Parent Bulletin, March-April 2010

Ru d ol f S t ei ne r S c ho ol

BU L L E T I N INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Why Waldorf Works

Pgs. 3-5

Food for Thought

Pgs. 6-7

Main Lessons

Pgs. 8-9

In Their Words: Upper School

Pgs. 10-11

Notes from the Upper School

Pgs. 12-13

In Review

Pgs. 14-15

In Development

Pgs. 16-17

Community Announcements

Important Dates

Pgs. 18-19

March/April 2010

Seeds

By: Linda Sawers, US Chair In the United States we have a curious celebration on February 2nd called ―Groundhog Day.‖ This is the day that foretells the arrival of spring. Depending on whether you are a ―glass halffull person‖ or a ―glass half-empty person,‖ the prediction is the same. Happily, there will be six short weeks until spring or, sadly, there will be six more long weeks of winter! February 2nd is considered a cross-quarter day, sometimes called Candlemas, marking the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. The heritage for this day goes back to ancient times, and in Celtic traditions this was the day that ―the quickening‖ happened—a stirring movement that warmed the seeds to awaken and come to life. It was said that those most sensitive and perceptive actually could feel the earth quicken under their feet and know with certainty that life was renewed. The renewal would not be made visible in tangible ways until approximately six weeks later near the Spring Equinox. Indeed, February presages the warmth to come, and we can observe readily the dramatic growth of light that seems more impressive than in other months.

Today, in our age of instant plenty it is not easy to imagine how important it was for people to remember the promise of the spring to come and that seeds were awakening for the future good of humanity. There are other ways to see the quickening of seeds and one of them is in education, and whether in an age of plenty or an age of want, we are called to know the seeds we are planting for the future and cultivate them with determination and reverence.

Parents make many decisions for their children; one of the most important decisions is the education their children will receive both at home and at school. We know children are able to take in a multitude of experiences not only of knowledge but also of social perceptions that will reside in them for a lifetime. Rudolf Steiner wrote a verse for a grace at mealtime that begins with the line, The seeds are quickened in the night of the earth, in which he wanted to give the children an imagination and a gratitude for the food they were about to receive. We can take this further as a beginning of reverence for life itself.

The intention of Waldorf education as a whole is the quickening of the seeds deep within the child to emerge with the power to nourish their own lives and the lives of others. We know that planting seeds in the same ground every year will eventually lead to a weak crop or no crop at • Community Education all. So it is in education; we must attempt at all costs to give our students the power to think Lectures 3/10 & 3/17 before they sow and not to settle for depleted avenues of progress. As in all generations before (check email for updates) us, the task to free our children to make much needed change is very challenging. We are re• Community Association sponsible for making sure they can function in the society as it is, which is important for them to be successful in navigating the world. Nevertheless, our main goal remains giving our stuMeeting & Spring Dinner dents the tools they need to overcome established forms and build a better world.

TBD (to be held in April. Updates will Rudolf Steiner clearly advanced the principle that Waldorf education‘s main goal was for the follow shortly) transformation of social life for the dignity and worth of each human being. He proposed new ideas for economic, political and cultural life that he thought needed better understanding Continued pg. 2 • Spring Benefit 5/20

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Seeds

In the Classroom

and conscious undertaking for the good of all.

Rudolf Steiner knew first-hand how difficult it was to change the mores of long-standing habit in a society. He believed that something new needed to be kindled in the hearts of people.

Although he was an influential figure in European life at the end of World War I, Steiner‘s efforts to help bring about fundamental changes in rebuilding Europe after the war proved fruitless.

This month the class Main Lessons include:

from pg. 1

Rudolf Steiner turned to education as the wellspring of new forms and new possibilities for the health of humankind. Steiner created an education as a way to give children the voice of the future—a voice to bring about changes that would break away from the old forms and bring about a healthy social life. The children would carry the seeds for the future, and then inch-byinch and row-by-row, a rich and well-cultivated garden would grow and prosper. Steiner was clear that education is an investment in the future for everyone. The original Waldorf curriculum was fashioned around this principle. With changes to meet the child of today, the curriculum still gives expression in its content of the dignity to all humanity.

Our task today is to be evermore vigilant and creative in helping our students move toward the goal Steiner so believed in and thought reachable through education. Whether it is the Social Inclusion work we have started throughout the school or a continued review and updating of curriculum to support the students both in experience and intellectual freedom, we keep Steiner‘s principles at the forefront. Our goal is to quicken the seeds that will grow a better future for our children both collectively and individually.

Now, as we move on to the Spring Equinox, we remember February with gratitude for its contribution to the renewal of life. We remember there is much that happens deep inside we cannot see in the moment but know will bear fruit in the future.

1st: Nature Block and International Dances 2nd: Carrying, Borrowing and Place Value 3rd: Measurement and Long Division 4th: Fractions 5th: Ancient Egypt 6th: Geography, The World‘s Terrestrial Biomes 7th: World Geography and the Age of Exploration 8th: Platonic Solids 9th: Math 10th: Ecology 11th: History through Music

12th: Chemistry

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“Standing Out Without Standing Alone” In 2007, Douglas Gerwin (Director of the Center for Anthroposophy) and David Mitchell (Chairman of AWSNA Publications), Co-Directors of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education, published the findings of their Waldorf graduate survey and study. Below please find excerpts from an article they co-authored on their findings. “Standing Out without Standing Alone: Profile of Waldorf School Graduates” Research Bulletin (Spring 2007, Volume 12, No. 2) A full version is available on the web sites of the Research Institute at www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org and of the Institute’s Online Waldorf Library at www.waldorflibrary.org. Bound printed copies of the survey can be purchased at AWSNA Publications by contacting publications@awsna.org.

Since the advent of Waldorf high school education on this continent in the early 1940s, Waldorf teachers and parents have carried the question: What happens to these Waldorf school graduates after they leave high school? To date, most answers to this question have been anecdotal, at least in reference to the North American Waldorf high school movement as a whole, which in this decade has grown to a total of 37 schools. A newly published survey (2007), spanning more than 60 years of Waldorf graduates, provides a detailed picture of where Waldorf students go and what they do.

The survey describes what Waldorf school graduates most love to study, which professions they select, what they think of their Waldorf education, and what they value as adults. The sur- vey––the first of its kind in North America––was conducted by the Research Institute for Waldorf Education and parallels a recent study of German and Swiss Waldorf graduates. The North American survey details the college life, job life, and personal life of Waldorf school graduates, starting with the first Waldorf school senior class in 1943 and culminating with the class of 2005.

Based on a sample of around 550 students from 26 Waldorf high schools with senior classes in the U.S. and Canada, the survey suggests that a majority of Waldorf school graduates share three predominant characteristics: • Waldorf school graduates value the opportunity to think for themselves and to translate their new ideas into practice.

They both appreciate and practice life-long learning and have a highly developed sense for aesthetics.

• Waldorf school graduates value lasting human relationships—and they seek out opportunities to be of help to other people.

• Waldorf school graduates sense that they are guided by an inner moral compass that helps them navigate the trials and challenges of their professional and private lives. They carry high ethical principles into their chosen professions.

The survey is comprised of twelve major sections including statistical comparisons of Waldorf school graduates to the general U.S. population and differences between recent and older graduates. A series of appendices lists colleges attended by Waldorf graduates and collates hundreds of comments by professors who have taught Waldorf alumni/ae.

Participants in the survey who graduated from university during the 1990s were compared to the general U.S. population of that decade in terms of their college majors. Data about majors and careers suggests that Waldorf alumni/ae are using their undergraduate education as a time for study rather than as training for a profession.

One recent graduate (2006) recalls of her years at a Waldorf high school: ―In high school, I gained a foundation in real knowledge that is already evident in college. This is true in math and science, not just in art and history. In chemistry… I can explain to my classmates what happens when a particular acid and a particular base mix because we mixed those chemicals in our chem lab ... in 10th grade. Other students learned about acids and bases from textbooks, or their lab experience wasn‘t meaningful, and so they can‘t picture what happens. Classmates and dorm friends constantly ask me how I know what I know— it‘s not that I know more facts than they do, but that I have remembered what I learned and I know how to connect facts to relate them to what I‘m doing.‖ I know how to seek out my professors to get their help (which many of my classmates don‘t even think to do) because my high school teachers were always present and helpful. . . . I was able to find my place at a large school…because I had made my place at this small school.

Continued pg 4 and 5

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“Standing Out Without Standing Alone” Continued from pg. 3

Professors who had taught Waldorf students as college undergraduates were invited to share their impressions of these students. Among the more than two hundred comments received from these professors, three characteristic observations recurred across the academic disciplines and across a wide range of campuses.

The primary characteristic reported about Waldorf graduates is the holistic and integrative quality of their thinking.

Waldorf alumni/ae are perceived as thinking flexibly, often ―outside the box,‖ and integrating seemingly unrelated subjects with clarity and courage.

skills, and his leadership qualities had Whether new to the job market or been richly nourished in him by his prior long-standing participants in it, these schooling.‖ graduates rank matters of selfpromotion, personal career path, perA third characteristic often noted by the sonal wealth, and job security well professors about their Waldorf underbelow their wish to help others, upgraduates is their moral ballast and social hold the ethical principles of the procaring for others. It was reaffirming to fession, and ensure a good working hear a professor say of a Waldorf underatmosphere. In a climate of troubled graduate: ―Her social awareness is inwork ethic and shaky social concredibly high, leadership excellent, ethiscience, as witnessed in recent scancal and moral standards stellar. I interact dals on Wall Street and the meltwith many students. Her demeanor, down of major corporations, Waldorf skills, and social standards are the best graduates are bucking the trend. They I‘ve encountered.‖ Another described a place world-interest ahead of selfWaldorf student she had taught as ―a interest.

Renaissance man who has been able to Click for more information

One professor commented on his Waldorf undergraduate‘s ability ―to think creatively, to assimilate information as opposed to memorizing isolated facts, [as well as] his love for integrating physical movement with intellectual content areas.‖ Another, reflecting on several Waldorf students he had taught over the years, reported that ―all have the same broad approach to education. They are flexible, creative, and willing to take intellectual risks.‖ A second characteristic of Waldorf undergraduates repeatedly cited is their creative and imaginative capacities, not only in the practice of the arts but also in the study of science. A professor of biological sciences commended a Waldorf student in his classes for her skill in drawing and painting, not merely because she could illustrate what she had seen but because ―it allowed her to see more than others did.‖ Another professor noted of a Waldorf undergraduate that his ―imagination, his nuanced verbal

find a balance between his intellectual gifts, his athletic interests, and his high ethical and moral standards.‖ These kinds of comment are consonant with the high ratings that Waldorf students received from their professors in terms of social awareness, communication skills, and personal initiative. Indeed, several professors commended Waldorf students for their love––even their tenacity––for learning. ―I never knew [the Waldorf student I taught] to give up on anything,‖ said one professor. ―And while she was passionate, she was also steady––even stubborn. If she wanted to pursue a goal, nothing would stop her.‖ Summing up…one professor concluded: ―Given a choice, I would love to educate a Waldorf student anytime.‖ In a graphic way, these responses illustrate the general findings of this survey, namely that Waldorf graduates are more likely than not to put the interests and needs of others ahead of their own.

Wrote one student: ―I didn‘t know it at the time, but my academic preparation in high school was more than adequate for the rest of my academic career, and my artistic and spiritual preparation put me on more comfortable footing in life than some of my peers.‖ …Many reported how closely they related to their classmates and teachers, even to the point of staying in touch with them long after graduating from high school.

The closeness of the students, in the words of one graduate, ―forced all of us to overcome our differences and our grudges as quickly as we came by them and taught us to work through trivial drama and value each other for our true potential.‖ In a separate question, graduates were asked to list those aspects of their Waldorf education that they rejected at the time but that they now see differently. Their examples were collated under seven major headings:

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• eurythmy • nurture/discipline • holistic, multi-faceted curriculum • media restrictions • spiritual foundation of the education • tolerance of different beliefs and ideas • activities to develop the will.

In each of these categories, respondents recognized a basic principle or practice of Waldorf education. Some students noted, for example, that, although they had rejected eurythmy as students, it had continued to help them in their poise and posture well into their adult years.

Others appreciated the rhythms and rituals of nurturing and discipline surrounding lower school students (and, in a different way, high school students) that are intended to develop a strong sense of independence and resilience in them as adults. ―I now acknowledge many silly things such as the importance of proper school attire, the importance of daily rhythm, and other things that I did not understand as a child,‖ one respondent commented. The holistic curriculum allows a student to leave the school with what one student described as the feeling: ―I can take on anything, if I set my mind and heart and shoulder to it.‖ Media restrictions, especially as they are applied in the lower grades, help students to develop their own powers of imagination and mental picturing so that they can withstand pressures to conform to social conventions. One respondent reported: ―I resented restrictions placed on TV, but I am now thankful that I grew up without one. In fact, I credit its absence with my ability to think creatively, open-mindedly, and critically about the world.‖ The spiritual foundation of the education, far from inculcating belief and doctrine in the students, actually helped them find their own heartfelt concerns and con-

victions, based on their own thinking and striving, not upon what they were told in school.

To learn in small classes with broad ranges of learning ability, far from preventing students from exercising their potential, actually calls it forth since these class settings demand that they learn to accept more than their own gifts and values— that is, to learn tolerance of different beliefs and ideas from those who surround them. ―I did not like having such a small social circle,‖ one respondent admitted, ―but it taught me tolerance.‖ Another graduate noted: ―The teacher‘s inclusion of different learning styles slowed the pace and prepared me to develop patience for others.‖ And, finally, regarding activities to develop the will, the value of doing something, even repeatedly, that initially may be unappealing but which builds basic capacities during the formative years, cannot be overestimated in terms of lasting moral and hygienic efficacy. It is the antidote to self-doubt and self-hate as well as existential fears and dependencies of all kinds.

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narrowed this selection. For these and for other reasons, the survey makes no claim to draw causal connections between a student‘s Waldorf school experience and his or her successes and challenges in life. Rather, the survey aims to say: ―Here are some typical qualities of Waldorf school graduates, and this is what they tell us about who they are and what they are doing with their lives.‖ To take one comparison, a study on ―Social Isolation in America‖ reports that Americans today have fewer friends (―friends‖ being defined as people with whom one can discuss important matters). Between 1985 and 2004, according to this study, the number of people who report having not a single social confidant tripled; as well, the percent of respondents who reported having at least one friend dropped from about 73% to about 51%. Robert Putnam captures the significance of these trends in his study, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community:

The large master trend . . . is that over the last hundred years technology has privatized our leisure time. The disBy design, this survey of Waldorf tinctive effect of technology has been school graduates solicited both quantito enable us to get entertainment and tative and qualitative data in order to information entirely alone…. That is form a living yet statistically- based por- from many points of view efficient…. trait. The thrust of this research was [but also] fundamentally bad because not to give sole credit to Waldorf the lack of social contact, the social schools for the achievements of their isolation means that we don‘t share alumni/ae but to paint a picture of information and values and outlook these graduates as a way of seeing who that we should. they are as they head out into the world.

The survey of Waldorf graduates–– which highlights their emphasis on As the survey itself makes clear in a friendship, social relations, and the final section, Waldorf school students practice of the arts––suggests that, are, by virtue of their parents‘ decision counter to national trends, Waldorf to enroll their children in a Waldorf graduates do not ―bowl alone.‖ school, a self-selecting population. The nature of this survey (based by necessity on those graduates who had stayed in touch with their schools) further

FOOD

FOR THOUGHT

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“Good for Us” Food: Part 1 By: Chef Leslie Li You are what you eat. Is it true? How much does it matter what we choose to eat? Do we care for ourselves from the inside out, or do we just take care of the outside surface? Do we eat foods because we know they are good for our physical body; do we eat to satisfy emotions or desire; do we eat simply because we have to -not caring much what it is; what do we eat and how does it affect our overall health, emotional and spiritual well being? How are we being nourished and impacted by our food choices?

Well, foods can do more than appease hunger. They can strengthen the organs and systems in the body, they can support long term health and emotional equilibrium and they can taste good while they do it.

Here are 20 ―good for you‖ foods you may want to consider adding to your diet. They are: Acai Berries, Avocado, Blueberries, Cayenne, Cherries, Dark Chocolate, Cinnamon, Coffee, Flaxseeds, Garlic, Ginger, Goji Berries, Green Tea, Kale, Mushrooms, Oats, Papaya, Quinoa, Soy and Turmeric.

Here in Part 1 nine will be examined briefly.

Acai Berries are from the Brazilian Amazon, high in antioxidants, usually available in juice, powder or concentrate form. Said to have 10 times the antioxidant benefits of grapes and 2 to 5 times that of blueberries, you can add them to fruit juice, yogurt, and ice cream or blend in a smoothie. Brazilians use it as a flavoring for meat and fish.

Goji Berries or Wolfberry is found in southeastern Europe and Asia, is high in antioxidants, and is said to reduce LDL cholesterol. They contain more beta carotene than carrots and are rich in vitamins Goji Berries E, B1, B2, B6, E and C. As a dried fruit they can be eaten alone, in cereals and yogurt or added to soup and stews. You could use them like you would raisins. I recommend Holly‘s Oatmeal with Goji Berries which can be found in Whole Foods and some supermarkets.

Blueberries, native to North America, are high in antioxidants, contain cholesterol-lowering compounds, vitamin C, folate, potassium and fiber, and are considered by many to be a ―super food.‖ Eat alone, in cereals, smoothies, in baked goods or pancakes; they are especially tasty paired with lemon, cinnamon and cloves. Good frozen or dried they are available fresh in August and September.

Cherries are rich in antioxidants, reduce inflammation and help regulate the body‘s circadian rhythms. The darker the color the greater the health potential. Use fresh, dried or frozen, eat alone, in baked goods or make into jam or syrup. One of our favorite school salads is made with fresh baby spinach, dried cherries, roasted shelled pumpkin seeds and thinly sliced red onions with basil vinaigrette.

Papaya, a tropical fruit originally from Mexico and the tropical Americas, is now widely cultivated.

It aids in digestion, assists in healing, improves circulation, provides protection from colon cancer and is high in potassium, fiber and vitamins C,E and A. It‘s also is used to treat sports like injuries and burns by lowering inflammation. Make into a juice, use dried, fresh sliced or shredded in salads, frozen in smoothies or ice cream; its flavor pairs nicely with lemon, lime, chili and ginger.

Avocado, colloquially known as the Alligator Pear, a native to Mexico and Central and South Kale Salad America is not a vegetable, but a fruit. High in ―good‖ monounsaturated fats which support heart health, may help in lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and even address some cancers. High in vitamin E, potassium, the B vitamins and fiber, they also contain antioxidants. Make it into salsa or guacamole, slice it and put it in a salad, soup, on a sandwich or my favorite, on a toasted English muffin with a slice of tomato and a poached egg (with Béarnaise sauce on the side).

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FOR THOUGHT

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“Good for us” Food Continued Kale, considered an ―antioxidant heavyweight‖ also is a detoxifier and a great source of vitamins A and C. Kale has one of the highest ratios of nutrition to calories. Good support for blood vessels, the eyes and overall immunity strength it is also said to lessen the occurrence of several cancers, including ovarian and breast.

Mushrooms, not actually considered a vegetable, are the ―fruit body‖ of a form of fungus. Thousands of varieties exist but only a fraction is edible. Overall they are rich in protein, fiber and B vitamins. Specifically Shiitake, Reishi (used in soups, sauces and tea), White Button and Maitake (used in tea, grilled or sautéed) all have good antioxidant properties. They can lower cholesterol, boost immunity, flush toxins, strengthen liver function and enhance emotional mood.

Dark Chocolate or cocoa is my personal favorite. 72% cocoa content and above is preferable. Contains more than 7 times the number of antioxidants found in strawberries. Reduces both blood pressure and cholesterol levels dark chocolate is also a mood ―lifter‖ and anti-depressant. I recommend Kallari brand chocolate which is available from Whole Foods. This is a single source organic chocolate from an indigenous Kichwa farmers cooperative in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It‘s the best chocolate both Morgan and I have tasted, which if you are familiar with Morgan‘s expertise on this subject, is high praise. Just be conscious to balance out the calories. You need only 3.5 ounces or ½ bar (200 calories worth) to gain the health benefits.

Dark chocolate

Many of the foods listed above are high in antioxidants. So what are antioxidants? There are several thousand; vitamins E, C and beta carotene are most commonly known. They are nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins in your body) that are capable of counteracting the normal but damaging effects of oxidation in the body. Antioxidants are believed to assist in the prevention of some cancers, stroke, ageing related diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimer‘s, and rheumatoid arthritis. Additional foods high in antioxidants include beets, carrots, spinach, broccoli, tomato, red grapes and berries.

In addition, the following foods can contain the highest levels of pesticides and are recommended eaten when grown organically. From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the following foods are listed from highest contamination to the lowest: Strawberries, bell peppers, spinach, cherries (USA), peaches, imported cantaloupe, celery, apples, apricots, green beans, imported grapes and cucumbers. Also look for, lettuce, nectarines, pears, potatoes, spinach, raspberries and blueberries.

Goji Berries & Sweet Potatoes, recipe originally from Vegetarian Times 2007: Peel and cook 2 large sliced sweet potatoes in salted boiling water till soft. Strain the potatoes, reserving some of the cooking water to use to mash the potatoes with. Place ¼ cup dried goji berries (can be found in Whole Foods) in a bowl of hot water and allow to plump. Drain. Sauté 2 tablespoons real maple syrup and 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger in 2 tablespoons sesame or grapeseed oil until ginger is fragrant. Add to mashed potatoes.

Add goji berries, salt and pepper to taste, serve and enjoy!

Information, references and health statements for this article come from a variety of sources. As is with most medical recommendations, please view the information as a result of my research, and not necessarily as a

MAIN

LESSONS

1st Grade With Stephen Kotansky

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MAIN

LESSONS

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4th Grade Norse Mythology with Linda Ogden Wolgemuth

Picture 1

Picture 2

Pictures 1 & 3 Thor fishes for the Midgard Serpent (with Hymir the Giant) Picture 2 Thor lifts the giant‘s cat (really the Midgard Serpent in disguise!)

Picture 3

IN

THEIR OWN WORDS: HIGH SCHOOL

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Creative Writing Chris Segrave-Daly & Carol Bartges, High School English During December and January, the 11th and 12th Grade English classes were brought together for a combined four week block on the informal essay.

2009-2010 marks the third year that the high school English Department has been deepening this exciting initiative.

Working with Ms. Bartges and Mr. Segrave-Daly in two mixed groups, this year‘s study caused a revival of the art of rhetoric. The four essays reviewed were: Immanuel Kant‘s ―What is Enlightenment?‖ an excerpt from Jean Jacques Rousseau‘s Discourse on Inequality, Francis Bacon‘s ―Of Friendship,‖ and William Hazlitt‘s ―On the Pleasure of Hating.‖ The students worked with identifying, analyzing the effects and then using a variety of rhetorical devices, including anaphora, antistrophe, asyndeton, catachresis, and chiasmus. At the culmination of this unit, the students were required to write a 3-4 page essay according to one of the following two directives: 1) Characterize this age, the time(s) in which you live or 2) Write an ―on...‖ essay on a topic of your own devising. Consider choosing an uncommon topic that you will endeavor to characterize/define.

Below are some excerpts from 11th grade student‘s essays:

“The Pleasure of Snoozing”

“Ours in an Age Without Reflection”

They say, ―When you snooze you lose.‖ Well, practically speaking, yes, quite often you do lose something. Hitting the snooze button before you get out of bed is an unproductive use of time as it slows down the start of your work day and may even cause you to be late to wherever you intend to be. Some say snoozing is simply a pointless form of procrastination for the weak who are hesitant to start their day. But despite all these apparent down sides to snoozing, it must still be popular amongst enough people due to the simple fact that the button remains on so many alarm clocks around the world. So many people start their days by temporarily giving up on productivity and practicality, and succumbing to the natural human desire for a little more sleep. But why are so many people wiling to risk being late just for a mere ten minutes of lying down? I say, these are the people who know that a little impracticality can be a good thing. These are the people who are bold enough to risk lateness sometimes if that means they can rest for a little longer and simply keep dreaming.

In the morning we wake up, perhaps next to a spouse or a loved one, but definitely next to a cell phone. Students get ready for school, while chatting with a parent and simultaneously texting a friend ―good morning.‖ Parents drink their coffee to the morning news. Bachelors get ready for work listening to ―Phone Taps‖ on Z100. Younger children eat breakfast in front of ―Jimmy Neutron‖ and ―Fairly Odd Parents.‖ On the way to work, the businesswoman yells into a plastic-covered metal rectangle. In the car, on the street, at the restaurant, everyone is on cell phones, which also act as calendars, alarm clocks, and address books. Many homes are packed with multiple televisions, computers, and video game devices. These machines allow us not only to communicate with other people, but will also take the place of other people when nobody else is available. They inform and entertain us, and give structure to our lives. For this reason, no man, woman, or child is ever truly alone today. And when we are deprived of the opportunity to be alone, we lose the ability to truly consider our own thoughts. For all of these reasons, ours in an age without reflection.

A dream finished through snoozing can be the best part of one‘s day. ...Of course dreams can take you anywhere, and a snooze can simply continue and complete the dream. ...This is the power and pleasure of snoozing.

Dreams, fantasy and sleep are profound in themselves and are a large part of what makes us human, but hitting the snooze button can conclude the dreams like a small delicious dessert to a satisfying meal, or an encore at a concert. No, it‘s not practical, and probably shouldn‘t be indulged in too much, but if I happen to be saving the world in my dream, the real world might just have to wait an extra ten minutes for me to return.

...Ticks, clicks, beeps, and buzzes chime throughout each home. If we only had a moment of silence in which we could let a complete thought take form in our minds, we could realize thoughts we have never conceived of before.

Before the iPod, I used to experience fascinating epiphanies while riding the metro. Oh, they were just fantastic! Once I was sitting in a very peculiar position, like a melancholic scholar, when I realized that there was a sticky patch where someone‘s extremely sugary drink had tipped over and made a mess. So I thought this must be a very common mishap, yet all the floors of the trains are not always covered with stains. I realized that this must mean that the trains are cleaned, or at least that the floors are mopped. But this was strange, because I never actually saw anyone clean the train before, and the trains never stop running. And so I realized with some excitement that there must be an underground parking lot for trains. Now this may seem irrelevant, but the process that occurred inside my mind is extremely pertinent. I had a complete thought that began with an observation, let to questions, and then upon answering those questions, formed a realization. This experience should not be foreign to any of us. But is has become increasingly rare because I, and many of my contemporaries, have been sucked into the world of machines that think for you. ...More people need to do what the poets of the Romantic movement did: Rebel! Fight against the ―needs‖ we are taught to feed, such as immediately checking our inbox as soon as we hear ―You‘ve got mail.‖ Rebel against the ―need‖ to go on facebook to ―talk‖ with the classmate you saw only hours before at school. Rebel against the constant need for technology. Instead, fight to find time to reflect ...

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THEIR OWN WORDS: HIGH SCHOOL

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Haiti Relief By: Student Council President On January 12, 2010 at 4:53pm, the 7.0 earthquake that the USGS calls the worst in Haiti since 1770 hit ten miles west of Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million inhabitants. Three million people were in need of medical aid directly after the earthquake.

This is a number extremely hard to fathom, but consider that the island of Manhattan has roughly 1.6 million inhabitants.

Shortly after the devastation of the earthquake itself took its toll, it soon became very clear that this country would suffer due to additional complications. Haiti didn‘t have any construction standards, and thus, reinforced concrete was unsubstantially reinforced, a major reason for large buildings to pancake to the ground. Additionally, corners in the frames of various buildings were not braced, giving structures no structural integrity against a 7.0 earthquake.

In November of 2008, a school in Petionville collapsed. This disaster led the mayor of Porte-au-Prince to calculate that 60% of schools were structurally unsafe in normal circumstances. Haiti is also the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with 80% of its population living under the poverty line. Infrastructure, that was inadequate to begin with, was destroyed during the earthquake. As the press heavily covered the story for the first month, we learned that there were 14 airports in Haiti, 4 of which were paved, and one of which that was accessible to support relief efforts.

In light of the disaster that has struck Haiti, our school community has raised an interest in organizing some type of fundraiser that could help relief efforts. It is always important to remember that this is a disaster which will take its toll for years to come and, as the stories vanish from our televisions and newspapers, we must not forget that Haiti will need continuous support in order to recover. As of now, the Student Council is preparing a proposal to the faculty for a Lower School and High School walk-a-thon. On November 4 of 2005, our school held a Lower School walk-a-thon in order to support relief efforts from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. We raised over $30,000, fifty percent of which went to the Red Cross, and the other fifty percent to UNICEF. The success of this event reveals what we as a community can accomplish.

So I close with the hope that the devastation of January 12th‘s earthquake will not fade from the memories of those in our community. In addition, I hope that we, as a community, can take part in a walk-a-thon that will reveal a profound movement and effort from our community to the people of Haiti; compassion through support.

Haiti Fundraising Update Bagels for Haiti brought in well over $1000 and our Coin Drive continues to raise money. All donations will be given directly to Oxfam America‘s Haitian Relief Fund. Thank you for opening your hearts and showing support of others during this great time of need.

Check out the latest issue of Inform, which discusses the efforts of our school and other area Waldorf schools.

JOIN US Robert McDermott Lecture “To Fight or Not to Fight: the Gita, Yogas, and War” Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Lower School Assembly Room 7:00pm Refreshments 7:30-9:30pm Lecture

NOTES

FROM THE UPPER SCHOOL

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Free Space Optics Laser (FSO): Our New Lower and High Schools Point-to-Point Connection By: Shara Rai, IT Manager If you ask an IT Manager his wish list, the item that would top the list would be a bigger WAN (Wide Area Network) bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the measurement of a data pipe through which the data travels from point A to point B (one to one or, unicast), or one to multiple points at once, (one to many or, multicast), on a computer network, - usually referred to as ―speed‖ of the network or of a link. Audio/Video streaming companies usually stream their multi-media content in multicast mode as it saves bandwidth and repeatitive transmissions of data packets. The bandwidth in a regular LAN (Local Area Network) is about 100Mbps to 1000Mbps (1GBps) depending upon the investment on the internal network infrastructure. CAT6, copper wire, and Fiber Optics, glass fiber cables can carry data at 1Gbps speed and more.

With this information in mind, it comes as no surprise that the narrow 1.5Mbps point-to-point connection between Upper and Lower Schools always created a bottle neck when a user tried to access data from another location. Imagine, a L.S user on a PC with 100Mbps speed trying to access e-mails from the Mail Server located in the High School hits a bottle neck as soon as he or she leaves the L.S network to connect to high school via the narrow 1.5Mbps point-to-point connection. It was not only affecting users in either building but also the IT Department on managing the entire network effectively. Because these links are provided by Telco, like Verizon, they come with high cost - the higher the bandwidth, the higher the cost.

In order to solve the problem of narrow bandwidth and increase the data pipe somehow to sustain large amounts of simultaneous traffic with new addition of VOIP (Voice over IP or digital phone system) traffic, we started looking and researching for better alternatives to our existing situation. The process began in the second quarter of 2008 and finalized in 2009. The actual implementation took place in June 2009 and the link‘s been up since then.

Our new Point-to-Point link is a Free Space Laser Optics (FSO). We chose this link based on the following features: 1) The transceivers that are on the roofs, shoot a focused laser beam almost an inch wide than a wider lobe like in Wireless (WiFi) networks.

2) Faster speed than Wireless; 100Mbps over 56Mbps.

3) More secure than WiFi as signals do not spread out like in WiFi - eliminating any risk of getting tapped in by an unintended person.

4) Works over PoE (Power over Ethernet or network cable) technology, thus reducing the initial cost by eliminating the need of any electric work in both locations. Comes with better technical support and the unit replacement conditions in the event of a breakdown.

The ―optics‖ part of the link had made us a little suspicious about its performance during fogs and snowy conditions. We did a lot of research and spoke with organizations using this technology, including the NY State Court System and Housing Authority and received rave reviews on its performance.

Based on rave reviews from the and Housing Authority, and the decided this form of technology to School. The link has been our passed all the weather tests (winter under snow, extreme fog, storms ors. It has been rock solid in its doing what it is meant to do; one and opened up the door to speedier remote Blackbaud access, data redundancy, and more!

New York State Court System low cost over high return, we be the best option for our primary link ever since. It has was/is pretty harsh this year) and blizzards with flying colperformance and has been joined the two locations as centralized data backup, site-to-site data replication for

NOTES

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Teachers as Learners By: Marisha Plotnik The following is a revised excerpt from the research project Marisha completed as part of her Klingenstein Fellowship at Columbia University last year. A condensed version of her full project will be published in the upcoming Spring issue of the Waldorf Research Bulletin.

During my year exploring the wider world of education as a Klingenstein Fellow, it became immediately evident that there is no widespread consensus on the purpose of schooling. Despite the current enthusiasm for ―standards‖ and ―accountability,‖ even their most vocal proponent could hardly argue that the entire purpose of schooling is to get students to pass tests. What else do we wish our students to learn? Confidence in their abilities? Respect for differences? Clear speech? A love of learning? Optimism about the future?

Kindness? Any teacher or parent could write a list about these purposes of schooling that are not tested by standardized tests. Moreover, tests should reflect some element of what students have learned, but exactly how students learn is an amazingly complex riddle. Although the behavioral and cognitive sciences have been able to analyze and draw robust conclusions about many important elements of learning, they are a long way from understanding all the different ways in which these same elements can appear in the classroom. Carbon is essential, but it may appear as diamond, graphite, or coal, and each form has its own unique qualities.

It comes as no surprise that conceptions of teaching must also differ widely. One powerful current in the educational literature is calling for school reform, an umbrella term that usually refers to initiatives towards more active, engaged, participatory students who understand content in meaningful ways. If this is the kind of education we envision for our students, and it is a vision I share, then we need to simultaneously envision the learning of our teachers. Lee Shulman articulates the arguments of many when he writes, ―Efforts at school reform must give as much attention to creating the conditions for teacher learning as for student learning‖ (7). Indeed, the concept of teacher as learner has gained tremendous currency in the literature and provoked probing questions about the nature of professional development for teachers.

As Lieberman and Miller describe in their introduction, concepts of teacher staff development began in the late 1950‘s and early 1960‘s amid American fears over Soviet superiority in space. Teachers were seen as the worker bees of American education, urgently in need of retraining by those in the know in colleges and universities (5). This notion of teacher as technician, one who can be effectively retrained to use modern tools, lingers in many (although not all) faculty development events. One can envision the teacher as ―one who attends a workshop‖ or ―one who goes to visit another school‖ or even ―one who takes a course at a faculty of education.‖ (1) Although all of these are possible components of teacher as learner, the term describes a far more robust conception of teachers who are deeply engaged in the experience of learning in a long-term, continuous, and grounded manner. It is this far more ambitious goal that is among the aims of teachers‘ professional communities.

Called by different names, collaborative professional development and professional learning community (PLC) both refer to a kind of way in which teachers learn with teachers to become better teachers. These initiatives require a radical upheaval of a congenial atmosphere, what one might call a ―culture of nice‖ where teachers are polite in the hallways but retreat to their classrooms to teach in isolation and with minimal interference (6, 8). Instead, collaboration is a demanding, uncomfortable, participatory process in which teachers can ultimately be required to take responsibility for each other‘s learning (4). This imagination of what we expect from our teachers could, in fact, look exactly like that of what we expect from our students. The rewards are potentially profound.

In my own work, my participation in professional learning communities has been the single most valuable element towards my development as a teacher. In my current role as chair of the Child Study group here at the Steiner School, I am particularly interested in deepening the discourse among the members of this long-standing professional learning community. My methods of working draw heavily from the example of Jon McAlice, a co-founder of two other professional learning communities in which I have participated: the Young Waldorf Colleagues Circle and the Advanced Studies Initiative (ASI). In a letter to new ASI participants, McAlice describes the way in which that group works: The way of working striven for in meetings of ASI members can be described as a focused dialogical approach with a dynamically evolving content and structure. Teachers need to be able to engage one another in dialogues which challenge each to reach from the known through reflected experience into the unknown. This is a method of discourse which lies at the core of Steiner‘s work on the creative social encounter. It rests upon the three archetypal gestures of the engaged self: focus, listening, and speaking, and challenges participants to speak of rather than talk about the topic at hand. In general, the dialogues serve to lead all the participants to a deeper pedagogical understanding of the question or topic being addressed, although not necessarily to answers to the questions or explanations about the topics. The latter tend to move one to a cognitively safe distance from the unknown, whereas the goal of this approach is to engage more closely with the focus of attention. This shared striving to move towards rather than away from a question or pedagogical riddle can lead to those rare moments of grace in which one has a deep consciously moral experience of the inner nature of what one has striven to understand.

It was encouraging to once again discover, during my Klingenstein year, that Waldorf educators are indeed at the forefront of innovations in teaching and learning.

(See references on pg. 18)

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Musical Interconnectedness By: Alex Yagupsky, High School Music It is the school‘s mandate that along with academic studies, every student participate both in chorus and in an instrumental ensemble once a week. Since every child brings varying levels of experience and talent, the challenge is to design a rich and diverse program that engages students to the fullest and maintains the highest level of sophistication. Thus, in chorus the repertoire we sing is very deliberate to insure that students feel a sense of achievement and take ownership of the pieces we study. Works span the mainstream, including classical and Renaissance works, to the folkloric such as South African freedom songs, Eastern European hymns, Latin American folk tunes, and even American shape-note hymns. In the instrumental arena, our offerings include various ensembles of ethnic percussion, frame drumming, folk guitar, recorder, jazz band and orchestra.

This work is among the most important that goes on at our School. We live in a difficult world where it is often not easy to relate to or empathize with people not of our own tribe. Yet, with the current state of strife and cultural clash, it is precisely this ability that we need to cultivate. Music is often referred to as the universal language, but it is far more inclusive than that. To make music of a different culture and to experience it is to open a window into that culture and try to meet it without prejudice. To do so in a group is to allow for many different voices to meet together and share a common intercultural bond.

Like physical education, music classes teach children values of teamwork, practice and responsibility. Further, making music is an endeavor that, by its very nature, cultivates cultural awareness. It creates a point of entry to meet a particular culture at a particular time at its most artistic. Thus, it engenders social awareness in the work of a group towards a common goal. If we are to educate future citizens of an increasingly multicultural society, it is vital to provide them with skills to honor others with integrity and knowledge. I believe firmly that teaching music is a part of this task.

In a world that prides itself on its mass interconnectedness, the opportunities to participate in a communal gathering are surprisingly few and, seemingly, on the verge of disappearing. Yet it is in this sharing that we discover each other and are nourished by this experience. And that, perhaps, is the best gift we can each give each other.

Parent Book Review Reviewed by: Lisa Kay Greissinger Green Guide Families The Complete Reference for Eco-Friendly Parents

By Catherine Zandonella Science Editor, Green Guide magazine ($21.95; Release Date March 16, 2010) There are thousands of books on parenting with advise on everything from getting your infant to sleep through the night, to breastfeeding for the working mom to raising a balanced teen in an unbalanced world. With the Green Guide Families, National Geographic Books enters into arena with a books that is chatty, informative and chock full of resources for eco-conscious parents and caregivers. ―Parenting is a responsibility that links us to Earth—to the air we breathe, to the water we drink, the food we eat and the homes we create for shelter and security,‖ explains Wendy Gordon in the book‘s introduction. Families offers parents ideas on not only how to create an environmentally healthy home, but also how to raise a family

in an environmentally healthy way. Zandonella starts off with the home front and looks at how to create a safe and eco -friendly home. ―Even low levels of toxic chemicals can contribute to health risks,‖ she writes. ―From asthma, allergies, developmental delays and learning disorder to cancer and birth defects.‖ She asks parents to consider two things when making decisions about their children: is this safe and healthy for my child, and is it safe and healthy for the planet. Families covers issues ranging from how to set up an eco-friendly home and garden, to how to feed your family economically and healthfully, to keeping your children healthy in body and sprit, to children at play and in school, to eco-friendly parties, holidays and celebrations.

Green Guide Families offers practical, easyto-do solutions to the challenges that we face as parents when confronting the health and environmental issues of our times. It is well researched and clever (a discussion of sweeteners begins: Chil-

dren of the Corn Syrup). Families provides sensible steps on how to save energy by unplugging appliances that draw power even in the off mode (likely culprits include cell phone chargers and DVD players) to keeping toxic chemicals out of the home by making it shoefree to adapting a life-style that encourages outdoor play and homemade toys.

Many of these ideas already a part of the Waldorf tradition but Zandonella ‗s book gives parents a well-written guide to help parents preserve the planet and encourage children to go green from the get-go.

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“How Can We Calibrate This Parenting Thing?”

-- from Kim John Payne Lecture in Lower School Assembly Room, January 2010 Summarized by: Luis Llosa, Parent

Family therapist Kim John Payne opened his lecture "Tweens & Teens, New Ideas for a Changing World" with a humorous but telling anecdote about an exasperated father who was wrangling with his irate, resentful 14-year-old daughter. The father had instinctively curtailed her freedoms, monitoring her every move in an attempt to keep her out of trouble (away from boys). As the pair sat in Payne‘s office bickering, the daughter pointed out that when she was four years old she had been free to roam the world. She had been ―daddy‘s little buddy.‖ But now she was treated like a mistrusted prisoner.

Payne points out that this strained, confused parent-child dynamic can be traced directly to the dad‘s mis-calibrated approach to discipline from the onset of their relationship. For the first seven years a child finds security and self-definition in a structured, disciplinary environment. Payne calls it the ―King or Benevolent Dictator‖ phase of parenting. ―Good discipline actually secures a child,‖ he says, urging parents to rediscover ―that long-lost syllable, ‗No.‘‖ At this stage parents ―should be defining core family values‖ by providing boundaries for their charges, though they often do the opposite. They allow their children too much freedom, bombard them with choices, and behave like comrades rather than disciplinarians. The 14-year-old daughter in Payne‘s office had every right to be miffed and mystified, because her father had inverted the parenting process, being her buddy/dad when she would have benefited from firmness in the early years, and then inexplicably morphing into an authoritative ogre as she entered her teenage years.

In the second stage of parenting (ages 8 -13) parents should be more like ―Farmers or Stewards‖, according to Payne. They provide a balance between the stability of discipline and a calculated loosening of the reigns. It is a time when children benefit from discussion and explanation rather than immutable edict. By the third stage (ages 14 - 21) parents are ―Shepherds‖ who supervise, guide and protect. Choice is cultivated and, ultimately, children command their own destiny.

What commonly occurs, according to Payne, is that the shepherding approach is erroneously applied to children in their early developmental phase, as in the case of the indignant 14-year-old daughter. As a result, children with too much freedom and choice become ―little lawyers‖, who, at age 4 or 5, negotiate everything. As they grow older, they seek to ―do what is advantageous, not what is right‖. The effect of this misguided parental approach is ―arrested development,‖ Payne says. As teenagers, such children lack a firm awareness of where they stand in the family dynamic and remain infantile; they have not been grounded or secured by their parents‘ authority. They suffer, he explains, from ―one of the most painful of psychological conditions: disorientation,‖ as they tumble towards adulthood.

In his talk Payne pays particular attention to the Tween years (ages 11-14), suggesting that parents attune themselves to the physical, emotional and social changes their children are undergoing. For one thing, children who mature physically early often take much longer to mature emotionally.

They appear very mature on the outside but have ―very tender feelings and are actually quite young,‖ says Payne. ―The Tween years are a false dawn. The tendency among parents, when kids start demonstrating teen behavior, is to go for it, to back off and give them space. To let them make too many decisions on their own.‖ But Tweens aren‘t ready for that level of freedom.‖ As a ―Farmer‖ the parent should listen carefully but ultimately make the decision for the child. ―At this stage their thinking and feeling is waking up. And they need to know that their parents notice that they are changing.‖ But the Tween is not ready to make decisions. They will feel confused, lost even, if there is an absence of parental firmness to push up against.

In his lecture Payne also explores three other key elements of the Tween landscape: peer structures (social cliques), sexual awakening and the four types of love, and the importance of rites of passage. He provides parents with a colorful, effective road map of this mysterious and rich transitional period, identifying common pot holes, and potential wrong turns.

“He provides parents with a colorful, effective road map…”

But perhaps his best advice is contained in this simple but sage observation: ―We have become a society addicted to harmony, and the pursuit of perfection. ―Everything has to be a crystal rainbow or a balancing experience,‖ he says. ―In our anxiety to protect our children we want to wrap them in bubble wrap. But they need to go through conflict. Let them have their conflicts.‖ Kim John Payne is spearheading the three-year Social Inclusion Program at the Rudolf Steiner School. He is a counselor, Waldorf educator and coauthor of Simplicity Parenting: Using the Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids. His lectures on discipline and child development can be purchased at The Child Today website.

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Development News & Update From Joy Phalen-Pinto, Development Committee Chair Feasibility Study – A Three Building Campus In the December 30th email update from our School Administrator, Joshua Eisen, you may recall that the school has contracted with Changing Our World, Inc., an international fundraising and philanthropic consulting firm, to conduct a Feasibility Study. The objective of the study is to explore the community‘s interest in the expansion to a Three-Building Campus in principal, the acquisition of appropriate real estate in the neighborhood to fulfill that goal, and the fundraising necessary to make it happen.

Your Opinion? A Community Survey The perspective of all community members is enormously important and will be gathered through meetings and a survey.

We hope that everyone will be able to find some time to participate in this important undertaking. Check your mail for the survey in the next few weeks; you will also receive it by email.

Update: Real Estate Opportunities Last year the school was actively investigating the ―Goodridge Mansion‖ at 122 East 78th Street as a possible purchase to fulfill our three building goal. As the School Administrator‘s late December update reported, however, it appeared the building would go to contract with another buyer and we had lost that particular opportunity.

New York real estate is unpredictable of course, and the building is now on the market again. Accordingly, we have resumed our due diligence and fast-tracked the Feasibility Study to the extent possible. At the same time, we are investigating other real estate opportunities in the neighborhood. The Goodridge Mansion is a target, but not our sole goal.

The Annual Fund – We’re Behind In the midst of all this exciting talk about a new building, let it not distract us from the Annual Fund, which remains the primary, most critically important vehicle of support for the school. In fact, the possibility of a new building makes the Annual Fund more important than ever since outside funders, financial institutions and grant providers look at participation rates of our parent and alumni body as essential indicators of community support. All of us care deeply about the school and demonstrate it in myriad ways, both great and small, on a daily basis—but it is imperative to demonstrate our care through the Annual Fund as well.

The Board of Trustees and the College of Teachers have both already reached 100% Annual Fund participation. Additionally, the entire faculty and staff of the school are nearly at 100% as well. We invite the community of parents and alumni to be next….

What is the Annual Fund? Once a year the entire community is asked to donate to the best of their ability to the Annual Fund, which makes up the difference between what we pay in tuition and the full annual operating costs of Rudolf Steiner School. In other words, it fills the gap and balances the budget.

Our community‘s participation in the Annual Fund, however, lags considerably behind participation averages in other independent schools, according to recent statistics from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

Please help us change this. The mark of a Waldorf student is not only a strong sense of self and creative thinking, but an ability to turn every problem into an opportunity for change and growth. Now is the time for us to do the same….

Please help us make 100% Annual Fund participation more than just a goal. We have an exceptional school with outstanding faculty, an inspirational pedagogy and an astonishing community of parents, alumni and friends. We can do this together.

We thank those of you who have already made a gift and urge those of you who have not yet done so to please give to the Annual Fund. Every gift, great or small, is a blessing received with great appreciation and thankfulness.

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2009-2010 Annual Fund Update

Help us reach our goal of 100%. Mail or bring your gift to Shannon Williams, Director of Annual Giving, or contribute on line at www.steiner.edu and click on the “Donate� button.

We appreciate your support!

Individual class participation towards the 2009-2010 Annual Fund, as of February 3.

The healthy social life is found When, in the mirror of each human soul The whole community finds it reflection.

And when, in the community, The virtue of each one is living.

Rudolf Steiner

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Friday, March 5 7:00pm Saturday, March 6 3:00pm & 7:00pm Reserve tickets by calling (212) 327-0534 ext. 201

Rudolf Steiner School Book Fair Friday, March 5 8:30am-7:30pm Lower School 4th floor

Art teacher Rallou Hamshaw is having an

ex-

hibition of new work from April 27 - May 22 at First Street Gallery in Chelsea. Ms. Hamshaw is showing under her maiden/professional name.

Listed below is the pertinent information: ILLUMINATIONS New Depictions of Trees and Their Branches

Saturday, March 6 11:00am-3:00pm Lower School 4th floor

April 27 - May 22, 2010 Opening reception: Thursday, April 29, 5:00 - 8:00PM Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11:00AM - 6:00PM First Street Gallery 526 West 26th Street, Suite 915 between 10th and 11th Avenues New York, NY 10001

References from pg. 13 1. Barab, S. A., Barnett, M., & Squire, K. (2002). Developing an empirical account of a community of practice: Characterizing the essential tensions. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 11 (4), 489-542. 2. Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15. 3. Franke, M. L., Carpenter, T. P., Levi, L., & Fennema, E. (2001). Capturing teachers' generative change: A follow-up study of professional development in mathematics. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 653-689. 4.

Grossman, P., Weinburg, S., & Woolworth, S. (2001). Toward a theory of teacher community. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 942-1012. 5. Lieberman, A., & Miller, L(Eds.). (2008).

Teachers in professional communities. New York: Teachers College Press. 6. Little, J. W. (1990). The persistence of privacy: Autonomy and initiative in teachers' professional relations. Teachers College Record, 91(4), 510-536. 7. Shulman, L. (2004). Professional development: Learning from experience. In S. M. Wilson (Ed.), The wisdom of practice: Essays on teaching,

learning, and learning to teach / Lee S. Shulman. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 8. Strahan, D. (2003). Promoting a collaborative professional culture in three elementary schools that have beaten the odds. The Elementary School Journal, 104(2), 127-146.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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What Should My Child Do This Summer?

A Few Waldorf-Inspired Summer Camp Options Although the weather outside might still be wintry, it's that time of year again for many parents--time to find an appropriate summer camp for their child. In case you were wondering, there are several programs in our area which take their cues from Waldorf education, listed here in no particular order: Hawthorne Valley Farm Camp http://www.vspcamp.com/camp.htm If your child enjoyed their class farm trip, this is the summer version! Many of the activities the children enjoy during their farm visit are the same: feeding animals, cleaning the barn, riding horses, and helping in the garden, with time for more traditional camp activities like hiking and arts and crafts added. Sleep-away camp is offered from one to three weeks during July and August, depending upon age (8-15). Call Nick, Helen, Tessa, Charlie, or Matt at 518-672-4790 for further information.

The Nature Place Day Camp http://www.thenatureplace.com/ Located just 45 minutes north of NYC in Chestnut Ridge, NY on the grounds of the Green Meadow Waldorf School, this camp offers children a chance to enjoy the great outdoors all day and still sleep at home each night. The days are divided into six periods, with ten minute transition times in between each period, including swim time each day. Camp runs for 6 weeks this summer (June 28th -August 6th), with many different attendance options, and busing from NYC is available. Stop by for an open house on March 7th and 20th between 1 and 4 p.m. or call 845-356-6477 for further details.

Camp Glen Brook http://www.glenbrook.org/index.aspx This small sleep away camp serves just 75 children from ages 8-14 and offers a host of traditional camp options, such as hiking, canoeing, arts and crafts, and other activities in nature. There is also an intensive leadership training program for older teens (14-16), which includes several wilderness backpacking trips and teaches stewardship of the land through hands-on experience. Talk with our beloved Lower School Music Director and longtime Glen Brook counselor, Ms. Judy Bachleitner, or call 603-876-3342 to find out more.

Rudolf Steiner School - June Days Of course, don‘t forget our School‘s own June Days; a day program offered for children, grades K-5, the last two weeks of June. And for the musically inclined, Summer Interlude, cohosted by Brearley and our school, offers half and full day options, including time for both instrumental and vocal music work. Our very own drama teacher, Clio Venho, leads the musically inspired afternoons!

HANDWORK

WITH MARY-LYNN LORINZ

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