Ashwood Participates in AWSNA Delegates Meeting
 Ashwood is accredited by, and is a full-member of, AWSNA, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. AWSNA is broken into eight geographical regions; our school is part of the Northeast/Quebec region. Marianne Bockli and I are Ashwood's delegates, which means that we represent Ashwood and that one or both of us attend each of AWSNA's three yearly meetings. Two of the meetings are regional; the annual June meeting is national.
Last week, Marianne and I drove through the mountains of Maine, then the Whites, and finally the Greens to get to the delegates' meeting at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School, located outside of Burlington, Vermont. The ride was long, but breathtaking in its beauty, and participation in the meetings is not only our duty, but also gives our school an opportunity to participate in shaping Waldorf education, not only in mid-coast Maine, but in North America as a whole.
At the meeting last Friday the agenda focused on two topics:
- refining and updating the process of becoming a full-member school and detailing each step along this journey
- discussion and input on the requirements for Waldorf teacher training and certification
Over the last several years, AWSNA has updated the Waldorf accreditation process and articulated seven core principles that all Waldorf schools adhere to. These projects culminated at the national delegates' meeting last June, using a consensus model of decision making, with the participation of every delegate representing all member schools. Using consensus to reach decisions is a hallmark of Waldorf governance structures. Click here to read the AWSNA Principles for Waldorf Schools.
-Jody Spanglet
School Director
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After All Hallows'
Dear Cookie Bakers: Please pick up your containers in the main office!
And, to the extraordinary accordionist, the grand gonger, the collaborative communicators, the storytellers, the fire tenders, the cookie bakers and cider pourers, the trail groomers and tenders, the tree face makers, pumpkin carvers, lantern makers, gatekeepers, characters, car parkers, map makers, costumers, candle lighters, tent raisers, setup and cleanup-ers, not to mention the many faithful moral supporters: Huzzah! We navigated the date switch with aplomb, and brought midcoast families a magical event for yet another year. It was a lot of work, and so much fun! Let's do it again next year!
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Judith Soleil
for the faculty
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8th Grade Authors Explain Algebra Steps
The 8th grade class wrote their own books as part of their study of algebra. Their assignment was to write a guide to "How to Solve an Algebra Equation" in the format of a small book that a younger student could read as an introduction to the topic.
The books were all wonderful--and the students demonstrated their understanding of the processes they have been learning by explaining the steps in their own words. This assignment required the students to organize and edit the large amount of information they have studied. In presenting their work they had the freedom to express themselves and to produce a well-crafted and attractive product. They were up to the challenge.
Their teacher, Dr. Smyth, and the students all enjoyed the process. Learning is about ownership, and these students can be very confident that they have taken charge of their math learning. There will be more opportunities to do independent projects in 8th grade math this year--ask an 8th grader to fill you in!
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Dr. Mary Smyth
Grade 8 Math Teacher
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Thank You, Mr. Clough and Grade 4-5
Each week on Wednesdays I am privileged to be part of the 4-5 class, twenty-six students strong, in main lesson. Spending time in this class is a highlight of my week. I have rarely experienced a more receptive group of students. They always take on the musical challenges I present with great enthusiasm during my thirty minutes with them. I have yet to encounter a discipline issue, and it is a pure joy to be teaching these children. Every time I leave, I am filled with new inspirations and always look forward to my next time with this class.
When the students enter the classroom in the morning, the children attend to their various duties, reminding and helping each other and patiently waiting their turn to talk to their teacher. The class reminds me of a beehive where every bee knows its task: there is excited buzzing and humming, a joyful sharing with each other and with their teacher, a rhythmic and harmonious moving around. Their joy is reflected in the children's singing and recitations, in the way they involve themselves in writing poetry, and how they attend to their work. Then, there is the time when all the children listen silently and attentively to stories or new material that Mr. Clough presents. This class, and Ashwood as a whole, is a fine tribute to what Waldorf is all about. I am grateful that I can still be a part of it.
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Ms. Leonore
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Woodland Wonders
H.D. Thoreau wrote about autumn, in 1854: "The season of hope and promise is past.... We are a little saddened because we begin to see the interval between our hopes and their fulfillment. The prospect of the heavens is taken away, and we are presented only with a few small berries."
In kindergarten, our circle and the making of the lanterns for our walk aim at giving us courage, warmth, and inner light to bring into the long winter ahead.
Early-childhood students and I were walking in the woods, having a treasure hunt collecting candles from the Jack o' Lanterns along the All Hallows' path... "Where is the next pumpkin? What will be inside it (slugs, spiders, and tiny flying insects)? As we stood in the woods, waiting for the last of the group to join us, two mice scurried up and around a small tree, a couple of feet from where I stood with several children. Once they were just high enough to be out of even
my reach, they stopped on a twig and stood still, tails dropping straight down, heads cocked, to look at us. We were as intrigued by them, admiring their audacity, as they were by us. One child wanted to shake the small tree, to see them drop, but we decided to let them be, and once all the children had seen them, we left the brazen little creatures to their tasks, deciding they were busy gathering food and making themselves a cozy winter home (just like in our story time tales and circle songs).
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Marianne for EC
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Lantern Walk
November 11 is Martinmas, a festival celebrated in honor of St. Martin, a Roman soldier who lived in the 4th century. He brought warmth and light into human darkness by his various deeds of kindness. November 11 is also the first day of winter in the old pagan calendar.
This festival is celebrated at a time of year when the darkness is growing stronger. In Waldorf schools in the Northern Hemisphere, we have a "Lantern Walk" in which, using handmade vessels, we gather the last rays of summer's sun to light our way toward the darkness of winter, thus giving us strength and courage. It also forms a pathway through the cycle of the year when light will return again, as will be expressed in our Garden of Light later in November.
Early-childhood students and grades 1,2, and 3 will celebrate with their families on Thursday, November 10, from 4:30-5:00 p.m.
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Let the Fundraising Begin!
Like that of virtually every independent school, Ashwood's yearly tuition does not cover the cost of running our wonderful school -- and so we fundraise, which begins, but does not end, with the annual appeal. This letter will explain the full list of what we organize on campus so that you can discuss and plan accordingly and have an awareness that these things will be coming down the pike.
There are two different kinds of fundraising that happen on campus every year. Over the course of several years, we've intentionally streamlined and simplified our fundraising, both all-school and class efforts, to best meet our goals and use our resources wisely.
The first kind of fundraising we do is all-school development -- the kind that keeps the lights on and our faculty paid, our tuition assistance program funded, and our tuition rates lower than they would need to be to cover the full cost of operations. The fundraising includes the annual appeal, individual donation requests, and one large event per year, which for a number of years was an auction, and for the second year in a row is the Serve-A-Thon. In addition, we have an endowment and planned giving to which individual gifts may be made.
The second is class fundraising, which primarily goes toward the 8th grade class trip. It can be pedagogical in nature, but isn't always, and is led by the class teacher and/or parent volunteers. These fundraising efforts happen in 3rd, 6th, and 8th grades, and we work to have these efforts not coincide with one another. This year, the 8th grade is selling pizza and citrus, the 6th grade will likely sell coffee, and the 3rd grade has not yet decided how they'll raise funds.
The annual appeal letter will arrive in your mailbox shortly. If you are interested in learning more about how you can participate in realizing Ashwood's fundraising goals, or if you are interested in joining the board's development or fundraising event committees, please let me know. If you have any questions or thoughts, always know that I am available to you. My work is in service to our community, and I do it with a grateful heart for all of the wonderful years Ashwood gave to my children and family.
-Annie Mahle
Development Director
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What They're Doing Now
 Valerie Shepard graduated from Ashwood in 1998. Since finishing college in 2006 she has worked in the horse industry, competing, training, teaching lessons and assisting with therapeutic riding programs. Most recently, Val has been working as a trainer and advocate for rescue horses at a farm in Hope, Maine. Val and her partner Abe are making plans for an extended cross-country trip beginning this winter, and are excited to do some work exchanges on ranches out west.
 Alex Wilder, 2008 Ashwood graduate, is currently completing his final year of an undergraduate degree program in musical studies at Oberlin College. Alex has been splitting his time between Maine and Ohio, and last semester studied abroad in Cuba. "I've been greatly enjoying singing, playing, thinking, writing, dancing, and conversing." Alex is about to release an album with a band called The Push Farther Project!
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Caroline Ginsberg
Alumni Correspondent
Ashwood Board of Trustees
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Order Deadline: November 15!
Purchase your Ashwood T-Shirts now! These beautiful shirts make great holiday gifts!
The cotton shirts feature Ashwood's logo on the front, and signature leaf on the back. Available in short sleeve (kiwi green and Carolina blue); long sleeve (sport grey); and women's cut short sleeve (lapis and sport grey), these shirts are attractive, dress-code approved, and perfect for spreading Ashwood awareness in the community.
To make sure you're ordering the right size, check sizing charts for the
youth,
women's, and
unisex shirts.
Place your order
online. Deadline for ordering is November 15. Available for pick up at school in early December.
Come to the office to see color swatches; colors shown online are not quite accurate.
Questions? Contact
Sarah Ewing.
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Order Deadline: November 11!
Ashwood's Grade 8 is selling
citrus fruits to benefit their class trip. The offerings this year include:
10 lb., 20 lb. & 40 lb. carton sizes of
Oranges
Ruby Red Grapefruits
Mandarin Oranges
Or, a mix!
Plus, a variety of carton sizes ensures you won't have uneaten fruit rolling around in the crisper until spring!
Deadline to
order: November 11!
Click above to order now!
Questions? Contact
Jacob Eichenlaub.
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Click the icon to read the November issue of the newsletter of the Association of Waldorf Schools in North America.
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Thursday, November 10
Lantern Walk. EC, Grades 1,2,3.
Rosewood Early-Childhood Center
4:30-5:00 p.m.
Friday, November 11
Veterans' Day. NO SCHOOL
Monday, November 14
Early-Childhood Parent Evening
Rosewood Early-Childhood Center
5:30-7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 16
School Tour. Visiting early childhood classroom, and grades 2-3, 6-7, and 8.
Friday, November 18
All-School Assembly
Grade 6-7 presents.
8:40-9:00 a.m.
Wednesday, November 23- Friday, November 25
Thanksgiving Break. NO SCHOOL
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Maine Educators Present Forum on High School Education
The Camden Public Library will host
Beyond AP: Rediscovering the Value of a High School Education, a forum of Maine educators, on Thursday, November 10, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. The panel features Maine Principal of the Year Derek Pierce, Founding Principal of Casco Bay High School, Will Galloway, Head of School at Watershed School, and Jude Masseur, Alternative Education Program Director at Ellsworth High School.
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We publish community-service announcements from and for Ashwood community members at no charge (50-words max.). Send to: Judith Soleil.
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For New Readers
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Be a Sponsor
Display or text ads appear here, in the right column of the
Leaflet, and link to your website. The cost is $5/edition for a square ad (170 x 170 pixels) and $10/edition for a long ad (170 x 340 pixels). Discounts are available for long-term ads. The
Leaflet appears every other week except in July. For more information, email
Judith Soleil.
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Do you have a story to tell about Ashwood? A review of a book or an event? A reflection on Waldorf education? Photos you've taken?
A question about the Leaflet?
Send us an email! We would love to hear from you. The next Leaflet will be published on Wednesday, November 30. Deadline for submissions is MONDAY, November 28, at 9:00 a.m.
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Support Waldorf education in midcoast Maine. Make a tax-deductible donation today by clicking the button below.
Thank you!
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