Tuesday Note - Spring Garden Waldorf School

Tuesday Note: September 27, 2022

Michaelmas is Friday!

What: Michaelmas Festival

When: This Friday, September 30th from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Who: Classes 1-8 will participate in a play; All SGWS families, extended families, and alumni families are invited to join us.

Where: Field behind the school

After the Play: Join us at the Sportsman's Club for cider and donuts

School News

School Photos - October 4th-6th!

School photos are October 4th through 6th! Below is the schedule by grade:

October 4th: Grade 1-4

October 5th: Early Childhood

October 6th: Grade 5-8

Ordering information from the photographer:

Fall photos will be available online by Tuesday, Oct 11th. A link will be sent to access that online gallery. The password is fall2022

-A class photo is included with packages A through D

-Digital downloads may take up to 24 hours to process

-Some cropping may occur with 8x10 or larger prints.

All orders received through Monday, Oct 17th will be delivered to the school. Orders received after the 17th can only be direct shipped to you and shipping charges will apply.

The gallery COMPLETELY expires on Oct. 25, 2022. Requests for photos after this date will be subject to handling fees.

October Class Meetings

It is almost time for our first class meetings!

All meetings are in person at school, with the option to attend virtually with the exception of Class 6 which will be virtual. Links will be in next week's Tuesday Note.
Class meetings are scheduled in a way to allow parents/guardians to attend the meeting(s) and to experience an educational opportunity in the same evening.
The educational opportunity will be about the process of accreditation through the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and how to be involved.
Homemade soup will be served during the education portion of the evening.
Childcare will not be available.
Class meetings and educational sessions count towards your volunteer hours.

October 5th

5:30-6:30 p.m. Bluebell Garden, Lavender Garden and Grade 6

6:30-7:00 p.m. AWSNA accreditation presentation in gym

7:00-8:00 p.m. Grade 3 and Grade 7

October 12th

5:30-6:30 p.m. Dahlia Garden, Lilac Garden, Grade 4 and Grade 5

6:30-7:00 p.m. AWSNA accreditation presentation in gym

7:00-8:00 p.m. Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 8

Sweet Peas Playgroup

Our Caregiver and Child classes are back and will be taught by Kathy Miller — an experienced Waldorf educator who had taught early childhood classes at SGWS for many years.

Our Sweet Peas Playgroup is a two-hour class offered once a week here at Spring Garden Waldorf School. The program offers an enriching, Waldorf early childhood experience for children ages 18 months to 3.5 years with an adult caregivers present.

This playgroup will be offered from 9-11am, once a week for seven week sessions in fall, winter and spring. The enrollment fee is $275 per student for each session. The dates for the three seasonal sessions are:

Fall: Mondays – Oct. 3 through Nov. 14.
Winter: Fridays – Jan. 20 through March 3.
Spring: Mondays – April 10 through May 22.

Compensation Task Force Update

The Board of Trustees and Compensation Task Force are working to improve wages and benefits for our faculty and staff. In the past several years, nearly all of our tuition income, 99%, has covered financial aid and faculty and staff compensation. When we look at increasing compensation, even for faculty alone, we realize it requires raising tuition. When we look at increasing tuition, we realize financial aid for our families must also increase.

Balancing this formula and planning strategically for the school’s long-term future has been a nuanced and complex process. As part of this process, we need to gather essential information and input from our families.

In an effort to help us gather information, please complete this anonymous survey.
In an effort to help us gather input, please attend a Parent Workshop on October 26th at 6 PM here on campus.

The workshop will be an interactive and productive meeting hosted to gather feedback and ideas about possible approaches to increased compensation and benefits while continuing to support our families. We will also share the results of this survey at that meeting, along with details on revenue and budgeting models created by the Compensation Task Force.

The data from this survey and the ideas put forth at our October 26th meeting will inform the Compensation Task Force as they create a recommended strategy for faculty and staff compensation and benefit increases. This strategy recommendation will be presented to the Board of Trustees in November.

Children’s Festival & Artisan Market: Saturday, December 3rd

Spring Garden Waldorf School’s Children’s Festival is back! All are welcome Saturday, December 3, 2022, from 10am-3pm, at 1791 South Jacoby Rd in Copley, OH. Admission to the cash-only event is $3 per person, plus tickets for some activities.

Children of all ages love the free or low-cost fun including cookie sprite and boat wish rooms, pocket person, along with unique make-and-take crafts. The artisan market offers handmade items for young and old!

Want to be a vendor in our market? Contact Tyra Scott at tscott@sgws.org.

We will need many volunteers to offer this gift of fun community to our students. Jobs include room setup, craft management, baking, boat room volunteering, ticket taking and so much more. A signup genius will be available in the coming weeks!

2021-2022 Yearbooks

Yearbooks from last school year are going home today with students. If you missed ordering one, it is not too late. Yearbooks can be ordered anytime from the link below, with shipping to the home for $5.99 extra.

Click here to order last year's (21-22) SGWS yearbook

**You will be creating a TreeRing account linked to your email address. If you have ordered in the past and experience trouble accessing your account, please reset your password.

Update School Calendar

Here is our updated key dates 2022-23 school calendar.

Community News and Events

Fireside Fridays Starting Oct. 7th

Join us this fall for Fireside Fridays - an open parent social gathering time. This event will be held each Friday from 8:30-9:30a.m. around the fire ring located between the SGWS parking lot and the Sportsman Club Pavilion. Bring a camp chair and join us for coffee and social time! All are welcome. Heavy rain will cancel this event, but if you see a fire burning, stop by and hang out!

Classroom Observation Tour - Early Childhood Families Welcome

Learn more about our Grades 1-8 program and Waldorf education by seeing our teachers in action! We are offering our Classroom Observation tour on Oct. 12th from 9:00 - 10:30 AM. Current families and the wider community are welcome.

Please share this event information with anyone who might be interested in learning more about our Preschool, Kindergarten, and Grades programs. We will focus on how Waldorf education teaches the whole child—cognitive, social, and creative—through an engaging, multi-faceted, and developmentally-appropriate curriculum.

Learn More and Register here: https://sgws.org/walk-through-the-grades/

Substitute Teachers Needed!

We are in great need of substitute teachers. If you have a bachelor's degree and would be willing to help our school, please contact learn@sgws.org. If you know anyone with a bachelor's degree who can help, please pass along this opportunity. We are happy to help new applicants complete the paperwork needed to be a substitute.

SGWS Athletics - Basketball Season

It is almost basketball season and time to register your athlete!

SGWS basketball is open to all students in grades 6-8. The cost is $100/athlete.

The season begins October 25 and runs through the month of February.

Practices will be 2-3 days/week after school. Games are on Sunday afternoons.

Information regarding our sports programs at SGWS and registration forms will be sent home with all interested students this week.

Forms should be returned to Kristen Oberhaus by Oct. 3. A sports physical signed by a doctor is required for participation.

If your student participated in cross country, they do not need to fill out forms again, but an email should be sent to koberhaus@sgws.org indicating their commitment to join the basketball team.

Any questions should be sent to koberhaus@sgws.org. GO JAGS!

Spring Garden Waldorf School Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Spring Garden Waldorf School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement was developed throughout the 2021-2022 academic year with input and collaboration among the Board of Trustees, Faculty, Administration and the DEI committee. This statement provides a foundation to guide our work as we take action and implement strategies moving forward.

“Spring Garden Waldorf School believes people of any racial identification, ancestry, nationality, socioeconomic background, family structure, age, religion, belief system, gender, sexual orientation and appearance should feel welcome at our school. We strive to ensure students and community members feel respected and celebrated while seeing themselves reflected in the school’s culture, curriculum and policy. Our school has no tolerance for intolerance, bigotry and oppression…”

Read the full statement here.

We Are Hiring!

Math Teacher: We are seeking a part-time middle school Math Teacher for three mornings a week to join our faculty beginning in the 2022-23 school year to teach math to grades 6 & 8. We value excellent teaching, expert classroom management techniques, an understanding of child development, and a joy for teaching. Requirements: Bachelor’s degree and experience teaching middle school grades math.

Spring Garden Waldorf School is an equal opportunity employer. To apply: Please email a cover letter, resume, and three references to learn@sgws.org, attn: Hiring Committee.

Athletic Department Opportunities

Spring Garden is hiring the following positions within our athletic department:

Assistant coaches for cross country and basketball (CYO designates these as girls and boys basketball): Duties include supporting head coach, leading and assisting with practice sessions, attending practices and competitions within the season, and maintaining team statistics.

Head coaches for basketball (CYO designates these as girls and boys basketball.): Duties include planning and executing practice sessions, setting practice schedule, communicating with parents, attending practices and competitions within the season, distribution of uniforms and equipment.

These are seasonal, part-time positions of Spring Garden Waldorf School, paid by stipend. All positions report to the athletic director. Qualifications include a high school diploma and previous experience as an athlete and working with students. Previous experience coaching middle-school age students is preferred.

Cross country season runs approximately from the end of July through mid-October. Basketball season runs approximately from November through early February.

Please send resume and letter of intent to koberhaus@sgws.org if you are interested.

Volunteer Opportunities

SGWS Work Days

Mark your calendars for upcoming Work Days during the 2022-23 school year! This is a great opportunity to connect with your fellow SGWS community and earn your family service hours.

* Students 5th grade and up may attend the work days with a parent or guardian!*

Many Hands Blanket

It is time to begin work on the 2022/23 Many Hands Blanket. Both knitters and crocheters are needed to participate in this project. The handwork can be done wherever and whenever you like to work with yarn and the time spent counts as volunteer hours. Volunteers must sign up by October 15. FAQ sheets on the project will be available in the school office. Please contact Suzie Reich (suzreich@gmail.com or 330-418-6285) with questions and/or to sign up.

Volunteer Hour Tracking

For this school year, we will be using a binder in the school office to log volunteer hours. Each family will have a sheet to log the date, description of activity and total hours. If you are unable to come in to the office, please email Jess (learn@sgws.org) with name, date, description, and total hours and she will update your family sheet. Thank you for all you do for our school community!