A LU M NI MAGA ZINE
W h at Is Wit h in Maxwell Bennett, High School Class of 2008
| Winter 2 0 1 6
Dear Alumni, Friends and Community Members: ALUMNI MAGAZINE Volume 1, No. 1 - Winter 2016 Cynthia Shore Editor Janine Pearson Graphic Designer Jeffrey Baker School Administrator Pat Lord Development and Marketing Director Brent Poole Admissions and International Program Director Pam Colgate College Guidance Counselor and High School Faculty BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dana Barnard, President Phyllis Gonzales, Vice President Andy Smith, Secretary Thomas Baudhuin John Braman Melissa Coleman Jennie Salyer Cheryl Slover-Linett April Vogel Rebecca Withers Jeffrey Baker, School Administrator Kay Hoffman, Pedagogical Director Thomas Keppel, Business Manager Pat Lord, Development and Marketing Director Brent Poole, Admissions and International Program Director The Santa Fe Waldorf School is an independent, nonprofit organization with accreditation through the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and the National Council for Private School Accreditation (NCPSA). Additionally, our school is a full member of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN) and the New Mexico Athletics Association (NMAA). We welcome and serve students from a variety of social, economic, ethnic, cultural, and international backgrounds.
The magazine you hold in your hands reflects yet another step for the Santa Fe Waldorf School in its efforts to meaningfully reconnect with the many talented and gracious students, parents, and friends who have been a part of its story for the past 33+ years. There is much to celebrate at the school these days, just as there is much from the past three decades to honor, and we hope that you will find the updates included here not just an inspiration for the present moment, but perhaps a means of remembering the many wonderful experiences that may have marked your time with the school. Over the past three years the school has not only successfully completed its re-accreditation with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA), it has also expanded its high school International Program, engaged in numerous campus improvements, increased its outreach efforts with alumni, initiated a unique outdoor Kindergarten program, created powerful new scholarship opportunities, supported the development of an exciting new curriculum in photography and film at the high school level, and continued to field incredible after-school athletics teams. The past years have also seen an increased desire to look outward into the greater community with more regularity, leading SFWS to host public events with prominent figures like jazz-maestro Dave Grusin, and multiple award-winning journalist Richard Louv, author of the ground-breaking Last Child in the Woods. In this inaugural issue of our Alumni Magazine you’ll also see information about more recent public engagements, including a high school art exhibit at Warehouse 21 (page 8) and a screening of the important documentary Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age (page 1). In closing, it is important to note that during the re-accreditation self-study, the Board of Trustees and College of Teachers unanimously approved the defining of a Santa Fe Waldorf School alum as any student attending the school for a year or more in the past. While such a distinction eschews the traditional definition of alumni that you might encounter elsewhere, it perfectly reflects our school’s ability to think more broadly, especially in the area of inclusivity and community-building. We hope that you’ll find an opportunity to reconnect with us in the days ahead by visiting campus, sending us a note, visiting our alumni webpage on the school’s website, and reconnecting through social media. Let us know how you are, as well as any thoughts about this publication that you’d like to share. I wish you and yours a festive holiday season, and an inspired new year! Kind Regards,
Jeffrey Baker, School Administrator
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SFWS NEWS We have had a bustling autumn full of well-loved occasions like our Enchanted Halloween Walk, Michaelmas, the Wolf Pack Trail Run and the Back-to-School Picnic. But there have also been new and exciting developments to school life this year. Community Outreach We held two successful community events this fall in keeping with our goal of expanding the Waldorf presence in the greater Santa Fe community. The first, a concert with the band 50 Watt Whale, anchored by former school parent Kevin Miller and alumnus Casey Andersen (HS Class 2010) who, after graduating from Berklee School of Music, now also teaches music at SFWS. The band’s eponymous debut won Best Rock CD in the 2015 New Mexico Rock Music Awards. The band welcomed Santa Fe families to picnic on blankets, feast on hot dogs sold in the high school, and dance by a bonfire to live music. We also co-hosted two packed screenings of the movie Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age, in collaboration with Desert Academy. A documentary about the growing evidence of the negative effects of screen-based technologies on youth, Screenagers’ inherent message supports the value of Waldorf priorities such as face-to-face interactions, instruction in the arts, physical movement, and work with natural materials over the use of electronic interfaces.
Expanding Global Education In the high school, our revitalized international student program keeps growing. This year, we have two international students, Martín from Colombia (who is doing an exchange with one of our sophomores) and Angela, an 11th grade student from Germany, who will be with us for the full year. We also have significant interest from students across the world, and expect to host several more students in both the exchange and visitation programs.
Highlights of our efforts include: • Re-accreditation with the Associated Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) through 2022, and Recognition of Accreditation Candidacy status with the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS). • Teacher salary increases and the reestablishment of matching retirement contributions for full-time employees. • Record donations to the school thanks to the incredible outreach efforts of Pat Lord
(Development and Marketing Coordinator), the Administrative Team and many dedicated Class Parents and Board Members.
• Establishment of new merit-based scholarships. Renaissance Scholarships are available to incoming high school freshmen who are both new to SFWS and demonstrate interest in the arts, athletics and academics. Steiner Scholarships are for currently enrolled students and provide additional support to families who have great financial need, and whose students have demonstrated themselves to be engaged, enthusiastic and inspired members of our school community. For more info, visit santafewaldorf.org/ scholarships.
Athletics Our sports program continues to thrive, with volleyball, basketball, and track and field all having both middle school and varsity teams, and our co-ed soccer program fielding a junior varsity team. Last spring, senior Ivan Davila (HS Class 2016) took home two State Championships in Discus and Javelin. This fall, our varsity volleyball team celebrated a 19-game winning streak and their fifth consecutive District Championship. GO WOLVES!
Revitalization Most importantly, we have spent the last four years reconfiguring the very foundations of our school to not only celebrate its first 30 years, but to
position it to be a thriving center of Waldorf education for the next 30 years and beyond. As our board president Dana Barnard wrote to the school, “A high quality, stout foundation allows one to build elaborate structures without worry.” Specifically, the school has re-envisioned and reworked all areas of the school, including the physical plant, governance, marketing, customer service, accreditation, and college guidance.
• Beautiful new entrance signage to welcome students, families and visitors to the school. • Reformation of a Parent Council with a mission to promote communication between continued on Page 9 1
ALUMNI PROFILE Addison Nace
High School Class of 2013 Antioch College, Senior Major: Anthropology with a concentration in Spanish
A PASSION FOR GLOBAL CULTURE, JUSTICE, AND TEXTILES ADDISON NACE, as part of her studies at Antioch, is currently finishing a six-month co-op residency program in Chiapas, Mexico with Natik, a nonprofit organization that helps marginalized communities. Specifically, Nace is helping Mujeres Sembrando la Vida, a cooperative of weavers in Zinacantán.
How was your college experience after leaving Waldorf, both personally and academically? My college experience has been very unique, but in the same way Waldorf was unique. Antioch College is a small liberal arts college with a co-op program that hopes to cultivate academic and professional experiences for its students. My class size at Antioch is one of the biggest, with about 100 students in my first year; now we have about 80. The small college and alternative program ended up attracting other Waldorf students, and one of my best friends at Antioch is also a Waldorf student.
How did you choose your major? I decided to major in anthropology because I was interested in learning about other cultures. Anthropology was the perfect subject to explore my interests in art and culture while also thinking about human rights and social justice. Antioch has a co-op program, which means students are required to have four work experiences before they graduate. For my co-op experiences and my time off campus, I consistently worked in jobs that had
“WALDORF GAVE ME A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THE WORLD” 2
a theme of art and education. My academic interests mainly focus on material culture, textiles, economic anthropology, and globalization. For my first co-op, I came back to Santa Fe and worked at SITE Santa Fe as an education and outreach intern. I worked as an outreach and artful adventures intern at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for my second co-op. With my third co-op, I lived and worked on an alpaca farm while working for the Fibershed of the Greater Northwest doing development and outreach work.
What is your current project in Mexico? Mujeres Sembrando la Vida means “Women Planting Life”, and my work has been to find ways to break into other markets in the United States as well as within tourism in Chiapas. I will continue to work with Natik virtually after I leave Mexico. What I really appreciate about Natik is that it truly is a partnership with indigenous people in Chiapas, creating programs and communities that are meaningful to them rather than having outsiders coming in and creating changes. The academic purpose of being in Mexico is twofold; firstly to become better at speaking Spanish, and secondly to do research for my senior project. When I finish this experience, I will have done participant observation as well as interviews to aid in my senior project, which intends to focus on economic justice, textiles, and institutions within San Cristobal de las Casas.
Looking back, how does your Waldorf education benefit your life today? I think what Waldorf gave me was a deep appreciation for the world. I really appreciate having had to take Chinese language in ninth grade, and also Latin American History and Japanese Literature. The work we did with writing at the Waldorf school has really benefited me in college and professionally, because I left high school feeling confident about my writing skills. I have never been daunted by essays. Lastly, I really appreciate my ninth grade English teacher for telling us very bluntly to always question authority. That statement has kept me curious and has also made me confident to go against the grain and do what I think is right.
TEACHER PROFILE
What is the best part of what you do now? I really love the life I created for myself in Chiapas. Every day I get to think about my passion for anthropology and textiles. Within the textile community there is a lot of rhetoric about cultural preservation, so that cultural knowledge isn’t lost. But what I’ve most appreciated about being in Chiapas is the strong ethos of cultural resistance. The 1994 Zapatista rebellion really changed the way people think about things and made an entire state of indigenous people proud of their culture. Indigenous women still wear their traditional dress, but they continuously adapt and change it to create modern Mayan fashion. What I love about my work here is that it has
taught me a great deal about how resistance can lead to innovation, and a greater strengthening of self/identity. With my work here with weavers, I feel like I’m actually contributing to something greater than myself while also feeling like I’m learning so much.
What do you do for fun? For fun, I really enjoy sewing and exploring other textile arts. When I am in the States, I enjoy making some of my own clothes. While in college, I have learned how to spin wool into yarn and began learning how to weave. I also started exploring work with natural dyes. In Mexico, I have been learning how to backstrap weave. I’ve also learned how to do two different styles of brocade weaves from the villages of San Juan Cancuc and Zinacantán in Chiapas.
What are your future plans? Right now, I am planning on returning to my university in January to finish my last two quarters and graduate in June. I plan to focus my senior project on textiles from Chiapas. I don’t have a specific plan for when I graduate, mostly because I feel split between finding more opportunities abroad or getting a job in the United States. I would really like to work in a museum in a curatorial or research department, with a focus on textiles. That’s been my dream for a long time. • Contact Addison at anace@antiochcollege.edu. For more information about Natik, visit natik.org.
Jennie Salyer Kindergarten teacher Pinon Forest Kindergarten Teacher Jennie Salyer came to teaching through her youngest daughter Kayla (HS Class 2013). “I was looking for a homelike environment for her,” says Salyer. Through a friend working at the Waldorf School of Bend, Oregon, Salyer discovered the right place for her daughters and eventually, for herself. “The depth of the curriculum intrigued me,” she notes. A biochemistry major, Salyer “was never going to be a teacher,” but she took a part-time job at the Oregon school after Kayla started attending. Upon hearing a lecture on embryology and the Waldorf curriculum by Rudolph Steiner College’s Dennis Klocek, Salyer was hooked. “The spiritual science background was fascinating to me,” she says. After moving to Santa Fe, Salyer stayed with early childhood: “I like to teach more out of imitation rather than lecturing in front of a class”. But she also started looking for another approach to help children— especially those with ADHD and learning differences—develop readiness for first grade. Inspired by the work of Waldorf pediatrician Dr. Susan Johnson, who recommends time in nature to return children to their essential nature, Salyer pioneered the Pinon Forest program. Last year, students attended kindergarten outdoors all day, every school day, all year long. This year, the curriculum has been altered slightly, and the children spend two days a week completely outdoors in all seasons. This, Salyer feels, is a next step in how Waldorf can offer an alternative to mainstream education for young children. “It is so important to hold space for children to play in nature at this time in their life,” she says. Salyer’s daughter, Mariah (HS Class 2011), is a graduate of Hampshire College and now works in Denver at the YESS Institute with at-risk youth. Kayla will graduate this year from Rollins College in Florida with a degree in Critical Culture and Media. Salyer spends her free time cooking traditional foods, and going on long backpacking and hiking trips. She just completed a 150-mile hike in Arizona over Thanksgiving walking a part of the Grand Enchantment Trail. What she likes most about Santa Fe is the mountains, the diverse culture and sunshine, “especially coming from Oregon!” 3
ALUMNI PROFILE THRIVING IN TODAY’S AEROSPACE TECH JONATHON LINCH credits his Waldorf education with giving him what he needed to excel both in college and now at Northrop Grumman in Los Angeles, where he lives with his four-year-old black lab, Kody. Linch believes in Waldorf even though the high school didn’t have a strong math and science focus at the time. “I knew I was going to do something related to aircraft since I was three years old, but I didn’t have the aptitude or interest to achieve big things in high school. I lacked the right motivation which I found once I was with others who shared the same interests as me.” In particular, Linch remembers SFWS science teacher Greg Schultz who provided time, patience, and firmness. Schultz “was very matter-of-fact and frank, and I needed that,” says Linch. “He was always fair, but pushed me to grow and develop. I was surprised how much more I could accomplish by being pushed a little harder to think first before asking questions.”
Jonathon Linch
High School Class of 2007 Cum Laude, Syracuse University; Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Georgia Tech; Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering, concentration in aeroacoustics and aerodynamics. University of Southern California; MBA, Graduating 2018 CURRENT JOB: Section Manager of Dynamics Test Engineering at Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles, CA.
“ WALDORF TAUGHT ME HOW TO LEARN”
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Linch notes that engineering professors use this methodology to prevent students from regurgitating textbook equations. “It forces you to understand where the math comes from, because at some point when you’re on the cutting edge of your field, Google Search can’t save you,” he says. He also remembers SFWS humanities teacher Pam Colgate, who influenced his writing ability. “I’m always asked to do the heavy lifting when it comes to modifying departmental operating procedures or putting together management flowdown at work,” he says. “As I write, I know Ms. Colgate wants to remind me to link the last sentence of my support paragraph back to my thesis statement.” When Linch arrived at college, he realized it was “game time”. Other students had high-level math and science courses under their belt, but when Linch hunkered down, he found himself able to figure out “what I didn’t know and then surpass my peers. Waldorf taught me how to learn.” At Syracuse, Linch majored in Aerospace Engineering, but also took part in genetics research, where he developed a set of constitutive laws about DNA in relation to genetic immunities to cancer and HIV. Linch then moved on to Georgia Tech, where he found aeroacoustics by chance. “I was knocking on professors’ doors to find projects so I wouldn’t have to pay tuition,” he notes. “The only research I found was in acoustics. I thought I would hate it, but I loved it and it got me a job doing what I always wanted to do.” Now a manager and holder of four patents, Linch oversees testing of rockets and spacecraft components to ensure they operate correctly in space. He works on projects such as the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be launched in October 2018 to replace the Hubble Telescope. He also thanks Waldorf for his quick rise to a managerial level. “Many engineers are requirements driven — they work from blueprints. That’s never how I enjoyed working: tell me what you want accomplished and let me be creative about how I do it. I attribute that creativity to Waldorf.” continued on Page 9
SFWS TODAY: A College Essay Natalina Cotter
High School Class of 2017
Natalina began attending the Santa Fe Waldorf High School in 2008. Due to mitochondrial dysfunction and dysautonomia, she was at first only able to attend some art classes a few hours a week. As her health improved, she gradually introduced more academic courses at Waldorf. In 2017, after nine years of dedicated work attending part-time, she will graduate. Natalina cites Waldorf’s supportive community and environmental consciousness as critical to the completion of her educational goals. Following high school, she intends to enroll at the University of New Mexico, and is considering a double major in journalism and engineering. This is her college application essay.
CROATIA Four. Seven. Nine. Six. On a scale of one to ten, how much pain am I in right now? This has been my central question nearly as long as I can remember. Number: eight. I only have three memories from my time in Split, Croatia. One is driving through the city, the pearly grey of the sky and graffiti on the buildings. The other two are throwing up into a plastic bag in a small apartment and later eating a bowl of soup. It was an excellent soup, with flavorful broth and little star-shaped pasta. The feeling ill was decidedly not excellent. That was, in fact, why my mother and I were in Croatia the summer of 2001: it was a desperate run to try and turn around my dwindling health. Our family friends and fellow Croatians, the Tokics, had exalted the healing powers of the clean Adriatic air. Unfortunately, my brief time in Split did little to make me feel better. Overall, however, my time in Croatia would change my life. After Split came a stay on Brač, which is filled with mythic, gnarled olive trees and is the largest of the Dalmatian islands. Next was Rozat, a small village on the outskirts of Dubrovnik where my maternal family has been living for generations. The home where my great-grandmother grew up still stands by the river, and that is where my mother and I stayed our first few nights. The house is divided into two parts: the new and the old, the new built seamlessly onto the old. The “old” house is dusty and used for storage, but the attached “smoke room” is still used to cook meats. The new is not terribly young and wears craters in the concrete pillars from the past two world wars. I slept in the second-floor room where my great-grandmother, or Nana as I called her, was born. Across the hall is the window Nana snuck out of against her mother’s wishes, but with her father’s blessing, to run away to America and marry my great-grandfather. The white lace curtains hanging in the window are probably not the same ones she had to sweep
aside, but in my imagination they are. The family still has the
ladder she climbed down. While I did feel better over the course of my first trip to Croatia, my constant abdominal pain did not cease. However, the improvement was enough that we went a second time. Number: five. In October of 2002 my mom and I first went to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. We walked the cobblestone streets and ate roasted chestnuts from a street vendor. My narrow feet made shoe selection as a child nearly impossible, but in Zagreb we discovered an array of shoes all small and narrow enough for me to choose between them. I chose blue sneakers and was giddy at both having my favorite color and having the choice at all. When we moved on to Dubrovnik, I was pleased to discover the road by the river had become familiar to me, along with the cats and chattering ducks and geese that lived there. I spent more time in Stari Grad, the old citadel of Dubrovnik, and got to continued on Page 9
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ALUMNI PROFILE Maxwell Bennett
High School Class of 2008
Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe NM, group exhibition “Life Lines”, January-May 2016 Colorado College, Bachelor’s of Fine Art, minor in Museum Studies Craig Herst Art Prize Scholar 2011, awarded annually to a junior studio art major who embodies passion for the arts and has demonstrated excellence during his/her career at Colorado College. SITE Santa Fe Operations Intern 2011 Shidoni Bronze Foundry Intern 2008 (As a SFWS senior) CURRENT JOB: Owner, Maxwell Bennett Works Santa Fe NM
A COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARTIST, ARCHITECTURE, AND METAL How was your college experience after Waldorf, both personally and academically? My college experience was great. Colorado College is an academically challenging liberal arts college that fosters individuality and independence. I think that Waldorf prepared me to think critically and academically, while also allowing me to focus on creativity and art. In college, I was able to use both aspects in my first couple of years, as I was taking both art and more standard classes. It didn’t hurt that Colorado College has the block plan, similar to how Waldorf has blocks of subjects. The creative skills and techniques that I started at Waldorf were a really strong base for my further education and now profession. I actually took my first blacksmithing class at Waldorf during my senior year. I also worked at the Shidoni Foundry (in Tesuque, NM) for my senior project at Waldorf. I cast a sculpture of a hand and forearm that I made in bronze, and whatever stage my piece was at in the bronze casting process, I would help others at the same stage.
And the Craig Herst Art Prize you received in college?
“WALDORF PREPARED ME TO THINK CRITICALLY AND ACADEMICALLY, WHILE ALSO ALLOWING ME TO FOCUS ON CREATIVITY AND ART”
The CHAPS award is a grant awarded to a rising senior art major at Colorado College. It is meant to fund the thesis process and beyond in the form of tools, programs, or materials. The student is chosen by a group of professors, board members, and the previous year’s recipient. The award allowed me to purchase the steel and other materials I used for my thesis work, as well as a welder and various other tools, most of which I still use today. As someone whose family didn’t have a lot of spare money, it really gave me a jumpstart into the career I’m working towards.
How did you become a blacksmith? I always liked working with metal and have always been artistic and creative, although with some struggle to complete projects. I continually kept coming back to working with various metals and processes throughout my education. I took a few extracurricular blacksmithing classes in college and my thesis work was focused on forging steel, although without a proper forge. After graduation I was offered a position as a paid apprentice for a knife maker and architectural blacksmith that I had volunteered for previously here in Santa Fe. I worked and learned under him for about three and a half years. A bit over
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a year ago I branched out on my own some. So it was sort of the best amalgamation of what I liked. Working with metal, creatively and artistically, and hopefully being able to live off it.
Looking back, how did your Waldorf education benefit college and your life today? Waldorf really supported the creative in me and allowed me to fully explore my passion. The more diverse literature and history texts that I read and studied at Waldorf provided me with a background in a broad variety of cultures and perspectives going into college.
What is the best part of what you do now? My favorite part of my job is exploring new and interesting ways to move and shape steel. I like using traditional techniques with modern design. My sculpture uses many skills and processes that I have learned in my architectural work, and vice-versa.
TEACHER PROFILE Jerry Ferraccio Drama teacher The new drama teacher at Santa Fe Waldorf High School has delved so deeply into William Shakespeare, that this year, Jerry Ferraccio even became the famous playwright. When the First Folio Tour of Shakespeare’s 1623 book came to the New Mexico Museum of Art this past winter, Ferraccio was the one who appeared as William Shakespeare at several celebratory events. How fitting for the creator of the Santa Fe Shakespeare Society, an organization dedicated to increasing the enjoyment, understanding, and appreciation of the Bard’s works! An accomplished actor, teacher and director, Ferraccio is originally from Buffalo, NY and a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Southern Oregon University, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Professional Actor Training/MFA Program. He has traveled far and wide in pursuit of his passion; acting, directing, and providing dramaturgical instruction in Arizona, Alabama, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon, New Mexico and New York. Ferraccio also created the Santa Fe Theatre Guild, and his local projects include numerous Shakespeare events, playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and two BenchWarmers —one-act plays set around a park bench—at the Santa Fe Playhouse. A teacher since 2003, Ferraccio started his tenure at SFWS by teaching “Monologues and Dialogues” to the junior class this fall. He will teach a drama “art block” to the sophomores and juniors in the spring, and direct the senior play in May.
What do you do for fun? I enjoy hiking, movies, camping when I have the time. My girlfriend and I enjoy spending weekends out in our studio at my parents house, working on our many side projects, and cold beers after work with friends are always nice.
Your future plans? I will have some new pieces in another show at Ellsworth opening February 10, 2017. • Contact Max at maxwellbennettworks.com
What does he like about Waldorf? “I am most attracted to the respect for education, the willingness to meet in a spirit of mutual cooperation and learning, and the curiosity and out-of-the-box thinking of the students,” he says. Outside of theater and the Bard, Ferraccio’s interests include amateur astronomy, comparative religion, reading, hiking, and travel. In 2017, however, Shakespeare will stay on Ferraccio’s main stage. In addition to his work with Waldorf, Ferraccio will continue teaching and lecturing, and will direct Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, and Titus Andronicus for the Santa Fe Shakespeare Society. 7
REFLECTIONS: A SFWS High School Art Exhibit Last May, the Santa Fe Waldorf School presented a remarkable exhibit of high school student artwork at Warehouse 21 in the Railyard.
REFLECCTIONS
AN EXHIBIT FEATURING THE CREATIVE WORK OF STUDENTS FROM THE SANTA FE WALDORF HIGH SCHOOL
MAY 6 - 22
Warehouse 21 RECEPTION MAY 6, 2016 4-7pm
This month-long showcase included drawings, paintings, photography, ironwork, ceramics, basketry, and sculpture from current students as well as a few alumni. One site-specific installation was created specifically for this exhibit: a 130’+ square foot wall of colored quotations from the 2016 edition of the school’s literary and visual arts magazine, Taliesin, as chosen by the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Zoe Whittle (HS Class 2017). The opening reception for the exhibit not only allowed the community an opportunity to visit with the student artists, but also served as the official publication party of the 2016 Taliesin. The idea for the exhibit was born out of a conversation between high school Student Council representatives and the Board of Trustees in early summer of 2014. In that dialogue, the Student Council expressed a desire to see the school present high school student work more prominently in the local community, and suggested an art exhibit at a gallery as one possibility. In 2015, a volunteer group including administrative team members, school parents, and community members (all with experience in the visual arts) agreed to produce such an exhibit. Many hours of research, framing, meetings, and marketing efforts later, the show titled REFLECTIONS emerged for hundreds of people to view from May 6-22, 2016. REFLECTIONS has since gone on to be exhibited for over two months at the Tune-Up Cafe on Hickox Avenue (September - Mid-November 2016), and the school is seeking other potential venues for a new exhibit to be presented in 2017. This wonderful initiative would not have been possible without the support of the following: Greg Reiche, Everett Cole, Juliana Werner, Will Dyar, Zoe Whittle, Anna Vanderlaan, Pam Colgate (SFWS HS Faculty), Pat Lord (Development and Marketing Director) and Jeffrey Baker (School Administrator). •
Top: REFLECTION promotional poster features self portraits by Sienna Reiche and Shaefer Bennett (both HS Class 2016) Left to Right: Untitled by Eliana Blum (HS Class 2018), Grisly Beard by Elijah Andes (HS Class 2014), Chicken by August Ciofalo (HS Class 2016), Elliot Ryan by Cecelia Barnard (HS Class 2015) 8
JONATHON LINCH continued from Page 4 The best part of his work today? Leading a team of people that make up a diverse workforce. “I take pride in promoting others’ abilities and understanding the different ways in which people like to be recognized for their achievements. Everyone is different, and the biggest mistake I tend to make is assuming everyone is like me in their career aspirations. It’s a very new role being the one giving others a pat on the back.” And with all this hard work, what is the most fun part of his week? “Shooting down to the beach with Kody,” he notes. • Contact Jonathon at his LinkedIn profile at: linkedin.com/in/jon-linch-0198a348
CROATIA continued from Page 5 explore its glossy stone streets. We spent nights watching Star Trek with my tetka (great aunt), and on one memorable walk back home, the bura (strong winds) picked up my forty-eight pound self and deposited a very surprised me several feet down the road. Most importantly, though, the second trip was when my appetite began returning and my stomach ache began fading. The absence of pain was not permanent, but it was critical for me to know relief was possible. Number: zero. After such encouraging results, we went again the next three years and stayed in Lapad with family friends, the Lubicics. They rented apartments to tourists right on the bay, the perfect location for me. There it was easy to go swimming every day, and my stomach pain zeroed out faster every time. While I still had many health problems to tackle and symptoms to handle, the stomach pain that controlled my childhood finally dissolved into an infrequent occurrence that I could handle. My times in Croatia remain some of my fondest memories, from paddling kayaks on the pristine blue water and climbing ancient fortress walls to connecting to my ancestry. These trips taught me that worthwhile things in life take time and work, and to hold on to the joy they can bring. •
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS continued from Page 1 parents and the governing bodies of the school, organize the parent body to support the school community, and facilitate parent understanding of Waldorf Education. • A new website, which has dramatically increased awareness about the school over the past few years, and serves as a hub of up-to-date information about the school. • Playground enhancements including updated sandboxes, new swings for early childhood, a Gaga court for the older grades students and a much improved flagstone seating area for parents and middle school students near the drop-off shelter (all funded through raffle proceeds and private donations). • Building enhancements including new flooring in the Grades hallway, a new student artwork display space in that hallway, fresh interior paint throughout the Grades classrooms, improvements to early childhood classrooms and hall spaces, computer workstations in the high school, a remodeled high school faculty room and new harvest table seating for the high school students. • A brand new high school arts curriculum track that includes photography and filmmaking over the course of four years. With these (and many other) vital pieces now in place, the school is poised to successfully deliver another 30+ years of exceptional Waldorf education to the families of Northern New Mexico.
Current seniors setting up the camera at a video shoot. Filmmaking is a new addition to the high school arts curriculum.
If you want to find out more about the exciting changes we are bringing into the school, please contact: Pat Lord, Development and Marketing Director, or visit our website at santafewaldorf.org. •
Help our school thrive! The Santa Fe Waldorf School, like all non-profit independent schools, relies on a combination of both tuition and fundraising to support its everyday operations. Generous donations to our Annual Fund are very important to build a bridge between our income and expenses that allow our school community to thrive. Your charitable tax-deductible gifts help us to minimize tuition increases and are invested right back into our school community in many ways. With your help, together we can help our school grow and flourish year after year. Visit santafewaldorf.org/donate-now.
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26 Puesta Del Sol Santa Fe, NM 87508 santafewaldorf.org/alumni
Mandala by Brooke Reiche (HS Class 2015) from the SFWS High School student art exhibit. See page 8
We want to hear from you! Enjoy reading about what your classmates have been up to? They want to hear about you, too! Let fellow alumni know about your latest life changes, professional accomplishments, interests, or anecdotes. Email us at alumni@santafewaldorf.org.
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