The Current

Current The

ISSUE 2 / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

Bringing in the Light

Page 8

Movement in Waldorf Education Page 6

Annual Giving Campaign Page 13

Engage the mind, enliven the spirit.

3750 Bannister Road, Fair Oaks, CA 95628

www.sacwaldorf.org

Illuminating the Path Ahead With autumn at our doorstep, the seemingly endless summer sunshine is quickly giving way to cooler, shadow cast days. This is a natural time for all of us to begin to inner reflect both on an individual level and as a community. This inner reflection is necessary as it helps to illuminate where we stand in the world, reminds us of the many accomplishments that we have achieved in the year past, and helps to formulate what our dreams are for the future. It is truly a time of bringing the light into our lives.

As we move into this season of contemplation, we ask you to consider participating in our most important fundraiser of the year, the Annual Giving Campaign. We are reaching out to each member and friend of the SWS community for a financial gift to ensure we reach our fundraising goal. All donations benefit this school year’s operating budget, allowing us to sustain our dynamic curriculum and cultivate joyful lifelong learning for every student.

During this school year we will be focusing on our Self-Study Report for accreditation with AWSNA (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) and WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges). We are proud to be accredited through both of these organizations for decades; it fosters excellence and ongoing improvement in all that we do. The accreditation process enables us to examine the entire school – our goals, community, programs and services, facilities, and financial stability. It allows for self-assessment that identifies the areas of strength and areas for improvement, all of which provides a wonderful opportunity to establish a vision for our future and for determining specific objectives for reaching that vision. Once we have completed our Self-Study Report, both AWSNA and WASC will visit in spring of 2016 to re-accredit our school.

Within North America, Sacramento Waldorf School is a leader in Waldorf education in large part because of the extensive work that so many have undertaken throughout the years with the goal of continual self-improvement. The school’s strong enrollment, fabulous faculty, comprehensive curriculum, and stable financial position can be directly attributed to the reflection, assessment, collaboration, and generosity that runs through our organization.

The extensive community input in both the Mission, Vision, and Values work and the Parent Survey were very illuminating and will serve as a foundation for the Self-Study. With the visions completed and the mission statement in the final stage of completion with the faculty, College of Teachers, and Board of Trustees, these will help illuminate our understanding of the values within our community and the direction that the school will be heading in the years to come.

“As we move into this season of contemplation, we ask you to consider participating in our most important fundraiser of the year.”

Contents Early Childhood 3 Farm-to-Table 4 Current Happenings 6 Lower School Life 7 Bringing in the Light 8 Catch the Waves 10 High School Happenings 11 Friends of SWS 12 Alumni News 13 Beneath The Current 16 Cover Image: Dani Roth Photography

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Adventures in Nature

By Margarita Hawke

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he Sacramento Waldorf Kindergarten has made a great change in our curriculum this year: We are taking the children for walks out in nature twice a week.

The first walk is to the Farm for the children’s birthday celebrations. Here, they have the opportunity to visit the animals and harvest vegetables for our soup. Harvesting the vegetables is a great job! We look around and find those vegetables that really want to come to our class! Our second walk is out on our amazing American River trail. The children have the opportunity to visit the little lake, walk by the side of the river, and visit many other places too.

We spend so much time in our cars or indoors that the children are thirsty for adventures in nature. It is wonderful to observe all the incredible activities that children develop with only sticks, rocks, water, and sand when their imaginations are allowed to develop in a nature-environment.

Entire new worlds are created. One day an adult suggested “We should bring buckets and shovels.”

And my answer was “Do you think they really need it?”

They create bridges and fairy-kingdoms; they walk around learning the names of native plants; and they marvel at seeing the geese landing on the water. The children know in which trees the white cranes nest and they listen to the woodpeckers. They all know how to recognize poison oak and the children are also very aware of rattlesnakes.

Rain or shine we walk and we sing and we commune with the elements that teach us so many scientific facts just by being exposed to them during each season.

And each week the question that our children ask us is this: “Where are we going on an adventure today, Teacher?” So if you see us out there, wave and observe all the learning that is taking place.

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Farm to Tales of Garden Waves

By Farmer Steve Payne

“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.”

– John Donne

T

here is a certain frenzied momentum as spring flows through May and June that a farmer must not miss; similar to the feeling one admires observing busy bees swarming to spilt honey. A window of opportunity that the cycle of the evening moon reminds us is slipping away.

All work has its rightful moment with sowing and planting being extremely time-sensitive.

If missed, then… next year. The blazing sun follows, accelerating the growth of all the fruits as they swell in the trees or on the vine and the sweet smell of sugar ripens in the air. August and September demand many hours picking and gathering up the anticipated heavy harvests.

One final push for planting comes in October, giving way to what has grown to be my favorite season of all, autumn.

Autumn is a time to catch one’s breath and enjoy the beauty of the season. It is the rightful moment to have the third grade out on the farm each morning for their farm block, hearing early stories of agriculture and experiencing the richness of the crisp morning air. We’ve been ripping out crops, digging beds, building compost, and planting a cover-crop for the winter. We are learning how the garden sustains itself with the life, death, and decay of the plant world, combined with the

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help of our hungry animal friends. While also discovering the importance of the tiniest soil life to the mighty earthworm, we find our place as stewards of the soil’s health through our hard work. We include a few days of giving thanks and appreciation to all that has been provided through the year by building and decorating a Sukkah with earthen items from around the farm and sharing a meal together inside.

Our harvest with the sixth grade has been keeping us busy picking the last of our summer foods. We hope the multi-colored peppers, globe eggplant, basil, and chard available at Thursdays’ farm stand have found a place at your table.

Slowly we are transitioning to our fall crops of lettuce, parsnips, and some of the tastiest broccoli. Fifth grade is keeping up with their harvests too, before the winter cold calls our perennial herbs back to sleep. Look for our bagged herbs at the farm stand. It is with the help of our second grade that we have carried out of the field and into storage all of our winter squash. After it cures for two weeks we will have many lovely butternut squash for sale. Maybe the most versatile of the winter squash, butternut is excellent for roasting, baking, and making into soup or even dessert. It is high in vitamins A, C, and E, as well as a good mineral source for calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Here’s to the blessings of our year, the enrichment of our lives, and to the season of giving thanks to the Source of it all.

Table Butternut Squash Muffins

By Jon Gittleman Chef’s notes: I suggest that you roast the butternut squash and make the cream cheese filling the day before you plan on making the muffins. The muffin batter and cream cheese filling will both hold in the refrigerator for about five days.

Measuring by weight is standard for bakers because it is more accurate. If you do not have a scale at home, there are many easy conversion tables on line so that you can convert this recipe to measurement by volume (i.e., cups) instead of weight.

For the Squash 1. Wash one medium butternut squash and slice in half long ways. Seed it and place it cut-side-down on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately an hour or until squishy.

2. When the squash is cool, use a spoon to scrape out the meat into a container.

Cover and refrigerate until needed.

For the Filling 1 lb Cream cheese 2/3 cup Sugar 2 Eggs

1 lb 4 oz All Purpose Flour 2 tsp Baking Soda 1 1/2 tsp Salt 2 tsp Nutmeg (fresh ground if you can) 1 tsp Allspice 1. In a large mixing bowl mix the sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, water and squash with a whisk.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients together and mix into the wet until most of the lumps are gone.

To Bake 1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put all filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

2. Place cupcake liners in muffin pans.

For the Batter

4. Put about a teaspoon of cream cheese filling in the middle.

1 lb 4 oz Sugar 4 oz Brown Sugar 1 cup Canola Oil 4 Eggs 1 cup Water 1 lb roasted butternut squash

3. Spoon enough batter into the liners to just cover the bottom.

5. Spoon batter over the top until about 1/4 inch from the top of the liner.

6. Place about a tablespoon of cream cheese filling on top.

7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Many thanks to Jon Gittleman, parent of two SWS alums and Pastry Chef with Paragary’s Restaurant Group, for contributing his recipe to this issue of The Current. Would you like to be a Home Chef for The Current?

Contact thecurrent@sacwaldorf.org.

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Current Happenings Pride & Prejudice

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he village of Longbourn, home to the Bennet family, is excited by the news that a wealthy young man named Bingley has rented the nearby manor at Netherfield. As the five unmarried Bennet sisters know, “…it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Mr. Bingley brings with him his good friend Mr. Darcy, who is as rude as Bingley is kind. While Bingley and the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, grow closer, Mr. Darcy gets off on the wrong foot with her sister, clever Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Mr Bennet’s pompous parson cousin Mr. Collins is in town and plans to marry any one of the sisters. Add to this mix a dashing young soldier who has his eye on more than one of the sisters and you have a pressure-cooker of romance and heartbreak, enmity and admiration, pride and prejudice.

(Synopsis courtesy of Actors Theatre of Louisville.)

All this in the incomparable narration of Jane Austen (as adapted by playwright Jon Jory), expressed by the dramatic skills of our high school actors and tech crew, and voila, you know you’re in for another terrific Sacramento Waldorf School play!

Friday and Saturday, November 7 & 8 at 7:30pm and Sunday, November 9 at 2:00pm, Linden Hall Little Theatre, Sacramento Waldorf School Tickets at the door: $5 for students and recent alumni; $10 general

Thank You for Your Harvest Faire Work!

By Elsa Dooling and Fred De León

C

ongratulations to our entire school community for the diligent work that made Harvest Faire 2014 a huge success! Everyone at SWS is to be applauded for supporting this one very special day when we all joyfully gather together on campus. The late nights, sore backs and tired feet that got us here are much appreciated! This event is an all-hands-on-deck event for SWS. From parents, to older students, faculty, staff, grandparents and friends of SWS we say “thank you.” We appreciate everyone for the part they played.

If you have suggestions on this event, please share them. The Parent Guild welcomes your energy, enthusiasm, and participation in planning the next great Harvest Faire. The next Parent Guild Meeting is Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at 6:00pm in the Library. All parents are members of Parent Guild—come, connect with our parent community.

November/December Events Friday, 11/7 Saturday, 11/8 Sunday, 11/9

7:30pm Linden Hall Little Theatre “Pride and Prejudice” 7:30pm 2pm Monday, 11/10 No School – Veterans Day Tuesday, 11/11 6pm Library Parent Guild Meeting (All Are Welcome) Thursday, 11/13 7pm Library Board of Trustees Meeting (All Are Welcome) Thursday, 11/13 7pm San Juan Hall Middle School Basketball Parent Information Evening Friday, 11/14 7:30pm Linden Hall High School Concert Saturday, 11/15 10am to 12:pm Preschool Open House and Kindergarten Open House

(RSVP required to admissions@sacwaldorf.org) Saturday, 11/15 1pm to 4pm Middle School Science Soap/Lotion/Lip Balm Workshop, led by Nicole Fields and

Ari Magruder, $50 per person (contact amagruder@sacwaldorf.org) Thursday, 11/20 7pm Linden Hall Lower School Fall Concert Monday, 11/24 through Friday, 11/28 No School – Parent-Teacher Conferences and Thanksgiving Break Friday, 12/5 3pm to 9 Linden Hall Waves Boosters’ Spaghetti Dinner Tuesday, 12/9 6pm Library Parent Guild Meeting, All Are Welcome Friday, 12/12 7pm Linden Hall Winter Concert Thursday, 12/18 7pm Room 73 Board of Trustees Meeting (All Are Welcome) Friday, 12/19 12:35pm Whole School Early Dismissal Monday, 12/22 through Friday, 1/2/2015 No School – Winter Break

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LOWER SCHOOL LIFE

Movement in Waldorf Education

By Julie MacArthur and Dani Roth

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aldorf Education brings amazing insight into the biological phenomenon of learning. Psychomotor development actually can be seen as a timeline, and I marvel that today’s modern research is now providing scientific evidence for a way of educating that Rudolf Steiner established in 1919 as an answer to Emil Molt’s question of how to educate the children in his factory.

Our Lower School is full of activity and healthy movement.

Each year develops the capacity of body, mind, and spirit for specialized movement and for critical thinking that will be further developed in the high school years. From the early grades, students imitate their teachers as a pathway to learning and sensing the goodness and beauty in the world. As the children grow, they show physical signs of being ready for new activities.

First and second graders learn to jump rope, use the hula-hoop, and even climb trees and structures. The interest and tenacity in the early grades help us to see student sensory motor integration which is necessary for academic work. Our school provides wonderful areas for children to play, work out social understandings, and maintain a connection to the natural world.

In addition, during Main Lesson, the class teachers use lively activities in morning circle including skipping, jumping, balancing, catching, changing direction, sometimes reproducing numbers, letters, or full stories. These exercises help with healthy brain development. We also added extra movement and eurythmy opportunities during Main Lessons. Collaborating with the class teacher, Ms. Alessandri and Ms. Schoen develop activities for each class to assist with good vestibular, proprioceptive, and social development. The way we teach children to move through time and space helps them with their capacities to think, feel, and act.

Specialty teachers incorporate healthy movement as well.

In foreign language classes, music and verses are brought to life as the children clap rhythms and act out scenes. In handwork classes, both hands are brought into meaningful movement, the materials themselves encouraging fingertips to sense the threads. In eurythmy classes, the whole body moves to the sounds of speech and music. And in games classes, the full body is engaged and the mind activated as they move quickly through strategy and cooperation. Each subject assists not only in creating healthy bodies, but also in helping the brain’s capacity to function.

The seventh graders are now ready to consciously build stamina through a weekly running regimen. They’ve competed in the Pentathlon in fifth grade that valued beauty and grace—not just the fastest time, farthest distance, or sheer strength. They

have also worked through the Medieval Games and Knighting Ceremony to show bravery and stamina of body, soul, and mind. In early November, the seventh grade will participate in a 5k Fun Run. Many begin the year hardly able to run a mile without stopping; however, with proper training, most will complete the 3.1 mile Fun Run, and with a smile to boot!

They are also ready for new tasks in eurythmy that require greater concentration—stamping rhythm and clapping melody, while raising and lowering arms to pitch. The students also use new head gestures in verses indicating conjunctions, and new soul gestures to depict the meaning/tone in a verse. The eighth graders now train rigorously for their eighth grade track meet.

This fall, among the extra-curricular sports offered— volleyball, flag football, cross country running, and biking— more than fifty-five students in grades six through eight participated. Their bodies and minds are ready to take on team and individualized sports with coaches who enjoy being fit, and teaching activities that the students can do throughout their lives.

Play is a key ingredient for the development of sound minds and bodies at all ages and we are fortunate to be a community that supports movement—from social activities, to classes, to sports. I also appreciate being part of a diverse community of movers—students, parents, faculty, and staff who are engaged in a diverse array of activities in their daily lives. This time and space has goodness and beauty, and I am glad of the good sense of Waldorf Education to have creative movement as one of its keys to success.

If you would like to learn more on this topic, read Marie M. Mullin’s Motor Development and Children’s Play. Two other books that I have found interesting regarding the necessity of movement in brain capacity are Carla Hannaford’s Smart Moves and John Medina’s Brain Rules.

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Bringing in the Light

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By Phil Drake and Julie MacArthur

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t this time of year, when the daylight grows noticeably shorter and the nights seem longer, our experience of darkness builds. It is hardly surprising then that there are celebrations of light in many faiths: the Jewish community will celebrate Hanukah; the Hindu celebrate Diwali; and in some countries, homes are decorated with candles during Advent and at the start of the twelve Holy Nights. Despite the differences in religious significance and meaning, the symbols of these celebrations bring a universality of human experience that can connect people together in brotherhood.

At our school, through the third grade curriculum, the children learn about the history that created the eight-day holiday called Hanukkah; the word Hanukkah means dedication and it commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E. Classes often make traditional Jewish foods and play games with a dreidel. At our all-school Winter Concert, the third grade students usually sing and dance to some Hanukkah songs and light the menorah.

Our fifth graders often celebrate Diwali sometime between late October and mid-November. It is an ancient Hindu festival that generally lasts five days. It is a festival of lights and spiritually signals the strength of light overcoming darkness. Cleaning, special foods, lights, prayers, and gifts are a big part of the festival—and sometimes parents have been invited to a glittering feast!

The kindergarten, first and second graders and their families are invited to participate in an Advent Spiral generally in early December. During these evenings, when the children make their symbolic walk into the spiral of greens and candles, we endeavor to connect the children to their ability to bring the light of goodness, beauty, and truth into our world. The quiet, tender journey in and out of the spiral by the children, and the slowly growing, flickering light creates a powerful human experience for all of us to share in.

Advent is the four weeks before December 25.

In the Lower School, the first through seventh graders assemble as a group each Monday to listen to a story that helps us reconnect with the four kingdoms of our

earth: minerals, plants, animals, and humans. As the storyteller lights the candle, we speak a stanza of the following Advent Verse: The first light of Advent is the light of the stones, That live in the seashells, crystals, and bones.

The second light of Advent is the light of the plants, That reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.

The third light of Advent is the light of the beasts; The light of hope that shines forth in the greatest and in the least.

The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind.

The light of love, the light of thought, to know and understand.

The eighth graders attend the HS Advent assemblies—this is done to recognize their pending journey to the realm of the High School. Each high school class creates an Advent offering that is presented in consecutive weeks focusing on interpreting anew the four kingdoms: 9th grade with minerals, 10th with plants, 11th with animals, and 12th with humans. The older students use their creativity, energy, and enthusiasm to craft an experience for the other classes and indirectly for themselves!

As we acknowledge the diminishing light outside, let’s encourage one another to kindle our own inner light and strive to ever strengthen our community upon the foundations of Goodness, Beauty, and Truth.

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Catch The Waves Volleyball Report Varsity Volleyball

by Coach Anthony Medlin First of all, Waldorf has a volleyball team, in case you didn’t know, and we aren’t bad. We won two games this year, but to sum up the season this year, it has been a “building year,” meaning we aren’t quite where we want to be but we are starting to compete with teams that thought they could walk all over us. The support we have from Dean Stark and the parents has been wonderful. I truly love coming to practice and seeing our team grow and become more and more competitive each day, despite our small numbers of girls compared to other schools, and our injuries, we have a great team this year and I know with coaches like Amy and me we will continue to give our best. Look forward to possibly a volleyball camp this summer and I encourage each and every one to play club this season, it’s a lot of fun and great way to improve skills and make new friends.

Junior Varsity Volleyball by Amy Cress The 2014 Waves JV Volleyball team has blended experienced athletes with newcomers. With a focus on building foundational skills and a supportive team atmosphere these young women are excelling and having fun. Look for great things from this small but mighty group this season and in the years to come.

Our coaching staff has a strong desire to build the volleyball program and welcomes new athletes. It is exciting to see such a strong interest at the middle school level. We hope that this trend continues and that the positive experiences that the girls receive bolsters this sport at SWS. GO WAVES!

Coach’s Corner: It Was an Ordinary Day

By Dean Stark As I left Linden Hall gym while our varsity girls volleyball team was getting ready for their match, I made my way towards the soccer field to make sure everything was set for our varsity boys soccer team. Our soccer squad was busy preparing for their contest as well. As I neared the playing field, on my left I spotted middle school boys playing catch on their baseball field and our middle and high school cross country team putting their miles in on the track. To my right, I noticed the middle school mountain biking team huddled up with their coach and getting final instructions before they headed off to the trail, and our middle school flag football team loosening up and about to begin their training session as well. What a sight it was to see so many student athletes participating in our extra-curricular sports program! We currently have well over 100 students representing our school in athletics in just the fall season alone.

Sports here are thriving. Being a part of this program is a great opportunity to experience the heart of the Waldorf community both as a participant and a spectator. Athletes can compete passionately in a healthy, supportive environment, can deepen relationships with peers, and can learn valuable lessons about commitment, effort, time management, and sportsmanship. They can also take pride in wearing Waves on their chest and representing their school on the court, field, or track. Supporters can root our teams on, connect with friends and family, and witness the transformation taking place in our young people as they strive to achieve. Go Waves!

Cross Country Waves Soccer

By Kurt Reisig The Waves Varsity Soccer Team is progressing well this season.

With perhaps the youngest team the school has ever fielded, the Waves have been “in the hunt” for nearly every game played this season. While our win/loss record may not reflect it, our success in creating a great team experience is the most important measurement! With nearly a quarter of the young men in the high school on the team, the friendships and bonds created are the lasting memories.

Over the past weeks the Waves Cross Country team competed at the Willow Hills Relays, Trojan Invitational, UOP Invitational (where the women were the Div. 5 Champions), and Wildfire Invitational. The teams are preparing for the Sac-Joaquin Sub-Section Meet in Angels Camp on November 8 where the teams will attempt to qualify for the Section Championship and CIF State Championships. The women’s team is currently ranked 4th in the Sac-Joaquin Section and will battle for one of two spots in the CIF State Championships.

HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

All Around the High School

By Marcela Iglesias

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ust a couple of months since school started and it has been such a busy time at the high school. As I walk through the grounds in the morning I see some amazing work going on. The loveliest voices come from Chamber Choir in room 72, snappy tunes from band call me from the walkway, and the incredible sound from the Orchestra just takes my breath away. Inside the classrooms I see focused and energetic adolescents starting their school day. Laughter pipes down from the field – students enjoying a game of road tennis – and the farm is busy with gardening classes. As we move through the days and weeks:

Chemistry 10 (Bob Erdman) We are learning about stoichiometry—the quantitative relationship between constituents in a chemical substance—in a very delicious way: we are making yummy s’mores roasted over a toasty bunsen burner. The caveat is that the groups don’t get the same amount of ingredients. How many can they make?

Physics (John Millard) We are exploring the relationship between electricity and magnetism in 11th grade physics. And a few observations with hair…

Student Services (Janis Walters) We’ve learned we have a National Merit Scholarship Commended Student this year: Mary De Aquino.

• More than 1.5 million students entered the 2015 PSAT National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test in 2013 • About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise • Commended Students placed among the top 5% of those 1.5M who tested • SWS Senior Mary De Aquino was presented with a “Letter of Commendation” (certificate)

In general…Main Lessons 9th grade: Mythology and Geology 10th grade: Chemistry and Ancient History 11th grade: Physics and Rome 12th grade: Transcendentalists and Architecture Coming up …ML on Anatomy, Art History, Biology, Bible as Literature, Chemistry, Parzival, Physics, and World Literature

All-School Assemblies (Melissa Hiatt) Senior internships – doctors, lawyers, and artists, oh my!

Seniors spent a week exploring areas of interest by shadowing professionals in a chosen field. We heard about their experiences during the October assembly.

Moving along…with field trips to Yosemite, to the Sacramento Theater’s production of “Grapes of Wrath”, and an architecture trip to San Francisco.

Look who was seen at the High School!

Gilbert Chapman and Kailani Bustamante, winner of the “Ride Along with Gilbert” item from the 2014 Taste of the Season Auction and Dinner.

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Friends of SWS Fair Oaks Holiday Festival From the Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce Christmas in the Village, Saturday, December 6, 12pm to 6pm.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Pictures with Santa Children’s Play - Winnie the Pooh Children’s Craft area Christmas Craft Vendors Village Store Shopping Holiday Music Home made Chili Hot Chocolate, Coffee & Cider Christmas Parade Christmas Tree Lighting in Town Square Christmas Carolers

Technology in the Classroom: Is It a Good Thing?

From “Inform” the AWSNA Community Newsletter, November 2014 Today’s Parent, a national Canadian magazine, includes an article that references the Toronto Waldorf School.

In it, the author states that technical skills can be easily taught as kids grow, while critical thinking, creativity, and imagination cannot. Read more at http://www. todaysparent.com/kids/technology/technology-in-theclassroom/.

Simple Celebrations for Families Presented at RSC From Rudolf Steiner College News Rudolf Steiner College offers “Family Ways Simply Celebrate! Creating Simple, Sacred, and Stress-Free Celebrations Through the Year” Saturday, November 22, 9am to 11am, $18 per family. Explore the ways in which daily, weekly, and seasonal celebrations can enrich our lives and support our children’s well-being.

Tips will be shared on creative ideas for planning and celebrating with simplicity all year long.

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Alumni News

Tabor Martinsen, Abstract Acrylic with Water

Cultivate Joyful Lifelong Learning The Annual Giving Campaign 2014-15 Please Give or Pledge before December 19, 2014

An Artful Purpose Tabor Martinsen, SWS Class of 2011, has discovered another outlet for his exceptional artwork — fundraising. A senior at Whitman College in Washington, Tabor was recently nominated and selected by his university to partake in the school’s annual fundraising contest. As one of eight leading seniors selected by the college to compete for the title of Mr. Whitman, Tabor is attempting to raise the most money individually for a non-profit organization located near Whitman College. Tabor’s approach to the fundraiser is to offer his talent in the creation of a commissioned art piece. All proceeds raised by the art sales will go to the Children’s Home Society, an NGO providing low-income students with basic educational support such as books, pencils, and afterschool homework programs. At this writing the fundraising contest is near completion. To view more paintings by Tabor, visit his web gallery at http://taborlmartinsen.weebly.com.

Your gift will sustain our dynamic SWS curriculum.

The Annual Giving Campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year and we are reaching out to each member and friend of the community for a financial gift of support. For the 2014/15 school year, the cost of sustaining the dynamic curriculum uniquely found at Sacramento Waldorf School exceeds tuition and other income by $1,050 per student. Your tax-deductible contribution will benefit this year’s operating budget and will sustain our comprehensive Waldorf education for every SWS student.

Your participation is needed and appreciated Every gift makes a difference, and there are many ways to contribute: • Complete and return your donation envelope. If you didn’t receive a donation envelope in the mail, pick one up in either the Administration Building or the High School office.

• Swipe your credit card with the Development credit card reader during school drop-off or pick-up.

• Donate online — Click on the Give to SWS button at www.sacwaldorf.org • Cash, Check, or Credit Card donations are all accepted in the Development office during school hours.

Thank you! Your generosity empowers SWS to continue generating educational experiences that cultivate joyful lifelong learning.

SWS Alums in the Wild Here are some amazing photos that SWS alum Brennan PetersonWood, Class of 2012, shared with us. He is currently with the School for Field Studies in northern Tanzania studying wildlife management, wildlife ecology, environmental policy, and Swahili at the Center for Wildlife Management in the small village of Rhotia. There he conducts research for management policies for the region through animal counts, studies, and interviews with the local people who are farming and raising livestock in the rural areas.

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If you would like to place an Ad in The Current send an email to: TheCurrent@sacwaldorf.org.

Cultivate Joyful Lifelong Learning The Annual Giving Campaign 2014-15 Please Give or Pledge before December 19, 2014

Your gift will sustain our dynamic SWS curriculum!

Beneath The Current The Current is a publication reflecting the school-life of the Sacramento Waldorf School in Fair Oaks, California and is produced by: PUBLISHER Mary Wilhelm, Director of Development and SWS Parent

Farm-to-Table SWS Farmer Steve Payne and Guest Chef Jon Gittleman

EDITOR/EDITORIAL CALENDAR Ellie Lief, Development Assistant and SWS Parent

Lower School Life “Movement in Waldorf Education” Phil Drake, Class of 2019 Teacher and SWS Parent and Julie MacArthur, SWS Lower School Coordinator and SWS Alum Parent

PHOTOGRAPHY & IMAGE SUPERVISION Dani Roth, SWS Parent and BOT Member CONTENT SUPERVISOR Wendy Gittleman, LS Assistant and SWS Alum Parent DESIGN/LAYOUT Erin Pace-Molina, Exit 74 Designs CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS Administrator’s Welcome Paul Carlson, SWS Administrator and SWS Parent Early Childhood Margarita Hawk, Red Rose Kindergarten Teacher and SWS Alum Parent

“Bringing in the Light” Julie MacArthur and Dani Roth Catch the Waves “Coach’s Corner” Dean Stark, SWS Athletic Director High School Happenings Marcela Iglesias, SWS High School Coordinator QUESTIONS. COMMENTS. SUGGESTIONS. Email: TheCurrent@sacwaldorf.org