FALL 2 010
A PUBLICATION FOR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND SUPPORTERS
Community Spotlight Our daughter Julie begins her fourth academic year at Camphill this month. Julie is twelve and reads and writes, enjoys dining with her house mates, and eats a variety of foods, including vegetables!
continued on page 6 >
Anonymous donor issues $140,000 capital campaign challenge see page 2 >
Anonymous donor issues $140,000 capital campaign challenge By Carol Goetz Sharing Life and Learning: A Campaign for
Camphill Special School’s Transition Program is nearing the finish line . . . we need just $280,000
more to reach our minimum goal of $3 million . . .
$280,000 more to complete the largest fundraising effort in Camphill Special School’s history. . .
$280,000 more to build a beautiful new residence and education center at Beaver Farm.
We continue to meet new people every week,
friends who make generous gifts and pledges to our campaign. Such a friend recently told us he
wants to help us to cross that elusive finish line.
donate $140,000 to the Sharing Life and Learning campaign if we raise another $140,000.
If you have not yet made your own gift or pledge,
please do so now. All new gifts and pledges made by December 31, 2010, will qualify for this match. If you already have made your gift or pledge,
please consider making an additional gift especially designated to meet this final challenge. You can make your check payable to Camphill Special School and note that it is for “The Challenge.” Thank you for helping us grow!
Learning that we have $280,000 left to raise, an
anonymous donor in Philadelphia has pledged to
Board President Warren Gleicher and School founder Ursel Pietzner wield a ceremonial shovel at our Beaver Farm building project. See page 9 for more Beaver Farm construction photos!
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A New Kind of Newsletter Welcome to the latest issue of Reflections. You will notice our newsletter has undergone some changes, with a new look that better exemplifies our appreciation for our volunteers and supporters and the extraordinary achievements of our students. Be sure to visit our website at camphillspecialschool.org to learn more about how our look may have changed but our mission in service of children and families remains constant.
Warren Gleicher, new President of our Board of Directors, with his son Max, a twelfth-grader at Beaver Run.
Gleicher elected new president of Board Warren R. Gleicher, Esq. of Livingston, NJ, recently was elected President of Camphill Special School’s Board of Directors. Warren and his wife Amy are
the parents of Jonathan, Adam, and Max. Max is in the twelfth grade at Beaver Run.
Warren has been a member of the Board for five years and served on our Parent Campaign and
Development committees. He and Amy also are
New York Regional Chairs of the Sharing Life and Learning capital campaign. Warren is a partner at
NYC’s Olshan Grundman Rosenzweig & Wolosky LLP. He was selected as a “Super Lawyer” by
Law and Politics Magazine in 2007.
Retiring to the status of “member” after six years at the helm as President of the Board is Craig L. Adams, COO of PECO in Philadelphia. Craig
came to Camphill via Leadership, Inc. and has no children at the school or other “vested interest.”
He has worked tirelessly for all the children, saving dollars, cutting red tape when it needed to be cut,
and representing us all with good sense and good humor.
Guy Alma, Director of Development, says that
Craig’s tenure “demonstrated the true meaning
of leadership. Always a steady influence with an
eye for the essential, Craig continually asked us to push towards a future that we determined for ourselves. We have learned to look ahead and chart our own course with resolve. Camphill Special
School simply would not be the place it is today without having had Craig at the helm.”
In other “Board business,” members Eliza Carlson Lee, Leslie Meril, and Lainey Webb Moseley
retired and Gregory Ambrose was elected to the Board. Eliza will remain active on the Finance
Committee; Leslie as NJ co-chair of the Sharing Life and Learning campaign; and Lainey on the
School’s Marketing Committee. Greg is a Project
Administrator at The Vanguard Group in Malvern, PA. He is a member of our Strategic Planning
Committee and with his wife Annie has served as
a co-chair of the Camphill ProAm for the past two years. They live with their two children, Joey and
Becky, in Pottstown, PA. Joey is a ninth-grader at Beaver Run.
SPECIAL NEWS 3
Our Camphill ProAm 2010 tennis teams, ready for action!
ProAm 2010 raises a record $152,000 By Courtney Coffman Put together a record-breaking crowd. . . an
unmatched fundraising total . . . the best auction
items ever. . .delicious food . . . a fantastic band. . . and the area’s most talented tennis athletes.
What do you get? The Camphill ProAm 2010! Thankfully the Tennis Ball was held at Sunnybrook Ballroom on May 8, because there were more
people and auction items than ever before! Over
were Sarah Jane’s parents, Betsy and Bill Herman, longtime supporters of Camphill
Special School and the Camphill Foundation. Watch our December newsletter for announcements about our 20th Anniversary ProAm in 2011! Fern Goldstein with husband Roger Begelman, President of the Camphill Foundation Board of Directors, and Betsy Herman, parent of former Camphill student Sarah Jane Herman, traveled from New York for the Tennis Ball.
310 people crowded the huge, historic space to celebrate and support Camphill Special School and our students.
Thanks to our sponsors, program advertisers,
auction item donors and purchasers, raffle ticket holders, Tennis Ball and ProAm Tennis Tournament attendees, donors, and volunteers over
$152,000 was raised to benefit the school and
our capital campaign for the Transition Program at Beaver Farm.
Camphill Special School student Adam (center) with his family: brother Andrew, parents Amy and Dennis Colannino, and grandparents John and Linda Schoonmaker.
Highlighting the evening was an announcement by Camphill Foundation President Roger Begelman that, by virtue of the Foundation’s extraordinary
$500,000 grant to our capital campaign, the new Education and Resource Center at Beaver Farm
will be named in memory and honor of Sarah Jane Herman. Sarah Jane was a student at Beaver Run thirty years ago before her untimely death as a
young adult. Also present for the announcement 4 SPECIAL EVENTS
The winning team of Lynn Dickson and Wasyl Manko, with Anthony DeCecco, made their “owners” Becky and Annie Ambrose very happy.
Plein Air for Camphill: An artfully good time The second annual Plein Air for Camphill exhibition
The art will be on view and available for sale on
benefiting Camphill Special School will be held on
October 5 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the presti-
Tuesday, October 5.
gious Rosenfeld Gallery in Old City Philadelphia.
Over fifty invited professional artists will participate,
A reception with the artists will begin at 5:30.
working in a wide variety of media, including paint, pastel, ink, clay, video, and film inspired by the
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Camphill’s growing Transition Program.
Children’s Village at Beaver Run and the Transition Program at Beaver Farm.
“Undecided Sky” by Nancy Bea Miller was painted at Beaver Farm. Miller, the founder of Plein Air for Camphill, is a well-known Philadelphia-based artist and the mother of three young sons including Henry, a student at Camphill Special School.
Bike for a cause. . .not just because! What: Camphill Challenge 2010—Pedal a course that
This year’s Camphill Challenge will benefit all three
is 10, 33, or 50 miles through scenic Chester County
Camphill Communities in Chester County—Camphill
during peak autumn foliage, enjoy a wonderful picnic,
Special School, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, and
and support Camphill!
Camphill Soltane!
When: October 17, 2010, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
To register for the ride (early bird registration and
Where: Camphill Village Kimberton Hills,
pricing ends on September 30; kids under 10 are
1601 Pughtown Road, Kimberton, PA 19442
FREE), make a donation, or become a sponsor of
The Challenge will be held rain or shine.
the event go to camphillspecialschool.org. Simply
Why, you may be asking yourself, are the rides begin-
registration or sponsorship to benefit. Of course,
ning and ending at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills?
choose which community you would like your we encourage our parents, grandparents, and friends to choose Camphill Special School! For more information about any of our special events, contact Courtney at 610.469.9236 x132 or ccoffman@camphillspecialschool.org. Dan McCoubrey, Rick Moseley (Camphill Challenge founder and father of sixth-grader Leta), and Ted Boinske (Challenge Committee member and father of eighth-grader Jackson) at last year’s rainy Challenge bike ride.
SPECIAL EVENTS 5
Michelle Obama, Mahatma Gandhi, and Abraham Lincoln all are figures Will has studied in his main lesson blocks.
AN ARTIST IN OUR MIDST: TRANSFORMING TRASH
In my years at Camphill Special School, I have had the honor of living with Will (Class of 2010 and now a student in our Transition Program).
Will, like many Beaver Run students, spent many
Will apart from other students, however, is that he
By Ginny Thimme
is an artist in the tradition of Kurt Schwitters. He
Whilst studying the History of Art many years ago, I was fascinated by the work of Kurt Schwitters.
Schwitters was part of the modern art movement known as Dadaism, and he created much of his artwork out of trash: bus tickets, wheels, wire, newsprint, old socks, broken pencils, etc. He
roamed the streets, picking up what had been
(continued from front cover)
it into art.
hours doing trash and recycling chores. What sets
An appreciation of will
COMMUNITYSPOTLIGHT
discarded by others and taking it home and turning
always is on the lookout for materials to be used
in his art projects. Will finds most of his treasures
in the recycling sheds and he specializes in threedimensional art.
Soda cans are Will’s favorite medium, especially Coca-Cola cans (similar, in a way, to Andy
Warhol’s soup cans). Like Warhol, Will’s art also
Julie’s most important achievement, however, is her social interaction with her peers. Camphill is teaching Julie the “rules of friendship” with group activities that require communication (verbal and eye contact) among the students. Mealtimes at her house provide perhaps the best “real world” opportunities for developing social skills (e.g., table manners, setting the table, asking for someone to pass the pasta, using utensils, initiating conversation, and answering questions) when a lively houseful of children and adults sit together for three meals a day. Julie loves to talk about Camphill—and her first friends—during her vacations at home with us in Florida. Camphill Special School is a godsend to our family as it helps Julie reach her fullest potential. —Deborah Hayes and Michael Finger, Julie’s Mom and Dad
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Soda cans are Will’s favorite medium, especially Coca-Cola cans.
features icons, including Donald Trump, Abraham
I realized looking at his work that Will not only is
Charming, and Mahatma Gandhi.
all that he has learned here in school in his own
Lincoln, the Red Baron, Michelle Obama, Prince What impressed me when I lived with Will was
transforming trash into art, he is also transforming unique way.
how his work was continuously evolving and
improving and how he would work on making one figure over and over again until he got to a point
of perfection and/or peace. When I went to look at
his artwork recently, I found eight different versions of Michelle Obama, the icon that he and much of America are struggling to define right now. I also found not only Gandhi and Lincoln, but Hamlet, Emerson, and Thoreau, all figures that Will
learned about in his main lesson blocks with his teacher, Peggy.
CSS awarded second full accreditation
Will is an artist in the tradition of Kurt Schwitters, transforming ordinary trash into amazing works of art.
Camphill Special School recently was awarded a full seven-year term of accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools.
To be accredited, a school must meet standards in each major area of its work and activity. These areas include the school’s philosophy, mission, objectives, governance and leadership, organizational design and staff, educational programs, learning media services and technology, student services, student life and activities, facilities, health and safety, finances, assessment of student learning, and strategic planning.
This award was made just weeks after the School received full accreditation from AWSNA, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
Warren R. Gleicher, President of our Board of Directors, said, “We are very proud of the accreditation awarded to our School by Middle States. The
entire accreditation process validates the integrity of our unique programming for children with special needs and clearly justifies the faith and resources our many supporters place in Camphill Special School.”
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Miriam Cosentino is “transitioning” to a new life after twenty years at Beaver Run.
Our community wishes Miriam Cosentino well
also earned a BS degree in nursing at Immaculata
In 1990, having attended Waldorf school and
“In Camphill we know that we do not have to look
studied nursing and anthroposophy in Europe
for fifteen years, Miriam Cosentino knew that she
wanted a Waldorf education for her young daughter Maya and a community for both of them. She found both at Camphill Special School.
When she visited Beaver Run for the first time, Miriam says, “I knew immediately that this was
home.” So for twenty years filled with friendship, house parenting, involvement in almost every
aspect of the School, and acting as Beaver Run’s
school nurse, Camphill has been home for Miriam and Maya.
“The concept of Camphill as community is what
makes so many things possible in people’s lives,” says Miriam. “For instance, it is because we are
a community that children—children with special needs and staff children like my daughter—are
able to experience a kind of childhood that nearly is impossible to find anywhere else.”
During the past twenty years Miriam not only came to know hundreds of children extremely well, she 8
University and achieved her school nurse certification. She says these accomplishments were made infinitely easier because of the nurturing support found in community life.
out for ourselves,” she says, “for it is our responsibility to look out for others. We do this for each
other and for the students. That is how community works.”
Miriam met Nick six years ago when he came to Camphill to oversee the garden and create an
oasis of peace and beauty at Beaver Run. Both are ready for a change now. Miriam’s mother is
eighty-nine and not well, so for awhile at least they will live in Colorado with her. “It’s hard to know when change is necessary,” says Miriam, “but
everyone here has been supportive and caring as I transition.”
Maya completed her studies at Kimberton Waldorf School, studied neuroscience and psychology in
college in Maryland, and has finished her first year of medical studies in Germany. Her goal is to earn her anthroposophical M.D. and then form her own community to work with youth addicted to drugs.
“After my twenty years here,” says Miriam, “I hope that I will be remembered as a friend.”
Digging and building under way at Beaver Farm Asplundh Tree Expert
Company kindly donated their services to remove several huge trees from
our site, two ancient tractor sheds were torn down, a
traditional groundbreaking
ceremony was staged, and
the bulldozers moved in. We are on our way to building a new student residence and
an Education and Resource Center for our Transition
Program at Beaver Farm! If you live anywhere near 551 West Seven Stars
Road in Phoenixville, PA,
please be sure to drive by
and take a look for yourself as our landscape evolves.
For those of you a bit further afield, we look forward to
welcoming you as we schedule a series of “Down on
9%
FUNDRAISING FACTS: We’re not quite finished! Total gifts and pledges:
$2.72 MILLION
Amount needed to reach our minimum $3M goal: $280,000
91%
the Farm” afternoons. Be
sure to check our website
at camphillspecialschool.org and Facebook page for more updates.
Your new gift or pledge made by December 31, 2010, will be 100% matched!
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volunteers
Tina, in the center and dressed in blue, is a Transition Program student. She is surrounded by hard-working and ecologically minded Girl Scouts who completed a huge project at Beaver Farm in April.
Green Valleys Association and Girl Scouts restore creek at Beaver Farm By Guy Alma One of the environmental concerns we are
addressing in our building project at Beaver Farm is that of watershed protection. Rain gardens will form ecosystems that prevent storm-water runoff into French Creek, the southern boundary of our
property, and cisterns will harvest rainwater from our roofs for agricultural re-use.
Center Creek, however, is a tributary that flows
into French Creek through Beaver Farm’s fields.
Denuded over the years, it badly needed restoration so that with more trees along its banks it could function as a riparian buffer, cleaning
pollutants and preventing erosion from stormwater runoff.
Green Valleys Association, which oversees 155
square miles of all five of Chester County’s northern and eastern Schuylkill River watersheds, and
the Girl Scouts came to our rescue! On April 24th,
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under the watchful eyes of GVA’s Margot Taylor 10 VOLUNTEERS
and John Hoekstra, the Girl Scouts planted three hundred native trees along the creek.
Margot commented, “Special thanks to Bartlett
Tree Company whose support was pivotal, moving
plants and materials to the sites; Octoraro Nursery, that found time to squeeze in a plant delivery
in the middle of their busy season; and the PA
Landscape and Nurserymen Association, who supplied the coveted Scouting ‘patch’ commemorating the day.”
As for me, I already can imagine what everything
will look like in ten years when the creek is beautiful and healthier, with so much more wildlife living
in and around it. We send huge thanks to GVA for fighting the good fight for clean waterways and
winning the battle little by little, and most of all, we extend our fondest appreciation to all those young
hands and hearts who have planted a piece of our future at Beaver Farm.
Girl Scouts planted 300 trees along Center Creek at Beaver Farm, creating a riparian buffer to help keep French Creek clean and healthy.
government resources to send their child to Camphill Special School. Scholarships will
be awarded according to need-based criteria. Contributions to the Diversity Fund are taxdeductible.
“The care and education of children with special
By Carol Goetz
needs is something all of us need to be aware
Many of you may recall the photo of Benjamin that
Diversity Fund is a great way to focus attention on
as well as the story about him. Ben was not with
ing solution. I hope we can educate many more
lic school funding and could no longer afford to
money for the Diversity Fund.”
graced the cover of our Annual Report last year,
us last school year because he was denied pubattend.
of,” says Charles, “and working on behalf of the
Camphill Special School as an effective and inspir-
people about the Camphill Movement while raising Ben’s mother, Sharon Collins, says that “leaving
Ben’s story attracted the attention of Charles
Camphill Special School was devastating. It was
Recordings, during a visit to Chicago. After attend-
port and thrown into the high seas of public educa-
about him, his family, and Camphill, Charles knew
the ideal placement for Ben. “The Diversity Fund,”
Wallert, co-founder and creative head of Bluewater
as if our small boat had been untied from a safe
ing a fundraising event for Ben and learning more
tion.” According to Sharon, Camphill represents
that he wanted to help Ben and other children like
she says, “will help bring about that ideal for so
him attend Camphill Special School.
many children!”
After an initial event in New York City designed to
To contribute to the Diversity Fund online visit
and the difficulties families like Ben’s face, the
For more information about the Diversity Fund,
raise awareness of both Camphill Special School
camphillspecialschool.org/diversityfund.php.
Camphill Special School Diversity Fund was born.
please call or e-mail me at 610.469.9236 or
The Diversity Fund, once it is built up to an amount where several scholarship awards per year might be made from it, will benefit minority students whose parents lack sufficient personal and/or
development
‘Diversity Fund’ established in Beaver Run Foundation
cgoetz@camphillspecialschool.org.
For alumni news, check our website at camphillspecialschool.org/alumni.
Friends Ben Collins and Charles Wallert.
DEVELOPMENT 11
Please join us 1784 Fairview Road, Glenmoore, PA 19343 610.469.9236 camphillspecialschool.org
Camphill Special School consists of The Children’s Village and School at Beaver Run, The Transition Program at Beaver Hill and Beaver Farm, and The Camphill School of Curative Education and Social Therapy. Our mission is to create wholeness for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities through education and therapy in extended family living. The Camphill School of Curative Education and Social Therapy offers a four-year professional course of studies in anthroposophical curative education, youth guidance, and social therapy in a
October 5
Plein Air for Camphill Exhibit and Sale, 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Artist reception begins at 5:30 p.m. Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia
October 17
Camphill Challenge Bike Event, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Camphill Village Kimberton Hills
November 27 Christmas Café, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Karl Koenig Schoolhouse—Blue Room For more details visit camphillspecialschool.org/calendar or call 610.469.9236. 2010–2011 Board of Directors Warren R. Gleicher, Esq., President Claus Sproll, Secretary Jeffrey Powers, CPA, Attorney, Treasurer Guy Alma Gregory Ambrose Brian Epstein Jan Christopher Goeschel William C. Herman, Esq. Manfred Maier Andreas Schad
practice-integrated environment. Camphill
Bernard Wolf
Special School does not discriminate on
Emeriti
the basis of race, age, color, creed, gen-
Ursel Pietzner
der, sexual orientation, national or ethnic
Raymond Ripper
origin, or disability.