Grade 4 Felted Animal Masks

Last Friday, the Lower School engaged in healthy and fun competition during Field Day. The brown bag family picnic that followed early dismissal was a great time to gather and enjoy our community.

From Taisto Saloma, Athletic Director

WWS Celebrates the 2023-2024 Year in Athletics!

It was an awesome year for WWS Athletics. We opened our gym, captured multiple championships, and shared so many wonderful moments together. This past Tuesday we gathered to mark the year and give out our annual awards. 

Awards are given at the high school level for each season. We celebrated the Hawks of the Year and this year's Alanna Marie Lake Award recipient. We were joined by Emanuele Cocuzza ('20) as our alum speaker.

Last week, Grade 7 visited Grade 2 during Morning Lesson. This was a special time when the older students helped the younger students with reading, outlining, and paragraph writing.

Quotes from Grade 7 about the experience:

• “Amazing!!!” - Paxton
• “It was cool working with the younger kids and remembering what it was like learning to read” - Gisella
• “It brought back memories because Mr. Sage was my teacher in 1st-4th grade. And the 2nd graders are so cute!” - Amelia
• “It was interesting to relive my experience learning to read. It was nice to help them. ” - Miles
• “It was really interesting and cool. I hope it can become a tradition between the older grades and younger grades!” - Colin

From Jennifer Robinson, Class Teacher

As a part of the Grade 8 study of Organic Chemistry, students isolated gluten from bread flour. The process was spread over a couple days and involved creating a simple dough, soaking it overnight, and kneading or "washing" the starch away (after testing it with iodine of course), leaving behind the long rubbery strands of wheat protein or gluten. 

The resulting product - seitan - is a good meat substitute and we cooked ours in vegetable broth and ate it with some traditional Japanese condiments; tamari sauce and furikake seaweed and sesame seasoning. Many students reported surprise at how delicious it was!

What did you think of the lunch program?

Thank you for your support of this spring’s all-volunteer lunch program! Whether you participated or not, please answer a short survey by Saturday, June 1 to help us gauge satisfaction, community demand, and volunteer willingness.

We welcome and appreciate your feedback, and will use it to inform a report to the school administration and Trustees Council about the results of the pilot lunch program and the possibilities for a lunch program for the 2024-25 school year.

Participate in the Parent/Family Organization!

The Parent Leadership Group (PLG) is seeking members for the 2024-25 school year! We have added structure with defined roles that range in commitment from leading a specific event (Fall Bazaar, Craft & Conversation, Gala, Grandparents Day, etc.) to more involvement as part of the executive team (Community Events Chair, Chairs representing CG/LS/HS, etc.).

The PLG gives members an inside view of what's happening at school and the chance to make friends, connect with faculty, and demonstrate to your children your dedication to their school! 

Learn more about the roles and/or volunteer for a position.

Email plg@washingtonwaldorf.org with questions.

*Last week the calendar showed the wrong time for the high school graduation. Graduation is by invitation only. Please refer to the invitation for details.

May

31/ Friday

• Rose Ceremony

June

1/ Saturday

• Graduation
• Alum Reunion, 4pm

4/ Tuesday

• Volunteer Appreciation Brunch, 8:30am (see below)

9/ Sunday

• End-of-Year Party & Faculty Farewell, 3:30pm (see below)

10/ Monday

• Grade 8 Commencement, 2pm

12/ Wednesday

• Last Day of School - 12:30 Dismissal

View the Calendar of School Days for the 2023-2024 School Year

Tuesday, June 4 at 8:30am

Volunteerism has a special place in our community. Our Trustees Council, Parent/Family Organization, and so many other special committees and initiatives rely on the power of volunteerism. Our school’s volunteers enrich our students’ educational experiences every day, and make our community a vibrant, welcoming place. We want to thank you for lending your time and talent to our school, and honor the amazing contributions you have made this school year! 

We invite everyone who has volunteered to join us for a Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast on Tuesday, June 4th from 8:30-10am. 

Please view the invitation and RSVP.

Thank you for all you do!

*Please note the updated list of farewells*

Sunday, June 9 from 3:30-6pm

We invite you to join us on Sunday, June 9 from 3:30-6pm for an End-of-Year Party and Faculty Farewell. We will be giving a proper send off to our departing faculty members, Shelly Hackman (Delegating School Nurse), Mike Hadjipateras (Visiting HS Humanities Teacher), Lilli Kuth (Early Childhood Educational Support Teacher), Bailey More (HS Math Teacher), Lisa Pitillo (Seedlings Lead Teacher), CJ (Leonard) Stumbo (Front Office Manager), Lelia True (Faculty Chair/Head of School), and Vanessa Vargas (Administrative Support). We will also welcome new families who are joining us for the 2024/2025 school year.

Chef Eron and team will grill up hamburgers, veggie burgers, and hotdogs, while music from Sven Abow and his band will get our toes tapping. We will have basketball on the outdoor courts, volleyball in the gym, and outdoor activities for the whole family. There will even be face painting for children to enjoy. All are welcome to attend.

Parent/Family Organization volunteers are needed to help out with the event. Please sign up to lend a hand!

We ask that all families bring a side dish or dessert to share. Those with last names A to M, please bring a side dish. Those with last names N to Z, please bring a dessert. Please bring all food ready to serve and, if applicable, label it as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, or dairy free.

We hope you can join us to celebrate the culmination of the school year, and help us bid a fond farewell to Shelly, Mike, Lilli, Bailey, Lisa, CJ, Lelia, and Vanessa.

Congratulations to Annabelle Adelizzi ('20) for graduating summa cum laude from Colgate University with a BA in Psychological Science and German and for her acceptance of an English Teaching Assistant grant to Germany from The Fulbright Program for the 2024-25 school year. 

Have an alum update to share?

We love to hear from our alums and their families! Send us an update.

We also encourage our alums to list their education at WWS on their LinkedIn profile and to follow WWS on LinkedIn. This is a good platform for us to keep up with alum news.

We are pleased to share a video of the Grade 4 maypole dance from Grandparents & Special Friends Day at the beginning of May. Enjoy!

If you are a current family - first, check ParentSquare for posts from your teachers, departments (Children's Garden, Lower School, High School), and the administration.

If you cannot find the information you are looking for on ParentSquare, please email your department coordinator/administrator or our Operations Manager:

• Children's Garden Coordinator - Cecilia Berg-Benson
• Lower School Chair - Janet Dunwoody
• High School Administrator - Bonnie McClelland
• Operations Manager - Laur Garner

Searching for Affordable Housing Near AU

From Ali Alwahti, WWS Alum Parent

I’m assisting a young Comorian student (from my home country) who got a Fulbright scholarship to come to Washington to pursue a MA in film and media production at American University. He is due to arrive in the US in July 2024. I’m looking for affordable housing near AU (WWS area, Chevy Chase, Tenleytown…). A small furnished apartment/room is ideal. His program is for 2 years.

If you know of any opportunities, please contact Ali Alwahti at: 

(202) 422-7714 

aalwahti@hotmail.com

Looking for Family to Participate in Nanny share

From Hannah Shaw, WWS Faculty

We're hoping to share a nanny with one other family beginning (ideally) in September. We'd love to hear from you if you're interested in a nanny share, or if you know a nanny looking for a new family. We live in the Forest Estates neighborhood of Silver Spring.

Hannah Shaw

hshaw@washingtonwaldorf.org

347-488-7385

Online Violin/Viola Lessons

From Julie Stoessel, Former WWS Faculty

Contact Julie through her website or email:

violintechniquewithjulie.com

stoesselje@gmail.com

New High School Urban Forestry Careers Camp at UMD

From Alia Goodyear, WWS Parent, Faculty & Alum

Be one of 40 Maryland high school students selected to spend a week at the University of Maryland with other like-minded students from across the state. Spend a week experiencing hands-on learning with industry professionals and experts in many forestry-related fields.

The one-week camp will be held from July 7 - July 13, 2024.

Students must be currently enrolled in high school at the Sophomore level or higher by September 2024. Newly graduated seniors are eligible as well.

Learn More

Report on Young People and Social Media

From Jess Gottlieb, WWS Faculty

Common Sense and Hopelab, have released the third report in a series that has been tracking the role of social media in how young people age 14–22 support their mental health and well-being. The report reinforces that many young people turn to social media for emotional support, connection to friends and family, community building, and for fun.

But at the same time, they experience stressful content—like harassment and hate speech—and must actively take steps to manage their exposure to it, like curating their social media feeds to see more of what helps and less of what doesn't. 

Read the report

A Chat About ADHD and Its Medications

From R.L. Kramer, WWS Family

Thursday, May 30 at 6PM at WWS

This is not a school sponsored event.

Join R.L. Kramer for a nuanced and informative talk on the challenging decision of whether to medicate children displaying symptoms of ADHD. He himself was diagnosed and medicated as a child and into early adulthood. Only after quitting the medications was he truly aware of their impact and chose to examine the phenomenon of medication and work to understand med-free ADHD treatment. He shares his experience in his book, "Hocus Focus: Coming of age with ADD and its medicines."

Note: The speaker is not a medical professional and is no substitute for professional health care.

Furnished Rental Near WWS

From Torie Gorges, WWS Parent & Faculty

"Just steps from Canal and Potomac River with big deck and all the bells and whistles."

View Zillow Listing

Published by the Washington Waldorf School

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