Weekly Bulletin
October 20, 2021
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From Lynn Adelmann, Grade 4 Class Teacher |
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The children of the fourth grade are beginning to find the leaves changing with shades of gold, orange and red. They are discovering the colorful changes in themselves as well. They work hard, play hard and express their 9 and 10 year old opinions in a wonderfully verbal way each day. Their burgeoning views of the world in which they live are refreshing - as they should be! |
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Our first Geography block focused on our local geography starting from the children’s perspective but also from the perspectives of the indigenous people that were here on this land originally. We studied directions, as we understand them, as well as the indigenous peoples' “sacred hoop”. We took a walk around our school neighborhood to better understand how maps work, how addresses are organized, and to notice the indigenous names of many of the roads around our school. The children mapped their own neighborhoods and learned their addresses. We created an “as the crow flies” map of where each of us lives in relation to school (pictured below). They hear daily stories and legends from the Lenape people. |
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We are now well into our current block, “Introduction to Fractions”. The fourth graders are finding fractions everywhere, in leaves, measurements, music, origami, fruit, and snowflakes. Our wonderful parents donated pies that let us discover fractions and then EAT them! In our Math skills and practice classes we have been reviewing the four processes vertically and discovering factoring. |
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We continue to review cursive writing to tidy up our handwriting and to help the new children become comfortable with cursive writing. The children are enjoying our “book-club” read, The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich. We read several chapters per week and discuss them on Mondays. The children are really enjoying looking up words in the dictionary and glossary.
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Leo, our class pet (a leopard gecko), is a big hit. The children are caring and gentle with him, eager to care for him and his home. He eats mealworms and crickets and needs a heat lamp to keep his cold-blooded body warm. |
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Staying Up to Date With Our School Calendar
* Current Parents can find Zoom information for meetings in ParentSquare
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October
20/ Wednesday
- Rising 1st Grade Parent Evening (online), 8pm
- Initial Meeting for Class Captains and PO Reps (online), 8pm
21/ Thursday
- Craft and Conversation, 9:30am (see below)
- G7 Parent Evening, 7pm (online)
22/ Friday
- Lunch with Lelia & the Parent Leadership Group, (online), 12pm
27/ Wednesday
- Craft and Conversation (online), 8pm
28/ Thursday
- Waldorf Education Speakers Series: Sharifa Oppenheimer (online), 8pm (see below)
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Waldorf Education Speaker Series |
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We are pleased to once again join with Acorn Hill and Potomac Crescent Waldorf School to offer a speaker series on Waldorf Education throughout the school year. |
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Washington Area Waldorf Speakers Series Presents: Sharifa Oppenheimer
The Green Earth, Children’s Play and Your Child’s Brain
Thursday, October 28 from 8 to 9:30pm
Join Sharifa Oppenheimer, author of Heaven on Earth and With Stars in Their Eyes: Brain Science and Your Child’s Journey Toward the Self for a Zoom Parent Evening.
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Zoom Meeting ID: 925 0499 6336
Passcode: w3wE4j
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Sharifa will address the child’s foundational need for a deep connection to nature and the freedom to play whole heartedly within nature’s embrace. We will learn about the “Loose Parts” theory of creativity as it relates to brain development, as well as how to prepare a rich play environment for your child. We’ll explore the dance of supervising children’s play: when and how to step toward a tense situation and when to step back and allow children to practice their negotiation skills. We will also cover the child’s need for age-appropriate “risky play” as well as both the child’s and adult’s development of risk assessment. |
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Sharifa's latest work, With Stars in Their Eyes: Brain Science and Your Child's Journey Toward the Self, presents traditional, gentle ways of educating young children through art, poetry, song, movement, stories, creative play and immersion in the natural world. She offers this wisdom with cutting edge research from brain science in support of the finest brain development.
Sharifa was the founding teacher of the Charlottesville Waldorf School, where she taught kindergarten for twenty-one years and served as day care director of the early childhood program. She was the founder and director of the home-based early childhood program The Rose Garden, currently thriving under new ownership. Sharifa is the mother of three grown sons, who were educated in the Waldorf tradition. She lives with her husband in an enchanted forest in Virginia.
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Craft & Conversation
Thursday, October 21, at 9:30am
This week's session is tomorrow from 9:30-12pm at Anja's house (7711 Glenmore Spring Way). We have lots of fun projects to work on. All skill levels are welcome! We'll be following the school protocols for masking and distancing.
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Lunch with Lelia & The Parent Leadership Group
Friday, October 22 at 12pm on Zoom
Join Lelia and our Parent Leadership Group, including co-chairs Jennifer Robinson and Jesse Travis for a Zoom lunch. They'll provide an update on this year's Fall Bazaar and some of their other current initiatives and introduce new members. Look for an invitation in ParentSquare.
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Preparing a Pathway to Eurythmy Series: Autumn 2021 Online Course
Friday, October 29, 2021, 7-9pm
Saturday, October 30, 2021, 2-9pm
Pre-registration required!
This series, from Eurythmy Spring Valley, will meet in the virtual realm to build approaches to eurythmy through an online course. The weekend will bring classes on foot-writing with Virginia Hermann, an introduction to poetry and language as a starting point for eurythmy with Cliff Venho, and an introduction to eurythmic movement and basic elements of tone eurythmy with Sea-Anna Vasilas.
This course is open to all, with beginners very welcome. Please register by October 25, 2021, so we can confirm that we have the minimum number of attendees for offering this intensive.
Online Course Fee: $95
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Festivals take a central role in our school life. They give us a wonderful opportunity to connect with what is taking place in the natural world, and especially with the changes in the seasons, whilst exploring our shared cultures through stories, music, movement, plays, and poems.
Whether you are new to the school, or have been part of the community for many years, please don't hesitate to contact the festivals committee if you have any questions about our annual program.
Our up and coming outdoor festivals are:
- Friday October 29 - Halloween Assembly
- Tuesday November 23 - Thanksgiving Assembly
We eagerly await the time when we will be able to join you all in person to celebrate these special moments in the school year.
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Thanks From the Faculty Chair/Head of School Search Committee |
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Dear Washington Waldorf Community members,
We are grateful to the current parents and faculty who took the time to respond to our Faculty Chair/Head of School search survey. Ninety-five community members responded to the survey. Your thoughtful input gave us useful insight as we move forward in our work to facilitate the process of hiring a new Faculty Chair/Head of School.
The hiring of the permanent Faculty Chair/Head of School is the responsibility of the Trustees Council with the advice and consent of the College of Teachers.
Thank you again for sharing your voice and we look forward to updating you on our efforts again soon.
With gratitude,
The Faculty Chair/Head of School Search Committee
Vanessa Beckman
Nevin Bender
Lezlie Lawson
Valerie LeBlanc
Maria Monteverde-Jackson
Marilyn Noguera
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"Knitting" Our Community Together |
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Imagine the columns in front of our school and the trees that line our parking lots decorated with bright colors and fanciful patterns representing the rich vibrancy of our community. As an act of togetherness, we invite everyone to participate in "yarn bombing" our campus (with apologies for the expression).
We are now collecting donations in a bin in front of the school. We will accept:
- Yarn panels to be included in the project.
- Any excess yarn, knitting needles, or crochet hooks to pass on to others who wish to participate.
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Note: Please put name and contact info with any donations so we can compile a comprehensive list of participants for acknowledgement.
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Annual High School Evergreens Fundraiser |
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Order now through Nov 8.
Every year we work with a family owned supplier to offer high quality, sustainably harvested evergreens. We will again offer all direct-ship items with delivery right to the door (yours or that of a gift recipient) within the two weeks following Thanksgiving. All payments will be handled online, using PayPal. As we did last year, we will send all net profits to the wonderful Lakota Waldorf School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. We invite you to join us in decorating your homes for winter, sending gifts to others, and supporting the work of our friends at the Lakota Waldorf School.
Thank you from the High School.
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From Claire Coleman ('14), pictured on the right.
MIRI TV is a streaming platform that offers educationally appropriate content focused exclusively on the needs of children. Drawing inspiration from our Waldorf roots, we present beloved puppet shows, songs, games, and more in a digital format. The result? A holistic alternative to commercial children's entertainment that supports the child's development.
We had the honor of winning Austria's Social Impact Award (SIA). This annual award is given to early-stage social entrepreneurs whose projects are recognized as addressing pressing social issues of our time.
The German version of the streaming platform will launch in 2022 and an English version is sure to follow. Until then, non-German speaking children can still enjoy the videos in our English section.
Follow our journey:
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How to Submit a Listing
- We welcome submissions of community news, items for sale, want ads, etc. Please keep notices to 500 characters or less. There is no charge for listings.
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Please submit listings by COB Tuesdays with the subject "Bulletin Submission."
- If you are sending images or flyers, a link to an online version is preferred.
- Bulletin Board notices generally run for 3 weeks - if space allows - unless other arrangements have been made. Please let us know if listing information is no longer accurate. Listings may not be accepted and will likely be edited.
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These notices are from the WWS community, the greater Waldorf community, and occasionally from our school neighbors. The information and views in them belong to the individuals who submit the notices and do not necessarily reflect the views of WWS. |
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Classifieds & Events from the Community |
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Meal Preparation & Delivery
Do you need help with family meals? Cristina Bermudez cooks delicious, nutritious traditional/vegan/gluten-free homemade meals in her Cabin John kitchen using organic ingredients and delivers them to your home. My family has eaten many, many Cristina meals and are so happy we found her. This flyer includes a discount for Waldorf families!
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MD Water Monitoring Council to Host Student Career Chat (Online)
Monday, October 25 at 7PM
from Robin Leake (WWS Parent)
Learn more about this virtual student career chat and networking session with local leaders in the environmental science and planning fields. The panel will share insights on their career paths, helpful courses, methods for finding internships and jobs, and pros and cons of different focus areas and sectors of employment. The career chat is targeted toward high school, college, and graduate students and will be a relaxed atmosphere primarily focused on Q&A. We encourage student attendees to come with questions for our panelists.
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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.
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Montgomery County Children's Environmental Health Webinar: Wireless and Children’s Health
Tomorrow - Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 7:30pm
from Theodora Scarato (WWS Parent)
While parents assume that cell phones, Wi-Fi and airpods are safe for kids, the US FCC safety limits for wireless are 25 years old. Environmental Working Group found these limits are hundreds of times too high. The DC Circuit court just ruled that the FCC ignored the science on children and long term exposure.
The Montgomery County Coalition is hosting a webinar featuring WWS parent Theodora Scarato MSW - petitioner in the case- for a deep dive into what the court ruling means for children’s health—and ways families can support safer technology, vibrant communities and healthy kids.
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Updated - Free Film Screening
from Theodora Scarato (WWS Parent)
Film: MisLEAD: Lead Poisoning- America’s Secret Epidemic
Streaming October 23-28, 2021
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Register to join us live October 28 at 7pm for a Q&A with WWS parent Theodora Scarato and Director Tamara Rubin whose children were lead poisoned by a painting contractor in 2005. MisLEAD shares stories of children impacted by led and educates parents on what they can do to protect their children.
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Published by the Washington Waldorf School
Copyright © 2021 All rights reserved
We welcome your comments and submissions. Contact Alia Goodyear if you would like to be added to our mailing list, or if you have submissions, questions, or suggestions. Please email submission by COB TUESDAY with the subject line "Bulletin Submission."
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Washington Waldorf School
4800 Sangamore Road,
Bethesda, MD 20816
301-229-6107
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Washington Small Schools Association
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