Education for the 21st Century |
|
Dear Families,
The holiday season is quickly approaching, and with it Winter Festival this coming Saturday! Please see information below for program, ticket, and sign up details. We will also be launching our Annual Giving Campaign on Giving Tuesday, November 29. We are striving for 100% participation and are so grateful for the support of our community.
Additional events to attend (details in calendar)
- Tues. Nov. 29- DEI Conversation
- Tues. Nov. 29 & Fri. Dec. 2- WSOC Wildcats Soccer home games
- Wed. Nov. 30- Parent Council
- Wed. Dec. 7- Parent Enrichment event with Elan Liebner
Also, please enjoy our faculty spotlight on Mandarin teacher Luo Lau Shi!
Happy Monday,
Alyssa Hamilton
Communications Coordinator
|
|
Giving Tuesday is Tomorrow - 11/29 |
|
WSOC’s Annual Giving Fund is the cornerstone of the school’s fundraising programs as it provides the greatest opportunity to support the immediate financial needs of the school. It is the school’s most important source of unrestricted funds that impacts every student, every day, by ensuring funding for a comprehensive and dynamic curriculum of math, language arts, science, culture and foreign language study, performing arts, applied arts, music and movement.
WSOC is running its Annual Giving Campaign Nov. 29th to Dec. 31 and strives to raise $100,000 through 100% participation from all members of our school community. We strive for 100% participation in order to reach our goal and establish a strong collaborative message, within and outside of our community, that we are all in this together supporting the well-being and strength of our school.
Gifts to the Annual Giving Fund are welcome any time throughout the year. Got questions? Read our FAQ!
|
|
Winter Festival is an annual curriculum event held on the first Saturday in December. Our community joins forces for this on campus event to enjoy student musical performances and Festival Singers, participate in crafts and booths for each grade, and celebrate togetherness in the holiday season. In our school, the grades students gather once a week throughout December for a special story to set the mood for the week. Each week honors one of the kingdoms of nature – the minerals, the plants, the animals, and humankind – and this is brought into classroom activities and decoration as well.
Our entire community, everyone at WSOC, participates in the Winter Festival in some way. We enjoy live music, make special crafts, eat delicious food and drink warm beverages, visit with one another, dip candles, shop for handmade heirlooms, and celebrate our community of families. Extended family members are welcome to join!
If this is going to be your first Winter Festival, watch your email for more information this week. We're sharing the festival program in advance here so you can have a sneak peek at the day. CLICK HERE for a Festival Program. There are also music schedules below for our student offerings.
Two important things to note:
(1) Buy tickets in advance this week
- Mon-Fri 1-1:30pm in front of the Early Childhood Yard & 2:45-3:15pm in front of the main office.
- Friday only has a third sale time slot: 8:15am-8:45am in front of the main office.
- Tuesdays only- tickets can also be purchased inside The Company of Angels 9am-2pm.
(2) Sign up for any activities that require a timed entry
|
|
Leadership Message: Gratitude |
|
Dear Community,
Hanging on our door this Thanksgiving was a piece of school artwork my son brought home when he was in a Waldorf preschool many years ago. His hand had been painted in such a way that the resulting handprint formed a turkey. The teacher added the Thanksgiving message he had dictated: “I am thankful for family and friends. And Trains!”
As we return to school following our annual November break, I have a slightly different Thanksgiving message: “I am thankful for family and friends. And Parent Volunteers!”
The support and dedication of our parent volunteers is fundamental to the richness of the students’ experience at WSOC. In particular, I’d like to mention the classroom parent reps from preschool through high school who meet with us monthly and take on so many tasks in support of the teacher, their class, and the school. And I also hold great gratitude for the members of the Board of Trustees, who freely volunteer their time and expertise to help “provide for the financial stability and physical wellbeing of the school and to protect its legal interests.” That’s the formal description of the Board’s purpose but their involvement in the school’s success goes so much deeper.
I do not want to ignore all the other parents who volunteer in many different ways to support the school, from Winter Festivals and May Fairs, to driving and chaperoning field trips, to baking, to showing up for your children in so many other ways. Thank you for your involvement and your hard work.
I hope that this last week away from school has been filled with love, joy and happiness, and I look forward to seeing you all next weekend at the Winter Festival (thanks again, parent volunteers!).
Kevin McDuff
School Administrator
|
|
Faculty Spotlight:
Mandarin Teacher Luo Lau Shi
|
|
Where did you grow up? What brought you here?
I was born and raised in Taiwan. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Taiwan and a Master’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When I returned to Taiwan to practice law, I thought I would
stay in Taiwan forever. However, the universe had other plans! I met my husband at a Toastmasters club
in Taiwan. I immigrated to the U.S. in 2005 and since then I have lived in Orange County, where my husband grew up.
Several years ago, you brought our 12th graders to Taiwan for their senior trip. What were some educational and cultural highlights of the trip?
It is not surprising that many people around the world do not know much about Taiwan because it was isolated diplomatically for more than forty years, and Taiwan’s freedom and democracy are under threat.The 2019 senior class had the opportunity to visit Taiwan before the Covid shutdown. They got a glimpse of Taiwan’s past from the traditional temples and buildings they visited to appreciate the delicate art and craftsmanship; yet they also experienced modern technology by taking one of the fastest elevators in the world, in 37 seconds, from the 5th floor to the 89th -floor observatory at Taipei 101, which used to be the tallest building in the world and now is the 11th.
The students realized that Taiwan had not only been ruled by imperial China, but had also been ruled by
Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan before. Taiwan not only inherited Chinese culture and other world cultures
but also has its indigenous tribe cultures and we visited one of the tribes. We not only strolled on the
beach and viewed the seashore from the other side of the Pacific Ocean, but we also traveled up to the
8737-foot-high Ali Mountain and got up at 3 a.m. to take Alishan Forest Railway in order to see the
stunning sunrise. (For your reference, there are 268 peaks over 10,000 feet high in Taiwan while Southern
California has 22).
We visited Ci-Xin Waldorf School so students had the opportunity to exchange their learning experiences. Ci-Xin’s students taught our students to make a local treat, scallion pancakes, and we enjoyed them together. Talking about food, the senior class surely enjoyed the various exquisite Taiwanese food at every meal, which included adventures to explore the night markets and various street vendors. Making the famous “soup dumplings” in a cooking class concluded the memorable trip!
|
|
Prospective Students & Parents
Experience the WSOC High School
|
|
High School Experience Welcomes New High School and Parent Guests |
On Friday, Nov. 11, grade students from local middle schools visited the High School for a shadow day experience while their parents attended class presentations led by our fabulous high school teachers. Our guests visited with high school faculty and a panel of current 11th and 12th grade WSOC students in Meadows Hall. It was a wonderful event - we look forward to seeing many new faces in the high school next fall! |
|
|
|
Greek Mythology with Ms. K. |
|
|
On this special day, parents were the students! They learned about the genesis of Thespian terminology in Greek Mythology with Ms. Kuczenski and the tradewind pathways of our Dynamic Earth with Ms. Eijpen. Creating a form for the Earth using a balloon helped parents, working in pairs, to visualize the turning globe’s effect on tradewind pathways (The Coriolis Force).
|
|
|
Grades 3 and 8 enjoyed a game of Capture the Flag with Games teacher Mr. Brad. |
|
Holiday season is the perfect time to purchase Scrip!
Please see Scrip Coordinator Pam Lusk in the Company of Angels for the best Scrip to buy this month, holiday deals and more.
|
|
|
Mon 11/28, 9:00a - 10:00a • Parent Study Group with Early Years Teacher Holly Richards (Parent-Infant through Grade 1 parents welcome)
Tue 11/29 GIVING TUESDAY
Tue 11/29, 8:45a - 9:45a • Room Rep meeting
Tue 11/29, 3:15p - 5:15p • High School Soccer HOME GAME vs. Compton Early College
Tue 11/29, 5:30p - 7:00p • DEI Community Conversation
Wed 11/30, 6:00p - 8:00p • Grade 12 Parent Evening
Wed 11/30, 7:00p - 8:30p • Parent Council with Kevin McDuff, School Administrator
December 2022
Fri 12/2, 3:15p - 5:15p • High School Soccer HOME GAME vs. Legacy Prep
Sat 12/3, 1:00p - 5:00p • Winter Festival
Mon 12/5 - Fri 12/9 • Grade 8 Parent Teacher student conferences
Mon 12/5, 9:00a - 10:00a • Parent Study Group with Early Years Teacher Holly Richards (Parent-Infant through Grade 1 parents welcome)
Tue 12/6, 3:00p - 4:00p • HS Boys Soccer Away vs. John Glenn HS
Tue 12/6, 7:30p - 9:00p • Adult Education
Wed 12/7, 9:00a - 10:30a • Walk Through the Grades
Wed 12/7, 6:30p - 8:00p • Parent Enrichment Evening with Elan Leibner: The 12 Points of View
Thu 12/8, 6:30p - 8:00p • Grade 7 Parent Meeting
Fri 12/9 • EC Winter Spiral
Fri 12/9, 5:00p - 9:00p • WSOC Adult Education Program Grades
Fri 12/9, 7:00p - 9:00p • WSOC Adult Education Program Foundation Studies
Sat 12/10, 8:30a - 4:40p • WSOC Adult Education Program
Mon 12/12, 9:00a - 10:00a • Parent Study Group with Early Years Teacher Holly Richards (Parent-Infant through Grade 1 parents welcome)
Mon 12/12, 6:00p - 8:30p • Board Meeting
|
|
Click here for WSOC College of Teachers, Board Members and Administrative Rotation
|
|
Waldorf School of Orange County
2350 Canyon Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92627-3948
(949) 574-7775
wwww.waldorfschool.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
