Windows into Waldorf Jan. 23, 2026
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE INCLUDES
Director’s note
Key Dates and Happenings
Dispatches from the Specialist Teachers
Dear Waldorf Community,
This has been a week of practice and exploring. The Grade 4s have been learning lines and rehearsing for their class play related to their Norse Mythology block. Coach Ankamah has been running the WA Basketball team through their paces and drills in preparation for the Toronto Waldorf School annual invitational tournament. Good luck next weekend!
On Thursday our Grades 5-8 students took on the cold weather as they explored Toronto's urban nature. They hiked the ancient trails of Toronto’s Humber River in the snow, going where other schools may fear to tread. Waldorf education encourages students to be doers. We provide opportunities for students to feed their curiosity, to ask questions that come from their experiences. Finding out why these trails were formed and how they shaped our modern day city is best framed after walking them, cold hands and feet provide a frame of reality to history and deepen lines on a map. It makes learning longer, because it is not answered and understood in one day, one question and answer. It makes learning stick.
And speaking of Waldorf experiences, please think of joining the community at our just announced Skate Party; invitation below from Community Council.
Warm wishes,
Conor
Outdoor Education Day!
The second annual Winter Watershed Walk for Grades 5-8, this time down the storied Humber River was a big hit today!
Interested in knowing some places your children explored?
Read up on the Humber River on the Conservative Heritage River System website
Students also visited the Oculus!
Now restored, read the Article By Shawn Micallef Contributing Columnist to learn more:
Coming across the Oculus Pavilion for the first time is like stumbling upon E.T.’s spaceship in a wooded clearing. Found along the Humber River trail in South Humber Park, about a kilometre north of the river mouth, this most Space Age of public washrooms has been long closed and allowed to fall into disrepair.
The Oculus is quintessentially mid-century modern, with a concrete saucer that seems to float in air along with a curved building covered in flagstone that houses the old toilets. The hole in middle makes it an oculus. Move over, ancient Roman Pantheon, Toronto used to build public washrooms like you did temples. When underneath it, the saucer creates an echo and amazing sonic environment that has hosted impromptu musical performances.
The History of the Oculus can be found here.
KEY DATES & HAPPENINGS
The school-wide Calendar of upcoming events can be found here.
Tuesday(s) January 27, 8:30 - 10:00, All Parents knitting circle in the Art Studio Space. Life learners in action!
Tuesday(s) January 27, 6:30pm Kindergarten Parent Evening
Friday January 30 & 31, Basketball tournament at TWS
Feb. 12th and 13th: Parent Teacher Conferences-
There will be no school for Elementary students on Thursday Feb. 12th and Friday Feb. 13th due to PT Conferences. There will be camp available on both days for Kindergarten to Grade Five Students from 8:30am to 5:00pm. Further details and registration will be sent out at the beginning of February.
Please see all of these details on our community calendar: Waldorf Academy Toronto School Annual Calendar
Clubs and a Community Council Invitation
After School Chess Club for Grades 4-8 - Tuesdays 3:30 - 4:30
Our inaugural Waldorf Academy Chess Club ran this fall. It was so successful that we are extending the after school club for an additional 5 weeks. The club will run on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30, beginning Tuesday, February 3 to Tuesday, March 3.
Waldorf Academy Chess Club is led by Mr. Bharati (dad to Kairav and Talen), Mr. Buchbinder, and Mr. Jones. All skill and experience levels are welcome. Chess Club is a great way to build spatial imagination and logic while practicing fair play, patience, and most of all, it will be a chance to have fun with friends in a relaxed environment once a week.
Spaces are limited, please email Monica to reserve a space for your child.
New students are asked to pay $20 for the 5 weeks - these funds will be used to purchase additional chess boards as required. There is no charge for returning students.
Please e-mail the Community Council for a link to the Sign-Up sheet and access to the Skate Lending Library WhatsApp page.
A huge thank you Sybil for spearheading this wonderful event. Lace up!
Pick up and Drop Off
In this weather of high snowbanks and slippery streets, we ask you to be especially mindful of others in our community, notably our little ones. Please don’t obstruct site lines, or linger too long while there are line-ups in the street.
Correspondence from the Classrooms & Specialist Teachers
Grade 3 Dispatch: Students have been learning the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments. This story introduces accessible, age-appropriate themes such as social justice, speaking up for others, listening to guidance, and living with the consequences of one’s actions. Students are also given the opportunity to explore when it is important to follow rules and when it may be appropriate to challenge authority—an area many children grapple with as they move through the ‘nine-year change’.
These themes are highly relatable for the children and will transition us nicely into the final story of this block: David and Goliath.
Gym & Games:
Details Grade 7 & 8 Basketball Tournament - Friday, January 30 - Saturday, January 31, 2026
We are pleased to share details regarding our invitation to the Annual Toronto Waldorf School Grade 7 & 8 Basketball Tournament, a long-standing Waldorf tradition that brings together schools from across the region for a weekend of sport, community, and shared experience.
This is an overnight trip, and following a class discussion and vote, the group has decided that we will ALL stay overnight.
Location: Toronto Waldorf School (9100 Bathurst Street)
Schedule Overview
We will depart from the school on Friday at 12:30PM
Arrival begins at 2:00 PM, with games starting at 3:00 PM
Saturday play will conclude at approximately 4:30 PM (depending if we make it to the finals)
A detailed game schedule will be shared closer to the tournament date.
In the Community
Invitation from Samara, Community advisor to Councillor Josh Matlow
I am reaching out on behalf of Councillor Josh Matlow to invite you and your school community to our upcoming skating parties!
Hosted in collaboration with MP Leslie Church and MPP Stephanie Smyth, these community skating parties are a great opportunity to meet your neighbours, while enjoying some skating and free refreshments. Please share this invitation widely with your members and school community. We hope to see you there!
The Toronto Branch of the Anthroposophical Society of Canada - Mondays to June 15
Extend a warm invitation to parents and members of our community who are interested in exploring anthroposophy. Please see the details below as provided by Robert McKay, who will be leading this study group.
Invitation to an Anthroposophical Study Group
You are cordially invited to participate in an anthroposophical study group. The group will meet every second Monday evening from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at (TBD) starting on Monday, January 19 and continuing until Monday, June 15. (Note: The group will skip holiday Monday's and the Monday in March break.)
Each week, the group will read from one of Dr. Rudolf Steiner's books or lectures and discuss it section by section. Study groups are an excellent and supportive way to get to know anthroposophy. No prior understanding is required. Questions and reactions are encouraged.
We will start with Theosophy in which Dr. Steiner explains what we are as human beings, how we journey through various incarnations, and provides insights into the purpose of life that anyone can apply to their own evolving story.
Participation is free but as space is limited so please register with Amrit at amritmum@pm.me. Please let her know if you want a free copy of the book as they will be provided courtesy of the Toronto Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada.
Adult Eurythmy Series at Waldorf School in Halton - Invitation
Thursdays January 22 to March 5
Ms. Liedewij Verbeeck, Halton’s beloved Eurythmy teacher, will lead a 6-session Adult Eurythmy Series this winter. This offering provides a wonderful opportunity to experience eurythmy firsthand and to deepen your connection to this essential aspect of Waldorf education.
A Note from Ms. Liedewij Verbeeck
In this six-evening course, we will explore space and movement and, most importantly, the experience of moving together as a group. We will work with form, free movement, and our own “instrument.” Since eurythmy is the art of visible speech and visible music, we come to know the body itself as the instrument through which we learn and experience.
I will also share elements of pedagogical eurythmy, offering exercises connected to different age groups and providing parents with insight into how eurythmy lives within the classrooms.
Series Details
Thursdays, 6:30 to 7:30 pm
January 22 to March 5
Please note that there will be no session on Thursday, February 5, due to the Parent Festival.
Registration and Cost
The cost for the full six-week series is $100. Registration is available via Tomten’s by clicking here.
Additional Information
This is an adults-only workshop. Children and babies are not able to attend. Participants are asked to wear comfortable clothing suitable for movement. Eurythmy slippers will be available to borrow during each session.
Funds raised through this series will support the Halton school’s Eurythmy Fund, helping to strengthen their program by bringing in guest Eurythmists, purchasing costumes for school performances, and offsetting other program-related costs, including a new community room floor.
We hope you will consider joining this special offering and moving together in community.
Share The Love!
So many families discover Waldorf through the stories you share. Our community is one of the most important ways new families find their way to us—thank you for spreading the word. It takes a village, and we are grateful for our community of amazing Ambassadors. To any of your interested friends, we are happy to give them a tour of your great school.
