Greetings!
Here in Connecticut we are still absorbing the news that we will not meet in person again this school year. We knew this was a probability, but the new certainty has hit many of us hard -- as do most emotional curve balls these days. While our teachers are busy sustaining school remotely through the end of the year, and while we re-think how we will celebrate important milestones such as graduation, we are also busy at work planning for all the variables we will likely encounter during the 2020-21 school year. It is, to say the least, a busy time!
At the core of Waldorf education is a belief in the importance of relationships as a means for teaching and for strengthening our humanity. Our teachers have been putting their all into distance learning not only to educate our children -- and their parents -- from afar, but also to nurture the profound relationships that bind our classes and community together. In the midst of a crisis, this is emotionally exhausting work. As Teacher Appreciation Week draws to a close and Mother's Day arrives, I am filled with profound gratitude for all of the people in our lives who tend to the emotional and practical work that allows us to move forward day by day. Thank you, teachers. Thank you, mothers.
In gratitude,
Christina Dixcy
Communications Director and Office Manager
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All events are subject to change.
School will be closed on May 25 for Memorial Day.
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Our Campus is Closed but Admissions is Open!
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Virtual Open House
Friday, May 22, 2020
9 AM
Please join our Enrollment Director, Therese Lederer, for a
virtual open house and tour.
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Every Tuesday @ 9AM
Join us for a coffee break social check-in every Tuesday morning via Zoom!
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Leslie Cohen-Rubury, LCSW on May 27
Leslie Cohen-Rubury will present another parenting webinar to HVWS parents on the evening of May 27:
Dealing with Intense Emotions. Details to follow.
If you would like a copy of her last presentation, "Parenting During a Pandemic" please e-mail
office@waldorfct.org.
Leslie Cohen-Rubury is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with an MSW as well as a Masters in Special Education. She has nearly 40 years’ experience working with families and children in school and community settings. With a private practice in Redding, CT providing individual, family, and marital therapy, Ms. Cohen-Rubury has ongoing parenting groups and regularly conducts workshops and lectures in the community. She is intensively trained in Dialectic Behavior Therapy and now leads DBT skills groups for adults, teenagers and their families. This work focuses on emotional regulation and interpersonal skills training. Ms. Cohen-Rubury is committed to helping parents develop a framework and perspective that decreases burnout and increases competency at what is often referred to as the world’s hardest job: parenting.
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COVID-19 "Take Care" Emergency Assistance Fund
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We do not want to lose a single family to financial hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The effects of this crisis on the economy have been swift and severe. We know some of our families have been hit especially hard.
In place of the Spring Benefit and Annual Fund campaign, we are launching the HVWS COVID-19 “Take Care” Emergency Assistance Fund. All donations received after March 30, 2020 will be allocated toward emergency tuition assistance. If you — or anyone you know who loves our school — have the means to support families who are vulnerable right now, your generosity will help see us through this crisis and keep our community whole. Thank you.
Housatonic Valley Waldorf School is a non-profit 501c3. Your contribution is potentially tax- deductible. Tax ID # 061310057
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Second Graders donned special hairdos for a "crazy hair day" virtual study hall.
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Fourth Graders have been busy learning about many animals and completing a project on one.
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Our Fifth Graders recently presented their US States and Territories projects to their classmates and families.
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The Sixth and Seventh Grades have been studying the Middle Ages during their history main lesson block. We have concentrated on the spread of Islam and its art, the biography of Charlemagne and the Carolingian minuscule calligraphy and illuminated letters, the Magna Carta, Canterbury Cathedral and the spread of the Gothic Cathedrals in Western Europe. All students have been creating beautiful artistic work.
This past Wednesday they were given the assignment to try and create their own personal version of a Gothic cathedral with its spires, towers, stained glass windows and magnificent entrances using materials they could find in nature, their back yard, or their garage. (One 7th grade mom felt inspired and also created her own "natural" rose window!) - Ms. De Grande
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Since we began Spanish classes online, the younger children have been both reviewing and learning new vocabulary by looking at dioramas, playing memory and finger games, and moving around a sofa or a chair (jumping like a frog, flying like a bird, etc.) in their living rooms. We started with farm animals and vegetables and then moved to animals from the woods (a place in which I hope everyone is spending lots of time!). We are now also looking at the names of fruits. The older children have been reviewing the same vocabulary (sometimes with their siblings) while practicing their reading and writing skills. In the upper grades the focus has been on practicing verb conjugation and writing sentences. It has been and continues to be my pleasure to be able to work with each and every one of our children. - Maestra Marcela
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Thank you to
Patricia Campbell, Laura Wittmer, and Danielle O'Neil for bringing May Fair to us so beautifully! We would have preferred to gather in person, but virtual May Fair was incredibly moving!
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8th Grade Project Presentations: Online Now!
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Recently the Class of 2020 presented their 8th Grade Graduation Projects to their class and families during their daily Zoom meeting. They later recorded their presentations so we may now share them with all of you!. This was another skill they had to learn in these Covid-19 times. They took it all in stride! This year’s presentations include:
- Aine Ancona, Digital Drawing
- Jackson DellaCamera, Designing a Website on Architecture
- Sophia Merkulov, Breaking Pit Bull Stereotypes
- Alexis Steger, Interior Design
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In this time of unprecedented change, we are tasked with the challenge of finding new ways to foster human connection.
With flexibility, creativity, and heart, our teachers and parents are working together to provide consistency and support for our children during a time of uncertainty.
Each foray into the use of technology to maintain these connections has been taken deliberately at the discretion of the teachers with an eye to the specific needs of each class.
Pictured, a snippet of 2nd Grade form drawing instructions.
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We send our love and condolences to HVWS Development and Volunteer Coordinator Carrie Donat, husband Charlie, and their entire family (including Early Childhood students Charlie and Addie) on the passing of Charlie's father, Charles Donat.
We also send our sympathy and love to HVWS Gym Teacher Laura Geilen and her family on the passing of Laura's mother.
Finally, we send our love and condolences to HVWS Middle School Teacher Laura Hayes, husband David, and their entire family on the passing of David's father, David C. Hayes.
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HVWS graduate (class of 2013) and Virginia Tech student
Madison Wittmer has been selected to receive the Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Award for the next academic year, which will allow her to work full-time this summer doing geological research, take a GRE prep class, and participate in other professional workshops. She also gets a stipend for the whole academic year. Congratulations, Madison!! We're so proud of all you've achieved so far!!
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Alumni gathered in January 2019 to reflect on their experiences at the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School. This video of the event was filmed and edited by Henry James who graduated from 8th grade at HVWS in 2017.
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Waldorf Alum Networking Platform
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- be a part of a continental network and community
- mentor younger alums in your field
- seek out work or internships with a Waldorf alum
- hire other Waldorf alums to work with you on a project or within a company or organization
- attend a regional Waldorf alum event or party
- find "long lost" friends and reconnect
- meet new Waldorf alums in your area
- follow the Waldorf alum news and be inspired by what your fellow Waldorf alums are doing in the world!
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Seeking Submissions from Alumni!
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HVWS alumni are amazing people doing amazing things!
The Association of Waldorf Schools of North American (AWSNA) is launching its Waldorf Alum Connect Spotlight campaign in January and is seeking published news about alums. The aim of this campaign is to spread the word about the amazing work that our Waldorf alums are undertaking as scientists, artists, teachers, engineers, musicians, advisors, entrepreneurs and more.
We are seeking published news articles, personal websites and published research about what our alum are doing out in the wide world.
Please consider nominating yourself or someone you know
here!
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HVWS Fleece Jackets are Here!
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Orders may be shipped to your home.
Sizing guidelines for youth sizes:
YXS 4
YS 6-8
YM 10-12
YL 14-16
YXL 18-20
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To provide a lasting education that cultivates resilient and creative human beings who are capable of free thinking, confident action, and deep connections with others and the world.
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Housatonic Valley Waldorf School | 203-364-1113 | office@waldorfct.org|
waldorfct.org
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