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Dear Woodland Star Families,
As we move into the spring season, we look forward to a beloved and meaningful celebration in the Waldorf tradition, May Day, which falls at a special moment in the rhythm of the year. It is the point halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, a time when the forces of growth, light, and life are rising strongly in the natural world. As blossoms open and the days lengthen, we experience a sense of expansion both outwardly in nature and inwardly in our human community.
In Waldorf education, festivals are not simply events but living experiences that help children connect to the rhythms of the seasons and to one another. The May Festival is our spring celebration of community. It stands in a meaningful relationship to our autumn festival, the Festival of Courage. At Michaelmas, we honor the courage of the individual; the inner strength it takes to meet challenges and stand upright in the world. May Day, by contrast, turns our attention to our community, made up of individuals who come together in harmony. It is a celebration of belonging, cooperation, and shared human experience.
A central element of our May Day celebration is our community gathering around the maypole, with kindergarten and grades students dancing and singing, celebrating how far we have come!
As the culminating rite of passage, our eighth-grade students weave the ribbons around the maypole. Each colorful ribbon, carried by individual students, represents their unique path, gifts, and presence. As they move in a coordinated pattern, the ribbons gradually weave together into a living tapestry. This act symbolizes how each individual life is interwoven with others, creating something stronger and more meaningful together than alone.
With a special invitation to May Day, we warmly invite you to celebrate this joyful spring festival on Friday, May 1, 2026. The day begins with each grade’s flower wreath making and culminates in the Maypole Assembly at 11 am.
With appreciation,
Antje Bojarsky, Pedagogical Director, 8th Grade Teacher
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Assemblies provide opportunities for our grades students to gather in shared experiences of learning, reflection, and connection; helping to build a strong sense of school community.
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Chinese New Year Assembly
During our Chinese New Year assembly, students across the grades contributed to the celebration, with fifth graders showcasing a traditional dragon.
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Nowruz Spring Equinox Assembly
During the Nowruz Spring Equinox assembly, hosted by the seventh grade, students gathered to welcome the season with poetry, song, story, and the tradition of the Haft Sin table. The celebration continued outdoors as eighth graders led the school to the field to ceremoniously set up the maypole, marking the arrival of spring.
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Class plays bring curriculum to life through story and collaboration. Each grade’s performance reflects the developmental stage of the students, transforming academic themes into shared artistic experiences that nurture confidence, connection, and community.
| 1st Grade: The Little Gnome | 2nd Grade: The Tortoise and the Hare | |
4th Grade: The Theft of Idunna's Apples | 7th Grade: As You Like It | | |
Our Kindergarten offers a warm, nurturing environment where young children are gently guided through the early rhythms of school life, rooted in play, imagination, and seasonal experiences.
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Sweet Pea Kindergarten
Our youngest students, the Sweet Pea Kindergarteners, learn through play, imitation, and uninterrupted outdoor exploration and oneness with nature. They climb, build, explore, and move together, nurturing creativity, connection, and joyful community - letting the children be children! Our goal is always for them to have an ever-deepening understanding of what it means to be a human being in body, soul and spirit.
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Morning Glory Kindergarten
Fairy Mother has been busy delivering Little Ones to the Morning Glories. Each day, one child received a card letting them know their Little One was hidden somewhere in the classroom. With excitement, they set off to search, discovering and welcoming their new little friend.
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Student projects provide opportunities for students to engage deeply with their learning through hands-on work, creative expression, and presentation, bringing academic themes to life in meaningful and integrated ways.
| As part of their geography block, fifth graders explored U.S. states assigned through a class project. Most students studied two states, researching key facts and creating colorful posters to share what they learned. | Sixth grade students crafted marionette puppets in handwork and brought them to life in performances for the school community as part of a service project. | During their physics block, sixth graders explored acoustics and the properties of sound. They investigated how sound is made and travels, and brought their learning to life by creating and sharing handmade instruments. | |
7th Grade World Cultures Project
The World Cultures block focused on the building blocks of culture, geography, and a deep dive into civilizations. This three-week unit focused on how colonialism and imperialism restructured the geography, politics, economy, and culture of societies. The objective of the World Cultures culminating project was to research and examine how people and their cultures from different regions of the world have been impacted by physical geography, colonialism, and imperialism, and how (if) they have gained independence that has changed their culture. Students picked a country/region and researched history, beliefs, customs/traditions, food, geography, resources, politics, and economy while considering the before-and-after impact of colonialism and imperialism.
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Field trips deepen academic blocks by bringing students into direct relationship with the world around them, where learning becomes lived experience and study comes to life.
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3rd Grade: Bodega Pastures
While immersed in their clothing block, the third grade learned how clothing is made from sheep to cloth. During their field trip to Bodega Pastures, students explored sheep up close and took part in spinning, wet felting, weaving, and plant dyeing.
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4th Grade: Coloma
Fourth grade students took a field trip to Coloma, where they visited Sutter’s Mill, explored the historic site, and panned for gold, deepening their understanding of California’s Gold Rush era.
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5th Grade: Sonoma Valley Regional Park
Fifth grade took a field trip to Sonoma Regional Park for their botany block. They were led by ecologist Jason Mills, who shared information about the native plants in the area. At the end of the walk, they had permission to visit the vernal pools with Ayla Mills, who has worked to restore a local native wildflower that was once nearly extinct. Through her work with the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, this species has grown from just a few remaining plants to thousands today. Students learned firsthand what ecologists do and how organizations like the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation help protect and restore local habitats.
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We are fortunate to be part of a network of Public Waldorf schools that come together for movement festivals and athletic events.
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7th Grade: Explorers Tournament
A Day of Head, Heart & Hands
Our seventh graders participated in the Explorers Tournament at Kennedy Park/Napa Valley College, a full day of collaborative games and developmentally appropriate sports.
Students were grouped into 12 “countries,” rotating through events such as tug-of-war, javelin (3-step Pomme throw), archery, canoeing, and running, while practicing clear safety expectations and responsible participation.
The day was designed to engage the whole child, head (thinking), heart (feeling), and hands (doing), as students built teamwork, resilience, and sportsmanship. With intentionally mixed teams (rather than school vs. school), students formed new connections and experienced a meaningful, active day of growth and exploration.
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8th Grade: Track Meet
A Day of Strength, Spirit & Sportsmanship
Our eighth graders joined over 100 student athletes from five other schools for the annual Track & Field Meet at Napa Valley College, hosted by Novato Charter School and Valley Vista Public Waldorf School.
Students competed in a full range of events, including javelin (moving & standing), shot put, discus, standing broad jump, sprint and distance races (50m–mile), and relays, demonstrating both skill and determination. Ribbons were awarded to the top three finishers, celebrating individual achievement and effort.
Participants were grouped by the elements—Fire, Earth, Air, and Water—highlighting different approaches to movement and competition, from enthusiastic and driven to thoughtful and analytical.
Supported by a strong network of Northern California Waldorf movement teachers, the day reflected not only athletic performance, but also team spirit, resilience, and community connection.
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Middle School Dance
Our eighth grade hosted a final middle school social and the final 8th grade fundraiser, a Mardi Gras-themed dance, welcoming students from sister Public Waldorf schools for an evening filled with dancing, celebration, and connection.
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After Care Spring Break Camp
We had yet another great spring break camp! Thank you to the families who support our programs through after care.
Thank you to our duo, Ms. Jessica and Miss Alondra, for supporting our TK and kindergarten students. They enjoyed a wonderful spring week, with just a bit of rain on the last day.
Thank you also to Mr. Lawson and Ms. Eva for supporting the creativity of our 1st–5th graders. The children enjoyed plenty of free time outdoors, reading, and, of course, gym time.
We will offer summer camp again this year—keep your eyes out for sign-up information.
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A glimpse into some of the learning, creativity, and hands-on work happening across some of our classrooms.
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Morning Glory Kindergarten
The beauty of simple seasonal joys in the Morning Glories classroom: building little houses for leprechaun friends, felting eggs, and growing Easter grass.
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1st Grade
The first grade classroom is a space of imagination and growth, where students engage in form drawing, knitting, and hands-on exploration
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3rd Grade
Third grade students continued their clothing block through main lesson drawing, weaving, and hands-on exploration.
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5th Grade
During fifth grade’s botany block, Ayla Mills came in with the starts of Woodland Star flowers grown from seeds collected by Ayla, Alden, and Shima. The class transplanted them, and when they are ready, they will be planted around campus in shaded areas beneath oak trees.
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6th Grade
During sixth grade’s physics block, students explored acoustics through hand drumming and investigations of sound. The class also enjoyed a playful April Fools’ prank, covering Ms. Ori’s desk with sticky notes.
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DNA
Our eighth grade students learned about the structure and function of DNA as the fundamental carrier of genetic information. They understand that DNA is shaped like a twisted ladder, called a double helix, with a sugar-phosphate backbone forming the sides and nitrogen base pairs forming the rungs. Students learned to identify the four nucleotides: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine, and to apply the base-pairing rules (A with T, G with C) to explain how genetic information is stored in a precise and repeatable pattern.
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Testing for Monosaccharides
Our eighth grade students learned to identify simple sugars through chemical testing. They understand that monosaccharides such as glucose are reducing sugars that react with Fehling’s solution. Students added the solution to a sample and heated it, observing a color change from blue to green, yellow, or brick-red if a reducing sugar was present. This change shows a chemical reaction in which copper ions are reduced, forming a visible precipitate. Through this work, students practice careful observation, record results, and connect visible changes to underlying chemical processes.
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Newsletter created by
Carly Fedor
outreach@woodlandstarschool.org
Newsletters are a wonderful way to showcase the life of our school—highlighting where your child’s educational journey has been and where it’s going. If you capture any great moments or happenings at Woodland Star, we’d love to see them! Please email your photos to me for possible inclusion in future newsletters.
~Carly Fedor
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