
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Too Much Pressure |
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On Wednesday, December 14, the WBUR program On-Point Radio took on the film "Race to Nowhere," tackling the questions: Is American education placing too much emphasis on achievement for achievement's sake? How is high-stakes standardized testing and teaching-to-the-test affecting our young people? The implications of these trends--immediate and long-term--are cause for concern.
In contrast, Waldorf education stresses the process of learning over testing-based metrics, and seeks to develop a child's whole range of capacities: artistic, social, musical, physical, and emotional, as well as academic/intellectual. Of course, we teach core academic skills. But we also cultivate a student's creativity, resilience, strength of character, love of beauty, compassion, and ability to work with others…all of them skills that may fall by the wayside when educators focus too narrowly on testing and achievement.
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