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DWS Bulletin
AUGUST: News & Updates
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AUGUST 29
New Parent Orientation #1
@ 6:30 - 8 PM, MPR on Campus
AUGUST 31
Aftercare Contracts DUE
SEPTEMBER 5
NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
SEPTEMBER 6
NO SCHOOL - In Service Day, School Blessing
SEPTEMBER 7
Grades: 1st Day of School,
PK & Kinder: Warming Day,
Opening Ceremony
SEPTEMBER 8
PK & Kinder: 1st Day of School
New Parent Orientation #2
@ 6:30 - 8 PM, MPR on Campus
SEPTEMBER 8
PK & Kinder: 1st Day of School
SEPTEMBER 16
Back to School Picnic
@ 5:30 PM, The Grove on Campus
SEPTEMBER 21
Board Meeting
@ 7:00 PM, on Zoom
SEPTEMBER 26
Rosh Hashanah
SEPTEMBER 28
Parent Council Meeting
@6:30 PM, on Zoom
SEPTEMBER 30
Michaelmas Celebration
@ 12:00 PM, on Campus
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NEWSLETTER SECTIONS
School News
Back-to-School Packet
Campus Upgrades
Community Events
Support the DWS Community
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Barefoot Days
BY RACHEL FIELD
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In the morning, very early,
That’s the time I love to go
Barefoot where the fern grows curly
And the grass is cool between each toe,
On a summer morning – O!
On a summer morning!
That is when the birds go by
Up the sunny slopes of air,
And each rose has a butterfly
Or a golden bee to wear;
And I am glad in every toe –
Such a summer morning – O!
Such a summer morning!
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Click "View entire message" at the bottom of this email to make sure you see all news and updates.
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New Parent Orientations
Monday, August 29, 6:30 - 8:00 PM OR
Thursday, September 8, 6:30 - 8:00 PM
MPR, On Campus
New families and families who joined us after the start of school last year are warmly invited and highly encouraged to attend one of our New Parent Orientations.
Join Director Jennifer Slater to learn more about Davis Waldorf School and meet other families who have recently started their Waldorf journey. Director Slater will provide an invaluable overview of important policies, procedures, and events.
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New & Returning Faces
We would like to extend a warm welcome to all the new and returning faculty and staff members who have joined the DWS team!
From new friends to alumni and former parents, we have a lot of introductions to make, so please take a moment to look through the Biography Packet linked below to learn all the new faces:
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Welcome to our New Subject Teachers!
We are so excited to welcome all of our new Subject Teachers for the 2022-2023 School Year. For biographies of our new staff and faculty, please refer to the section above.
| Reza Assakereh (Current Parent) will be stepping into the Woodworking Teacher position. Thank you Reza for taking on this vital role, and thank you to Bill Critchfield for his many years of teaching and the care he showed every student who came into the woodshop. | Shellie McCallen (Alumni Parent, staff member) will be joining the subject program as a Handwork Teacher and will be training with Mrs. Haberman. Thank you Shellie for your hard work these past four years in the office. We are so happy we get to keep you as a colleague and friend. Thank you to Dahlia for your dedication to this school and the ongoing gift of your talents as a teacher and mentor. | Zoë García (Alumni Student) will be joining us this fall as the new Music Instructor. Thank you Zoë for sharing your skills and training as we work to build a flourishing music program. | Jack Tetreault (Alumni Student) will be joining us this fall as the Games Instructor. Thank you Jack for jumping in and joining the team. It is always a joy to welcome back DWS alumni. | | | | |
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Parent+Child Classes:
Fall Session starts Sept. 10
A new session of our Hollyhock Parent+Child classes will begin this September! Classes are held Saturdays indoors on campus and are the perfect preparation for Waldorf education. Registration forms will be shared on our website next week.
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Class for 6-18 Month Olds
Saturdays, 1:00 - 2:00 pm (1 HR)
$175 per session
Class for 19-30 Month Olds
Saturdays, 8:00 - 9:30 am (1 HR 30 MINS)
$225 per session
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Program Dates
Classes will meet 5 times per session on the following dates:
Fall Session #1:
Sep 10, 17, 24, Oct 1, 8.
Fall Session # 2:
Oct 15, 22; Nov 5, 12, 19. (No class on Oct 29)
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Hooray! Return of Summergarden Grades Camp
From Zoë García, Camp Coordinator:
After several years of unfortunate COVID complications, this year we were able to resume our beloved DWS Summer Garden camp! We started out week one with learning about mindfulness through the ancient Indian practice of yoga, led by a former DWS parent, Jeanne Balding. In addition to yoga, week one was filled with lots of games and active movement in the summer sunshine with DWS alum Cameron Duncan. During week two, the students learned from our dear Maestra Marta about the art form and techniques of acrylic painting. The campers all went home with a vibrant landscape of a tropical beach setting! For weeks three and four, our multi-talented artist Mr. Shai led the students in crafting ceramics and creating beautiful woven baskets.
In addition to learning about a vast variety of art forms, the students also had the opportunity to learn about organic cooking, gardening, music, and many other creative activities! Some of my personal highlights of camp include…the many, many origami creations made, colorful marble painting, dance parties while cooking lunch, the many rounds of uno played (using up to four packs of cards combined), making homemade ice cream, teaching the students jump rope tricks, sprinkler adventures on hot summer afternoons, and creating giant sidewalk chalk rainbows! It has been such a joy to spend this summer with your children! I feel ever so grateful to have spent this summer beside such creative, lovely, and kind students. I hope to see many of you next year in my new position as the vocal music teacher.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
| Thank you to coordinators Zoë García and Rochelle Blair for guiding the children through the day as they played, cooked, and learned! Thank you to instructors Jeanne Balding, Marta Juliao, and Shai Porath for sharing their talents. | | | |
Back-to-School Packet, 2022-2023 | |
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Hello DWS families, new and returning! The contents of the Back-to-School email sent on August 17th to all enrolled families can now be accessed on the DWS Blackbaud Portal.
Important documents, like the Parent Handbook and Aftercare Contracts, are available there for you to view and download.
To view the full email, please click HERE.
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Aftercare & Vacation Care
Program Updates
If your family will utilize our Aftercare and/or Vacation Care programs, please make sure to review the following information to familiarize yourself with the changes for the upcoming school year.
During the first two weeks of school (9/8 - 9/23), Drop-In Care is NOT available, and an Aftercare Contract must be on file in the office in order for care to be provided during those dates.
Contracts are due August 31st. Completed forms should be emailed to: office@daviswaldorf.org
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Aftercare Contract Types
This year, DWS will be offering two options for contracts:
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FULL YEAR CONTRACT with a discounted rate
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ADJUSTABLE CONTRACT with the standard contract rate
Please review the Aftercare Billing & Contract Info Packet 22-23 for details on these contracts and program policies.
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Vacation Care Package
Sign up by August 31st to secure your child's spot.
We are happy to announce a new Vacation Care Package to support our families who need care during periods when school is not in session during the school year. Our new Vacation Care Package will take the guesswork out of whether vacation care will be offered during a break period during the school year. By signing up for the Vacation Care Package your family will pay a monthly fee per child for use of the vacation care program between the hours of 8:00-5:30 for the 24 scheduled vacation care days. Families who sign up for the package receive a discounted rate and are guaranteed care provided that we initially enroll five students per program (Sunflower Grades or Junebug Early Childhood).
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Tuesday - Burritos
Wednesday - Potatoes
Thursday - Pizza
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Hot Lunch Order Form
Support the 7th & 8th Grade!
This year our 7th and 8th grade classes will be offering three hot lunch options as fundraisers for their 8th grade trips.
Hot Lunch will start the second week of school, Monday, September 12th. Please submit your order form prior to the first day of school to guarantee hot lunch is provided for your child.
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Lower School Yard Refresh
The Lower School Yard is in the process of getting refreshed. Some updates include tree trimming, future planning for drought tolerant trees, and the building of a new stump wall along the creek. Our beloved bridge got a new coat of paint and the more wiggly boards were tightened up. A special thanks to all the parents and students who helped build the stump wall and carried new rocks to fill the creek bed.
We plan to continue updating and improving the play yard as the year progresses. If you have woodworking or gardening skills and some time to share, please let the office know so we can build the play yard of our students' dreams!
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All School Beautification Day
Saturday, August 20th
We got a lot of important work done - in the blazing summer sun. New wood chips, sand, and other river rocks were distributed around campus. Tents were relocated, branches were trimmed, and garden beds were weeded.
Thank you so much to all the community members who came out to help make this day happen!
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Special thanks to Ben Chavez (Maintenance) and Alisa Haller (Gardening Teacher) for all your hard work on this and so many other projects! | | |
New Corner Sign
Fund-a-Need 2021-2022
Plans for the new corner sign are in the works! Thank you to Bill Critchfield, our former Woodworking teacher and alumni parent, for helping us make this happen. We can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s all done and installed.
In addition to the new sign, that whole corner of land by the parking area will be cleaned up and landscaped with new plants. Director Slater is in conversation with landscaping companies to make sure the area around the sign is as beautiful as the sign itself.
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New Washer and Dryer for Preschool
A much-needed new washer and dryer have been installed into the Preschool building, and we are so excited!
Thank you to RB Cope Contractors for the installation.
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New Shelves in the Almond House
The Almond House (Preschool building) has just received some beautiful new shelves to hold our growing collection of donated resources. We are happy to now have space to properly house these resources and want to thank everyone who has so generously donated over the years!
Thank you to Jen Griffin (EC Director) for sourcing these shelves.
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Opening Ceremony,
Grades First Day of School
As another year of classes begins, we will kick off the first day of school with a celebration of our students and teachers as they take the first steps of a year-long journey.
The festivities will commence at 8:45 AM in the Grove. Parents & siblings welcome. Each grades teacher will speak about their class, 8th Grade and 1st Grade buddies will be presented, and the Rose and Sunflower Ceremonies will occur. The event is scheduled to end at 9:15 AM.
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The Rose Ceremony is a special acknowledgement of the 1st Grade students during which their 8th Grade buddy will present them with a rose. This will occur after the 1st Grade teacher has spoken about their class and the coming year.
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The Sunflower Ceremony will occur at the end of the event. Parents of 1st Grade students will be instructed to receive a sunflower near the 1st grade classroom, and then will be invited to form the Sunflower Arch in front of the 1st Grade classroom for the students to walk under as they enter into their first year as a grades student.
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Warming Day, Early Childhood
Wednesday, September 7th
Warming day is an opportunity for our youngest students to come to school with a guardian, see their classroom and yard, meet other children, and bring their things to the classroom.
This is a relatively short time compared to a full day of school (30 minutes for preschool and 1-2 hours for kindergarten) when parents may be asked to participate in helpful tasks while children have an opportunity to get comfortable in their classroom setting before their first full day of school.
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In both the preschool and the kindergarten, there are specific time slots available. Your child's teacher will create a sign-up sheet to allow families to choose their time slot.
Please contact your teacher if you have any questions about how to access the sign-up sheet. We will make every effort to create time spots for families who have specific needs or for those who have children in both programs so we may give each child time to experience Warming Day!
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Back to School Picnic
Friday, Sept 16th @ 5:30 PM
Join us for a community picnic to start the school year off right!
The Picnic begins at 5:30 PM in the Grove on campus. Bring the family and a blanket for a casual evening of food and fun. Get to know new families and rekindle old friendships. We hope every family will be there!
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Board Meeting
Wednesday, September 21st
@ 7:00 PM
Board Meetings occur on Zoom the third Wednesday of every month during the school year.
All community members are welcome to the open session of each meeting.
The main item on the agenda for September's meeting is to review the draft budget for the upcoming school year.
These meeting are great way to learn about the school, beyond the classroom and into the future. We hope to see you there!
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Parent Council Mtg.
Wednesday, September 28th
@ 6:30 PM
Parent Council Meetings occur on Zoom the last Wednesday of every month during the school year.
All parents & guardians are warmly invited to participate in the Parent Council.
Parent Council serves to enhance communication within and between classes, the school community, and the Faculty and Administration.
Parent Council considers parent
initiatives, holds the community life of the school, and supports volunteerism and fundraising.
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SUPPORT THE DWS COMMUNITY | | |
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Violin (3/4 Size) for Sale, $300
Good condition, with new strings and case. A bow and shoulder rest are not included. It is a Kiso Suzuki, made in Japan in 1971, and it plays and sounds very nice.
Contact Bill Critchfield at bcritch@att.net or 530-756-5796.
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Do you have a submission for our Newsletter?
If you have an item to include in an upcoming newsletter,
email Eden Tomich at dwsassistant@daviswaldorf.org.
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