Mountain Laurel Waldorf School Winter 2014 Newsletter

MOUNTAIN LAUREL WALDORF SCHOOL

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Join us on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6:15 pm in the Community Room.

Find out about more initiatives you can help with!

Super-important things like:

Fundraising, Community Outreach Please bring your ideas...

School Newsletter: Published 2-times this year

Community Outreach: Clean Sweep: date to be announced

Fundraising Committee: Raising contributions for Annual Giving Campaign

Faculty Nourishment: A meal for the long Thursday afternoon meetings

“The more we are able to integrate parents, inwardly and outwardly, into the lifeof our schools, the more our schools will have the warmth, life, and light, as

well as the strength, to grow in vigorous and healthy ways.”

—Robert SchiappacasseDIRECTOR, WALDORF SCHOOL OF LEXINGTON

Purpose of the Parent Council In a Waldorf School there is an implicit understanding that the children and their education are supported by three pillars—the board; the staff and faculty; and the parent body. The Parent Council at Mountain Laurel Waldorf School is a group of inspired parents who are interested in studying, growing and serving together in an effort to support the school communi-ty. We meet the second Tuesday of every month, and meetings are open to all. Please come and bring your questions, gifts, and energy!

New This Year: ChildcareSo more parents can be present, we hope to offer on-campus childcare regularly during the meetings.

That it bridge communication among the faculty,

administration, board and parent body.

That it encourage and support parent understanding

of Waldorf education by inspiring and facilitating learning opportunities.

That it organize and utilize the gifts and energies of the parent body to initiate and support events that

enrich the life of the school community.

We had a terrific Autumn here at Mountain Laurel! We welcomed 17 new students and their families. The faculty and staff are still basking in the glow of our full accreditation membership in AWSNA as we move forward together during our weekly meetings with consideration and implementation of AWSNA’s recommendations for our school. We hosted our school mentor, Kim John Payne, in October for mentoring and assessment of grades teachers. Many have already read Simplicity Parenting. Watch for his new book, Beyond Winning, Smart Parenting in a Toxic Sports Environment, in the school store.

The Board of Trustees approved an operating budget by which we were able to increase the full-time base salary by $2,000. and expand health insurance benefits. We are grateful for generous donations the school received in September. A large anonymous donation from friends of the school helped support the purchase of the new swings in the main play yard as well as the swing set and weatherproof outdoor block set and storage unit from Community Playthings and other improvements to the Forest Kindergarten play yard at 6 Elting. A warm thank you to the deBecker, Provenzano-Marino and Sycoff families for their very generous contributions to the Early Childhood program. Among other things, this provides nutritious food to the kindergarten students for the entire school year. One of the largest donations in the history of the school, pledged by one of our current parents, is in progress. More exciting news on this will follow.

We are also grateful for donations of time and expertise. Livia and Bill Vanaver, founding parents of the school, and co-founders of The Vananver Caravan music and dance company have donated many hours working with the first, fourth, fifth and seventh grades this year. They are responsible for the beautiful Great Creator poem and Indian stick dance that the fifth grade shared with us at Thanksgiving. The first grade parents have been coming in regularly to share in story time and walks with Mr. Racanello’s class. The contributions of our community are a large part of what makes our school so wonderful.

It’s the perfect time of year to celebrate each member of our community and his or her gifts. Bless each of you who participated in our beautiful winter fair. Like the Advent Spiral, it is an opportunity to bring our light out into the world. It’s also an opportunity to showcase our beautiful school. We hope you have all read the feature story in the New Paltz Times. We continue to coordinate outreach opportunities at local public libraries for the puppetry gifts of our Early Childhood teachers. Please spread the word that Elsa Arenas, a very experienced early childhood teacher who has specially trained in parent child facilitation at Sophia’s Hearth, will return to the MLWS parent child program beginning in January. We look forward to a successful 2014 and wish you all a magical holiday.

Sincerely,

Judy Jaeckel and Carol Jordan


“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind

can unfold.”—Joseph Chilton Pierce

Star Penny Puppetry of Mt. Laurel performedthe Russian puppet show “Mashenka at a recent open house.Next was the holiday show “The Shoemaker and the Elves”,

performed at the Holiday Faire for the general public.


Fall was an exciting time for the second grade. We have read adventure stories about animal migration, and have considered math in relation to the busy time that the creatures around us are experiencing (acquiring and storing, grouping and sharing).

Fables have given math playful stories to imagine, and we have seen that the tortoise beating the hare in a race relates well to our times tables-- The children enjoyed the idea that the four table ‘jumps over’ the two table.

Saint stories have given us reflective glimpses into ourselves, and we have written meaningful accounts of these legends.

Each block, we are memorizing and beginning to read a new poem relating to the seasons and festivals. St. Michael overcoming the dragon at Michaelmas time was a powerful message for the children. St. Martin finding the light to guide others through difficult times provided insight for our last year of enjoying the lantern walk.

In October, a trip to Stone Ridge Orchard allowed us to work cooperatively, count a very large amount of apples, and find creative ways to sort them according to a nature story about Big Smoke (a kind squirrel), and Little Flame (a greedy chipmunk).

We are grateful to live in a region that provides soulful, natural experiences to enrich our daily lessons.

The First Grade began their adventure together, at our Rose Ceremony. Since then we have heard many different stories. Consonants were explored through a combination of fairytales and alliterations. We then trekked through the Land of Numbers as we heard the Tales of King Nihilo and his Twelve Number Knights as they explored the lands to see how each of their numbers were unique.

As first graders we enjoyed not only the time we spent together as a class, but also as a school. In October with the help of the upper classmen we delved into the Michaelmas Games. In November, with the Nursery, Kindergarten and Second Grade, we remembered the inner light we each hold during our Lantern Walk. More recently during the Advent Spiral we experienced how together as a school our inner light can shine bright enough to light up a whole room!.


The Third Graders have embraced the curriculum of living on Earth with great enthusiasm. As the natural oneness of early childhood fades a bit in the nine year old children, it is replaced by an increasing awareness of self. In third grade we study all practical skills that make us independent and helpful people. We are learning about farming, homesteading, shelters and homebuilding, tools and their proper use. In math we learn to measure space and time, weights, money; it is the math of practical life. In music we discovered the joy and challenge of holding one’s own when singing or playing recorders in rounds. In language arts we are learning the stories of the Hebrew People as found in the Old Testament.

In February we will be going on the traditional Third Grade Farm Trip. We’ll be away from home for a week. We’ll live on a farm and help with the daily running of it. We are very excited (and a little nervous) about it.

Fall has been full of local adventure, Norse mythology and delicious pie-making in the fourth grade!

We began the year with our local History and Geography block during which we explored our local surroundings and learned about many of the people who lived here before we did. The class took several exciting field trips, went canoeing, explored local cement mines, toured Huguenot Street, walked parts of the rail trail and hiked the Labrynth and Lemon Squeeze at Mohonk. History came alive through stories, pictures, artifacts and historical documents that we studied, and the children learned how to use a compass, and to make (and read) maps.

Following the adventurous first month, we delved as a class into the fascinating world of the Norse myths and engaged in a language arts block with those stories as the content around which new skills were introduced and learned. With the likes of Odin

and Thor to guide our lessons, we reviewed parts of speech, studied verb tenses, the four types of sentences, and punctuation—all of which helped us when we set out to write our first letters to our new pen pals: the fourth graders at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School in Washington State!

November brought our first fractions block of the year, and with it the scrumptious experience of pies: fresh pumpkin pie, apple pie and two kinds of pizza pie! The fourth graders are now quite adept at making pie. They learned about equivalent fractions, numerators and denominators, improper or “top-heavy” fractions, and reducing and expanding fractions, in a most delicious and delectable way.

In December, we begin studying the animal kingdom and the relationships between animals and humans. We will also perform in the 4th/5th Grades’ Orchestra for the first time at the music share. See you there!


The 6th grade started the year off with a bang! We also made our own lava lamps during our geology block.

In fifth grade we have been encountering the ancient cultures of India and Persia. Ancient India offered a lush immersion through the Ramayana of heroes and romance. We debated aspects of reincarnation, karma and the caste system. The life of Sidhartha becoming the Buddha presented a contrasting path to Hinduism for seeking truth in the divine. We celebrated this work with a festive class community night we called Journey to India that involved an exquisite feast, vibrant decorations, music, poetry, and a stick dance.

In botany we made a soulful survey of distinctions and characteristics of the fruits and the grains, along with the rose and the lily, which are also known as the monocotyledons and the dicotyledons. Goethe’s

metamorphosis as an expansion and contraction cycle became evident.

For us the continent of North America began to emerge as regions of mountain, plain, Canadian Shield, Caribbean Sea, and the eastern seaboard.

This fall in preparation for the Greek Pentathlon we have been walking up to a field on SUNY campus to engage in safe and enthusiastic learning of pentathlon skills. These have included introduction and development with throwing the discus and javelin. Long jump, sprint, and group run are pentathlon events that have also been introduced and practiced. The class has been fortunate to have great weather overall. Miss Morgan has deftly guided their eagerness to learn and participate.


The 8th grade year of study is all about rebellious revolution. In the Fall, the 8th grade studied the revolutionary history of Europe and the United States. This began with the Spanish King’s persecution of Dutch Protestants and the Dutch rebellion. The 8th grade then considered the complexity of Britain’s conflicts; from King James I compelling the Puritans to board

the Mayflower, to Oliver Cromwell’s attempt to create a republic through dictatorship. The 8th grade play, Peter Pan further mirrors the rebellious age of growing up. Just as we as a society, have become what we are today through the revolutions of our ancestors, so too are 14- year-olds growing into who they will become through their inner and tumultuous revolutions.

As part of our Middle Ages Block our class performed a version of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. We also visited The Cloisters, a Museum with medieval tapestries, sculpture, and metalwork. We entered the world of medieval castles and pageantry.


Classroom Music

4th grade: The 4th grade is now playing recorders in 2 parts: soprano and alto. I see many duets on their musical horizon.

5th grade: Mr. Lundin’s mighty 5th grade is now playing recorder pieces in 4 parts: Soprano, alto, tenor and bass. We’ve started working on the familiar folk song “All Through the Night” and we performed the “Radhe Bolo Partner Dance” in 4 parts at the work share in November.

6th grade: Mrs. Stanmeyer’s 6th grade has been going deep into a beautiful minuet by Henry Purcell complete with trills and dynamics, all played on recorders in 4 parts.

8th grade: Look for the world premiere of Mr. Neel’s “Astronomy Rap” arranged by cohort Steve Bernstein featuring cello, percussion and rapping. And it’s educational!

Recorder Ensemble

2 minuets are slated for the December music share: J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #1 “Menuetto and Trio”and Georg Tellemann’s Minuet #47 from his book of 50 minuets.

Chorus

The 4th and 5th grade chorus will go where no other chorus has gone—to the land of submarines, and our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders will be singing a cappella (unaccompanied) on Harvest Hymn. We didn’t want to give Mrs’ Rosen the whole night off so we will be singing “Moses and Daniel” accompanied by...Mrs. Rosen of course!


In Memory of Monica Grudin

I met Monica when I joined her parent tot class with my daughter, Lucy, who was 14 months old. Lucy was still nursing and crawling. As a new mom I had struggled with the fundamental questions about how to care for Lucy fully and still get my basic needs met. In the year since my daughter’s birth I had hardened myself to that state of being—I had become fiercely self sufficient, albeit completely drained.

The simple parent tot class was a blessing; the easy rhythm of our time together became a solace to my wrecked nerves. I would arrive to the smell of delicious muffins that Monica was baking. After unhurried greetings we shared a circle of songs and rhyme for the children, followed by a snack of muffins and tea, and then the adults settled into sewing as the children played.

I grew to love going there every Friday morning. It came to flavor my year. It was so quiet and beautiful. And in its simplicity my senses came alive; Monica’s unassuming presence, the smell of herbs as she

brewed tea, the feel of wool felt in my hands, and the cadence of stitching that kept me anchored to the present. It was my first taste of serenity since my daughter’s birth.

As our little group of Mamas (and occasionally a Daddy) sewed, our conversation roamed to cover many different things. We often found our start in raising our little ones, but from there our conversation would meander through all the workings of life. Monica engaged in the conversation so honestly with us. Her way of hearing and holding our questions was in itself reassuring. And in every answer, I felt that what she was saying was, “Yes, all the care you bring to this task of mothering matters.”

In those sewing times Monica had a way of making every subject welcome, never a question feel too foolish, or too big, nothing was un-askable or unspeakable.

–Excerpted from a letter by parent Sarah Heidenreich

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Mountain Laurel Waldorf School Winter 2014 Newsletter