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Celebrating 100 years of
Waldorf education
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Greetings!
This week in the
Leaflet, we invite you to join us in decorating our Gratitude Tree! We also have articles on community engagement and our school director's upcoming leadership workshop on multi-age classrooms. As always, be sure to make a note of all the wonderful holiday events.
Photo above: Class 1-2 explores outdoors on a chilly day.
The next edition of the
Leaflet
will be published on Wednesday, December 18. We welcome your comments, questions, and submissions.
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100 Ways to Say Thank You
This Friday during the sing-along assembly (details below), we'll be inaugurating our
Gratitude Tree
to mark the culmination of a year of 100th anniversary celebrations for Waldorf education. Everyone is invited to write a word or a sentence and hang their gratitude leaf on the tree.
The faculty will kick off the project at our weekly meeting tomorrow, and there will be an opportunity to add your thanks at the holiday sing-along on Friday morning or at any time by simply stopping by the office to receive your leaf.
Apropos of gratitude, I recently ran across an intriguing
website
called
Native Land Digital run by a indigenous Canadian non-profit. They maintain a fascinating map on the website that shows you what indigenous land you are living on. Many of you are aware that the land that we walk on here at Ashwood was once occupied by the Wabanaki Confederation. So, the first leaf will be words of gratitude to all those who walked this land for many generations before we arrived here and built our beloved school community.
What are you grateful for? Help us decorate our tree with 100 leaves of gratitude!
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Editor's note:
With the 2020
Serve-A-Thon
gearing up for its fifth season, we offer you some thoughts on community service from the executive director of AWSNA.
Community and Social Engagement: Essential for Students
“The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.” —Rudolf Steiner
The benefits of providing students with opportunities to volunteer in service to community has a far-reaching impact—not only to the recipient but on the students themselves. In this meta review of research—
The Effects of Volunteering on the Young Volunteer—young people in particular most certainly gain benefits from volunteering.
Study authors
Cynthia W Moore and
Joseph P Allen say: “Diverse, successful volunteer programs for adolescents, along with school-based support, are related to improvements in both the academic and social arenas. Volunteering is how [students] express their identity, or their values. Intrinsic rewards, those that are embedded in the act itself, are difficult to describe in the language of cause and effect. Self-discovery is not [just] the effect of volunteering; it is volunteering itself.”
As the authors imply, when we talk about something as powerful as giving back to our communities and finding space in our lives for altruism and compassion, scientific studies on “effect” will ultimately fall short of demonstrating proof of the benefits to the individual providing the service.
However, educators clearly see the multiple benefits that students receive through social and community engagement.
Photo:
As part of last year's Serve-A-Thon, a group of 6th and 7th graders, went to the Unitarian church in Rockland to do some cleaning and gardening. The church serves dozens of community groups and is a vital part of the Midcoast community.
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Jody Spanglet to Facilitate Leadership Workshop on Mixed-Age Classrooms
In January, school director Jody Spanglet will be facilitating a
workshop for school directors, faculty chairs, teachers, and board members interested in exploring the intentionality and the process of mixed-age classrooms. Entitled "
Planning and Creating a Mixed-Age Waldorf Grade School", the workshop will take place at at Sunbridge Institute in Chestnut Ridge, New York.
Having committed itself to the mixed-age model in 2011, Ashwood is now in a position to offer itself as a model to other schools in the region and beyond who are considering this transition. Jody will be offering a number of observations to the participants, including the many benefits we've observed over the years of implementing and committing to the multi-age model. Mixed-age classes have helped our school maintain a healthy student population; required innovation and fresh thinking on the part of the teachers and the school; created class sizes that allow for a favorable social mix and opportunities for group work; provided older students in need of remedial work opportunities to strengthen their skills; provided capable younger students exposure to more challenging skills classes; provided multi-age experiences that allow younger and older students to develop deep and lasting relationships.
We look forward to hearing from Jody after the workshop to see how this concept is living at other Waldorf schools.
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Holiday Sing-Along
Join us on Friday,
December 6 at 8:40 a.m. in the upper hallway of the grade school building for a proper holiday sing-along!
We'll gather 'round to sing a few simple and familiar songs celebrating the solstice, the advent season, and the approach of Hanukkah. Come join us and raise your voices in this season of cheer! If you're in the spirit, wear your favorite holiday sweater or headgear! All are welcome.
We will also be inaugurating our Gratitude Tree at the assembly (see lead article). Help us decorate the tree with 100 thank yous!
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APC Winter Warmer Welcomes One and All
Join the APC for the Winter Warmer gathering,
Saturday December 7, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
An evening of festivity and merriment with good food and friends. Graciously hosted by Julia Dodge and Barney Hildreth, 41 Beauchamp Point Road, Rockport ; (207) 236-0266. Please bring food and/or beverages to share. Hope you can join us! This holiday gathering is for all of the Ashwood adult community. (No children. We love them but this party is for us.)
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Winter Revels
On
Tuesday, December 17, at 4:00 p.m.
, Ashwood students will present "Winter Revels: Here We Come A-wandering" at the Camden Opera House. Students, aged 7-13, will romp the stage for a brief and energetic program of sketches, inspiring poetry, and music and dance from around the world. Come revel merrily with us, and bring your friends! Family fun for all. Free of charge.
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Shepherds Play
On
Wednesday, December 18 at 9:30 a.m.
, the faculty will present the
Oberufer Shepherds Play
. This medieval pageant tells the story of the first Christmas and is intended as a gift from the faculty to the children. Parents are warmly invited to attend; however, seating is limited. If you wish to attend, please pick up a ticket (no charge) in the office.
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Early Dismissal on Wednesday, December 18
Parents, please take note that our final day of school before the winter break is a half day. On Wednesday, December 18, pick up time will be
12:30 p.m.
Parents: Please join us for cocoa and cookies in the upper hallway
The administrative staff invites parents to arrive at
noon for cocoa and cookies in the community room before early dismissal. We hope to see you there!
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Flatbread Pizza Fundraiser Coming in January!
Tuesday, January 14, 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Flatbread Company,
399 Commercial St, Rockport. Grab your friends, and head on over to the Flatbread Fundraiser Night.
Each pizza sale benefits Ashwood.
Includes take-out orders! Call 207-706-4146 to reserve a table or place an order. Check out the
menu
, and order ahead!
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Thursday Ski Program to Begin January 9
On Friday, January 3, I will be available at pick up, from 3:00-3.30 p.m., for ski season sign ups for our discount program at the Snow Bowl. I also plan to be available on Monday, January 6 from 8:15–8.30 a.m. in the early childhood building. There will also be weekly sign up sheets in the school office after the holiday break. This year you are welcome to pay for several weeks in advance if you wish to do so. As usual, if you wish to participate each week, I need to know by Tuesday afternoons for lessons and equipment rental, and for lift tickets by 8:30 a.m., Thursday morning.
The Ashwood ski program will commence on January 9, weather permitting. For families new to Ashwood, it is a lovely Ashwood tradition we hope you'll join. On Thursday afternoons after 1:00 p.m. dismissal, students often head to the Snow Bowl with their family and friends to ski and snowboard. The Snow Bowl offers us group rates with great prices: $15 lift ticket, $15 equipment rental and $15 group lesson! Please note: Group lessons for skiing and snowboarding are for ages seven and up; however, for children under age seven, private one-on-one lessons can be booked through the ski school/ticket desk (236-3438, ext. 106 ) at the rate of $25 per half hour. The younger children can still use the discount rate for lift ticket and equipment rental on Thursdays if they sign up for those through the Ashwood program.
Please contact me by
email
or by telephone (763-2845) if you have any questions.
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Citrus for the Winter Months
Through
Dec. 14
, 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students will be taking orders for delicious California citrus to help fund Ashwood’s grade school class field trips.
The fruit will arrive at Ashwood’s campus in the third week of January. The specific delivery date will be announced closer to delivery time.
We will be selling: 20-lb. box navel oranges (40–44/box), $30 each; 20-lb. box of ruby red grapefruit (20–24/box), $30; 20-lb. California clementines (~80/box), $36; and 20-lb. mixed (a selection of all three options), $32.
Please help these students reach their goal of $2000 by ordering citrus from them. It is best for the fundraiser to order directly from the students, but there is also an
online ordering option
.
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Call for Marketplace Listings
Be creative! You can offer:
- Items that you already own (sports equipment, gently used clothing, furniture, etc.)
- Items that you make (farm produce and value-added food items, hand-made items, etc.)
- Services you provide (tutoring, consultation, babysitting, private lesson, etc.)
- Events you can coordinate or host (classes, dinner parties, boat trips, or rentals)
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Support Ashwood While You Shop
Do you shop online at Amazon? If so, consider making your purchases through
AmazonSmile
and choosing Ashwood as your charity. A percentage of what you spend goes to Ashwood, with no extra cost to you. It's an easy way to give!
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Friday
December
6
Holiday Sing-along
8:40–9:00 a.m.
Upper Hall, Grade School
Saturday
December
7
APC Winter Warmer
5:00–7:00 p.m.
Tuesday
December
10
Class 1–2 Parent Evening
6:00–8:00 p.m.
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Friday
December
13
Class 1–2 Play
9:00 a.m.
Tuesday
December
17
Winter Revels: "Here We Come A-wandering"
4:00–5:00 p.m.
Camden Opera House
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Wednesday
December
18
Shepherds Play
9:30–10:30 a.m.
Parent Reception
Noon–12:30 p.m.
Upper Hallway, Grade School Building
Early Dismissal
12:30 p.m.
See you next decade!
Thursday
January
2
School Resumes
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The next APC meeting will be on Tuesday, January 7,
6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Buttercup room
of the early childhood building.
The agenda for the January meeting will be sent to all parents prior to the meeting. Contact
Kari Luehman if you have an agenda item for the meeting. We hope to see you there!
Mark your calendar for future meetings:
Monday, February 3, 8:30–10:00 a.m.; Tuesday, March 3, 6:00-7:30 p.m.; Monday, April 6, 8:30-10:00 a.m.; Tuesday, May 5, 6:00-7:30 p.m.; Monday, June 1, 8:30–10:00 a.m.
APC gathering: The APC is hosting a Winter Warmer! See events (above) for details.
Kari Luehman, APC Coordinator
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Ashwood Waldorf School
180 Park Street Rockport, ME 04856
207-236-8021
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