Education for the 21st Century |
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Dear Families,
This week, our seniors presented the culmination of months of deep research and personal introspection to a packed crowd in Meadows Hall. Each senior project was unique, engaging, and thoughtful. See more below!
Don't forget to sign up for summer camps, spaces are going fast! Please enjoy our spotlight on Eurythmy teacher Silvia Hanuštiaková, campus updates and much more.
This is our last issue before Spring Break. Happy Monday and Happy Spring!
Warmly,
Alyssa Hamilton
WSOC Communications Coordinator
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Dear families,
When my now 37-year-old daughter attended Waldorf school, a friend approached me to find out more about Waldorf education. He said he had been at a large birthday party with lots of children of different ages. Shortly after he arrived with his four-year-old daughter, most of the older kids went inside to watch television, leaving the young children and just a small group of older children outside. He told me that he couldn’t help but notice how the older children engaged in healthy and supportive play with the young ones, including his daughter, so he asked the host about them. “Oh, those are the Waldorf kids,” the host explained as though that was explanation enough. And, of course, it was.
I had the privilege of attending the Grade 12 presentations last Thursday. As each student spoke with confidence, humor, and presence about a variety of topics reflecting creativity and compassion, that phrase came into my mind: “Oh, those are the Waldorf kids.”
I think that we all have been able to see how Waldorf education and the culture of a Waldorf school contributes to students who go out into the world with aplomb and a genuine interest in others and the world. “There’s something special about them,” my friend said back then, and that was demonstrated for me again in witnessing the graduating class’s presentations.
I’ve been assured that there will be links to their projects in this Newsletter. Please don’t miss the opportunity to view these students’ outstanding work.
Warmly,
Kevin McDuff
School Administrator
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As twelfth graders stand on the edge of adulthood, they long for independence and yet are still unsure of their place in the world. The Senior Project is designed to help students begin to bridge this gap, preparing them for college studies and professional work in the world. Students must research a topic that will stretch their abilities, mentally, physically and emotionally and challenge them to look deeply into the human experience.
The senior capstone project is about helping students show an emerging sense of growth toward the school's mission statement - that "genuine interest in the world" and "intellectual curiosity" lead to a greater sense of community, and a deeper engagement as citizens of the world.
"This year's seniors exhibited extraordinary creative thinking in the fields in which students felt particular interest. Whether researching the antidotes to food waste, developing simple strategies to play through feelings of anxiety, or paying close attention to the stories we tell ourselves about ability and authenticity, their research allows a place for all to enter into a stronger, more vibrant conversation about how we show up for each other in the world. I couldn't be happier for them on their accomplishments."
- Beka Castro, WSOC high school English teacher
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Carson P.: More than a Dream -Optimizing Health in a Tired World
Carson shared the science behind sleep and how to improve our sleep habits to better our health. Visit his podcast The Sleep Savant on Spotify for more information!
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Ailee S.: Know yourself -The Path to Self-Discovery
Ailee discussed the inherent differences and strengths of introverts and extroverts, and noted that the lockdown afforded many of us the opportunity to get to know ourselves in a deeper way. She created a flowchart on how introverts and extroverts can help one another, available for viewing soon.
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Florence K.: Not Yet - The Power of Possibility
Florence led the audience on a quest through growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. "It's ok to not know something," she said, (rather than saying "I can't" do something) which leaves open the possibility for learning and growth. For more, visit her blog, coming soon.
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Ruby L: To the Moon and Back - Harnessing the Power of Lunar Phases
Ruby revealed the power of the moon in how its pull and light can affect hormones, sleep patterns and behavior. She created a moon phase calculator, available soon.
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Sophia N.: Not the Next Picasso - The Importance of Everyday Art
Sophia shared how we are all creative beings, and how our inner critic can stifle us. She discussed Julia Cameron's guide, The Artist's Way, and how to work with the left and right sides of the brain to enhance creativity. For her project, she created a study group for high school students that included a collaborative art project at the end (pictured above).
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Bill W.: Modern Money - Looking at the Past to Impact the Future
Bill educated the audience on different forms of investments from safest to riskiest (using a Jenga tower as a model) and delved a bit into cryptocurrency, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and blockchain. Visit his podcast, Oceans View, for more details on new forms of currency!
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Faith C.: Radical Vulnerability - The Road to Authenticity
"The only way out is through," Faith noted, quoting Virgil in Dante's Inferno. Delving into who we are is a question with limitless answers, she noted, sharing Brene Brown's insights that the fear of vulnerability can derail us from truly allowing ourselves to be known. She acknowledged that she is still learning who she is, still becoming, and that is as it should be. Faith created an app of journal prompts, Spotify playlists and more. Coming soon.
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Katie J.: Are You Okay? Reducing Stigma of Self-Harm Through Conversation
Katie shared with the audience how different reactions can affect one who self-harms- a fear reaction (oh no! that looks terrible!) can stigmatize someone, while a love reaction (are you okay, I'm here for you) can be a tremendous support. Self-harm, she said, can serve as an outlet for stress and a coping mechanism, and can become addictive. She outlined ways to manage the behavior, such as writing out one's emotions. Katie wrote a short story on this topic, available soon.
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Leo D.: Clean it Up - Taking Responsibility for the Ocean
Leo discussed the importance of keeping plastics out of our oceans, and how plastic waste turns into "microplastic" particles that invade the food chain and end up in our bodies and the bodies of sea creatures. See Leo's video of an epic trash pick up day in Huntington Beach in an upcoming Newsletter!
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Antonio D.: Tesla Vs. the World - Why Electric Cars are Not the Future
Antonio discussed the facts and realities of electric vehicles: while they cut down on air pollution, they are not carbon neutral as the batteries are not recyclable, and 40% of the world's electricity comes from burning coal. Additionally, there is a "green premium" on electric cars, meaning they are marketed to wealthy nations while developing nations, who suffer from the most pollution, often do not have access to this technology. Visit his podcast Gear-Talks for more information!
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Sabrina K.: How Did this Happen? The Story of Food Waste
Did you know that one third of the food produced in North America goes to waste? See Sabrina's spotlight below for more, and click here for interviews from her project.
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Emma T.M.: Face First Into Failure - Finding Joy in the Challenge
Emma brought some thoughtful perspective to reframing our abilities and having an openness to trying new things. She documented her attempts to make a robot on TikTok and a blog, conquering a fear of a STEM-related tasks, "unlocking joy in challenges." For more, visit @funwithstem on TikTok and her blog on Weebly.
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Katie F.: Let Go of Me - The Problem of Youth Restraint
Katie shared the many challenges and misconceptions of youth restraint in mental health settings. Learn more on her website here!
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Bruno L.: Lego Bricks - Building your Way out of Stress and Anxiety
Bruno shared the therapeutic value of Lego building, including his own revisiting of this childhood favorite. He said he was surprised to learn that the therapeutic value of Lego play is already well-documented in many studies. Bruno made Lego building kits aimed at alleviating stress, which can be viewed here.
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Student Spotlight: Sabrina Knauss on Food Waste |
What drew you to your senior project?
When I moved to Northern California in 7th grade, I entered a culture of slow food. I had never experienced farm to table and I was impressed by how much people composted. When I started this project, I was interested in the way that people dealt with food and that soon carried over to our waste habits. Living in multiple places opened my eyes to our habits surrounding food and also how those habits affect waste.
What was the most surprising thing that you learned?
I discovered that I was totally unaware of the impact of food waste upon the environment and the Earth's resources. Food waste goes much further than just "food."
Are you taking steps at home to implement what you've learned? If so, what steps?
Yes. Once you start looking into this problem, you can't unsee the enormous amounts being wasted. I don't think it takes a revolution to start chipping away at waste. There are small changes that we can make in our daily lives to help. For example, planning meals, creating a detailed shopping list that you stick to and start making dinner with something you already have, and NOT what you are in the mood for.
What advice do you have to someone just starting out, who would like to avoid food waste?
I would say start consciously tracking what you are buying, consuming and throwing away. When you see the amounts it is much easier to make a plan and adjust.
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Register today! Spots are going fast! We have a fun and diverse range of options for Early Childhood through High School. Click image for interactive WSOC Summer Camp brochure and registration.
Check out what our campers have said about past camps:
"When I saw Polynesian Art, I thought we were only going to paint, but I realized that we did so much more than just painting. I had so much fun doing the dances, the art, and the poi balls. I loved learning about all the legends and the tattoos. My favorite part was making the worms (aka leis) and cracking open the pearls. I had a BLAST at this camp and I would love to do this camp again."
Clara (5th Grade, Ms. Rodelo)
"Looking back on this week my favorite thing was making leis. I also liked making and playing with the poi balls. I loved coming to this camp and want to do it over again and again! Mahalo!"
Kay (5th Grade, Ms. Rodelo)
"Culture has a very special place in my heart. Ms. B and myself were excited to be able to share the culture of the Polynesian triangle and teach the children about our ancestors," said Mr. Jay. "What resources they used, how they made their clothing, and the many legends and artifacts that originated from long ago.
Without culture and tradition, we would go unnoticed. It is important for us to keep them alive and what better way to keep them alive by various stories, rhythms, and dances of the Polynesian Islands!"
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Faculty Spotlight:
Silvia Hanuštiaková
Middle and High School Eurythmy Teacher
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You were born in Slovakia and later taught Art and Eurythmy in Waldorf school in Slovakia, as well as being a founding member of a teacher training seminar there.
There was one Waldorf school which we helped to establish from scratch, and I was teaching there from the beginning. It was first Waldorf school in the country. I was teaching mostly art at that time. Later, together with Pavel (Hanustiak, our WSOC grades Eurythmy teacher) we founded the first Eurythmy training in Slovakia.
What originally drew you to Eurythmy and to the Waldorf movement?
My whole life was a path towards finding Eurythmy. Since I was small, while ice skating every early morning and every evening on ice stadium, I dreamed I was flying, while beautiful music played. Folklore dance and modern dance were the next steps towards movement art. I was looking for that special sort of dance that can express the soul. Later I found all those elements combined in Eurythmy.
Later, as I studied painting in Vienna in my early 20s, a friend took me to theater to see a professional Eurythmy performance from Stuttgart with a full orchestra: the work of Franz Schubert, The Unfinished Symphony. That was the magic breakthrough moment of my life that changed everything. I knew that I finally found what I was looking for. I cried the whole performance through; it was immensely beautiful for me. I could see the music moving in the space in incredible shapes and dynamics.
In school, I was forced to learn things I did not believe in, in a Communist authoritarian ideology. At night, I made my own studies of books I chose to parallel to the school. I felt I was receiving a materialistic version of humanities and the sciences. I instinctively rejected these teachings. I was very alone in my search; it felt like a spiritual desert where human beings were not allowed to be free. I am very thankful to this young girl who followed her inner voice. I had a dream about school where I could research the magic of knowledge, experiment, ask questions, where everything is aligned with your intuition. Where you grow as young person, with art as part of it, and you express yourself freely. Where adults perceive the soul of young person as full of deep treasures. Learning experienced as a discovery journey, not mechanical. I made the decision that one day I would serve young people, so that they could have a different path to development and knowledge (I did not know Waldorf yet).
So, when I discovered Waldorf education at 22, I knew this was my service. I started to work in curative Waldorf pedagogy and to study Waldorf pedagogy parallel to my art studies.
You have a Masters of Arts in art therapy. How does that inform your teaching of Eurythmy?
I often look at the students through that lens and admire their own way of being, and love to help to unfold it. It actually is a different stream than teaching. It is beautiful to connect them, but not easy. Waldorf pedagogy has deep healing and wisdom interwoven within, so to deepen that knowledge broadens the therapeutic practice as well. Art therapy looks on art as a process where artwork co-creates you, where you are the artwork as well. The process of creating is process of self-healing. I look for those moments in the lessons and make space for them. I work with the qualities that I find healing for individual students, we practice then those elements, sometimes more than actual pieces that we are practicing for performance. Those moments may look insignificant; they stay modest and silent, but you know the student has grown.
What is something you miss about Slovakia?
I miss my two sisters and brother; we have very strong bond together. We are on the phone for hours and unfortunately we have not seen each other for four years. I miss the landscape, the small cafes in cozy historical squares of the cities where you meet with friends, get to know interesting travelers and artists and unexpectedly start new projects. I miss the gentle fragrant flower snowdrop that melts the snow and is the herald of the spring.
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"Sixth grade had a wonderful time at Death Valley this past week. Following the theme of our Geology block, they learned all about weathering, erosion, and deposition from some very informed park rangers, and then even got to hear about stars -and galaxies- above after a night of s'mores by the fire.
Through harrowing nights of tents collapsing in the wind, and dry heat all day, 6th grade pushed onward with an unshakeable morale, and so got to enjoy a day at the poolside before coming home. Such a great experience!"
- Mr. Storm, Grade 6 class teacher
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Happy Norooz (also spelled Nowruz). In harmony with the rebirth of nature, the two-week Persian New Year celebration, Norooz (meaning “New Day”), also begins. Norooz ceremonies consist of a series of a symbolic rituals dating back to ancient times.
One of the most iconic rituals of Norooz is the ceremonial setting of the sofreh-ye haft-seen (literally “setting of seven dishes beginning with S”). The number seven is sacred in Iran and the seven dishes stand for the seven angelic heralds of life. Each of the dishes symbolize one of these heralds. Some of our classrooms have a sofreh-ye haft-seen for the children to view.
Students also painted wooden eggs and handed out sweets and envelopes containing fresh two dollar bills, both traditional gifts.
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Grade 7 performed Shakespeare's The Tempest on WSOC's outdoor stage to the delight of our student community.
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Grade 12 zoology block offers exercise for students and goats alike! |
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Grade 7 woodwork visitor, Ross Gilroy, from the Orange County Woodturner's Association, provides a demonstration.
Said Grade 7 students:
"I learned a lot about wood today and how to use many different tools. Ross went into how the tools work individually and showed us how he uses them with a lathe. It was very inspirational and interesting. I also learned about the lathe, a big machine used to spin the wood.
"I learned that you can make so many things with only a little bit of wood. For example, Ross had a flat board and, from that, he made a whole bowl!"
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Grade 4 Celtic Knot Form Drawing |
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Did you know we have a Eurythmy closet? High school Eurythmy teacher Ms. Silvia has been busy beautifying it and organizing costumes and props. |
WSOC Craft Group is renowned for gnomes for many occasions! Most recently, St.Patrick's Day gnomes went home with their new families! |
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WSOC recently had a coveted visit from the Wildlife Learning Center, who shared their animals and stories with Grades 4 and 5, along with Grade 12 (who are in a Zoology block). Students got to meet and learn about a tortoise, an armadillo, a Western screech owl, a hedgehog, a porcupine, a gray fox, an African serval and a Red Tail boa constrictor. |
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New to the store! OCOTILLO BOTANICA, by herbalist Alexis Smith, who resides in the heart of the Chihuahuan Desert in West Texas, the iconic artist town of Marfa. She graduated from the Herbal Academy of New England and continues to foster her love of all things growing. Combining her love for magick and plants, she pursued education through the Psychic Herbalism Institute to begin her practice of Plant Spirit Healing and clairvoyant plant communication. We are thrilled to have a selection of her oils in the store.
Remember: this is your last week to shop for spring items before our wonderful Spring Break!
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Scrip Reminder: Stock up for Spring Break! |
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Visit Scrip Coordinator Pam Lusk in The Company of Angels to learn more about purchasing Scrip! Don't forget you can encourage your family and friends to buy Scrip, too, to add to your family account.
Have you purchased your Scrip for your Spring Break travel and activities? Now is the perfect time to stock up!
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Mon 3/28, 6:15p - 7:15p • Class of 2023 Parent Meeting
Tue 3/29, 11:30a - 12:30p • Playgroup #3 Orientation
Tue 3/29, 5:30p - 7:00p • Kindergarten Parent Evening
Wed 3/30, 9:00a - 10:30a • Walk Through the Grades
Thu 3/31 • Grade 8 Play ( for students)
Thu 3/31, 8:45a - 9:45a • Parent Enrichment for Early Years parents
April 2022
Fri 4/1 • Grade 2 Play
Fri 4/1, 8:45a - 9:45a • Room Rep Mtg
Fri 4/1, 6:30p - 8:30p • Grade 8 Play parents
Mon 4/4 - Fri 4/15 • Spring Break
Sun 4/17 • Easter
Mon 4/18 • In Service Day: No school
Mon 4/18 • Newsletter
Mon 4/18, 6:00p - 9:00p • Board Meeting
Adult Education
Tue 3/29, 6:30p - 9:00p • Adult Education Program (Foundation Studies: 7:30pm - 9pm)
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Supporting Ukraine through Friends of Waldorf Education
An emergency support fund is being coordinated by the Friends of Waldorf Education (Freunde der Erziehungskunt Rudolf Steiners e.V.), through which various and evolving needs of our Ukrainian friends can be addressed. We invite you to support...
Read more
www.waldorfeducation.org
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Nominees announced for Orange County high school Artist...
The Orange County Register is proud to announce the 2022 nominees for the Artist of the Year program. Like athletes representing their countries at the Olympics, these high school students represent artistic excellence being cultivated in 72...
Read more
www.ocregister.com
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Congratulations to WSOC Junior Hannah Lieberman for her O.C. Artist of the Year nomination!
“Hannah is a talented, well-rounded, thoughtful student and I am always impressed with her artistic style. It has been wonderful having an articulate student like her in my class. She is punctual, hardworking and humorous. Hannah is highly passionate about visual arts and it shows through her use of color and texture to capture the realistic settings of her work.” — Nominating Teacher, Debora Wondercheck, Waldorf School of Orange County
Click image to view Hannah's portfolio.
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Waldorf Alum Connections
Did you know that AWSNA offered a continental New Year happy hour for alums across the continent? Seventy-five alums attended and it was a blast! Quarterly social events are now on the schedule.
Need an architect, an artist, an accountant? Support alum businesses and share with your community the alum business directory.
- The Continental Waldorf Alum Business Directory
- currently listing 125 businesses
- sharing alums' successes and endeavors far and wide
- Mentorship and Mentee Opportunities
- with 100s of alum registrants offering themselves up as mentors, the potential support for young alums is truly boundless.
- Alum Parent Registration
- the platform welcomes not only alums, but alum parents as well, with the hopes of parents sharing job postings and internship offerings
- School Community Pages*
- fully manage events and registration in one place
- integrated Zoom for events
- full fundraising capabilities offered directly through the WAC platform
- * offered for an additional annual fee
- Internship and Employment Postings
- Searchable Alum Map by location, industry, class year, school affiliation and more.
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Click here for WSOC College of Teachers, Board Members and Administrative Rotation
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Waldorf School of Orange County
2350 Canyon Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92627-3948
(949) 574-7775
wwww.waldorfschool.com
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