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December 20, 2017
 
Winter Break - December 3 - January 7
Classes resume on Monday, January 8. Have a safe, peaceful and restful holiday break!  We have holiday care available from January 2-5 for contracted families only.  There is no drop-in care available.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
 

New school year calendar
Please see the attached calendar.  Dates for the evening Eurythmy assembly and the Annual Benefit Dinner have changed since the version was issued in our Back-to-School Packet. Link to the calendar.
 

Please support DWS while doing holiday and end-of-year shopping 
We have just added another new option for supporting Davis Waldorf with your online purchases - Giving Assistant.  Take these 4 easy steps to participate in Giving Assistant:
  1. Visit GivingAssistant.org
  2. Set up your account (takes less than a minute)
  3. Be sure to select our organization in your account settings:  Davis Waldorf School (Association for Waldorf Education in Davis)
  4. Begin your holiday shopping to earn cash back for our school. 
We have a new scrip vendor that will give the school a 10% donation for all orders placed with their company.  They have beautiful Waldorf-appropriate toys and crafts!  Check out Nova Natural at their website  www.novanatural.com , or we have a catalog in the office.  USE THE FOLLOWING CODE when you order to get free shipping and so the school gets their generous donation - DAVISWALD10
 
It's easy to support us through Amazon Smile at  http://smile.amazon.com/ch/68-0100520.  

Or, you can support DWS through the eScrip online shopping mall.  eScrip is the longest running, most successful shop-to-fundraise "electronic scrip" program in the United States.  They have helped schools and non-profits in our communities to raise over $400 million and counting.  Go to   https://shopping.escrip.com.

 
Basketball Season is Here!
Basketball practice  for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys and girls teams started in November and all paperwork must be brought into the office so your student may participate.  Practice is from 3:15 to 4:30 pm on Tuesday and Thursday for both teams. We really need our boys to participate consistently so that the team can gain the skills needed to be successful.
 
The games will be held at the gym at Sacramento Waldorf School beginning Saturday, January 6. On January 6, the girls will play against Sac Waldorf at 8 am; boys play against Sac Waldorf at 1 pm. On January 13,  the boys will play against Live Oak at 10 am; girls play against Golden Valley at 5 pm.
 
Thank you to those who have helped so far!
Natalie Oltjenbruns
Movement Teacher and Athletic Director
209-206-3223


Parent Council
Our December Parent Council meeting for December 21 was cancelled, as the parent representatives will be joining the Board/Faculty/Staff/Parent Council holiday party instead.
 
 
Elective Update
Sign up now for our after school electives for Winter session. Back by popular demand, Woodworking Club  on Monday and new this quarter, Youth Fitness Group  on Friday, led by games teacher Natalie  Öltjenbruns!  Both of these classes are designed for students in grades 5 through 8.  We are also offering our ever-popular, Painting and Conversational Spanish on Fridays for students in grades 4 through 8.  Sign up in the office by Friday, January 19 to receive a $15 discount.  Print a form here.


Our Strings Students - Doing Great Things in the Community
   
Our 6-8 grade played beautiful holiday music at the Covell Gardens Holiday Strings Performance on Thursday, December 14. Thank you to Mrs. Kost for creating this lovely opportunity for both the students and the Covell Gardens residents.  Their holidays are brighter as a result!

 

Contemplating Choices in Death and Dying
An afternoon workshop discussing, reflecting and learning about caring for oneself or a loved one before and after death with Susan Pelican and Heidi Boucher.

Saturday January 20, 2018 1:30 - 5:30pm, in the MPR. Suggested donation$10.00. All are welcome and no one will be turned away due to cost. 

Join us as we touch on issues around end-of-life documents, hospice, options for body care, home funeral and green burial. Participants will also watch the award winning film, In The Parlor: The Final Goodbye, a documentary following three families who cared for their own loved ones after death.

Susan Pelican, RN is a retired homebirth midwife and one of the early founders of the Davis Waldorf School. She is currently authoring a guide to conscious choices in death and dying from her experience with her husband's passing. Susan brings practical and insightful knowledge of the conventional medical system surrounding end of life issues.

Heidi Boucher has been guiding families in home funerals and caring for the dead for over 30 years. Working out of Anthroposophy and closely with the mainstream funeral industry, Heidi has bridged both worlds bringing reverence and beauty to families taking a more hands on approach. She also works in the film industry and recently produced In The Parlor. The Final Goodbye.

Advance tickets available at  
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3207973
 

 
Lost and Found
If you or a family member left their nice digital camera at Brunelle Hall on the evening of the Winter Concert, please call or come by our office to claim it.
 
Is your child missing a sweater, jacket, hat, shoes or lunch items?  We have a closet full of items that will be donated over the break if not claimed.  Please stop by and take a look!
 

The "Postcard Exchange" project has started
Waldorf schools change the world!  In 1919, the first Waldorf school was founded in Stuttgart - in 2019 "the Waldorf School" will be 100 years young! Today, there are over 1,100 Waldorf (or Waldorf-inspired) schools and nearly 2,000 Waldorf kindergartens in more than 70 countries. And there are more and more forming each year. We are using the 100th anniversary as an opportunity to develop the Waldorf movement in a contemporary way and raise awareness of its global dimension. There will be many projects on all continents. We are 637 days away from our big jubilee party on September 19, 2019.
 
The Postcard Exchange idea is as simple as it is beautiful: every Waldorf school in the world is planning to send one (real!) postcard to every other Waldorf school in the world, so that each school will receive more than 1,100 cards from every Waldorf school from every continent. This is creating a millionfold Waldorf greeting around the globe.

For this to work, we have been sent a box of 1,200 cards, on which all addresses of the schools around the world are already printed. The backside is blank so that students can draw pictures or write notes on them.  We will place a stylish "Greetings from California" marking on the other side with our name, address and website.  We will then send the cards out around the globe.  All of our K - 8 students will participate and each class has about 120 cards to create.  All cards were printed with environmentally-friendly colors and climate-neutral on Blue Angel paper through a partnership with Lokay eK.  For more information, go to www.waldorf-100.org
 

Donate your old car, truck, boat, RV, jet ski or motorcycle
We now have the ability to take your vehicle donation to benefit the Davis Waldorf School!  Just contact Donation Line to make arrangements to have your old vehicle picked up, whether it is running or not.  Simply complete the form on their website www.donationline.com, or call Toll-Free at 1-877-227-7487 anytime, seven days a week.  This will start the no cost, no hassle vehicle donation process. You will be contacted by a towing agent who will arrange for a speedy pick-up.  DWS will issue a receipt for your donation such that you can use it for a tax deduction.


Workshop Coming Soon -  Wild Women Rising by
Dr. Florie Wild.
January 27, February 24, March 24, April 21, May 19, June 16 , 8:00 am - 5:00 pm at the Davis Waldorf School, location TBD
  
Who Are You To Want More?  More Freedom. More Confidence. More Connection. More Security. More Intimacy. More Power. More Spirit. More Abundance.  Could Life Really Be Better?    These questions are so common among women.    You Know You Have Been Called To Something Bigger, But Something Is In The Way
 
Is This You?
You are feeling like life is pretty good, maybe even good enough, but you have more to offer and maybe lack faith or confidence to get there.  Maybe you have a little fear and could use some validation from others. Change can be scary. Fear can cause us to not prioritize our dreams. It can allow the needs of others to become the constant priority over our own needs. 
 
Feeling Stuck? 
Maybe you have a vision to be a published author and go on book tours, or spend time traveling abroad with your family, or be a great mom.  Or maybe you want to spend time in nature with people that you love, or have a healthy intimate partnership with someone that you respect and admire and who makes you laugh, or maybe you want to turn your passion into something that adds value to the world. 
 
If any of this sounds familiar, you could probably use some support to:
  • Deepen your sense of trust in your intuition
  • Make self care a priority to increase your creativity and energy levels
  • Grow your self love to decrease the dependence on validation from others
  • Confidently speak your truth so you can take a stand for your needs
  • Create healthy boundaries so you can say "no" with grace and stay focused on your vision
  • Decondition all the ways that we as women have learned to stay small, and focus on others to the point where we lose ourselves and abandon our dreams
Dr. Wild is a licensed Psychologist who specializes in helping connect people to their dreams, power, and intuition, to become their bigger, more confident, free and alive selves. Over the last 10 years she has helped hundreds or women usher their visions into reality by teaching them to become their own best advocate.  She calls this process becoming a "Wild Woman."
Imagine the support of a tribe of wild women as you uncover the gifts you have to share with others. Imagine having the support of a mentor who deeply sees your value, and beckons your gifts out into the world. Imagine a program that helps you uncover who you are, deeply accept and love all of it, and find the confidence to unleash your wild woman with pride. 
 
To learn more and to join the workshop, contact Dr. Florie Wild, Psy.D., Soulful Therapy  www.drfloriewild.com, 510-847-6991. 
 

Exchange Student Opportunities
Hello, I'm Agata Garcia, I'm 14 years old, I go to "Escuela Libre Micael" in Madrid (Spain).  I would love to have the opportunity to have an exchange with a student of your school. If anyone at your school is interested in having an exchange with me, please contact me:  agata.garciia@gmail.com
 
 
A cultural exchange opportunity for Davis Waldorf
The school has received a request to sponsor a family from South Africa for an 8 week visit while the mom is working at UC Davis - she is a former Waldorf student, a puppeteer and lecturer.  While staying in Davis, the family would like to enroll their two children (Kinder and 2nd grade)  at Davis Waldorf School, but don't have the means to pay the partial year tuition, as they are required to continue to pay tuition at their Waldorf school in South Africa.  In exchange for a tuition sponsorship, the family will offer to host your family at their home while you enjoy a holiday in this beautiful area of the world.  If you are interested in this unique opportunity, please contact Bessie Oakley for details.  enrollment@daviswaldorf.org.
 
  
School Portraits Online
The 2017 individual school portraits are now ready to view and order online for those who didn't get an envelope in or who want to order more prints.  Please remember that the Class Composites must be ordered at 8x10 size.   www. wendybakerphoto.PhotoReflect.com .   The password is DWS (all caps).  If you have any questions please contact me at
   
Reminder for Sunflower Aftercare parents
If you need drop-in care, please sign-up on the clipboard in the office, or call/email Debbie.  Also, if your child is contracted for care and something comes up and you won't be coming, please call/email Debbie.  Otherwise, we will be searching for your child after dismissal and calling for information.  Additionally, if you let us know, we may be able to accommodate another child who needs drop-in care.  Thank you for your help!
 
 
Substitutes are Needed!
We are looking for qualified substitute teachers for grades classes, our Early Childhood program, our nap program and our Sunflower aftercare.  If you are interested, please see our website for details - click the Job Openings tab at the bottom or go to:  http://www.daviswaldorf.org/RelId/622538/ISvars/default/Employment_Opportunities.htm   Submit a resume and three professional references to office@daviswaldorf.org.
 
 
Winter Chess Camp 
(This information is being shared as a courtesy to our families for the holiday break - we are not sharing an opinion about the quality of this program for your children.)
The Davis Winter Chess Camp is holding a session on December 27 - 29 this year.  You can view information online at the Sacramento Chess Club website. http://sacramentochessclub.org/davis_chess_camp.pdf
 
Please feel free to contact John Langreck with any questions.  Happy Holidays! 916-996-1428. 
 
 
Dates to Remember
12/22 - Parent Child Classes 9:30am
12/22 - Preschool Birthday Puppet Show 11am
12/25-01/05 - No School, Winter Break
01/08 - Parent Child Classes 9:30am
01/09 - Board Meeting 6:30pm
01/10 - Climbing Rose Parent Mtg 6pm
01/10 - 7th Grade Parent Mtg 6:30pm
01/11 - Preschool Outreach-What is Waldorf Kindergarten?6pm
01/12 - Community First Friday 8:30am
01/12 - Parent Child Classes 9:30am
01/13 - Board/Faculty/Staff/Parent Council Confluence
01/15 - No School - MLK, Jr Day
01/17 - School Tour 8:30am
01/17 - 5th Grade Field Trip
01/17 - Morning Glory Parent Mtg - 6pm
01/18-19 - 6th Grade Field Trip
01/18 - Parent Council Meeting 6pm
01/19 - Parent Child Classes - 9:30am
01/20 - Kindergarten Open House 9am
01/20 - 4th Grade Parent Mtg 10:30am
01/20 - Contemplating Choices in Death & Dying 1:30pm