Michaelmas Festival
We all had a wonderful time at our school's annual Michaelmas play on September 29th. Thank you to the parents who provided and helped to serve sun cakes afterwards. Happy Michaelmas! Thanks to Rob Fadtke for the photos!
Parent Council Corner
Please join us for our Parent Council meeting on Thursday, October 19, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Ceri and Ezra Beeman's house, 334 I St, Davis -
all parents/guardians are welcome, so please come! Parent Council meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month. We include some light food/refreshments and a short time to meet new parents and get acquainted. Any changes to meeting dates and/or locations will be announced ahead of time and posted on the school calendar.
The DWS Parent Council (PC) is an organization of parent volunteers with the goal of fostering an atmosphere that supports the Faculty and Board/Administration in preparing students to realize their highest potential as human beings. The PC accomplishes this by representing parents as "the third leg of the stool" with the other two governing entities - the Faculty and Board of Directors, as well as the Administration which supports all three spheres.
Our October meeting will include:
- Presentation by Ute Luebeck on "The Founding of the First Waldorf School"
- Preparing for the Waldorf 100 anniversary
- Board/Admin update
- Halloween overview
Our intention this year is to renew excitement for volunteering and being a part of a vibrant, impactful Parent Council. Our community is a powerful network of children, parents, extended family and friends, teachers, and staff who share a vision of DWS being the best place for our children to love learning.
Each grade at DWS needs at least one Parent Council class representative, but there can be more than one. In fact, this is encouraged, to allow busy parents to share the tasks. While the PC class representatives are obligated to attend the monthly meetings, every single parent at DWS is a Parent Council member and is welcome and encouraged to attend. In addition to attending monthly meetings, the class PC representative communicates PC news to their class and helps organize parent volunteers for events and activities.
Blessings on our school,
Gina Murphey
Parent Council Chair
Halloween Celebration - Saturday, October 28th, 5-9:30 pm
All Hallow's Eve, or as it is better known, Halloween, was originally one of the four Celtic "cross" festivals; that is, a festival occurring at a time between, instead of on, the Solstice or Equinox. It falls at a time of growing darkness, when the shadows are lengthening and the sun moves down through the sky. At one time celebrated as a year's end/beginning, it was thought that at this point the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world was thinner and that movement between the two was possible. It was a time of purification and guarding against those spirits who would cause harm to humanity. It was also a time to honor those friends and companions who had passed on to the other side. It was thought that by acknowledging and honoring the darker side of existence, we would gain the power to resist that which is harmful.
Here at Davis Waldorf School, we celebrate Halloween with a blend of the old and the new. Children fourth grade and younger and their parents will enjoy the "Protected Path," a journey through the world of vignettes, fairy tales, and far-off lands. Led by an "Angel Guide," they hear stories and gather treats along the way. On the "Perilous Path" we give children a chance to venture into the world of darkness in a way that is both safe and a bit challenging. The students in fifth grade and older travel the "Perilous Path" alone, facing challenges to be overcome and a treasure to be won along the way. Our evening will begin with our wonderful 7th grade café, music, and a bonfire.
Our Halloween Celebration will take place on Saturday, October 28th from 5:00-9:30 p.m. The Protected Path will run from 5:00-8:00 p.m. and the Perilous Path will run from 6:30-9:30 p.m.
We encourage costumes to be worn by children and adults, but ask that they reflect the essence of our school. Examples of acceptable costumes are pirates, fairies, princesses, dragons, knights, etc. Commercial "character" themes, scary masks or full face makeup are NOT allowed.
Bring your appetites because dinner will be available from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. You are invited to enjoy some delicious chili and soup (meat and vegetarian). $5-7. Baked goods and drinks will also be available.
Tickets are on sale now in the office for $5.00/child. Protected Path tickets include one parent; the Perilous Path is for children only. Last year was a sell out, so please purchase your tickets early.
Halloween--We need your help!!
This is a wonderful opportunity to come out and help create an event our children look forward to with excitement every year. We need volunteers in all aspects of running our Halloween Celebration including event and Perilous Path set-up and clean-up, Protected Path vignette creation, actors, and decorators. Volunteers do not need acting experience, just a desire to excite and bring awe to our children. Friends, family and alumni are welcome to participate.
Sign-up here to volunteer or donate.
Questions: Contact Jenny Tom at
jennymillestom@gmail.com or Bessie Oakley at
enrollment@daviswaldorf.org.
No School on October 27
We have a scheduled in-service day on Friday, October 27, a day that will be dedicated to preparing our school for our fabulous Halloween Celebration. Contracts for holiday care are needed by this Friday, October 13. Find the June Bug contract
here and the Sunflower contract
here.
Please note: volunteers serving the school on campus that day will be provided care free of charge.
A contract is needed to ensure that we have adequate staff on hand. No drop-in care will be available on that day.
DWS Sports
Davis Waldorf School volleyball and flag football seasons are going great! The volleyball team has already played three different schools (Winters Middle School, Francis Harper Junior High School, and Freedom Christian School in Sacramento) and has two more games coming up to finish the season! Both Ms. Toy and I have been quite impressed with the team and look forward to possibly having the volleyball team in a league next year.
Flag football has been having weekly practices with Coach Steve Oltjenbruns and are starting to look ready for their first game against Camellia Waldorf School on Tuesday, October 17.
We have three football games scheduled for this year and warmly invite anyone to come and cheer the kids on for their last game,
October 24 at 4:00 pm
at DWS vs. Camellia Waldorf School.
It has been an absolute pleasure to work with all these kids on the teams and to see how much they progress from week to week. Basketball season will be starting up in November so keep your eyes peeled for more information about the practice schedule coming up.
Green Wood Needed
The woodworking program at DWS is in need of green (fresh-cut) wood. Wood greater than 6" in diameter (either branch wood or trunk wood), and a foot or more long, is desired. Most kinds of hardwood or fruitwood are fine. If you see something in your neighborhood, or if you are planning on removing a tree, please contact Bill Critchfield at bcritch@att.net. Many thanks!
Fiddlers at the Hoes Down
The fiddlers provided an amazing performance this past weekend at the Hoes Down Festival at Full Belly Farm. It was the farm's 30th anniversary of this event and Mrs. Kost has been a constant performer since the beginning. There was a great turn-out of Davis Waldorf families and the crowd loved the performance. Thanks to Simon Cherry for the photo!
Keep Our Kids Safe!
Street Smarts-the bicycle, pedestrian, and car safety program for the City of Davis-is collecting information to learn more about how K-8 students travel to and from school.
Please help by taking a brief electronic survey. Your feedback will help the City of Davis evaluate the effectiveness and safety of current biking and walking routes to local schools. It will also provide important information to build and strengthen the Street Smarts program throughout our community. Please show your support of safety for all Davis children by taking the survey, found online at:
www.cityofdavis.org/saferoutes.
Thank you for your participation!
Waldorf Schools affected by recent natural disasters
Dear Waldorf Community Members,
Thank you for the outpouring of concern and support for our schools in Puerto Rico and Mexico. As you can imagine, the affected communities are still picking up the pieces, grappling with immediate necessities, and trying to understand the long-term needs of their students, teachers, families, and facilities.
In Puerto Rico, our member school and other initiatives do not yet have electricity or clean water and report damage to schoolyards, but thankfully no injuries, and their facilities are intact. In Mexico, Escuela Waldorf de Cuernavaca is not yet operational as they work through government processes and rebuild classrooms. In both Puerto Rico and Mexico our colleagues are physically exhausted and their communities are fragile.
As you may know, Escuela Micael, our member school, reached out for support in obtaining some very basic supplies like a generator and a water purification system. Washington Waldorf School, on behalf of the Southeast region, led a fundraising campaign last week and met the goal needed to supply the basic needs identified by the school. Thank you, Washington Waldorf School, for organizing this effort!
Many of you have asked how you can continue to help our sister schools as they work to open their doors to the children in their care, and care for the families in their communities. Thus, we wanted to share the following fundraising links with you. We invite you to share them with your communities.
(Scroll down to the donations section for information on where and how to send funds)
Additionally, you are all very aware of the tragic fires raging through Northern California. A number of AWSNA member schools and Alliance member charter schools are in the affected areas. At this time, there have been no reported damages to school campuses. Numerous families, including faculty and staff members, were evacuated from their residences and, sadly, a number have lost their homes. We will continue to keep you updated as we gain more information.
This has been a very difficult autumn on our continent, and the beauty and goodness exhibited within our Waldorf community is a bright light in the lives of many.
We wish for you strength, courage, and goodness.
Warmly,
Beverly Amico - Executive Director, Advancement
Association of Waldorf Schools of North America
Anthroposophical Study Group
Our weekly study of Rudolf Steiner's "The Study of Man' is held each Monday,
3:30 to 4:45 in the MPR. It is facilitated by Faculty member, Steve Brannon.
Feel free to come and socialize beforehand at
3:15 - study will begin promptly at
3:30. Please note: the wider community is warmly invited! Feel free to invite others who may have an interest in this book.
October's Inform - AWSNA's community newsletter
Highlighted in this month's issue:
- Waldorf Education's voice in the wider education community
- Waldorf One World: WOW-Day
- The Importance of Learning a Second Language
- The Comeback of Cursive
Here is the
direct link to the Inform newsletter on the AWSNA website:
Reminder for Sunflower Aftercare Parents
If you need drop-in care, please sign-up on the clipboard in the office, or email/call 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!
Bring your friends to join our DWS family
We have openings in some of our grades classes this year. We are offering a $500 referral credit to this year's tuition to any family who refers a friend that completes the enrollment process, specifically for our first and second grades.
Field Trip Reminder
In order for you to drive children in your car on a field trip, we need an Auto Use Form and DMV driving record print out. A new form and record is required every year. Get ahead of the game, submit yours out now!!
Piano Lessons
Eurythmy pianist Marcia Burchard is giving piano lessons right here at the Davis Waldorf School
on Tuesday,
Wednesday, and
Thursday afternoons. She enjoys sharing her love of music, piano playing, and composition with her students-both children and adults-and takes a creative approach to teaching. For more information she can be reached at
marciaburchard@gmail.com.
Housing needed for our beloved Eurythmy Teacher
Eurythmy teacher and husband seeking a small one bedroom dwelling - private artist cottage or in-law suite within driving distance from DWS - needed ASAP. We are very quiet and responsible, non-smoking and have no pets.
Please contact me at 978-766-3078 or eurythmy@daviswaldorf.org
Thank you! Sophia Benvenuto
Sacramento Waldorf School cordially invites you to the upcoming events:
3750 Bannister Road, Fair Oaks
- Harvest Faire, Saturday, October 14, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00, p.m., free admission.
- Parent Education Series: Movement in Childhood, by Jaimen McMillian, Wednesday, October 25, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., free admission.
