October 26, 2019 | 5th Grade Fundraiser Monthly Car Wash

Come to the Grades Campus on Saturday, October 26th and have your car washed for a good cause! The 5th Graders will be washing cars to raise money for the 5th Grade Pentathalon. The children will be offering a monthly carwash service and will be running a Lemongrass stall. Contact Jo-Ann Radus with any questions: jo-ann@drumcafese.com.

Date: October 26th
Time: 2pm -5pm
Location: Grades School Parking Lot
Cost: $10 for outside - $25 for outside & inside

5th Grade Pentathalon
All across North America during the month of May Waldorf schools gather fifth graders for the annual Pentathlon. Three to seven different schools’ fifth grade classes gather at one hosting Waldorf school to compete in this annual celebration of fifth grade grace, skill, and determination, as a crowning salute to the curriculum of the fifth grade in Waldorf schools around the world.

A Pentathlon by definition is an event that comprises five athletic components. Most Waldorf Pentathlons include: the long jump; the javelin throw; the discus throw; wrestling; and a relay race.

October 24, 2019 | Intro to Violin Meeting (3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Parents)

Our Violin teacher, Ms. Tarra Guerra, is having a Violin Introduction Meeting for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade parents to learn more about the Suzuki method. It will make a huge difference in your understanding and will strongly impact your child's enjoyment and progress.

Please see this PDF with more information about this meeting and what you will need for your Violinist.

In addition, parents are welcome to attend to their child's weekly violin class, if possible.

If you have questions, please contact Ms. Guerra at tarramusic27@gmail.com or 954-907-2789.

October 10, 2019 | Parent Education: "The Twelve Senses," Talk by Nancy Blanning

What: Parent Ed: “The Twelve Senses” Talk by Nancy Blanning
When: October 10th, 7pm
Where: Grades Campus

“The Twelve Senses” Talk by Nancy Blanning
Thursday, October 10th, 7:00pm, Grades Campus

We are proud to announce that renown Waldorf Speaker and Educator Nancy Blanning is coming to the Waldorf School of Palm Beach to give a talk to parents at our school titled: “The Twelve Senses.” Every child born to earth has a big task. Everything is new and foreign. How does a little child begin to “make sense” out of it all? Through the doorways of the twelve senses we “make sense” of the experiences that come towards us. What we learn through our senses helps us to connect different parts of each experience and build a construct of the world.

Rudolf Steiner was the first to propose that there are 12 senses. He described the senses which relate to the perception of: the body (touch, of life, of movement, of balance) the external world (smell, taste, sight, temperature) and the immaterial, spiritual world (hearing, speech, thought, ego). It is important that a child develops and uses as many of their senses as possible because each sense reveals another aspect of the sensory reality. Sensory perception also forms the basis of the relationship with oneself, their surroundings, and the people around them. In order for a child to learn to observe well, they must use their senses comprehensively and frequently. Come listen to Nancy Blanning as she shares her knowledge about the 12 senses and how you can further develop them in yourself and in your children.

This talk is open to the community, both past and present, and for those interested in learning more about Waldorf education. We are very fortunate that Nancy Blanning is coming to our school and sharing this enlightening talk with our families. We encourage all of our school parents, both in Early Childhood and Grades, to attend. 

$20 Suggested Donation
If you have any questions about the talk please contact Charissa Routhier at charissa.routhier@seastarinitiative.com.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend so we can better coordinate refreshments for this event.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
NANCY BLANNING
Nancy Blanning has been active in Waldorf early childhood for the past 35 years as mixed-aged kindergarten and therapeutic support teacher at the Denver Waldorf School. She co-authored Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures, Vol. 1 and 2 and is an editor of WECAN publication Gateways. She is faculty at Sunbridge Institute.

A member of the Sunbridge faculty since 1994, Nancy assumed the title of Early Childhood Co-Director in 2015. Nancy has also been on the faculty of The Denver Waldorf School (CO) for the past 25 years, where her teaching experience includes 17 years as lead Kindergarten teacher. For the past 12 years, she has been the school’s Educational Support Teacher; she also travels to schools in the US and Canada to provide teacher mentoring and evaluation and conducts developmental observations. Nancy’s main focus is therapeutic education with a special emphasis on developmental movement as supporting young children’s physical incarnation and sensory development.

A longtime Board member of WECAN (the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America, based in Chestnut Ridge, NY), Nancy is also a frequent keynote speaker at national and international early childhood conferences. Her writing credits include contributor to Gateways, contributor and collaborator to “You’re Not the Boss of Me” (WECAN publication), Editor of WECAN’s First Grade Readiness, Editor of WECAN Journal, regular columnist for Lilipoh, and co-author, with Laurie Clark, of Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures, a collection of original movement imaginations for the classroom. She holds a BA from the University of Colorado in English, with teaching credentials. She also earned a certificate as Extra Lesson provider and therapeutic educator from Gradalis Seminars, where she attended four-year anthroposophical therapeutic/remedial training in Extra Lesson and supplementary therapies and academic support strategies.

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Sept. 25th & 27th, 2019 | Michaelmas Festival

What: Michaelmas at EARLY CHILDHOOD
When: Wednesday, September 25th, 2019
Where: Grades Campus

Wednesday, Sept. 25th
EARLY CHILDHOOD Michaelmas Festival
The first school festival of the year! Michaelmas at EC will be this Wednesday, September 25th.

This is an event that takes place during school hours and is just for the children. The children will be participating in games of "strength and courage" like balance beam, bag toss, jumping through a hoop of "fire" (made out of paper), climbing, crawling through a tunnel, and potato sack races. We ask that children wear red shirts to school this day.

After the Games, we will enjoy a special snack in each classroom and later we will gather again for the puppet show "The Little Boy Knight." Dismissal is at regular hours. There are sign-up sheets in each classroom for parents to provide a special snack and decorations.

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What: MICHAELMAS AT GRADES
When: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th, 2019 at 1:10pm
Where: Grades Campus

Friday, Sept. 27 @ 1:10pm
GRADES Michaelmas Festival
This year we will be celebrating Michaelmas a little different, each grade will recite a verse and then they will head to the field next to the church to do all the Games. This year, the 8th graders will be responsible for the Games and they will manage all the kids in the field along with the teachers. Each grade is responsible for a game, please get in contact with your grade teacher to see how you can help. We ask that children wear red shirts to school this day.

Parents are welcome to attend the Grades Michaelmas celebration. Here is the itinerary of events:

1. MICHAELMAS PRESENTATION: There will be a short presentation that will take place in the playground at 1:10pm where parents can observe.

2. MICHAELMAS GAMES: Then parents will walk over to the field along with the teachers and the children for the Games, where the 8th Graders have coordinated the events.

3. DISMISSAL: After the Games, children will walk over back to class with their teachers at 3:00pm to enjoy a popsicle in the classroom and prepare for dismissal. Parents can then pick up their children through the car line at their usual time.

Parents: Please park at the Connected Life Church Building next door. We are allowed to park behind the building only.

Class Parents: Please coordinate with parents as to who will bring the popsicles for each class. The popsicles should be a specific brand so they are all the same: the Whole Foods 365 Brand Strawberry Fruit Bars that come in a 4 pack.

Thank you, everyone, for working so hard for this event!

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WHAT IS MICHAELMAS?

Here is a great explanation of what the Michaelmas (pronounced like "mickle-mas") celebration is about:

"Michaelmas, which began as an equinox and harvest festival in the Middle Ages, is also a feast to honor The archangel Michael or Mikail. Michael is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and, in all traditions, he is a symbolic leader of the force of good over evil and courage over cowardice. The celebration of Michaelmas teaches the importance of overcoming fear and strengthening resolve.

Michaelmas falls near the autumn equinox, when the weather is rapidly changing, the days are noticeably shorter, and we feel a natural instinct to prepare for the colder months ahead. It marks the end of the harvest and the season when we feel the impulse to turn inward after the long, warm days of summer, and gather up strength and fortitude to face the colder days and long nights of the winter ahead.

Michaelmas is typically the first festival of the new school year celebrated in Waldorf schools. Themes of harvest and courage govern the preparations, games and activities of this festival, which culminates in a play performed by the grade school children. In the play, a destructive fiery dragon is tamed by the people of a town whose hearts are endowed with courage and enthusiasm by St. Michael. It is a story that parallels our own human challenges, illuminating the inner courage it takes to find and bring forth our own inward light when the sun, warmth and growth of the earth are fading. The story speaks to children in a deeply symbolic way, feeding their innate need for truth and justice.

Each student must face their own difficulties in life, both internal and external, and Michaelmas both educates and empowers the children to find the courage to take on and defeat their personal dragons. And so, we celebrate Michaelmas in the Waldorf tradition to remind ourselves of the strength we need in the coming season and in our personal lives to defeat darkness and let hope prevail."

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