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Together, We Sustain What Matters Most | |
A Message from Our Board Chair & Treasurer
Our children are growing up in a world that moves quickly and asks for their attention constantly. One of the things we value about Waldorf education is that it gives children time to develop qualities that take longer to grow: curiosity, independence, creativity, resilience, and a sincere interest in the world around them.
As WSOC parents, we see the value of that education in our own children. And as Board Chair and Treasurer, we also see what it takes to sustain it.
As a nonprofit school, WSOC relies on Annual Giving to help balance our annual operating budget and sustain the education our students experience each day.
Annual Giving supports the teachers, programs, materials, and spaces that make the full WSOC experience possible. This year’s campaign runs from Friday, October 9 through Friday, November 20, with two shared goals: to raise $125,000 and achieve 100% family participation.
The funds help strengthen the school, and participation at any level shows that our community stands behind the education we are working to sustain. A gift does not need to be large to be meaningful.
We have each made our own gifts, and we hope you will join us at a level that feels right for your family.
Make your Annual Gift today through Square or BigSis.
Thank you for helping make this education possible for our children and for the families who will follow us.
With gratitude,
Benjamin Bohr
Chair, Board of Trustees
Kati Gingold
Treasurer, Board of Trustees
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Every Step Supports the Journey | |
We’re excited to share details for this year’s Spirit Run on Sunday, October 18, and the entire WSOC community is invited to participate!
The Spirit Run is a fun way to get moving together while raising funds to support the Grade 8 and Grade 12 class trips. With a variety of race options for different ages and abilities—including kids’ races, a 5K walk, an adult 5K, and a half marathon—there’s something for everyone. Events begin at different times throughout the morning, so families can choose the race that works best for them.
Register for the Spirit Run
When registering, be sure to select Waldorf School Orange County as your organization. WSOC receives a portion of the registration fees when our school is selected, so siblings, friends, extended family members, alumni, and other members of our community are all encouraged to join us.
In addition, 100% of donations made through the Spirit Run fundraising pages will directly support the Classes of 2027 and 2031 as they raise funds for their spring class trips.
Come run, walk, cheer, and help support these meaningful culminating journeys for our Grade 8 and Grade 12 students.
Every step supports the journey!
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Michaelmas is one of the seasonal festivals woven into the rhythm of Waldorf education, carrying themes of courage, strength, perseverance, and meeting challenges together.
At WSOC, the festival is also a wonderful expression of our Grades 1–12 community. Students spend the day outdoors in mixed-age groups, working, playing, and moving through activities and challenges together. Younger students experience the encouragement and guidance of older students, while older students have the opportunity to lead, support, and care for the younger children in our community.
For many WSOC alumni, Michaelmas remains a particularly vivid school memory. Years later, they can still recall being a first grader looking up to the older students in their group, and eventually becoming one of those older students themselves, helping a new generation of younger children feel welcomed, encouraged, and included.
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Discover WSOC High School - November 7 | |
Our High School Open House is the perfect opportunity for your family to experience WSOC High School together. Held on a Saturday, the event offers parents and students a chance to explore the campus, meet our faculty and students, and discover what makes the WSOC High School experience so distinctive.
Have a middle school student in your family or know someone who may be curious about Waldorf high school? Invite them to join us! Friends, extended family, and families from the wider community are warmly welcome. Come experience a high school education designed not only for what comes next, but for life. Click here to RSVP.
| Early Years Classes Are Underway! | |
Our Early Years classes are underway, and there’s still time to join us! Know a friend or neighbor with a young child who might enjoy a gentle introduction to Waldorf education? Invite them to experience a class with us during our fall, winter, or spring sessions. We’d love to welcome them!
Visit our website to learn more and sign up.
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| | Know a Family Curious About Waldorf Education? | |
Help us spread the word! Our upcoming Early Childhood admissions events are a wonderful opportunity for friends, neighbors, and family members to experience Waldorf education and learn more about our approach to the early years.
At our adults-only Early Childhood Information Evening, parents and caregivers will learn how play, imagination, meaningful work, and hands-on experiences support children’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
Parents are then invited to return with their child for a Morning in the Kindergarten on Saturday, offering an opportunity to experience the warmth and rhythm of a Waldorf early childhood classroom together.
Please share these events with someone who might love to discover WSOC!
Click to RSVP through our website.
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Early Years | Parent & Infant, Parent & Toddler, Playgroup, Bridge | Early Childhood | Nursery, Pre-Kindergarten & Kindergarten | Grades 1 and 8 | New Buddies! | Our first graders were full of excitement as they learned who their eighth grade buddies would be this year! This special bond begins a year of friendship and mentorship, and the eighth graders were already lending a helping hand as their new buddies began their first grades-level handwork project: woven bags. | | | |
Grade 4 | Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
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September 15 – October 15
Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, students are honoring the rich cultures and traditions of the Spanish-speaking world in their Spanish classes. Through songs, stories, art, music, language, and hands-on experiences, culture comes to life in ways that engage the senses, imagination, and joy of learning.
As part of their Spanish studies, Grades 4 students recently made guacamole, bringing language and Mexican culinary tradition into a hands-on classroom experience. It was a wonderful example of the experiential learning at the heart of Waldorf education, with delicious results!
| | | Young Writers Bring Monsters to Life | |
We are delighted to celebrate several of our middle school students whose creative writing was selected for publication in the Young Writers’ Monster Mini Tales creative writing contest!
Monster Mini Tales invited students to dream up a monster of their own and bring it to life through a mini saga. Entries were considered by the Young Writers editorial team based on age-appropriate criteria, including creativity, imagination, use of language, and interpretation of the theme.
The contest is part of Young Writers’ work with schools across the country to encourage children and young adults to read, write, and discover the joy of creative expression.
We are so proud to see our students’ imaginations come alive on the page! Having their stories selected for publication in the Monster Mini Tales anthology makes the experience even more special. Congratulations to our young authors! Click the cover below to read the short stories.
Originally published in Monster Mini Tales, a Young Writers anthology. Reproduced here to celebrate our WSOC student authors.
| High School | Girls Volleyball |
Come Cheer for our Wildcats!
Our Girls Volleyball team is in the midst of a great season, building skills, teamwork, and school spirit both on and off the court.
As a CIF member school, WSOC offers high school students opportunities to participate in both team and individual sports. Athletics complement the Waldorf high school experience by giving students another setting in which to challenge themselves, collaborate with teammates, develop their skills, and experience healthy competition.
We’re proud of our athletes and grateful to the coaches, families, and fans who support them throughout the season. Check out the upcoming schedule below and come cheer on our Girls Volleyball team!
| High School | Boys Cross Country | |
WSOC Boys Cross Country kicked off the season last weekend at the Sunny Hills Invitational in Buena Park, taking on a challenging course in warm, humid conditions. Congratulations to Monty Boden, who medaled with a 17th-place finish out of 70 runners in the Sophomore race!
Coach Ron Samson praised the team’s effort and spirit: “The boys competed hard, supported one another, and represented our team extremely well.”
A huge shout-out to Coach Ron and to the parents who came out to cheer, carpool, and support the team. What a great start to the season!
| Grade 9 | Tragedy / Comedy | |
As part of their Tragedy/Comedy block, our 9th grade students welcomed actors from Theatricum Botanicum to campus for an immersive exploration of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Through live performance, movement, language, and their own memorized passages from the play, students experienced Shakespeare as it was intended: brought to life.
9th Grade Teacher Kristen Kuczenski shares:
“We’ve loved partnering with Theatricum Botanicum in the past during our 9th grade Tragedy/Comedy block to bring our students up to LA for classes and performances; this year, a unique opportunity arose for Romeo and Juliet to come see us! The students each took ownership of approximately 14 lines from a chosen character in the play which they’d learned by heart after paraphrasing and scanning the iambic pentameter. As the actors breathed life into the balcony scene, followed by hands-on craft workshops in movement and articulation of the Elizabethan English, the students engaged in an ever-so-human living dance with the play. Shakespeare simply isn’t meant to remain cloistered on the page. The best part was witnessing the students’ reactions as the initial complexity of the language dissolved into delight and understanding. It’s one thing to be “told” about the genius of Shakespeare’s work; it’s something else entirely to discover it in flashes, freshly, for oneself.”
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In their Electricity and Magnetism block, 11th graders are exploring the unseen forces behind our increasingly digital world. Students are studying static electricity, magnetism, voltage and current while building circuits and learning how digital circuits, logic tables and logic testers work.
The block reflects the progression of science through the high school years. After the visible, tangible study of mechanics in 10th grade, with things rolling and flying, 11th graders are ready to engage with more abstract concepts, including electricity that cannot be seen directly. This progression continues in 12th grade with the study of optics and the nature of light, inviting students into increasingly complex ways of observing, questioning and understanding the physical world.
Click here to view WSOC High School Curriculum Highlights.
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Amali Cole | Class of 2020 | |
Since graduating from WSOC, Amalie Cole has followed a path that has taken her from USC to law school, corporate law, and most recently, the courtrooms of London.
After WSOC, Amali attended the University of Southern California, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a major in Philosophy, Politics, and Law and a minor in News Media and Society. After a summer spent traveling, Amali headed to law school and is now a third-year student at Santa Clara University School of Law, preparing to graduate and take the bar exam next summer.
At Santa Clara Law, Amali serves as Managing Editor of the Law Review, a role that connects back in a meaningful way to their Waldorf education.
“I wanted to be Managing Editor of the Law Review because of my love of writing, which began at Waldorf with my wonderful teachers.”
Amali is preparing for a career in corporate law and has completed two summer associate programs with Kirkland & Ellis, working in the corporate practice group on mergers and acquisitions and investment funds. She has accepted a full-time offer to join the firm’s San Francisco office next fall.
And, as it turns out, Waldorf connections can appear in unexpected places. Two other summer associates at the firm also attended Waldorf schools. The three quickly became friends, bonding over familiar shared experiences, including Eurythmy and school plays.
Most recently, law school took Amali to London for a week studying the English court system. The group toured the Inns of Court and Parliament and observed several criminal trials firsthand.
From a love of writing nurtured at WSOC to the Law Review, law school, and a career ahead in San Francisco, we are delighted to see where Amali’s path has led and look forward to seeing where it goes next!
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We miss our alumni! Drop us a note and share what you’ve been up to—your work, your travels, your passions, and the things that bring you joy. We’d love to celebrate your journey and keep you connected to the WSOC community.
Email your update to: alumni@waldorfschool.com or message us on Instagram:
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Whether you graduated Grade 8 or 12, or only spent a few years at WSOC, you are a Waldorf alum and welcome to join the alum community! Waldorf Alum Connect is open to all Waldorf alum (18+), Waldorf alum parents, and Waldorf faculty/staff, as well as alum and staff from Waldorf Teacher Training Institutes.
Click here to visit AWSNA's Waldorf Alum Connect platform.
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Visit the Company of Angels | |
Stop by the Company of Angels, WSOC’s beloved school store, for thoughtfully selected gifts, books, toys, art supplies, seasonal treasures, and Waldorf-inspired favorites for the whole family.
And shopping just got easier! Families can now set up an account with a credit card on file for convenient purchases throughout the month. See the flyers below for details, and stop in to see what’s new!
| Foundation Studies 2026-2028 | |
Waldorf School Orange County’s Foundation Studies is a transformative two-year journey (September 2026–June 2028) into the heart of Anthroposophy and Waldorf education. Blending rich academic study with hands-on artistic experiences, this program invites participants to deepen their understanding of child development, philosophy, and the creative arts within a vibrant learning community. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or lifelong learner, Foundation Studies offers a meaningful path of personal growth—with the opportunity to continue for an additional two years.
Click here to view a flyer and learn more about the program.
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Get Involved with the Parent Association | |
Waldorf School Orange County thrives through the care and participation of our community. As a nonprofit, independent school, we rely on the generosity of parent volunteers whose time and energy help support the many programs and events that enrich our students’ experience. The Parent Association helps coordinate these efforts and provides meaningful ways for families to connect, contribute, and build community.
WSOC was built upon thousands of volunteer hours, and that spirit of participation continues to be an essential part of school life. We hope each family will find a way to get involved that fits both their schedule and interests. Whether you’re able to help with a small, one-time project or join a committee supporting larger initiatives throughout the year, every contribution makes a difference.
There are many opportunities to participate and share your talents within the Parent Association. To learn more about joining a committee or finding the right volunteer role for you, please contact parentassociation@waldorfschool.com.
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October
Fri 10/02, 8:00 am - 8:30 am • Nudae Breakfast Friday | Class of 2031
Fri 10/02, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm • Parent Study Group
Fri 10/02, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm • HS Girls Volleyball
Fri 10/02, 5:00 pm - 9:05 pm • Foundation Studies
Sat 10/3 • HS Boys Cross Country Meet
Sat 10/03, 8:30 am - 4:40 pm • Foundation Studies
Mon 10/05, 8:30 am - 10:00 am • Room Rep Meeting
Mon 10/05, 9:00 am - 10:00 am • Adult Eurythmy Class
Mon 10/05, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm • HS Girls Volleyball
Wed 10/07, 9:00 am - 10:30 am • Walk Through the Grades
Wed 10/07, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm • HS Girls Volleyball
Thu 10/8 • Gr. 7 Bike to the Beach
Fri 10/9 • Faculty In-Service (Afternoon) - Early Dismissal
Fri 10/9, 8:00 am - 8:30 am • Nudae Breakfast Friday | Class of 2031
Fri 10/9, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm • Parent Study Group
Fri, 10/9, Time TBD • HS Girls Volleyball
Mon 10/12 • No School - All Grades
Mon 10/12, 4:45 pm • HS Girls Volleyball
Wed 10/14, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm • Coffee Chat
Wed 10/14, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm • Grade 7 Parent Evening
Thu 10/15 • Gr. 4 Field Trip to Mission San Juan Capistrano
Fri 10/16, 8:00 am - 8:30 am • Nudae Breakfast Friday | Class of 2031
Fri 10/16, 8:15 am - 3:15 pm • 8th Grade Visit Day to the High School
Fri 10/16, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm • Parent Study Group
Sun 10/18 • Newport Beach Spirit Run
Mon 10/19, 9:00 am - 10:00 am • Adult Eurythmy Class
Mon 10/19, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm • Board of Trustees Meeting
Wed 10/21, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm • Pre-Kindergarten Parent Evening
Fri 10/23, 8:00 am - 8:30 am • Nudae Breakfast Friday | Class of 2031
Fri 10/23, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm • Parent Study Group
Mon 10/26 - Fri 10/30 • CETYS Visit to High School
Mon 10/26, 9:00 am - 10:00 am • Adult Eurythmy Class
Wed 10/28, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm • Kindergarten Parent Evening
Thu 10/29 • Día de los Muertos Celebration
Fri 10/30, 8:00 am - 8:30 am • Nudae Breakfast Friday | Class of 2031
Fri 10/30, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm • Parent Study Group
Fri 10/30, 5:00 pm - 9:05 pm • Foundation Studies
Sat 10/31, 8:30 am - 4:40 pm • Foundation Studies
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Follow us on Instagram and Facebook! | |
Waldorf School Orange County
2350 Canyon Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92627-3948
(949) 574-7775
www.waldorfschool.com
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