From Kate Knuth, Class Teacher

Photos by Micah Bump

In the hills of southern Virginia, up in the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just outside the town of Floyd, magic happens year-round. The workers at the Spikenard Farm Bee Sanctuary (founded in 2009) lovingly and conscientiously tend to the land so that the flowers may bloom and the bees may stay healthy, and in turn give their gift of pollination and presence back to the land. And to all of us. Farmer Alex taught the sixth grade class for three successive mornings about this cycle of life. We learned about honey bees, sampled beebread (!), pollen, and even got to taste a little honey. Students looked into the hives, tended the farm’s goats, practiced eurythmy, harvested herbs, and took a dunk in Little River, down the hill from the flower-filled sanctuary. The first morning, students woke up in the dark and watched the sunrise together.

We camped for two nights, and ate community meals provided by our generous sixth grade parent body. It was a wonderful, transformative trip, and a fitting bookend to the botany studies the class began this time last year. Those studies began with a deep dive into the dandelion, and were followed later by entomology, when we learned about the life cycles of butterflies, beetles, and other insects. But we saved the bee until this year to complete our botany studies. 

As it so happens, Spikenard Farm hosts a Dandelion Festival each year, to celebrate the return of the flowering plants, when the bees can begin their active work again in the warmer months. At that time, the bees turn away from “last year’s” honey, and the farmers at Spikenard are allowed to take that excess honey from the hives, so that the bees can start anew with “this year’s” batch. The appearance of the dandelions means that the bees can start afresh. 

Our trip to the sanctuary has given us a fresh start to our new year. Ms. Heirman, Ms. Dorius, and I are deeply grateful to the parents of the class for having fed us and their bee-autiful children for these three days. We are also especially grateful to Micah Bump, who accompanied the class as coach, dad, chaperone, photographer, and camper extraordinaire. 

I, for one, will be keeping an eye on Spikenard’s winter/spring calendar to make sure to note when their Dandelion Festival takes place in the spring…

Michaelmas Festival of Strength and Courage

Friday, Sept 27 at 2pm

The Michaelmas celebration is a cornerstone in our school year as it is in Waldorf schools around the world. Festivals connect us to natural earth cycles, which in ancient times were intricately connected to survival. Michaelmas, in particular, brings us stories of meeting challenges with courage and strength. As part of the celebration, we tell stories of courageous action, inspiring us to draw on our inner strength.

This year, at WWS we will mark the day with a short play performed by Grade 2 and a dragon pageant drawn from the myths of the Archangel Michael taming a dragon. For the pageant, Grade 10 will bring the dragon to life, Michael will be represented by students across the grades, and the Grade 7 students will perform a sword dance. 

Following the pageant will be a festive time of skill-based fun and delicious dragon bread prepared by the Grade 8 students, middle school math teacher, Sarah Heirman, and Chef Eron.

All WWS families are invited to observe the outdoor celebration and partake of the dragon bread.

Please arrive to get settled before 2pm at the playground outside the gym.

Grades 1-12 will return to their classrooms for dismissal at the end of the celebration. Children's Garden families are welcome to pick up early and come observe.

2023 Dragon Pageant

September

19/ Thursday

• Cherry Blossom Parent/Guardian Meeting, 7:45pm

25/ Wednesday

• Seedlings Parent/Guardian Meeting, 7pm
• Apple Blossom Parent/Guardian Meeting, 7:30pm
• G9-12 Parent/Guardian Meeting (Zoom), 7:30pm

26/ Thursday

• Open PFO Meeting (in-person), 8:45am (see below)
• Open PFO Meeting (Zoom), 8pm (see below)

27/ Friday

• Michaelmas Celebration, 2pm (see above)

30/ Monday

• Craft & Conversation, Gather around 8:30am

Coffee with Margery Bank

Friday, Oct 4 from 8:30am - 9:30am

Join our Head of School/Faculty Chair, Margery Bank, for coffee in the entrance hall. This meet and greet time will include a question and answer session. Feel free to bring your questions, or just come and listen. Stay for the hour or leave early if you need to! All are welcome.

RSVP requested but not required

Community Contra Dance with Chili & Cornbread Potluck

Friday, November 8, 5:30-8pm

All ages welcome! Bring the whole family! 

Caller & instruction for all dances, live band, potluck chili & cornbread.

Come as you are to enjoy a good meal, good fun, and good company.

Potluck sign-up coming soon.

Event contact: Bonnie McClelland (HS Admin)

Open PFO Meeting

We are looking forward to our next PFO event—the PFO Open Meeting. Please save the date for:

• Sept. 26 8:30-9:30am in the entrance hall
• Sept. 26 8:00-9:00pm on Zoom 

These will be duplicate sessions, so attend whichever works best for your schedule.

Participation Survey

The PFO wants to know: How do you want to be involved in your child's school community? Please respond to the Participation Survey. The survey will be available until Tuesday September 24.

Craft & Conversation (in the entrance hall after drop-off)

Monday, Sept 30 gather around 8:30am

Thank you for joining us for our first Craft & Conversations event of the school year on Monday! It was a delightful morning filled with creativity and community. We hope you had as much fun as we did. 

We will host additional Craft & Conversations on the following Mondays:

• Sept. 30
• Oct. 7
• Oct. 21
• Nov. 11
• Nov. 18  

Craft & Conversation is a wonderful gathering of parents who create projects that can be sold at the Fall Bazaar. Anyone can join any week— no experience is required and we'll have all the supplies you need.

WWS Gear Shop, Remote Sales

Thank you for participating in last week's in person sale! If you missed it, items are still available for purchase remotely. 

To Purchase Items:

• View the Gear Shop inventory.
• Email wwsgearshop@gmail.com and include the line number of the item(s) you're interested in and/or to see a photo of any items.
• Items can be picked up at the front desk.

To Donate:

There's a bin in the vestibule where you can drop items off throughout the fall. Please follow these guidelines:

• OUTERwear and boots/hats/mittens ONLY
• Sizes CG through G5. NO older youth or adult items please

WWS's new in-house lunch program, starts Monday, Sept 30! 

Current Families & Faculty: View menu and other program details, learn how to sign up.

Bonus for early sign ups! Sign up by end-of-day Friday, September 20 to be entered to win a special prize from Chef Eron Foods—two jars of his Safta’s Tomato Sauce and one bag of each flavor of his delicious potato chips! One entry per luncher sign up.

A Message From Chef Eron

Monday All Strings Club

Wednesday Cello Club

Friday Traditional Irish Music Club

Music Room: 3:15 - 4:15pm

$20 per class

Monday All Strings Club

This program is designed to provide teaching, practice, coaching, and support for all string players Grades 4-8 at WWS. In addition to supporting students with their string class assignments, opportunities for collaboration and making music together will be provided. Instructor: Mitch Fanning, former WWS strings faculty member and private violin & fiddle teacher. 

Learn More & Register

Wednesday Strings Club for Cellists 

This program is intended to help cello students who may need extra tutoring outside of the classroom or private lessons. Note that this is not meant to replace private lessons, but to supplement. The program is focused on providing students with individualized attention. We'll create opportunities to make music together and develop listening, general musicianship, and ensemble skills. Instructor: Kathryn Cheng, WWS adjunct cello instructor.

Learn More & Register

Friday Traditional Irish Music Club

This program is designed primarily for young violin players who want to learn and experience the joy of playing the traditional dance music of Ireland - jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, and more! Irish music will be taught traditionally - i.e. by ear - with audio recordings and transcriptions (in standard musical notation) provided to supplement and enhance the learning experience. Instructor: Mitch Fanning, former WWS strings faculty member and private violin & fiddle teacher. 

Learn More & Register

Thank you for your interest, consideration, and participation in the After School Music Program at WWS!

Help us promote our upcoming webinars for prospective families. This is a great way for folks to learn more about our school. Please share the the below information with anyone you think might be interested and/or any appropriate listservs. Thanks for spreading the word!

Washington Waldorf School | Preschool - Grade 12

Join us to learn about the benefits of a small school and our arts integrated education that prioritizes hands-on experiential learning and limits digital technology in the classroom.

Whole School Overview Webinar

Tuesday, Oct 8 from 12:30 - 1:15pm

High School Overview Webinar

Friday, Oct 11 from 12:30 - 1:15pm

Learn More & Register:

https://bit.ly/4emibJW

Voting is about to close for the Montgomery Magazine Readers’ Choice Awards!

Voting closes on September 22!

Vote for WWS today!

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 Coordinator - Margaret Mansker
• High School Administrator - Bonnie McClelland
• Operations Manager - Laur Garner

Starlight Rays in Darkened Times

Seminars on Contemporary Topics 2024-2025

This online series offers a rare opportunity for Waldorf high school teachers, administrators, staff members, and parents to come together and explore a fresh round of new “hot topics” with one another as well as share the latest current observations with seasoned colleagues from CfA’s Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program (WHiSTEP).

Join us as we delve into critical issues facing Waldorf education today, such as:

• The developmental tasks facing young people in the modern world
• Diversity, sexuality, and humanity in the classroom
• The role of math education in the age of AI
• The inner work and biography of the teacher
• Fostering pedagogical creativity and innovation
• Teaching towards deep understanding
• Navigating the past and future of Waldorf education

Learn More

A Michaelmas Conversation: In Search of a New Approach 

The Festivals Group, Anthroposophical Society, Greater Washington DC Branch 

Sunday, September 29, 7:30 - 8:30pm on Zoom

During the past year we have journeyed with Parzival from King Arthur's Round Table to the Grail Castle, exploring their connection to the yearly festival cycle. This Michaelmas we shall journey into uncharted territory, seeking to create a new model of conduct, in order to transform the combative model of knighthood and the Grail Castle into something more appropriate and uplifting for our challenging times. 

We will take up the symbols of Michael, his sword and shield, which he uses to combat the Dragon, and his balance, which he uses as a judger of souls. In the preparatory work of the Festivals Group, we noted the interplay of both individual work and the striving for community. Three images have emerged from our conversations: The image of a Chalice, the image of a Fountain, and the image of a Balance. Each of these images is filled with movement – the inner activity that each individual contributes to a community, and the spiritual sustenance it offers to us.  

This Michaelmas we invite you to participate in an exploration of community building, as we strive to create a new model for our times, and let us be mindful of the line in the song “Michael Hero of the Sun” which goes "Teach us to listen and to Speak". For when we are truly able to listen to what the spiritual realm is saying to us, then we are able to speak out of that which is spiritual in ourselves and in each other. 

Please RSVP to Eileen King at kingeil656@aol.com for the Zoom link.

OPENINGS NOW for the Spiritual Foods CSA!

Pick up near WWS or a location near you!

From Sunny Kaplan, WWS Alum Parent

Shares are still available for the CSA for the 2024-25 farm year! Different options are: school year only (Sept-May), full year, winter/spring season (Dec-May) and summer/fall: (June-Nov). Registration Info (call for the prorated amount + a discount is available if you pay with cash/check). 

What's the CSA? Spiritual Foods CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) provides biodynamic and organic veggies, fruit, eggs, bread and other seasonal staples, with most of it grown on land leased from the Kimberton Waldorf School in PA! Biodynamics, like Waldorf education, was founded by Rudolf Steiner and is a spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, food production and nutrition. Choices for share options include: main share of veggies, fruit & supplements; main share w/out bread; or veggie/fruit only. Please visit the CSA website for more info, costs, and registration forms. Contact Lakshmi via email or call 301-654-4899 with questions. You can also reach out to Sunny Kaplan, WWS alum parent and a WWS/CSA coordinator.

Small Home for Sale in Kensington! - UPDATED

From Sarah Vakkur, WWS Current & Alum Family

Come see the little house on the park! If you or anyone you know might be interested in buying a small but affordable home in Kensington where other Waldorf families live, please share the listing information. Our house goes live on the market this Thursday, with Open Houses Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. See listing link for most current information.

If you have any questions please contact WWS parent, Sarah Vakkur at vakkurstudio@me.com using “house for sale” as subject line. (I have architectural designs I created for the house as well, if you want any ideas for the future.) You can also contact our realtor Amie Wiseley directly at (202) 997-1586. The listing price is $525,00, the lot is flat and on one side of the house sits a huge park with big trees, playground, forest, tennis courts. You can walk to Old Town Kensington, a brewery and few restaurants, a Farmer’s Market, Marc train, and more!

View Listing

Former Washington Waldorf Strings Teacher Julie Stoessel is now accepting new online violin/viola students!

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10 years of class room experience, including 4 years as a chamber music coach/director. 15 years of experience teaching private violin/viola lessons, including 5 years of online experience.

I approach each lesson with consideration of the whole child and their learning style. Lessons are both fun and preparatory for playing at a high level.

Please contact me through my website or email:

https://www.violintechniquewithjulie.com/

stoesselje@gmail.com

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