Education for the 21st Century
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A healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living
. --
Rudolf Steiner
Dear families,
We have an action-packed February/early March here at WSOC, and lots of wonderfully inspiring classroom activities to share. Of note: Grades Curriculum Night exploring Grades 4-5 next Wednesday, February 5; 11th Grade Monologues on February 13; Part one of our three-part Technology and Media Series kicks off February 26 with a screening of
Screenagers: The Next Chapter (Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience)
; our popular Tea With the 12th Grade takes place on March 2; and, we are hosting the annual WISC (Waldorf Institute of Southern CA) event on our campus next Saturday, February 8. This year's theme:
Practicing Threefold: Increasing our Collaborative Work
with Patrice Maynard, Director of Publications and Development for The Research Institute for Waldorf Education. RSVP for this event and others is below.
We are pleased to announce our Annual Giving Campaign concluded with just over 90% participation, with over $90K raised. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who pledged or donated; details are below.
Happy February everyone!
Alyssa Hamilton
WSOC Communications Coordinator
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Sat 2/1, 2:30p - 3:30p • HOME GAME HS Boys Soccer vs. Unity Middle College
Mon 2/3 - Thu 2/6 • Grade 5 Sequoias Field Trip
Mon 2/3, 3:15p - 4:45p • HOME GAME Boys Soccer vs. Rio Hondo Prep
Tue 2/4, 8:45a - 10:00a • Room Representative Meeting
Tue 2/4, 6:30p - 8:00p • Grade 3 parent meeting
Wed 2/5 • Grade 6 Medieval Games
Wed 2/5, 9:00a - 10:30a • Walk Through the Grades
Wed 2/5, 3:15p - 5:00p • HS Girls Soccer vs. Pacifica Christian (away)
Wed 2/5, 5:30p - 7:30p • Curriculum Evening Grades 4-5
Wed 2/5, 7:00p - 8:30p • Grade 10 Parent Meeting
Thu 2/6, 8:45a - 10:00a • Support for the Parenting Journey Workshop: Free for WSOC parents (designed for Early Childhood and Grade 1)
Fri 2/7, 3:00p - 4:30p • Middle School Basketball Practice
Fri 2/7, 5:00p - 9:00p • Foundation Studies
Sat 2/8 • HOME GAME Boys Basketball vs. TBA @ Estancia
Sat 2/8, 8:00a - 4:30p • Foundation Studies
Mon 2/10, 6:30p - 8:00p • Grade 8 parent meeting
Tue 2/11, 6:30p - 9:00p • Foundation Studies
Thu 2/13, 8:45a - 10:00a • Support for the Parenting Journey Workshop: Free for WSOC parents (designed for Early Childhood and Grade 1)
Thu 2/13, 7:00p - 9:00p • 11th Grade Monologues
Fri 2/14 • High School Snow Day
Fri 2/14, 3:00p - 4:30p • Middle School Basketball Practice
Mon 2/17 - Fri 2/21 • February Break
Fri 2/21, 3:00p - 4:30p • Middle School Basketball Practice
Mon 2/24, 8:30a - 9:30a • College of Teachers Office Hours with Matan Tsufim and Pavel Hanustiak
Wed 2/26, 6:30p - 8:30p • Parent Enrichment Series: Screenagers Next Chapter film screening
Thu 2/27 • Disneyland Performance Trip for Orchestra: Middle School and High School
Thu 2/27, 8:45a - 10:00a • Support for the Parenting Journey Workshop: Free for WSOC parents (designed for Early Childhood and Grade 1)
Fri 2/28, 3:00p - 4:30p • Middle School Basketball Practice
Fri 2/28, 5:00p - 9:00p • Foundation Studies
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The Annual Giving Campaign has been a tremendous success. The entire community pulled together with several classes reaching 100% participation!
- School-wide participation is slightly over 90%!
- We raised over $90,000
- Six classes reached 100% participation
The classes reaching 100% participation include:
- Ms. Catherine's Pre-K
- Ms. Arieta's Kindergarten
- Ms. Terri's Kindergarten
- Ms. Andrea's Grade 1 Class
- Ms. Schwarz's Grade 2 Class
- The 11th Grade (Eijpen/Brennan)
While the campaign officially ended January 31st, 2020, the business office will be reviewing in-person and online contributions early this week.
It is with tremendous gratitude that we thank every member of our community, including: parents, alumni, faculty, staff, Board members, alumni parents and former faculty and staff, and those not specifically identified here who have generously contributed to our community's Annual Giving Campaign.
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From the Admissions Office: Re-Registration Week Mar. 9 - Mar. 13 2020
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Re-registration for the 2020-2021 school year will begin on Monday, March 9 and end on Friday, March 13. You will receive an email from TADS and will be asked to sign in to your account, pay registration fees and sign your tuition agreement for the 2020-2021 school year. Registration for outside applicants will take place immediately following.
Please don't miss this deadline. The knowledge that we will begin in September with a confirmed number of students allows us to budget effectively and to be ready to bring your children this rich, full curriculum.
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WSOC's Grades Curriculum Nights give parents a glimpse into the rich education their children experience each day at WSOC. Enjoy hands-on activities, move in Eurythmy, experience a mini-foreign language lesson, ask questions at our faculty Q&A and more!
Wed., February 5
5:30pm - 7pm
Eurythmy Hall
GRADES 4 - 5 curriculum will be explored, all parents welcome to attend!
Babysitting available by Grade 8, on campus
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Parent Enrichment:
Technology and Media Three-Part Series Kicks Off with Screenagers: Next Chapter Film Screening Feb. 26
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RSVP for the screening
here
! There will also be a ParentSquare sign up arriving in your inbox soon. Either method of RSVP is fine - it helps the Parent Enrichment committee plan for the proper head count. Screening is free of charge; RSVP is required to attend the event.
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High School Burns' Supper and Grade 10 Poetry Night
By Isabelle D., Grade 11
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The WSOC Burns supper, named in honor of poet Robert Burns, is an event to celebrate poetry, music, and to bring our Waldorf community together. After the 10th grade recited the poetry they had written at the 10th grade poetry night, the Burns Supper began with some live bagpipe music while the guests gathered to watch the open mic performances. Many students and teachers shared poems that they had written and performed songs.
"The open mic at the event was a great idea, as it showed the incredible talents that are sometimes hidden in our school community," said Antonio D., Grade 10.
A few notable performances included Makale'a K.'s performance of the song
Hallelujah
by Leonard Cohen, and our Grade 11 class singing
Rocket Man
by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
"It was a beautiful intimate night that allowed arts and creativity to be shared," noted Sophia N., Grade 10. The ceremonial haggis was stabbed and the dinner began. The evening was a great success and, "it was a really fun community event for the high school families to bond through poetry," said Emma T.M., Grade 10.
The Burns supper concluded with the guests joining hands in a circle while singing
Auld Lang Syne.
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You are Invited! Tea with the 12th Grade
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Come enjoy tea, scones and other treats with our high school seniors, who are eager to talk with you and answer your questions about Waldorf education in the high school. They will share their own personal journeys, their plans post-Waldorf, being prepared for college and much more. RSVP
here!
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Middle School Basketball Shows Wildcat Spirit
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Our girls' middle school team exhibited exemplary teamwork, and despite losses in their first three games, they won their fourth and final game.
Scores (WSOC listed first):
Game 1 20 - 22
Game 2 8 - 13
Game 3 13 - 31
Game 4 8 - 2
Our boys' middle school team brought their skills and team spirit to the tournament, and won all three of their games. they also won in the finals!
Scores (WSOC listed first):
Game 1 62 - 22
Game 2 40 - 21
Game 3 34 - 12
Congratulations Wildcats!
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HS Soccer Celebrates Successful First CIF Season
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The high school boys soccer team played four more games in January, scoring 20 goals and letting in 6. The team was on the road for three of the games, traveling to Temecula, Arcadia and Compton. This provided plenty of opportunities for team bonding, having pizzas post games, and a team dinner at In-N-Out!
Coaches Wil Eijpen and Rob Penney want to thank the boys for all their hard work so far, and to send a special thanks to all the parents and friends who have come out to support the team! The Wildcats have two more home games left in February (see the calendar above) before the season comes to an end.
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Click
here
to view the recap of the Community Update held on January 8th, 2020, where representatives of the College of Teachers, Board of Trustees, and Administration met with individuals from our parent community to discuss our school governance, tuition and budget setting process, and current topics (Tuition Adjustment and Enrollment).
(due to a technical issue, the slides begin at about 1min and 55 seconds, following the introduction)
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This year the Lunar New Year was on January 25, 2020. In Chinese communities, the Lunar New Year is also called the Spring Festival.
Red and gold are lucky colors for the Lunar New Year. You will see all different kinds of decorations in red and gold.
Traditionally, people celebrate the Lunar New Year for 16 days. Families get together to enjoy the New Year’s Eve feast. Each dish is a symbol of a wish for the New Year. For examples, the pronunciation of fish (魚)~~ “yu”~~is the same as surplus (餘). Therefore, eating fish brings in abundance. Dumplings bring riches because the shape is similar to the ancient money Yuan-Bao (元寶).
These happenings included, from top: musicians during a special assembly on Monday, Grade 4 with a special art project, Grade 3 making dumplings with WSOC Mandarin teacher,
Luo Lau Shi
and Grade 2 with fish art.
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"As the fourth grader pushes with contention against boundaries and looks for ways to express their own will, they also love adventure. These characteristics are met by the dramatic and ferocious battles of the Norse Gods who also embody antics and hilarity." - Ms. Peterson, Grade 4 teacher
CLICK THE PHOTO
to see some of the paintings and Main Lesson bookwork of the Norse Myths by the Class of 2028!
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Grade 6 Handwork: Animal Projects
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Handwork in a Waldorf school addresses our children's inner work as well as fine motor skills, dexterity and hand-eye coordination. The creation of a stuffed animal mirrors a child's early development as they first build strength in their interior physical body, and gradually expand outward into the world. It is, in a sense, a life-giving exercise.
Grades handwork teacher Ms. Angie (above) quoted educator Hedwig Hauck, who said, "Just as the soul and spirit are working creatively in the human being when between the ages of seven and fourteen, they mold and ensoul the physical body and its organs from within; so does the child work upon the animal in the handwork lesson, stuffing it to give it form from within outwards. The animal is also, as it were, ensouled by the child in this way."
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Grade 5 Play: The Light of Isis and Osiris
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"Enacting a play set in the times of the ancient history curriculum of 5th grade gives the class the opportunity to relive the stories they have heard in a deeper way. With costumes, back drops, props and acting out their lines, the children create these larger-than-life stories as a personal living experience."
-Ms. Emahiser, Grade 5 teacher
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Play is Championed in WSOC Kindergarten
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“Play is often perceived as immature behavior that doesn’t achieve anything,” says David Whitebread, a psychologist at Cambridge University who has studied the topic for decades. “But it’s essential to their development. They need to learn to persevere, to control attention, to control emotions. Kids learn these things through playing.”
(above: Ms. Terri's kindergarten students on one of many epic adventures)
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Grade 2 Eurythmy Play: The Winter King
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"
The Winter King
is about children meeting magical beings from realms of earth, water, air and fire," said Eurythmy teacher Mr. Pavel. "After meeting with those beings, the children receive special gifts."
"
Year by year in a Waldorf school, the Eurythmy teacher calls the children to grace and beautiful movement through exercises, patterns and games with increasing complexity as the children grow. Students learn to comprehend their own movement in a disciplined way over time, and also the movements of others and the need for space to be maintained thoughtfully between people, not only for oneself. So it has a deeply social instruction in it, too!
"Through Eurythmy, students hear many different kinds of music, understand intervals and scales, all through movement. Likewise, children learn that different movements express consonant and vowels sounds to bring the speech into the physical external form." (excerpted from
waldorfpublications.org
)
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Community News & Announcements
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Experiential Education – Why Students Should Learn by Doing
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"Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves are this book. We should not learn to teach out of any book other than the one lying open before us and consisting of the children themselves."
- Rudolf Steiner, Human Values in Education
The best approach to learning cannot be considered before asking these essential questions: “What is learning? How do we learn? Why do we learn?”
Experiential learning, in a general sense, is the process of learning through experience. But more specifically, experiential learning looks at optimizing the learning process itself by focusing on the individual’s involvement (experience) with the learning material. This is an important distinction between other types of experience learning -- such as
action learning
,
free choice learning
, cooperative, or
service learning
-- which focus on the experience around learning vs. the experience with learning (excerpted from
Essentials in Education - AWSNA's Blog
).
Pictured above: WSOC Grade 8 studying platonic solids by creating their own geometric structures. There are five shapes that represent the platonic solids. Plato called these geometric shapes "the building blocks of creation," asserting that their structural harmony brought order.
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Introducing Bagel Fridays at WSOC!
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Introducing Bagel Fridays, brought to you by Miss Christiane’s 8th Grade Class. Save time on your Friday morning commute to work and stop by the flag pole and grab an amazing bagel - freshly made and hand crafted from our local Bagelmania Coffee House in Huntington Beach.
Bagels will be available starting at 7:45am so that they are also on hand for high school students! $3 each and proceeds support Grade 8 fundraising for their end of year trip.
If you haven’t had one, you must try them!
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AmazonSmile = Easy Fundraising Opportunity
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AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as
Amazon.com
.
The difference is that when you shop on
AmazonSmile
, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice.
Every item available for purchase on Amazon
is also available on AmazonSmile (
smile.amazon.com
) at the same price. You will see eligible products marked "Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" on their product detail pages.
Just click on the icon above and choose WSOC as your charity. Each time you order, our school receives a donation. It's that simple!
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A special thank you to
Eller's Tree Service
for donating wood to Mr. Matan's woodworking classes.The wood is already being lovingly fashioned into useful objects by our Grades students!
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Click
here
for WSOC College of Teachers, Board Members and Administrative Rotation
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Waldorf School of Orange County
2350 Canyon Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92627-3948
(949) 574-7775
wwww.waldorfschool.com
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