Windows into Waldorf Dec 6, 2024
IN THIS EDITION
Director’s Note
Key dates
Winter Fair Reflections
Preschool Marionette Play
Grade 3 Bartering
Grade 6 Business Fair
Did you know?
DIRECTOR’s NOTE
I was at the door last weekend greeting people as they entered the Winter Fair. I enjoyed seeing the excited children bursting through the entranceway, calling out to each other: let’s go to the Good Witch, the Snowdrop Market, let’s save candle dipping for the end! I spoke with parents, and overheard others, speaking about their experiences of Winter Fair as a child. It is a different experience now as they see it with their own children. The event exists in the present and yet echoes through time as past links with present.
A mainstay of the Winter Fair is a Puppet Play (this year, done with marionettes). I was fortunate to see the special production today given for the preschool children in our Childcare Centre. The magic on the stage is reflected in the sense of wonder evident in the faces of the children as they watch the scene unfold before them. Wide-eyed, they marvel at the transformation of a simple stage into an enchanted forest and a land where mice dance and sing. Each gentle and precise movement of each marionette character weaves a spell, drawing the children into a world where anything feels possible, where it makes complete sense that a rice ball would roll on and on, leading into a magic cave. The gentle rise and fall of music and singing (by our own Ms. Kanazawa) awakens their imagination. The Marionette Play is a magical moment where creativity and storytelling unite to bring the extraordinary to life.
The Winter Fair is not a day, it is an event, a cherished memory, a story told through time. Thank you to all who participated in the creation of this wonderful event. You have given our children, and the child in each of us, a wonderful experience.
Conor
KEY DATES
Dec 11 - 4pm - Gr 1-8 Parent Festival (gems from each class)
Dec 12 - 7pm - Community Council Meeting (all parents welcome)
Dec 13 - Gr 1-8 Spirit Day - Ugly sweater day!
Dec 20 - Last day of Term 1, usual dismissal & aftercare
Jan 6 - NO SCHOOL for K-8 and Childcare (PD day at for entire school)
Jan 7 - First day of school for Childcare and K-8
Jan 9 - 7pm - Community Council Meeting (all parents welcome)
Jan 14 - 6pm - Info Night for SK families moving into Grade 1
Jan 19 - 11am-3pm - Community Skate Day @ Greenwood Park
Jan 28
6-8pm - Grade 4-8 Parent Evening
6:30-8pm - Stargarden & Sungarden Parent Evenings
Jan 30 - 6pm - Grade 1-3 Parent Evening
Feb 8 - 10am - Gr 1-8 OPEN HOUSE
WINTER FAIR REFLECTIONS
To our dear Community Members,
Thank you for participating, volunteering, uplifting and reveling in this year's Winter Fair. We've received many heartfelt comments this week about how the Fair landed for the more than 500 students, parents, alumni, faculty, board members and neighbours that attended. The warmth and closeness we shared in our magical building was a testament to the love and dedication that constantly flows through the soul of our school - the soul we share and engage in together.
My memory of the weekend is a kaleidoscope of colour, connection, and delicious baked goods... but a few moments stand out. I recall some dedicated volunteers sharing sushi on our set-up-Saturday, with one volunteer charging off to hang an artistic array of garland while another followed her around with chopsticks and a plate of rolls to make sure she was fed. I was witness to many moments of reverence in the Woodland Pond, community members young and old kneeling before the magical pool, quietly sharing their wish with the fairies that danced across its surface. I heard of my own children's awe and wonder at the magic of the Good Witch, and the tale of the Roly-Poly Rice Ball. And every night this week, my oldest has wondered what magical incantation the tiny scroll surrounded by fairy dust might have inscribed on it in the tiny bottle he found at the Snowdrop Market.
All of these moments are created by our community, for our community. To those that poured countless hours, chocolate chips, and beeswax into this iteration of The Fair - thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
If you found yourself wondering how you might get more involved next year, we encourage you to come out to our upcoming Community Council meetings and keep an eye out for more calls for volunteers as we progress through the events and festivals we celebrate in the spring, summer and into next year. Coming together in these shared experiences and festivals is foundational to who we are as a Waldorf community, and I (for one) can certainly testify that entering into acts of service in our community has been both positive and formative in my experience as a parent. This door to getting more involved is open to all of us.
We will be sending out a feedback form to collect more reflections and constructive ideas toward improving the Winter Fair. We hope you can engage with us through this medium, and we invite you to come join us next week on Thursday Dec 12th at 7pm in the Eurythmy Room when we have our next scheduled Community Council meeting. The Winter Fair will be a core topic at that meeting, among others relating to our community.
We have a few wreaths ($60) and trees (6' - $100, 9' - $300) remaining from the Fair! Email winterfair@waldorfacademy.org and send us an e-transfer to claim yours. And please grab your bake sale tupperwares from the office!
With warmth and gratitude,
Jesse - on behalf of the 2024 Winter Fair Committee
A SPECIAL EVENT FOR OUR PRESCHOOL STUDENTS!
Today, our Preschool students enjoyed a very special treat: an invitation to the Kindergarten classrooms for a curated presentation of the Japanese Marionette Play, Omusube Kororin, The Rolling Rice Ball. The journey from the Childcare classrooms to Sungarden was not long, but the impressions of a special event with their older counterparts in the Kindergarten wing will be far-reaching. The preschoolers filed in quietly, rapt with eagerness, and took their seats calmly and with care. And the play began….
Why do we use stories in Waldorf schools, you might wonder. It is not for the purposes of entertainment or to put on a ‘show’ (which is why we call them ‘plays’). Rather, the practice of storytelling is an integral part of the Waldorf Kindergarten program for educational reasons. We choose narratives with great care and intention, offering stories that reflect the seasons and cultural festivals, provide moral pictures worthy of the child’s imitation, and nurture the child’s experience of the world as a fundamentally good and safe place. We usually begin by telling a story orally for a few days, then bring the story as a puppet play, followed by the opportunity for the children to retell and act out the story themselves, sometimes with puppets or as a little dramatization.
This process allows the children to dive deeply into the narrative and to integrate its themes into their inner experience — all the while learning the key skills of memory and recall, reciting rich and complex language, and sequencing a story from beginning, to middle, to end. This process is part of a very conscious method for laying strong foundations for academic learning, writing and public speaking, and simultaneously offering deep cultural awareness and fostering creativity and imagination, all of which are essential tools for future academic growth, innovative thinking, and feeling at home in the world.
When you have a quiet moment, feel welcome to read more about storytelling and its direct connection to literacy here:
Please also remember to submit your applications for Kindergarten by December 16, 2024. You can do so here:
GRADE 3 BARTERING
As children gradually individuate, Grade 3 (aka the year of the 9-year-change) marks a pivotal period of emerging consciousness. At this stage, children realize more keenly that they are distinct from their parents and others, and that they hold a unique place in the world.
Many of the overarching themes of the Grade 3 Waldorf curriculum touch on giving the 9-year-old a taste of self-sufficiency to address this new-found awareness of individuality.
Recently, the Grade 3s studied how to make shelters; and currently, they have been studying the value of money and the art of trading. This week, they made their own ‘trading cards’ representing things they valued (food, jewelry, nuggets of gold, animals, weapons, etc.), and using the Eurythmy Room as their modern marketplace, they engaged in several energetic and vibrant bartering sessions.
You would be forgiven for thinking that it was the Wall Street Stock Exchange in the midst of an intense, end-of-day, trading frenzy. In fact, it was Madison Avenue, where our students are learning the art of persuasion, the ability to balance what they want with what they need, and gaining a keen appreciation for the necessity of collaboration — all while testing their increasing individuation.
To get a sense of the buzz and bustle of our bartering sessions, have a look at our most recent Instagram post: @waldorf_academy
GRADE 6 BUSINESS PROJECTS
A favourite staple in many Waldorf schools is the Grade 6 Business Fair. This annual event builds on seeds sown in Grade 3, and guides students through the full entrepreneurial arc of product-to-market.
First, our students come up with the prototype of an original product they make themselves. Next, they calculate the cost per unit to make the product (often factoring in production time, etc.), and sort out how much material they will need to make multiples of their prototype. Then they determine how to price their product to ensure they make good sales, and a profit.
Prepared with all this information, the students book a formal business meeting with our Business Manager (Michelle Priestap) to pitch their product and business model, and to request a loan.
Ms. Priestap walks them through the loan process, including repayment with interest, and - after some perfunctory questions, of course - approves their loan.
Signed documents in hand, our Grade 6 entrepreneurs proudly move on to the stages of production, advertising, packaging, presentation and sales.
The Business Fair takes place during school hours on December 18, with schoolmates and staff as customers. Proceeds are used to repay the loans, cover costs and donate to charity. We will keep you posted on the progress of our young innovators.
DID YOU KNOW…?
Much of Waldorf education is tangible but invisible. This is in part because we focus on much more than academics, and because we teach academics in multiple ways. For example, it is not easy to offer a quick verbal explanation of bean-bag tossing for math practice that does it any real justice, nor to describe the meditational quality in the room during a painting class or handwork lesson. Likewise, the Grade 3 bartering sessions are not something that students can take home in a school bag or show their parents. Nor do we typically ply our students with handouts or textbooks that make it easier to quantify their work. Our students largely make their own work from scratch, which means they are often doing more than other students, but less visibly to anyone who is not present.
We therefore share as much as we can through Parent Festivals, Parent Evenings, weekly emails and newsletters, photos, Instagram posts, and more. But there are still areas of Waldorf education that are less well-represented than others due to their nature. We welcome your questions on why we do things this way or that; things you’ve wondered about but never asked; something you understand and appreciate intuitively, but want to understand more rationally or academically.
For this week’s Did you know…?, we share that there are at least 6 Waldorf alumni who currently work, are parents (or both) at the school, reflecting the ever-growing second generation of Waldorf families in Toronto. Waldorf graduates are another wonderful source for insights into the methods and value of a Waldorf education. Do you know who these 6 graduates are, and would you like to talk to them about their experience? Stay tuned!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!
