Thursday, June 16 from 3 - 4:30pm

On the School Blacktop

Join us to celebrate our Faculty Retirements and Farewells on Thursday June 16 on the school blacktop. There will be music from local band CrushFunk who were a huge hit at our end-of-year faculty gathering last year.

Be sure to check the website for any updates due to weather!

Congratulations to the class of 2026 on their commencement from their middle school years. The occasion was marked with musical offerings from the high school orchestra and singers, as well as a song from each grade 1-7. The 8th graders presented a poem and gratitude for their many teachers. Class teachers Kate Knuth (grades 6-8) and Laura Cox (grades 1-5) presented the students with certificates. It was lovely to gather with the students' families to celebrate this milestone!

In 7th grade handwork, the students have the opportunity to create and delve into the life of a character. They write a biography along with hand sewing the physical doll. The students also create clothes and styles to bring life to their characters.

Pictured are some of this year's 7th grade dolls which have been on display in the front lobby.

The Seedlings class gathered on Sunday to plant a garden in their outdoor space. Thank you to the families for donating plants and stepping stones.

June

16/ Thursday

• Retirement & Farewell Celebrations, 3pm

View the 2022-2023 Calendar of School Days & Holidays

We are beginning to work on the design of the new WWS Red-Tailed Hawk mascot.

Do you have a word or phrase that the red-tailed hawk brings to your mind? 

Share with us and help us in the mascot design process!

Photo courtesy of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

We are delighted to welcome Hannah Shaw as our new High School English/ Humanities Teacher.

Hannah holds BAs from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary and an MA in art history from Rutgers University, and she will complete her PhD in the same field this summer. Her graduate research brought her frequently to Germany and led to the publication of two academic articles.

Hannah has worked as a curatorial assistant and a teacher in many capacities. She taught art history and health ed. to high school students in New York City as well as teaching health ed. to younger students and comix creation to middle school students. Hannah is excited to bring her varied academic experience to the WWS high school this fall.

Offering our deepest thanks and best of wishes for the road ahead, we bid farewell to those leaving their employment at the school. As many of our Bulletin readers know, once a part of the WWS community, always a part of the community.

Join us tomorrow at 3pm on the blacktop to celebrate our retirees and those moving on to new ventures.

Nevin Bender

Music Director

Debbie Spitulnick

Speech Teacher, former Class Teacher

Valerie LeBlanc

High School English Teacher

Lezlie Lawson

College Co-Chair, Enrollment Director

Susan Walsh

Librarian

*Continuing part time as a Eurythmist

Cornelia Florescu

Strings Teacher

Craig Ludtke

IT Manager

Clare André

Class Teacher

K. Kiley

Operations Coordinator

Danielle Roessle

College Advisor

Lucila Kanadani

Seedlings Assistant Teacher

Julia Zaki

Sunflowers Assistant Teacher and Afternoon Lead

Erina O'Brien

Middle School Art Teacher/Yearbook

Full color coverage of Children’s Garden through 12th Grade & events.  

Yearbooks can still be ordered through the TreeRing website and shipped directly to you.

Please Note: TreeRing’s website works best in the Chrome internet browser. If you visit the website directly, the school passcode is: 1015278619434770 

Seeking new members for the Parent Leadership Group!

Jesse Travis, chair of the Parent Leadership Group (PLG), is seeking up to five new members to join the PLG for the 2022-23 school year, ideally representing the Children’s Garden, Lower School, and High School.

The PLG's mission includes:

• strengthening the community of WWS families by providing opportunities to gather, get to know and form meaningful connections with each other;
• representing parent interests and concerns to the administration and Trustees Council, and
• coordinating volunteers to produce the Fall Bazaar and other annual events.

The PLG meets for one hour approximately every other week during the school year. Serving on the PLG offers the opportunity to learn more about WWS, develop strong connections with other families and the faculty and staff, and influence the causes that the Parent Organization decides to champion.

The Parent/Family Organization needs a variety of perspectives from the community represented in leadership, and we welcome your interest. Please consider contributing your ideas and voice to the PLG!

If you have any thoughts or questions about this opportunity, please email plg@washingtonwaldorf.org.

Remote Violin/Viola Lessons

Julie Stoessel, Former WWS Faculty

Julie Stoessel, former Lower School strings teacher at the Waldorf School from 2010-2016 and remote High School strings teacher for the '20-'21 school year, is offering remote violin/viola lessons again this year. 

She has 13 years of experience teaching violin and string orchestra, and 4 years experience teaching remotely. Classes are fun and dynamic, and we learn a lot!  

View recitals from previous years:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofNlLaDWL0c
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gL82xPbeJ8&t=2338s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m40cLYK5mxo

If you are interested, please be in touch by email or phone,

stoesselje@gmail.com

434-806-8768

All ages are welcome!

Free Online Masterclass for Waldorf Parents

From Raelee Peirce, Emerson Waldorf School

You are invited to my FREE Masterclass for Waldorf parents: 5 Keys to a More Balanced Family Life.

Learn More and Register to Watch

Stringed Instrument Camp

From Cornelia Florescu, WWS Faculty

Offering a one week string camp at Potomac studio (15 minutes away from Washington Waldorf School) for any rising fourth graders or new string players who just joined our school's instrumental program.

June 27th - July 1st

Mornings from 10am-12pm

This program is designed to prepare your children with strong musical skills in advance of next year's classes. During this program, your child will learn how to play their string instrument with the correct techniques which are critical to musical independence, success, and ease.

Musical instruments will be provided on a limited and first come first served basis. For more info please feel free to contact me at Florescus@msn.com or my cell, 301-793-2709.

Maine Vacation House

From Felice Stadler, WWS Alum Parent

Waldorf alum family house in the High Peaks region of Maine for rent this summer. 

Formerly the home of artist Ulrike Stadler, the house has easels and workbenches for artists' use.

The home is close to the AT Trail, Sugarloaf Mountain biking network and numerous rivers and lakes (and only 2 hours from Acadia National Park).

View the Airbnb listing.

Fiber Art Summer Camps

From Anja Caldwell, WWS Alum Parent

Hello WWS Families,

I still have some room in my fiber art summer camps in the Bethesda neighborhood if anyone is interested.

• Camps are 9 am to 3 pm, sign up is weekly, ages 6 to 16.
• WWS Families enjoy a 10% discount and scholarships are also available for qualifying families.
• After School Classes will resume in September.

Learn more on the website, or email me with any questions.

Anja

Farm Fresh Products Delivered Near WWS

From Torie Gorges, WWS Faculty and Parent

Whiffletree Farm delivers orders monthly (first Tuesday of the month) to the home of a WWS family, just around the corner from the school. They offer meat, eggs, cheese, and a variety of other farm products. Items are local (Warrenton, VA), pasture-raised, non-GMO, raised with sustainable land practices.

Learn more and order on their website.

Adventure Camp Openings

From Emma Heirman, WWS Alum '03

Adventure Camps - an initiative of the Christian Community - still have some spots open for children and high school students. We make these camps out of bailing twine, sticky mud and a whole lot of love and attention. 

Adventure Camps are filled with tons of all the good things: improv, crafts, singing, stories, made up games, good food, and kids hard at work to care for each other. We create a community together. Examples:

• Backpacking for children and High School students in the Catskills
• Camping on the beach and flying kites for children at Camp Henlopen State Park in Delaware

Our camps have changed through the years as the needs of children have changed. We are an intentionally diverse group of adults - mostly young. We are a welcoming and affirming community. We also recognize that to say one is affirming is an active task. It is not just said - it needs to be made real. We also have seen in the last years the needs of kids to help heal trauma. We can offer a safe space in nature to experience the enormity of the natural world as a secure and loving place. This can help, as I know you all know!

Visit the website for dates and to learn more.

If you know a child that could benefit from another community, a chance to see themselves in another community, please pass this on. There are no financial barriers. Contact us with any questions.

Warm Regards,

The Adventure Camp Team

Biodynamic/Organic Food CSA

Pick up near WWS or a location near you!

From Sunny Kaplan, WWS Alum Parent

Shares are available for the CSA for the 2022-23 farm year! Different options are: school year only (Sept-May), full year, winter/spring season (Dec-May) and summer/fall: (June-Nov). Registration info is here (a discount is available if you pay with cash/check). We've had three new WWS families join this year and we'd love to have more!

What's the CSA? Spiritual Foods CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) provides biodynamic and organic veggies, fruit, eggs, bread, and other seasonal staples, with most of it grown on land leased from the Kimberton Waldorf School in PA! Biodynamics, like Waldorf education, was founded by Rudolf Steiner and is a spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, food production and nutrition. Choices for share options include: main share of veggies, fruit & supplements; main share w/out bread; or veggie/fruit only. Please visit the CSA website for more info, costs, and registration forms, or email or call Lakshmi at 301-654-4899 with questions and to check on availability. You can also reach out to Sunny Kaplan, WWS alumni parent and WWS/CSA coordinator. 

Here are some of the vine-ripened, high quality, freshly picked produce awaiting you this summer if you register now: berries, summer squash, lettuce nearly weekly, other greens, cucumbers, onions, garlic greens, parsley, dill, cilantro, beans, corn, colorful peppers, eggplant, and avocado from a biodynamic farm in Florida. Supporting farms is investing in our future!

Pet Sitting Opportunity

From Jessie Sincavage, WWS Parent

Hi Everyone,

We are looking for a pet sitter to stay at our home in Arlington with our 4 month old Labrador Retrievers and feed our 15 year old cat while we drop off our kids at different camps.

Dates needed:  July 15-July 16 and August 1-August 2.

You would have your own bedroom and bathroom in the basement. Because our labs are still puppies we do need someone at the house at all times and we only crate them for 1 hour twice a day to pick up our kid at school or run errands. They are crated at night. They do sleep a lot and they’d love for you to play with them in the yard and give them a morning walk separately.

Please let know if you are interested at jessie.sincavage@gmail.com and I can send you more details. Thank you!

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