• Gardening at School
• Annual Giving Update
• Thank You, Grandparents
• May Day Tomorrow
• Biodynamic Preparation Stirring on May Day
• Salsa Night is Back!
• Foreign Languages in the Waldorf School
• Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy 
• Gratitude from Afar
• News from Homespun

You can also access the Bulletin, including past editions, on the Waldorf School of Lexington's website in the Community Section.

I sense a kindred nature to my own:
Thus speaks perceptive feeling
As in the sun-illumined world
It merges with the floods of light;
To thinking's clarity
My feeling would give warmth
And human and world
In unity bind fast.

(Rudolf Steiner, Calendar of the Soul, Week 4)

Gardening is important work for young people. It teaches them a love and stewardship for a piece of land. Through regular working in the garden, the child will experience the progression of the year through his limbs, and experience patience, hope, expectation, and pride. Gardening provides an opportunity to be in touch with the cycles of nature and weather patterns and to develop a relationship with the plant and animal world. In some ways, gardening balances the curriculum by requiring the attention of the hands and limbs, and gives them an experience to work in a very practical way. Gardening provides opportunities for children to develop socially, emotionally, individually, and as a community.

Gardening can be very physical work or very delicate work. It supports the children's physical development, nourishes their senses, and helps them learn to slow down and observe carefully. They can become more sensitive to their environment, develop cooperativeness, learn respect for living things and beauty, as well as persistence and caring that will serve the children well throughout their lives.

Although we do not actually own any of the land around our Adams Building, we are nevertheless its stewards. The gardens in the horseshoe, around our school buildings as well as the ten raised beds down by the pond are all tended by different classes during the school day during the fall and spring seasons. We have seeds sprouting in the third grade classroom soon to be planted in our vegetable gardens. We have a thriving composting program where all the classes compost their food wastes as well as the kitchen. We have three large compost piles down by the pond in different states of decomposition. The children rake the gardens, collect leaves for composting, plant seeds, watch them grow, harvest the fruit, dig up weeds, plant bulbs, and pick up trash. There is something for every child to work on in our Waldorf garden.
(Submitted by Amelia Mueller)

We now have 90% community participation and $93,668 in gifts received and pledged to our annual giving campaign. Please help us reach $100,000, where the next matching challenge will commence. Every dollar donated over $100,000 will be matched dollar for dollar up to $150,000. We can do it!

Thank you to all the grandparents who visited the school today--we thoroughly enjoyed your company!

Come one, come all, to our annual May Day celebration tomorrow, Saturday, May 1, at 10 a.m. Help us welcome in the spring as Lady Spring finally defeats King Winter, followed by performances by all the elementary grades, including maypole dancing by the Fourth Grade. Wear your spring garlands and festive garb, and bring a picnic to finish with a lunch on the green. We will conclude with strawberry shortcake for all. Grandparents are especially welcome.

Biodynamic agriculture originated with Rudolf Steiner in 1924. He was asked by German farmers, soil scientists, and veterinarians to elaborate on solutions to a number of problems being experienced in agriculture. Steiner then presented eight lectures which are now published as the Agriculture course. During this lecture course, Steiner gave indications for producing several different preparations to be used in agriculture which are now referred to as as the biodynamic preparations. 
       Tomorrow, we will be stirring the #500 Horn Manure preparation for one hour and then spreading the tea with pine branches all over the school grounds as a spring gardening ritual. Ideally, we would like ten to twelve adults to help stir and spread the preparation. Children ages nine and up are welcome to help as well. The preparation is a great soil builder, sensitizes the plants, stimulates and enlivens the soil, and heals and refreshes the land. Please come help stir at noon; meet in the side garden in the tree stump circle. Please call Amelia at 781-641-3682 with any questions.

The salsa night event is back! Please join the Seventh Grade as they host a night of festive dancing, socializing, and Latin American refreshments on Saturday, May 8 from 7-10 p.m. in the auditorium. Join us at 7:10 p.m. for a brief salsa lesson and stay to watch the Seventh Grade perform before we all fill the dance floor to salsa together. Tickets will be available at the door: Adults $15, Children $8, or the whole family for $30. You will also be able to purchase them ahead of time for a discount (Adult $10, Child $5, Family $25) in the Main Office, Homespun, or during dismissal in the horseshoe. We are looking forward to seeing you at this lively event!

Christa Clark, our German teacher for grades 1-8, has written a description of the role of foreign language in the Waldorf curriculum.  Please follow the link below for the full text.

Goethe said, “What is more precious than gold? The light. What is more quickening than light? Das Gespraech: the conversation, that which takes place in speech between one human being and another.”
       Teaching foreign languages is a social and peace pedagogy. It is not only through discussions or information that students learn, but through experiences and inner work. Global competence is to be able to communicate effectively across linguistic and cultural boundaries, and to see and understand the world from a perspective other than one’s own and to appreciate and understand the diversity of society and cultures. 
 

"I was empowered and enlightened by Foundation Studies in a way I could have never expected. The experience was the receiving of a deep understanding of the journey that I am on."  (Lasha Schoeffel)

What is the larger picture that inspired Rudolf Steiner in developing Waldorf Education? What is Anthroposophy, this study of cosmic wisdom and the human being? Getting to know that picture often starts a richly satisfying individual soul exploration; one that has amazed and nourished many parents and friends of Waldorf communities. Combining artistic activity with readings, biography work, and inspired discussions ranging from the practical to the cosmic life, this group meets sixteen times per academic year for two years, here at the school in the evenings.  The course will feature some of the most seasoned and remarkable teachers around.

Come hear a bit on what it's all about on Wednesday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. and/or Thursday, May 20 at 8:30 a.m. in the Cafe. We'll have a short presentation (including some Eurythmy!) and a question/answer panel of some members of our community who have recently completed these studies. Also, you can watch this short film from Center for Anthroposophy, showcasing their many programs, including Foundation Studies. Hope to see you there!