Education for the 21st Century |
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I give myself to the Spirit’s revelation
And gain the light of cosmic Being;
The power of thought grows strong and clear
And gives my own true self to me;
By thinking’s power the sense of self
Awakens and is freed.
Rudolf Steiner
Calendar of the Soul, Verse 39
"The Golden Verse"
tr. by John Thomson
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Dear Families,
We ware excited to welcome everyone back from Winter Break on Tuesday, January 4! We hope you had a warm and cozy holiday spent with friends and loved ones. It is with open arms that we invite the year 2022; may it be a year of reinvention, revelation and renewal!
Warmly,
Alyssa Hamilton
WSOC Communications Coordinator
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Annual Giving
Thank you for supporting our 30 day campaign!
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We are so pleased to report that through donations, gifts and pledges, we raised $59,857 during our 30-day Annual Giving Campaign, which is close to 60 percent of our goal. We are so thankful to our families, alumni and school community for their generosity. This was such a positive way to close out the tumultuous year that was 2021. We love our community!
The 30 day campaign is a wrap, but if you haven't donated, it's not too late! You can continue to donate to WSOC's Annual Giving campaign by visiting our Giving page on our website or clicking on the image below.
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Leadership Circle Message |
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Dear WSOC Community,
Welcome back after what I hope was a wonderful holiday break for you and your family.
After eagerly looking forward to spending time with my full family after being separated last Christmas, we discovered that we would have to miss the family gathering for a second year due to a breakout case of Covid-19 in our immediate family. I know that there are many others who were also unable to be with all of those they love due to health concerns from this continuing pandemic, but I hope that you were able to find joy with those you could be with, just as we did.
In light of the concerns fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, we will continue to closely monitor the latest news and updated guidelines from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Although we plan to welcome students back to school on Tuesday, we ask that you be mindful of your family’s circumstances over the break before deciding whether it is safe for them to return. If your child has been exposed or has been diagnosed with Covid-19, please follow the updated quarantining guidelines that will be sent today via Parent Square based on new CDPH guidelines issued late last week. If you are unsure, a negative at-home test is recommended.
Since many symptoms of Covid-19 resemble those of a cold, flu or allergies (including headache, runny nose, sore throat, fever, chills and cough), we would like to remind you to not send your children to school if they are experiencing any of these symptoms. With the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant and sharply rising cases, it is important that we do everything we can to keep our school environment safe.
In Gratitude,
Your Leadership Circle
James Gaor and Amy Rasmussen, Board Co-Chairs
Kevin McDuff, School Administrator (at the pen)
Brooke Natzke, College Chair
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Waldorf 101: Save the Date |
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Waldorf 101: Explore the Waldorf Curriculum from Early Childhood through High School
Are you a newcomer to WSOC? A longtime community member who still has some questions about our curriculum and pedagogical methods? If so, we would love to have you join us!
This event is highly recommended for newer WSOC parents and all extended family members. More info to come in our next newsletter!
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Belonging at WSOC
Kristen Kuczenski
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Happy New Year from your WSOC DEI Committee! Please save the date for our next Parent/Community Conversation on Tuesday, February 8 at 5 pm on the theme of “Alliances.” More details about the event will be shared later this month.
At our first Parent Conversation in October, we only made it through the first of several planned agenda items: a discussion of the question “what does it really mean to feel welcome?” This important conversation, initially slated for twenty-five minutes, spilled over into the remainder of the evening and then continued on behind the scenes for an additional two months! During this time we have done more listening than talking, and we look forward to moving ahead together with community-building initiatives throughout 2022.
In Gratitude,
Kristen Kuczenski
DEI Chair, 2021-2022
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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Storm Dye, Grade 6 Teacher
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Tell us a little about your experience with Waldorf education. Did you grow up with it?
Waldorf education was not even on my radar until my little sister, Julia, managed to get into Journey School, the public charter Waldorf school in Aliso Viejo. That first exposure would have been when I was about 17 years old, as she is 12 years my younger, and I would love to say I fell in love with the curriculum at first sight. In reality, I was a freshman in college coming from a background of completely public education, so when I heard the angelic tones of her first grade class, with everyone singing in sync in this cozy, naturally balanced classroom…my first reaction was, “what kind of weird hippie place is this?”
Of course, that reaction was born of the casual ignorance of a teenager who had never experienced community on that level outside of a church. Funny enough, not five years later, I would be hired at that very campus as Games Teacher, and finally come to understand and cherish the magic that had eluded me in that first moment.
You speak fluent Spanish. How did you get so good?
As I love to say, you simply have to look like a fool for long enough! What I mean is that it all comes down to practicing whatever you want to learn, even when your ego would prefer you not to; to really learn a new language, you have to find people who speak it, and have conversations to the best of your ability, even when (or especially when) it's embarrassing! This is how I picked up words, phrases and flow that were never truly transmissible in the safety of a classroom setting.
Tell us about being an outdoor educator with Trackers Earth.
My time with Trackers Earth was pivotal in my development as an educator. What started out as a “cool job as a Zombie Apocalypse Survivor and Secret Agent Instructor” turned out to be an eight-year commitment to a community of wilderness educators and survivalists. This time not only allowed me to follow my passion of learning new things, but also re-introduced me to the magic of being back in Nature itself! Yes, I learned tracking, plant identification, survivalist strategies (like how to make a fire with some sticks), water purification, and how to find/create shelter, but all of those “hard skills” pale in comparison to the values that eight year experience taught me. Awareness, resilience, integrity, and respect can be taught in a variety of ways, but having the backdrop of true nature, with actual natural consequences, was exactly what I needed to return to this “civilized” world with a confidence, clarity, and perspective I could not have gotten anywhere else.
Before teaching here at WSOC, you taught Games at Journey School, a Waldorf charter in South Orange County. What was your favorite part about being a Games teacher?
It’s all in the name of the position: Games! I am a devout believer in the value of play as an educational tool, and teaching Games only solidified my position. I loved learning new games, learning about the connection between movement and mind, and of course inventing ways to bring fun into teaching.
Teaching middle school has its unique rewards and challenges. What have you found to be on both ends of that spectrum thus far?
So far, I am thoroughly enjoying working with middle school students. These kiddos are busy exploring the depth of their inner worlds, and yet at the same time, have such brilliant insights to bring forward about the world around them. I can’t wait until we get to our physics block, as I am sure this class will have such a blast (pun intended).
What are you looking forward to the most as you look toward the curriculum for the rest of this year? Upcoming years?
I have always thoroughly enjoyed science, so physics definitely excites me. Medieval history is coming up sooner, and though I still have plenty to learn and deepen my understanding, and castles and knights have captured my interest for many years, so I am thoroughly anticipating exploring that with the students in our own way.
When your students reach high school age, what are the traits you hope they take with them from their time in the grades at Waldorf?
What I find unique about the Waldorf style of education is the true understanding and love of self that each student carries with them. From that understanding compassion, empathy and care become second nature as they grow. What I hope these students will take away from our time together is a complimentary strength of character, as well as a flexibility of intellect that will serve them far beyond the challenges of middle school. With a blend of courage, love, and awareness, these students will be equipped to change the world for the better.
Would you describe yourself as more of a city or a rural-leaning person? Why?
I have lived in Berkeley, New York City, and various places around Orange County, as well as visited places like Paris, Munich and Barcelona. From all of this, I can definitely say that I have found the most peace in the places where car horns are replaced by howls, and TV static is replaced by the nightly chorus of chirps and clicks of small critters. If I am to be surrounded by structures of immense size, let them be living trees whose tops I can barely make out from the ground, or boulders whose story stretches back to before humanity. That all being said, I do love a good sushi dinner and movie every once in a while, so civilization isn’t all bad.
What resonates most with you about the Waldorf philosophy?
What resonates most with me about Waldorf philosophy is that it recognizes and prioritizes the inner world of the child, through genuine concern for their overall development. I remember walking away from my first meeting with a group of teachers at Journey School, wherein we discussed every child in the class at hand. The way in which all the adults present looked at each student, I found, was radically different from the typical grades-oriented view; these people held each child with respect, reverence and love, and were actively seeking how each one of them could play a helpful role in that child’s life. That ego-free care and concern, where each small human was genuinely seen, filled me with a warmth that I can only describe as an answer to a long-unanswered search for truth. Waldorf aligns with me on the level of unabashed care for the students that extends far beyond schooling.
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Early Childhood Entry for Fall 2022 |
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Next Coffee Chat: Jan. 10 |
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Hello families!
Your company store is open once again on Tues, Jan. 4.
We look forward to seeing all of your beautiful, happy faces after two weeks away. Please come visit us for a warm beverage and some shopping, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your robust support during our holiday season. It means the world to us.
Warmly,
Nona and the Angels
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Scrip News
Scrip of the Month: Kean Coffee
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Kéan Coffee™ is a longtime neighborhood favorite and a cherished member of our Scrip community. Please visit Pam, our Scrip coordinator, at Company of Angels or email her at plusk@waldorfschool.com to pick some up this week!
Kéan Coffee is the modern evolution of a long-time tradition by coffeehouse pioneer Martin Diedrich of providing the community with vibrant meeting places in which to enjoy the highest quality fresh roasted coffees on the planet.
In addition to their seasonally rotating selection of single origin coffees from every coffee growing region, Kéan Coffee also features an outstanding selection of organic loose-leaf hot and iced teas, as well as non-coffee beverages like single origin sipping chocolates, matcha, turmeric lattes, and other crowd favorites. Their pastries and savories are baked fresh daily by small local artisan bakeries, including scrumptious gluten-free and vegan options. Come and enjoy their warm, community atmosphere in the true coffeehouse tradition!
Newport Beach
2043 Westcliff Drive, Suite 100
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Tustin
13681 Newport Avenue, Suite 14
Tustin, CA 92780
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Mon 1/3 • Newsletter
Mon 1/3, 8:00a - 4:30p • IN SERVCE DAY - NO SCHOOL for students
Tue 1/4 • Early EC application Deadline
Tue 1/4, 8:45a - 9:45a • Room Rep Meeting
Tue 1/4, 3:30p - 4:30p • Boys Soccer vs. Fairmont Academy
Thu 1/6, 11:30a - 12:30p • Parent Enrichment for Early Years parents
Thu 1/6, 3:30p - 4:30p • Boys Soccer vs. Calvary Downey (Away)
Mon 1/10, 3:00p - 4:00p • Coffee Chat at Company of Angels garden
Tue 1/11, 3:30p - 4:30p • Boys Soccer vs. Pacifica Christian: HOME GAME at Parson's Field!
Tue 1/11, 5:30p - 6:30p • Playgroup/Bridge Parent Meeting
Tue 1/11, 6:30p - 7:30p • Grade 11 Parent Meeting
Wed 1/12, 6:30p - 8:00p • Grade 12 Parent Evening
Thu 1/13, 11:30a - 12:30p • Parent Enrichment for Early Years parents
Thu 1/13, 12:15p - 1:15p • Boys Soccer vs. Capo Valley Christian (away)
Fri 1/14 • Grading Day: NO SCHOOL for Students
Mon 1/17 • MLK Holiday NO SCHOOL
Mon 1/17 • Newsletter
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Sharing Together: Twelve Holy Nights in Orange County (still time to participate!) |
Sharing Together: Twelve Holy Nights in Orange County
Dec. 26-Jan. 9
With heartiest welcome, please join us in celebration of the Twelve Holy Nights. Meeting together in each other’s homes —singing, reading, and discussion each evening of Rudolf Steiner’s profound Gospel lectures make this season a treasured highlight of the year.
This season, our 38th to celebrate the Holy Nights in Orange County, we’ll delve into the deepest meanings of the Gospel of St. John and Its Relation to the Other Gospels. Weekdays 7:00 pm; Weekends/holidays 4:00 pm. For more information, you may email ekrivosheia@dslextreme.com.
Click here to view meeting times and locations.
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Community News & Announcements |
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CyberWise Top 10 Blog Posts |
CyberWise is a resource site for busy grownups seeking to help youth use tech safely and wisely. It was founded in 2011 by Diana Graber and Cynthia Lieberman after they received M.A. degrees in Media Psychology and Social Change, a pioneering field that focuses on how human behavior is affected by media. They decided to put their academic work and entertainment/media experience to work to benefit parents and kids.
Below are the Top Ten blog posts from their site:
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Waldorf Alum Connections
Did you know that AWSNA offered a continental New Year happy hour for alums across the continent? Seventy-five alums attended and it was a blast! Quarterly social events are now on the schedule.
Need an architect, an artist, an accountant? Support alum businesses and share with your community the alum business directory.
- The Continental Waldorf Alum Business Directory
- currently listing 125 businesses
- sharing alums' successes and endeavors far and wide
- Mentorship and Mentee Opportunities
- with 100s of alum registrants offering themselves up as mentors, the potential support for young alums is truly boundless.
- Alum Parent Registration
- the platform welcomes not only alums, but alum parents as well, with the hopes of parents sharing job postings and internship offerings
- School Community Pages*
- fully manage events and registration in one place
- integrated Zoom for events
- full fundraising capabilities offered directly through the WAC platform
- * offered for an additional annual fee
- Internship and Employment Postings
- Searchable Alum Map by location, industry, class year, school affiliation and more.
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Click here for WSOC College of Teachers, Board Members and Administrative Rotation
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Waldorf School of Orange County
2350 Canyon Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92627-3948
(949) 574-7775
wwww.waldorfschool.com
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