In honor of National College Decision Day (May 1) WWS is excited and proud to announce the list of colleges that have offered places to our seniors. Congratulations to the class of 2023!

Colleges marked in bold indicate where our students will enroll.

Bard College ✦ Chapman University ✦ College of William & Mary ✦ Columbia College (Chicago) ✦ DePaul University ✦ Dickinson College ✦ Duke University ✦ Eckerd College ✦ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University ✦ Emerson College ✦ Fordham University ✦ George Mason University ✦ George Washington University ✦ Goucher College ✦ Grinnell College ✦ Haverford College ✦ Hofstra University ✦ Howard University ✦ Ithaca College ✦ Kenyon College ✦ Loyola University (MD) ✦ McGill University ✦ Morehouse College ✦ Oberlin College ✦ Penn State University ✦ Purdue University ✦ Savannah College of Art & Design ✦ Scripps College ✦ St. Mary’s College (MD) ✦ SUNY Stonybrook ✦ Syracuse University ✦ Tulane University ✦ US Air Force Academy ✦ US Merchant Marine Academy ✦ US Military Academy – West Point ✦ US Naval Academy ✦ University of British Columbia ✦ University of California Santa Cruz ✦ University of Colorado ✦ University of Denver ✦ University of Florida ✦ University of Maryland ✦ University of Massachusetts ✦ University of Notre Dame ✦ University of San Francisco ✦ University of Toronto ✦ University of Vermont ✦ University of Wisconsin ✦ Virginia Commonwealth University

From Stephanie Dorius, G6 Class Teacher

I had the honor of representing WWS at the World Teachers' Conference at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. I was also the fortunate recipient of a grant from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). The theme of this year's conference was "Affirming - Nurturing - Trusting, an Education for Today and Tomorrow". 

It is difficult to describe the feeling of being there with nearly 1,000 other Waldorf teachers from 61 different countries. I could start with awe, hope, wonder, and encouragement. While I feel all those things, I am equally humbled by the lengths to which people have gone to share Waldorf education across the globe. I met a refugee teacher from Ukraine who was teaching refugee children living in Germany. I also spoke with a Waldorf teacher from Tanzania whose school population is 20% children who have been orphaned. 

My days were filled with lectures, workshops, activities, and inspiring conversations. Each day of the conference had its own theme: awakening thinking and intelligence, deepening feeling and empathy, nurturing and strengthening the body, and building resilience. I have a notebook full of notes, quotes, music, and insights to which I find myself continually referring back. 

The ongoing conversations that struck me were those of fostering resilience and facilitating opportunities for learning that are inclusive, culturally responsive, and culturally sustaining for all students. In one particular workshop, we kept coming back to the phrase "we've made space for you to belong and be safe"; this is what informs our work as educators. 

I am more than grateful for the opportunity to attend the conference; I am forever changed. 

We need more breakfast food contributions for Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Friday! 

Please help feed our honored guests! We also need a few more greeters from 8-9:30, and an entire clean up crew! from 12:15-12:45pm.

• We suggest the following food offerings (enough to feed 8-10 people) by grade (click on the link to contribute):
• Children's Garden, G1, G2, G3 and G4 -- Savories (casseroles, quiches, etc.), Fruit, Cheese Trays
• G5, G6, G7 and G8 -- Breakfast Breads (bagels, muffins, coffee cakes, etc.)
• High School -- Juices, Milk, Sparkling Waters, Yogurts, Cream Cheese/Butter
• Sign Up for a Shift

May

3/ Wednesday

• Simplicity Parenting Class, 6pm

4/ Thursday

• Adult Education Talk with Jack Petrash, 7pm (see below)

5/ Friday

• Grandparents & Special Friends Day, 8:15am - 12:30pm (see below)
• 12:30pm Dismissal

8/ Monday

• Craft & Conversation, 8:45am

10/ Wednesday

• Simplicity Parenting Class, 6pm
• Community Meeting with Dinner, 6-7:30pm (see below)

12/ Friday

• High School Prom

13/ Saturday

• CG Open House, 10:30am

16/ Tuesday

• Trustees Council Meeting, 7pm

17/ Wednesday

• Simplicity Parenting Class, 6pm

18/ Thursday

• Senior Play, 7pm

19/ Friday

• Senior Play, 4pm

22/ Monday

• Craft & Conversation, 8:30am - Last of the school year!

View the Calendar of School Days for the 2022-2023 School Year

The Waldorf Student - Under Construction

The Foundation, the Framing, and the Finish Work

A talk from Jack Petrash

Thursday, May 4 at 7pm - Tomorrow!

A Waldorf School is designed to educate healthy children even in uncertain times. It does this through a developmentally based education that meets the three distinct phases of childhood with insight, imagination, and heart. This talk will explore our comprehensive and balanced approach and how the teaching evolves to meet the changing needs of the growing child. 

Jack is a former WWS class teacher, and the long-time director of the Nova Institute, an organization that has worked with teachers and parents to provide a deeper understanding of children. He is the author of four books on Waldorf Education and parenting, including the recently published "Turning Lead into Gold."

Grandparents & Special Friends Day

Friday, May 5 from 8:15am-12:30pm*

Grandparents and special friends of current students are welcome to join us for a morning breakfast reception with speakers, class visits, and special student performances.

*Last week's bulletin had a typo showing the end time as 2:30pm. The correct time is 12:30pm.

Community Meeting

Wednesday, May 10 from 6-7:30pm

We are pleased to host an all-school community meeting in the auditorium the evening of May 10. We will discuss the 'state of the school' and share information about our school's finances, the Room to Move campaign, and our 2023-2028 strategic plan. We will also provide gym tours for those who are interested. Dinner will be provided at this event. Adults only. 

Please RSVP for the Meeting.

We are thrilled to announce that Janet Dunwoody will join us this summer in the role of Lower School Chair.

Janet is a graduate of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, with an Honors Degree in Modern History. Janet completed Waldorf Teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento, as well as Spacial Dynamics training Level 1, and has a certificate in Bothmer Gymnastics. She was introduced to Waldorf education at the Calgary Waldorf School in Canada, and on moving to California in 2000, she worked as the Movement teacher, and later part-time and then full-time Pedagogical Administrator with responsibility for the Nursery to 12th Grade program at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula (WSP).

Janet taught Spanish in the high school at WSP and ran the summer Circus Camps. She has experience on the Management Team at WSP, has collaborated on many committees, and served on the Board at WSP. She has been on several AWSNA accreditation committees and is the Board President of Espai Waldorf Garraf in Barcelona, a preschool for children between the ages of 1 and 6.

For fun, Janet enjoys trail running and cycling, a good book, and long after-dinner conversations with family and friends.

Preorder the 2022-2023 Yearbook! 

Full color coverage of Children’s Garden through Grade 12 and events. 

You can preorder a yearbook with free delivery to the school if you place your order by May 15. Orders placed after May 15 will include the cost of shipping the book directly to the purchaser.

Preorders with free shipping cost $46.18 (including tax) and will be available at the school for pickup around June 6. All yearbooks are printed on recycled paper and for every yearbook purchased, TreeRing will plant a tree.

Preorder by May 15 to avoid shipping costs.

Yearbooks can only be ordered through the TreeRing website.

Please Note: TreeRing’s website works best in the Chrome internet browser. If you visit the website directly, the school passcode is: 1015278619434770 

There is still time to buy an ad! Ad purchases are due by May 14. Ad space can be used to congratulate your student, a class, thank a teacher / the school, and/or advertise your business. 

Order an ad on the TreeRing website.

Please contact Justin Pyles with any yearbook questions.

Room to Move Campaign Goal Met! But We Are Not Done Yet

Last week, at a Room to Move campaign donor event, Washington Waldorf School's Trustees Council Chair Vanessa Beckman made an exciting announcement. The Room to Move campaign has met its goal of $7 million! However, we are not finished. To plan the Room to Move campaign, a portion of the school’s reserve funds were used for planning and permitting, consulting, and early architectural and engineering fees. Funds raised beyond the $7 million Room to Move campaign goal will be used to replenish those school’s reserve funds.

To that end, we recently launched a brick campaign to provide an additional way for everyone in the Washington Waldorf School community to participate in the gym building project, and to commemorate that support. Donors can choose from 4"x8" and 8"x8" walkway bricks inscribed with three or six lines of customized text of your choice. 

To date, donors have purchased bricks in honor of:

• An individual student
• A recent alum
• A Lower School class combined resources to honor their class teacher

We look forward to seeing how others are commemorated in our community as well!

If you would like to celebrate someone special or honor your own gift, bricks may be purchased online. Paper forms can also be emailed or mailed by request. Please email Stephanie Hanson, Director of Development and Alum Relations, with any questions.

Congratulations to Zoe Sensenbrenner (Class of 2025) who won bronze in her individual ice dance event in a USA Skating qualifier this past weekend. Zoe is also a Team USA International Gold Medalist with the DC Edge Junior Team, and individual ice dance is a new addition to her competitive repertoire - off to a very strong start!  

Photo Credit: Melanie Heaney

New Camp Added!

A new camp has been added to our summer lineup. Our aftercare instructor Joaquin Moreno will offer a Culinary Camp for ages 6-10. The camp is available for two sessions: June 19 - 23 and June 26 - 30.

Campers will explore foods from around the world while also learning kitchen & knife safety, food handling and measurements and conversions. Campers will make tacos, sushi wraps and other vegan/veggie friendly options. Children will create their own individual recipe book.

Learn More & Register

In last week's Bulletin we shared a report by WWS College Co-Chair and Early Childhood Teacher Lisa Pitillo Bechmann, on digital media and young children. Along with the report, we shared the new Screen Aware Early Childhood Action Kit from the Screentime Action Network Early Childhood Working Group. This research-based guide provides both information about what is needed for healthy child development and practical guidance about what parents can do about screens in the lives of their children.

Learn more about Screen-Free Week.

View the DC Area Waldorf School Screen-Free Week Guide from 2019. It has a lot of activities to do at home. Just don't try to attend any of the events listed at the end!

Please take a minute to nominate WWS for a Montgomery Magazine Readers Choice Award!

Nominate WWS today!

• BigSis Portal - keep your contact information up to date!
• Current Health Policy - updated Aug 29, 2022.
• Lunch program info for current families in ParentSquare.
• Map of the pickup and drop-off flow.
• Magnus Portal for student forms.
• Bulletin newsletters.

If you cannot find the information you are looking for on ParentSquare, please email your department coordinator/administrator:

• Children's Garden - Cecilia Berg-Benson
• Lower School - Christen Leonard 
• High School - Bonnie McClelland

Learn More & Register!

Wildlife and Wireless - A Webinar on the Environmental Impacts of Electromagnetic Radiation - The Science, Policy and Law

From Theodora Scarato (WWS Family)

Thursday, May 4 at 1pm

Learn abut how wireless impacts birds, bees, and trees. Albert M. Manville II, PhD., retired senior wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and co-author of “Effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields on flora and fauna,” will present along with several experts. Dr. Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam will present her study on the impact of radiofrequency radiation on trees. Former FCC lawyer Erica Rosenberg, recently featured in ProPublica's investigation, will also present. WWS parent Theodora Scarato will host and present.

Register and more information at EHT.

Madeleine Corrigan Junior Recital

Saturday, May 6 at 6pm

Katzen Arts Center

WWS Adjunct Cello Teacher, Madeleine Corrigan, is performing her Junior Recital next weekend!

In collaboration with pianist Bailey Hobbs, her program celebrates the works of J.S. Bach, Frédéric Chopin, and Johannes Brahms, and more!

Madeleine would be delighted to welcome members of the WWS community to share in a night of classical music. Entry is free for all! 

Maryland Premiere of Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age

from Sarah Vakkur (WWS Family/Alum Family)

Thursday, May 4 from 7-9pm

Hosted by Girls on the Run of Montgomery County, MD

‍Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age delves into how the tech revolution has reshaped adolescence and its effects on substance use. The film debunks myths and depicts strategies parents and schools can use to encourage healthy decision-making, support teen mental health, set limits, and create healthy home environments. The film also includes many ways young people are using their wisdom and strength to help each other and themselves through this complicated terrain around substance use.

Doors open at 6:30pm and the screening will begin at 7pm followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and experts in the field of addiction. The evening will conclude at 9pm. 

Learn more and buy tickets.

Published by the Washington Waldorf School

Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved

Culinary Camp Photo by Andy Chilton on Unsplash

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