Tuesday Note - Spring Garden Waldorf School

Tuesday Note: October 11, 2022

Third Graders Build a Sukkot

Waldorf curriculum in the third grade is designed to meet students who are developing their self determination and self direction. Think of the nine year old who says, “I can do it myself!”

This moment in child development is met by focusing on practical life skills in both this era and in the past. Students learn about house building, yarn making, gardening, cooking and how these activities change based on culture and region.

Beginning to build a sukkot on the playground was part of the curriculum this week! This combines their practical studies of structure building with their language arts stories about the Hebrew people. It requires teamwork, planning and many practical skills all while meeting the children’s need to be independent and competent.

School News

School Photos

Fall photos are available!

Here is the link: https://vando.imagequix.com/g1000967811#login

The password is fall2022

There is also an individual password for each class. Please find here.

-A class photo is included with packages A through D

-Digital downloads may take up to 24 hours to process

-Some cropping may occur with 8x10 or larger prints.

All orders received through Monday, Oct 17th will be delivered to the school. Orders received after the 17th can only be direct shipped to you and shipping charges will apply.

The gallery COMPLETELY expires on Oct. 25, 2022. Requests for photos after this date will be subject to handling fees.

Photo retakes will be October 19th. Please let Jess (learn@sgws.org) know if you would like for your child to have their photo taken.

If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Jones (bslphotos@yahoo.com).

October Class Meetings Continued

Tomorrow is our second evening of class meetings!

All meetings are in person at school, with the option to attend virtually
Class meetings are scheduled in a way to allow parents/guardians to attend the meeting(s) and to experience an educational opportunity in the same evening.
The educational opportunity will be about the process of accreditation through the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and how to be involved.
Homemade soup will be served during the education portion of the evening.
Childcare will not be available.
Class meetings and educational sessions count towards your volunteer hours.

October 12th

5:30-6:30 p.m. Dahlia Garden, Lilac Garden, Grade 4 and Grade 5

6:30-7:00 p.m. AWSNA accreditation presentation in gym

7:00-8:00 p.m. Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 8

Zoom links provided here.

Compensation Task Force Update

The Board of Trustees and Compensation Task Force are working to improve wages and benefits for our faculty and staff. As part of this process, we gathered essential input from our families with an anonymous survey. Thank you to all who completed it!

In an effort to help us gather additional input, we invite you to attend a Parent Workshop on October 26th at 6 PM here on campus.

The workshop will be an interactive and productive meeting hosted to gather feedback and ideas about possible approaches to increased compensation and benefits while continuing to support our families. We will also share the results of our survey at that meeting, along with details on revenue and budgeting models created by the Compensation Task Force.

The data from this survey and the ideas put forth at our October 26th meeting will inform the Compensation Task Force as they create a recommended strategy for faculty and staff compensation and benefit increases. This strategy recommendation will be presented to the Board of Trustees in November.

Children’s Festival & Artisan Market: Saturday, December 3rd

Calling All SGWS Alum

One of the wonderful memories from the Children’s Festival is winding through the lighted maze to make a wish and receive a special star cookie. We invite our alumni to be part of the delightful tradition this year by signing up to be one of our Cookie Sprites. Sprites can be any gender, and you are invited to create your own beautiful costume to enthrall our young guests (we can provide costumes if that is preferred). The festival is Saturday, December 3^rd from 10am – 3pm, so we have five shifts available for an hour each. Please contact Tyra Scott (tscott@sgws.org) to sign up for your preferred time slot. Be sure to send a photo of your costume for our review.

2021-2022 Yearbooks

Yearbooks from last school year are going home today with students. If you missed ordering one, it is not too late. Yearbooks can be ordered anytime from the link below, with shipping to the home for $5.99 extra.

Click here to order last year's (21-22) SGWS yearbook

**You will be creating a TreeRing account linked to your email address. If you have ordered in the past and experience trouble accessing your account, please reset your password.

Update School Calendar

Here is our updated key dates 2022-23 School Calendar.

School Directory 2022-23

Here is our current School Directory and Early Childhood Directory for 2022-23.

Community News and Events

Current Families Welcome: Classroom Walk Through

Tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Oct. 12th, at 9am, we will be touring school while class is in session. This is a great opportunity for friends, family and current parents -- especially our preschool and Kindergarten parents -- to get to know more about our grades program. Join Rocky Lewis on this hour long tour with Q&A time.

Learn More and Register here: https://sgws.org/walk-through-the-grades/

October Parent Council Meeting

Please join us for this month’s Parent Council meeting on Friday 10/14. We will meet in person at the school right after drop off from 8:45am - 9:45am. Gather in room 101.

All parents are welcome to attend PC meetings. Hope to see you there!

Join Us Fireside This Friday

Unless it’s pouring rain, we’ll have a fire and coffee and tea waiting for you around the fire at the Sportsman Club lot adjacent to our parking area. If you see a fire burning, stop by after drop off and say hello! All are welcome.

Substitute Teachers Needed!

We are in great need of substitute teachers. If you have a bachelor's degree and would be willing to help our school, please contact learn@sgws.org. If you know anyone with a bachelor's degree who can help, please pass along this opportunity. We are happy to help new applicants complete the paperwork needed to be a substitute.

SGWS Athletics - Basketball Season

It is almost basketball season and time to register your athlete!

SGWS basketball is open to all students in grades 6-8. The cost is $100/athlete.

The season begins October 25 and runs through the month of February.

Practices will be 2-3 days/week after school. Games are on Sunday afternoons.

Information regarding our sports programs at SGWS and registration forms will be sent home with all interested students this week.

Forms should be returned to Kristen Oberhaus by Oct. 21. A sports physical signed by a doctor is required for participation.

If your student participated in cross country, they do not need to fill out forms again, but an email should be sent to koberhaus@sgws.org indicating their commitment to join the basketball team.

Any questions should be sent to koberhaus@sgws.org. GO JAGS!

We Are Hiring!

Math Teacher: We are seeking a part-time middle school Math Teacher for three mornings a week to join our faculty beginning in the 2022-23 school year to teach math to grades 6 & 8. We value excellent teaching, expert classroom management techniques, an understanding of child development, and a joy for teaching. Requirements: Bachelor’s degree and experience teaching middle school grades math.

Spring Garden Waldorf School is an equal opportunity employer. To apply: Please email a cover letter, resume, and three references to learn@sgws.org, attn: Hiring Committee.

Athletic Department Opportunities

Spring Garden is hiring the following positions within our athletic department:

Assistant coaches for cross country and basketball (CYO designates these as girls and boys basketball): Duties include supporting head coach, leading and assisting with practice sessions, attending practices and competitions within the season, and maintaining team statistics.

Head coaches for basketball (CYO designates these as girls and boys basketball.): Duties include planning and executing practice sessions, setting practice schedule, communicating with parents, attending practices and competitions within the season, distribution of uniforms and equipment.

These are seasonal, part-time positions of Spring Garden Waldorf School, paid by stipend. All positions report to the athletic director. Qualifications include a high school diploma and previous experience as an athlete and working with students. Previous experience coaching middle-school age students is preferred.

Cross country season runs approximately from the end of July through mid-October. Basketball season runs approximately from November through early February.

Please send resume and letter of intent to koberhaus@sgws.org if you are interested.

Volunteer Opportunities

SGWS Work Days

Mark your calendars for upcoming Work Days during the 2022-23 school year! This is a great opportunity to connect with your fellow SGWS community and earn your family service hours.

* Students 5th grade and up may attend the work days with a parent or guardian!*

Many Hands Blanket

It is time to begin work on the 2022/23 Many Hands Blanket. Both knitters and crocheters are needed to participate in this project. The handwork can be done wherever and whenever you like to work with yarn and the time spent counts as volunteer hours. Volunteers must sign up by October 15. FAQ sheets on the project will be available in the school office. Please contact Suzie Reich (suzreich@gmail.com or 330-418-6285) with questions and/or to sign up.

Volunteer Hour Tracking

For this school year, we will be using a binder in the school office to log volunteer hours. Each family will have a sheet to log the date, description of activity and total hours. If you are unable to come in to the office, please email Jess (learn@sgws.org) with name, date, description, and total hours and she will update your family sheet. Thank you for all you do for our school community!