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Dear Friends,
Many years ago, when my daughters were both quite young and students at Camellia Waldorf School in Sacramento, I had been lingering on their campus after drop-off and the morning bell, and as I began to finally make my way out of the lower grades play yard back to my car, my older daughter's Third Grade teacher spied me through the classroom window. She poked her head out the classroom door and called me over to her. As she was normally quite protective of the children's learning space (and also a Choleric not to be trifled with!), I bee-lined it over. To my surprise, she invited me inside the room so that I could be a witness to something that, it turns out, was quite wonderful: the children's first successful experience with singing in rounds. I was enchanted at this sweet moment, wonderful also for the excited children who got to showcase their new skill to a new (albeit sympathetic) audience of one, and sweet, too, for their proud teacher. For this parent, one still fairly new to Waldorf education who often wondered what types of adventures and delights took place during her children's days away from her, those few minutes were like a hug for my soul.
So profound in its joy and simplicity was that moment that when I became a class teacher a couple of years later, I remembered it and made an effort to open up my own classroom on occasion to my then-class parents. Sometimes it was planned; other times a feeling of excitement caught me in the moment, prompting me to spontaneously grab whatever parents were nearby to be a witness to some special unfolding. I recall one morning, during our North American history block in Fifth Grade, when I got to pay my own parent experience forward.
We had been practicing a three-part harmony of America the Beautiful; it was the first time we had attempted something so musically complicated and, not being particularly strong in music myself, it had been quite the labor of love to instruct and lead the children in holding various notes while classmates were adventuring in other places along the musical scale. But on that morning, after a couple weeks of practicing and tweaking, the kids (no doubt in spite of their teacher's meager musicality) had nailed it. In the high-ceilinged space of Upper White Feather, their voices had soared and joined in harmonic (and purple mountains') majesty. While I knew that we would be bringing that song to an upcoming assembly for the parent body, I also knew that the acoustics of our outdoor amphitheater would never do the sound experience justice, and I wanted some other adult to feel what the kids and I had just felt. So I beckoned into the room - just as my own daughter's teacher had six years earlier - a class mom and a couple of her friends standing nearby outside.
And then I got to watch as their souls got hugged.
Our Waldorf class teachers have countless precious moments in the
classroom with your children like the one I described above. Sometimes these get conveyed through photographs or email sharings your teachers
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A 'throw-back' magical moment from the 2015-16 school year with the Class of 2019: The one when you're able to finally keep all the balls in the air.
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provide, but often they remain a memory for teacher and students alone.
Next week, however,
you have the opportunity to experience your own magical moment in real time as Enrollment Director Donna Soldano leads classroom tours for our current community. These tours, held Tuesday and Wednesday, offer you an up-close glimpse into our students' experience, a few minutes of Waldorf education in action to tuck away in your memory banks and remind you, also, of why we make the sacrifice for this very special education.
I hope you are able to take part. With Waldorf, you never know what delights await you inside the classroom door. ...
In spirited community (and lots of soul hugs),
Nicole Deutsch
Director of Community Development
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Re-Enrollment Season is Here!
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It's that time of year! Cedar Springs will be opening re-enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year through the FACTS program, previously called Renweb. Please look for detailed information in your email box beginning next week. Questions? Please contact Donna Soldano at
[email protected]
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 Classroom Tours Next Week
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Save the Date, CSWS Parents!
Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 15-16
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Have you ever wondered about your child's experience during their Main Lesson? Here is an opportunity for you to observe the magic of Waldorf teaching in real time as you are guided on a tour through the grades.
Enrollment Director Donna Soldano will lead group tours on Jan. 15 and 16 for current parents who would like to do a "Walk Through the Grades." The Tuesday, Jan. 15th tour will begin
in the 1st grade, continuing on the path to the 3rd, 5th and finally ending in the 7th grade. The following day's tour
will begin at 8:30 a.m. on the lower campus observing the 2nd grade and continue on to visit the 4th, 6th and 8th grades.
Please contact Donna Soldano at (530) 642-9903 or
[email protected] if you re interested in joining us on the tour.
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You're Invited to the CSWS Winter Concert
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| 7th and 8th grade students practice their latest piece in strings class. |
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Our winter concert, showcasing our music program in grades 4-8, is coming up on Jan. 25. The 6:30 p.m. event, held at Cold Springs Church, features instrumental music performances, as well as by the recorder ensemble and upper grades choir. Please join us for a great evening!
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New Parent-Child Session
Starts This Month!
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Please join us for our Parent-Child Program for 3-4 year olds.
The Sunflowers Program is held fully outdoors and designed to help children deepen feelings of confidence; build capacities for learning; develop new communication and problem-solving skills, and strengthen emotional well-being.
Our Day:
- Gather and play
- Morning circle time: singing, movement, finger games and verse
- Nature, crafting, and/or a campus walk, or more play if that is what the day is asking of us
- Snack time (We will supply delicious homemade snack, please let the teacher know of any allergies when registering) and meal clean-up
- Nursery rhyme/nature inspired story and a goodbye song
For younger children (19-36 months), our
Daffodils Program offers interactive play, singing, finger games, story time, snack and craft activities. Parents and children work on projects that rotate between gardening, baking, painting, toy making/craft.
Breathe deep and enjoy parenting support, imaginative play, laughs, and warm meals while you share good conversation with like-minded parents.
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Winter Newsletter Coming in February - Alumni Submissions Welcome!
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Our quarterly newsletter installment will publish next month. We are looking for news and submissions about our wonderful alumni. Photos, college admission updates, notable life events are all welcomed. Please send submissions or questions to
[email protected]
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Mid-school Basketball Season Underway
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 Our 7th and 8th Grade students have launched their basketball season. This year, we have three teams: The Hawks (7-8 Girls Team), The Soaring Hawks (7th Grade Boys) and The Flying Hawks (8th Grade Boys). The teams are skillfully and enthusiastically coached by Todd Grosby and Rocko Shorrock. Links to the teams' game schedules can be found here:
7th Grade Boys,
7th-8th Grade Girls,
8th Grade Boys
Please come and cheer on our students as they embark on a new season of sportsmanship and athletic development! Go, Hawks!
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"First, comes the happiness, right?"
~ Gardener Ananda, watching 7th Graders having fun in the Greenhouse, and speaking about strategies for getting the students invested in the Gardening curriculum and focused on their work.
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Our school is much in need of an
early childhood extended care assistant
. We are
seeking a warm, responsible individual to help supervise this program. Experience with young children and knowledge of Waldorf pedagogy is preferred, but not required. The extended care position hours are Monday through Friday, 12 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. To meet state licensing requirements, applicants must have 12 ECE units, and be willing to comply with current CPR and First Aid training, clear a Livescan background check, a TB test, and a health screening and comply with current California vaccination requirements.
Please send inquiries to: Veronica Gunasekara at [email protected]
The College of Teachers is seeking individuals who can act as
substitute teachers. With our pedagogical chair position now vacant, we no longer have a go-to for when our teachers are ill or need to be away for the day for personal or family needs. With the cold and flu season approaching, the College would like to begin compiling a list of people, especially those with a teaching credential or experience working with children, who can support our faculty in this way. Please contact Amy Roehl at
[email protected] if you would be able to help with this.
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This Month's School Calendar
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Jan. 14 - Re-enrollment begins
Jan. 15 - Tour of Grades 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Jan. 16 - Tour of Grades 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th, 8:30- 9:30 a.m.
Parent-Child classes, Session 3, begins
Eighth Grade Parent Meeting, 7-8:30 p.m.
Jan. 18 - Parent Guild Meeting, 1:35 p.m.
Jan. 21 - MLK Jr. Holiday - No School
Jan. 25 - Winter Concert , 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Jan. 26 - Early Childhood Parent Meeting, 9-11a.m.
Feb. 1 - Parent Guild Meeting, 1:35 p.m.
Second Grade Parent Meeting, 6-8 p.m.
Inspiring our students to reach their highest potential as free-thinking, creative human beings who have a life-long love of learning, Cedar Springs offers Waldorf education to families and their children, infants through Eighth grade. - CSWS Mission Statement
This form is made available to guide parent questions & concerns in support of our school's communication model. Please download and complete with Parent Mentors, Faculty, and Staff.
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