WSOC November 14, 2022 Newsletter

Education for the 21st Century

Dear Families,

It feels like we blinked, and suddenly it's almost Thanksgiving! We are very much looking forward to our first in-person Grandparents and Special Friends Day in two years on Nov. 18. This event is open to parents, grandparents and special community friends. All of the WSOC community is welcome to attend. Registration required. If you haven't registered , please do so today!

IMPORTANT NOTE: please arrive early to park. It will be a very busy day and we want to set everyone up for parking success!

We are also gearing up for the launch of our Annual Giving Campaign after the Thanksgiving break, taking place on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29. The impetus behind Giving Tuesday is to foster a sense of community and generosity, something our WSOC families excel at and for which we are endlessly grateful!

Please enjoy this issue, chock full of campus fun, upcoming events including our Meet the Alumni virtual experience and High School Parent Tour, a shout out to WSOC for landing an article and cover art in Renewal magazine, and a wonderful interview with Baba the Storyteller, who recently visited our campus and will be back for a free family event in May.

We wish you all a glorious Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family next week, and we will see you back on Monday Nov. 28! Next big event: Winter Festival! Stay tuned for details from your Room Reps and school community!

Warmly,

Alyssa Hamilton

Communications Coordinator

Leadership Message:

Our Community Connections

Dear families,

Years ago, our Board Chair addressed our parents at a Back-to-School Night with a message about California's giant redwood forest. He asked the audience to stand and link arms with those of their neighbors to their left and right. As the audience rose and stood, arm-in-arm, he described the root structure supporting the tallest trees on earth, the California Redwoods. We learned that their sky-scraping height is possible due to their intermingling root system that connects with the roots of fellow neighbors all along the forest floor. It is not the individual root depth of any one tree alone that does the job; rather, it is their intertwined connections that support their majestic height.

As parents, we are part of this root system that was started 34 years ago at WSOC, a network which has been establishing itself and experiencing continued growth with each passing year. With the continued support of our community, we have the opportunity to further strengthen our shared root system.

We feel tremendous gratitude for those pioneering families who started this school 34 years ago in a church basement. The legacy they left behind is felt by all of us, and our children, on a daily basis.

Please join us on Nov. 29, Giving Tuesday, in supporting the school through our most important fundraiser, the Annual Giving Campaign. Our financial reality is such that tuition covers only a portion of the school's operating expenses. Annual Giving is one of the means to help bridge the gap, providing essential contributions toward the day-to-day operations of the school, which are tax deductible for the donor. Annual Giving is the cornerstone of our fundraising program, rounding out the budget which allows the school to offer the comprehensive curriculum we all desire for our children.

Thank you to our community members for choosing WSOC, and we look forward to growing together with all of you.

Warmly,

Kevin McDuff

School Administrator

Annual Giving 22-23

Myths vs. Facts

MYTH: My donation is not that important or needed because WSOC has sufficient income from tuition and fees to cover the school’s annual operating expenses.

FACT: Tuition and fees cover only a portion of the annual operating expenses of the school. The Annual Giving fund is the primary source of unrestricted funds that supplements tuition income to cover the school’s annual operating expenses. Like fellow independent schools, WSOC relies solely upon tuition revenues and philanthropic gifts to meet our operating and capital expenses.

MYTH: My participation does not make a difference because I don’t have the means to make a large donation.

FACT: Gifts of every size help the school achieve its $100,000 goal. You can make your tax-deductible gift as a one-time donation or can distribute it into multiple payments over the remainder of the school year.

MYTH: Donations to Annual Giving are put in the school’s reserve fund and are meant to cover a “rainy day.”

FACT: The funds raised through Annual Giving go into the school’s operating account and are invested right back into our school to pay for things like: recruitment, training and retention of outstanding teachers; classroom opportunities; guest artists; transportation and trips; facilities improvements; and tuition assistance.

WSOC’s Annual Giving Campaign runs from November 29 (Giving Tuesday) through December 31, 2022.

To make your gift or pledge early, click here.

Renewal: A Journal for Waldorf Education

We are pleased to announce that the Fall 2022 issue of School Renewal magazine features our very own middle and high school Eurythmy teacher Silvia Hanustiakova (interviewed by Alyssa Swanson Hamilton), exploring the multi-faceted beauty of Eurythmy and how it benefits our students. The cover art was designed for the magazine by WSOC 12th grader Hannah Lieberman.

To read the Fall 2022 issue, School Renewal magazine can be ordered here.

Excerpt:

“Eurythmy is movement that looks simple, it is harmony that looks natural, it is balance that makes you aware of imbalances that want to be taken care of. It is movement that comes out of your more hidden parts of being; it does not stream from the physical body, but uses and cultivates the etheric body. It's movement that is fired by your imagination. Connecting to a higher circle of elements of speech, music, where the human body expresses that which these sounds have in deeper nature. The human being is a part of those formative forces and co-creates them. It is enlivening and refreshing once you tap into that stream.”

Community Spotlight: Baba the Storyteller

Baba the Storyteller visited WSOC on Nov. 9, sharing stories and songs with rapt student audiences across the grades and high school. We have been blessed with many visits from Baba over the years, and our school community has been greatly enhanced by his presence. Baba is one of the few recognized U.S. born practitioners of the ancient West African storytelling craft known as Jaliyaa. This ancient West African bardic craft is a testament to the power of music and words. The wordsmiths of West Africa are popularly referred to as “Griots,” but in the West African language of Bamanakan or Mande Kan, they are known as Jali or Jeli (pl. Jeliw or Jalolu), depending on the region you travel into. A female griot is referred to as a Jelimuso or Jalimuso (muso meaning “woman").

Baba has received numerous awards over the years for his work as a folklorist, traditional harpist, storyteller, community activist and volunteer. During his most recent visit, Baba told Grade 5 that the Griot's job is not to teach, but to listen, and to help each person discover their best selves.

Baba is currently touring internationally and working as a Master Teaching Artist with Segerstrom Center for the Arts, designing curricula that fuse the arts with classroom instruction.

Enjoy the interview, and be sure to sign up for our all-school family event with Baba in May!

You have been a beloved presence at WSOC for many years. What brought you here? What do you most admire or resonate with regarding Waldorf education?

Initially, I had been coming for a few years to WSOC’s after-school program led by Tiesha Hutchins-Utai. But prior to that, I had crossed paths, many years ago, with Linda Timmons at UCLA Live. I was working in South Los Angeles with what we called Rites-of-Passage Programing, and she was the Director of the performing arts program at UCLA that allowed my young people to attend different programs at Royce Hall for free. I’m not sure how, or when it happened but Holly Richards became an advocate for getting me to share stories and time with elementary and Brooke Natzke did the same for middle school. There are so many more teachers and administrators who have played a role in valuing my work and having me return to WSOC.

My resonance with Waldorf extends back to my spiritual studies of Rudolf Steiner. In my 20’s and early 30’s I was part of a group based in South Los Angeles studying the works of intellectuals and spiritualists such as Steiner. We were sharing in our efforts to grow our spiritual awareness, understanding with a group in Pasadena dedicated to promoting Steiner’s Philosophies & Sciences. There used to be a bookstore in Pasadena that specialized in carrying Steiner’s works. I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older that time has started to become much more elastic in my mind. So much of this time exists in fog of memory for me, but, as I always tell my students “Dooni dooni kononi bé nyaga da” (Little by little the small bird manages to build its nest).

Click here to read more!

(Pictured from left to right: From Baba's visit on Nov. 9 - 5th Grade; 1st Grade; and 12th Grade saying an emotional goodbye to Baba, whom they have known since the early grades)

Upcoming Events

Click image to register!

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from our high school graduates from the classes of 2022 through 2015. The virtual event platform allows us the chance to include WSOC alumni from across the continent.

Curious to know where they are now? Wondering what they thought of their WSOC journey? Join us for this unscripted hour and ask them anything. They’re ready for you!

Capacity is limited! Click the image above to reserve your space.

Curious to see what our students are working on in their classes?

This event is open to all parents, grandparents and special friends of our community. Presentations will be shared by Grade 1 through Grade 12 classes. All of our community is welcome to attend one of these special events.

Winter Festival is Here!

Saturday, December 3

Thoughts on Winter Festival and our Advent Spiral

As the days grew shorter and colder and the sun threatened to abandon the earth, ancient people brought all ordinary action and daily routine to a halt. They gave in to the nature of winter, came away from their fields and put away their tools. They removed the wheels from their carts and wagons, festooned them with greens and lights and brought them indoors to hang in their halls. They brought them indoors as a sign of a different time, a time to stop and turn inward. They had the courage to stop and wait and engage fully in the winter of their dark longing. Perhaps the symbolism of those wheels has escaped us… but symbolic action has the potential of bridging the gulf between knowing and believing. As we go about clipping our greens and winding them on a hoop, we use our hands, we smell the pungent smell that fills the room, we think about our action. Our imagination is stirred. We make the wreath and light the candles and we gain the courage to stop the wheeling and dealing of outer life and give way to visions of inner truths through outward signs.

-Excerpted from To Dance with God: Family Ritual and Community Celebration by Gertrud Mueller Nelson

Campus Snapshots

Grade 8 Visits High School

"My visit to the high school felt very welcoming and it was a really fun day!" - Cruz

"I think that it was fun and it really showed me how nice and happy and trusting the WSOC high school community is." - Zeynep

Grade 6 Vendor Market

Grade 6 at their Vendor's Market, selling wares they created from repurposed or found objects. They not only created their own items to sell, but also made business plans and dedicated funds raised to a variety of charities.

Grade 3 Harvest Dinner

Teacher Jenell's Grade 3 celebrated the Fall season with a special Harvest Dinner, with food prepared by the students and enjoyed by family members on campus on Friday Nov. 5.

High School Spirit Week & Club Fair

Homecoming at WSOC

WSOC high school students and their guests in Grades 9-12 enjoyed a Homecoming Dance on campus on Saturday Nov. 5 that featured a DJ, photo booth by WSOC alum Lulu Forsum and more.