Windows into Waldorf Feb 24, 2025
IN THIS EDITION
Director’s Note
Key Dates
Call for Board Applications
*** HIGH SCHOOL NEWS ***
*** GRADE 8 PROJECTS PREVIEW ***
Social Media Awareness Event @ Toronto Waldorf School
Japanese Educators Tour
DIRECTOR’s NOTE
Dear Waldorf Community,
Waldorf Academy is an associate member of AWSNA, the Association of Waldorf Schools in North America. Our school is in the second year of a multi-year process to move from ‘associate’ to ‘full member’ status. The accreditation process involves a number of steps, including an on-site visit near the final stages of accreditation.
As we continue our own accreditation journey, I have been selected to join an accrediting team for another Waldorf school in the midst of the (re)accreditation process, and will travel to a Waldorf school in the US in March. I have already learned a great deal in the process of training for this assignment.
Last week I was fortunate to attend the first of four presentations in the series, Anthroposophical Foundations of Governance in Waldorf Schools. Mixing historical data with current situations and best practice, the presenters have both raised and answered questions relevant to our situation.
I look forward to sharing this information with the faculty in a discussion session and bringing the ideas back to the community in a future Windows into Waldorf message, as we work towards our own full member accreditation.
Thank you to all who took extra efforts this week to keep our children safe in the sometimes hazardous snow conditions, and to call our city councillors on behalf of our school.
Wishing you a safe week.
Conor
KEY DATES
Feb 24 - 7pm - Knitting Circle
Feb 26 - 7pm - Event at Toronto Waldorf School: Social Media Workshop for Parents
Feb 26 - PINK SHIRT DAY!
Feb 27 - 7pm - The Four Temperaments - presented by Ms. Vera & Joe G. Zhou
March 1 - DEPOSITS DUE to hold spots for next year
Mar 3 - 7pm - Knitting Circle
Mar 7 - Deadline for Board Applications
Mar 6 - 6pm - GRADE 8 PROJECT PRESENTATIONS - Everyone Welcome!
Mar 7 - 2pm - GRADE 3 PLAY - Everyone Welcome!
Mar 10-21 - MARCH BREAK - 2 weeks
Mar 17-21 - March Break Camp Week (for K-Grade 5)
Mar 24 - PD Day (K-8 closed, CCC Open) (no camp available)
Mar 25 - Return to School after March Break
Apr 18 & 21 - School & CCC Closed - Good Friday & Easter Monday
CALL FOR BOARD APPLICATIONS - due Mar 7, 2025
As an independent school that is a registered charitable organisation, Waldorf Academy is overseen by a Board of Directors. Several Board members will be ending their terms at the next AGM, and we are therefore seeking applicants to join the Board. Please see the attached call for Board applications.
HIGH SCHOOL NEWS !!!
We are delighted to share that all our Grade 8 graduates have been accepted to their high schools of choice again this year! We are proud of each of them for their individuality and self-knowledge in making their high school choices, and in seeing the sometimes intense and tenuous application process through. Some of our students’ choices involved testing and interviews, and some involved portfolios and lotteries. In all cases, they have shone. Congratulations to all of them!
This is where our Waldorf Academy graduates can be spotted next year:
JACKSON BRESLIN, who has attended Waldorf Academy since Grade 1 (with a few years at an outdoor school during Covid), will be going to Royal St. George’s College. Congratulations, Jackson!
PAUL KEELE was at Waldorf Academy until Grade 2, moved to a Waldorf school near Collingwood for a few years, and then returned to Waldorf Academy for Grade 8. He will be attending Rosedale Heights School of the Arts next year, joining one of last year’s alumni, Poyraz Ozkan. Congratulations, Paul!
SAGE CHARLES has been at Waldorf Academy since Kindergarten. He will be joining another Class of 2024 alumni - Shyla Sharda - at Ursula Franklin Academy, a school which expressly values inquiry, democracy, social justice, and real-world knowledge. Congratulations, Sage!
COLE HABASHI came to Waldorf Academy in Grade 5, and will be joining classmate Jackson at Royal St. George’s College. We are thrilled. Congratulations, Cole!
GRADE 8 PROJECTS PREVIEW - March 6, 6pm - All Welcome!
Hot on the heels of this wonderful high school news, we are happy to announce that we will be seeing our Grade 8 graduates in action at the upcoming Grade 8 Projects! The Grade 8 Projects are something our students hear about in Lower School, and anticipate with both eagerness and a healthy dose of trepidation as they approach their graduating Middle School year. These projects constitute one of our graduates’ rites of passage, as our students demonstrate a ‘coming-of-stage’ assignment in front of our community. Over many months, each student has chosen a topic on their own initiative, reached out to find a mentor, studied and experimented, and prepared a solo presentation that they will share on Thursday, March 6, at 6pm. To whet your appetites, these are the topics you will hear about:
Jackson Breslin - I chose to do my Grade 8 Project on the stock market. As part of my investigation into this field, I used the online platform, True Trading Group, to for study and research into how the stock market works, and even did some real trading of stocks. I chose this topic for my project because I am interested in learning about an important aspect of our economy that affects so much of our life. Come to the Grade 8 Projects to ask me more about what I learned!
Sage Charles - I picked the topic of animation for my Grade 8 Project. I wanted to use this opportunity to learn more about what is like to be an animator. I chose to animate a fight scene (don’t worry, it’s not graphic!). Not only did I learn a lot about animation, I also gained insight into the challenges of carrying out an independent project like this, and also about how it might be to have an animation career. Come and find out whether I used computer graphics or handmade drawings, and whether this is going to be my future career!
Paul Keele - My Grade 8 Project is on the topic of DJ-ing. I was interested in this topic because I like music and am interested in making different types of sounds. I wanted to learn more about this field, especially since no one in my generation is doing DJ-ing. Are you curious to know what kind of music I like, and what kind of music I think could be made? Come to Waldorf Academy’s Grade 8 Project night to find out!
Cole Habashi - My Grade 8 Project is focused on LEGO. I wanted not only to learn more about LEGO, but also to immerse myself in it and to design my own LEGO set. I decided that the design I would make would be based our own Grade 7/8 classroom. I made the design and then used it to actually build the design in real life. Come to the Grade 8 Projects to see what a Waldorf classroom looks like in LEGO! See you all on March 6th!
SOCIAL MEDIA AWARENESS - Talk @ Toronto Waldorf School - Wed Feb 26, 7pm
Our colleagues at Toronto Waldorf School have kindly invited all members of our community to attend a talk they are hosting by Paul Davis on internet safety:
Join Paul Davis for an evening looking at Social Media, internet safety and the challenges we face as parents navigating a quickly changing terrain for our children and ourselves. To learn more about Paul and his work, please visit:
If you are interested in attending, please email admissions@torontowaldorfschool.com to register. Toronto Waldorf School is located at 9100 Bathurst Street, north of Highway 7.
JAPANESE EDUCATORS TOUR
We were delighted to welcome nine Japanese education students and professors to our school and childcare last week. The group specifically requested to see Waldorf Academy as part of an exclusive tour of a few Toronto schools. In the course of their studies in Japan, they learned about Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf movement, and were keen to see a Canadian Waldorf school in person. (Rumour has it that one of the first Japanese Waldorf schools was in fact inspired by our school many moons ago.) We are honoured to be a sought-after school for student teachers, and to be a global inspiration for young educators. (Thank you to Ms. Yu Kanazawa for her assistance in translation!)
We happily share some images of our students learning in the snow!
WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL WEEK!
