The 8th grade chemistry block involves learning about complex carbohydrates, food and fuel sources and the role of plants. Students have been wondering about the connection between plants and science (that’s our curiosity building curriculum at work!). Stop an 8th grader and ask about it. Their answers might surprise you!
Beautiful, hand-selected, soul-nourishing gifts
November 30th – December 2nd
Friday, 11-8, Saturday & Sunday, 9-5
Opposite the Weavers Way Co-op, High Point Cafe and Big Blue Marble Bookstore
Weekend Events:
Friday 30th @ 6.30 p.m. – Holiday Chorus
Saturday 1st @ 4.00 p.m. – Sustainable Development Talk
Saturday 1st @ 5.00 p.m. – Alumni After Hours – exclusive shopping for alumni
While I am away in November I will be living in the city of Guangzhou (pop. 12 million!) and working at a ‘new’ kindergarten that already has 8 full classes of children. In my time there I will be trying to distill and consolidate all of the gifts and experience that I have built up right here at The Waldorf School of Philadelphia – to harvest some of those many seeds and help them find root in the eager hearts and hands of new teachers, parents and children. I am so grateful to the colleagues, families and friends who have afforded me this chance to step away and to grow in my work and also in myself. I am also happy to have found a type of school where the learning never stops and even those of us with graying hair can widen our view on the world and then come back home with new seeds, freshly planted.
As part of the Spanish curriculum, Maestra Elena will lead WSP students in an assembly introducing the Mexican celebration of “Día de los Muertos” or Day of the Dead.
More than 500 years ago, when Spanish conquistadores landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered the native people celebrating a ritual which honored the dead. It had been practiced for at least 3000 years. Originally celebrated by the Aztec for a full month, Spanish priests co-opted and moved it to the Feast of All Souls, November 1. That date had been established when Roman priests co-opted Samhain, the November 1 celebration of the dead by the Celtic peoples of Britain and Gaul – giving rise to All Souls and Halloween!.
While the celebration of All Souls can be a sad occasion in many countries, in Mexico, it is a joyous remembrance of the departed. Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the Aztec and other Meso-American peoples viewed death as a continuation of life. Life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.
In Mexico, people visit the cemetery and decorate the gravesite with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for the children. They sit on picnic blankets and eat the favorite foods of their loved ones.
Our school assembly will be on November 1, at the beginning of the day. Your children are invited to bring a photo or memento of a loved one who has died. These will be displayed, along with candles and flowers, on the stage at the front of the auditorium. In Spanish classes leading up to the assembly, Maestra Elena will bring a story, and have the children make masks (grades 1, 2), paper flowers (grades 3, 4, 5), and the woven “God’s eyes” (grades 6, 7, 8). At the end of the assembly, they will be given baskets of bread to take back to their classrooms to share for snack.
Support the Class of 2013 and the first Coffee House of the year, Friday 26th October at 7.00 p.m.
Many moons ago there was a popular dance called the Mashed Potato in which dancers slipped, slid, and ground their feet as if they were making mashed potatoes. Equally popular was a Halloween-themed song about the dance called “The Monster Mash.” In the song, a creepy, Boris Karloff-type voice sings about dancers doing the Monster Mash, and punctuates the line by gleefully noting that “…it was a graveyard smash.”
Well, our 8th Grade class has probably never heard of the dance called Monster Mash, and they probably don’t know who Boris Karloff was either, but their upcoming coffee house is going to be a graveyard smash!
The 8th Grade’s coffee house offers a great opportunity for students and grown-ups to showcase their talents in song, poetry, dance, stand-up comedy—you name it. Students in grades 4 through 8 are welcome to perform. Sign up in advance on the 8th Grade’s bulletin board or submit your funniest joke by putting a written version in the joke envelope. What’s a Monster Mash Coffee House without costumes?! Dress in your favorite Halloween costume and become eligible for one or more prizes to be awarded in the costume contest. Games, coffee, tea and snacks for purchase will round out the evening.
The festivities begin at 7 p.m. this Friday, October 26th. Admission is $3 per person, and all are welcome. Bring your friends and family for a night of fun. And don’t forget Uncle Fester! Thanks for supporting the Class of 2013
Join us for the Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts Festival on their new date of Sunday, October 14th 2012.
Our booth will be located at 8131 Germantown Avenue in front of Norio/Sue’s Dressmaking, a stones throw from Laurel Hill Gardens and Bredenbecks Bakery.
As a fundraiser, the 8th grade students will be making jump ropes and selling beautiful note cards. WSP parents will also be on hand to talk about our amazing school and to sell a limited array of items from The Whispering Wood. Please swing to say Hello and show your support.
Almost every culture has had days of celebration or recognition in its past and, often, continuing into modern times. The shearing of sheep, bringing in the harvest, or the birth of a child have all been events for celebration, among many other events. Celebrations are important to the rhythms in Waldorf schools. In particular, festivals borrowed from ancient cultures mark the cycle of life and the changing seasons, and they frequently provide the foundations for Waldorf festivals. Festivals bring a community together in a time when human beings are frequently separated from one another by the real and imagined boundaries of time and place. Michaelmas is the first of the seasonal festivals celebrated at The Waldorf School of Philadelphia.
As autumn ushers himself in, with these glorious days it is hard to imagine that the life forces of nature are gradually receding and turning toward their long winter sleep. As human beings, however, we are awakening to our inner life. It is a time that we turn to building and strengthening our souls as we prepare for the dark days ahead. We face a time of renewed courage and the need to carry an inner light of wisdom as the days grow shorter.
Within the school’s life we face these challenges by learning of St. Michael who tamed the dragon. We hear stories and sing songs of the warrior against evil who guides and inspires us to take courage against darkness. In the grade school we face our own festival of courage, and in the kindergarten we make and paint felted shooting stars that Michael sent to give us light.
The lead up to Michaelmas, and the festival day itself, is a wonderful time. It is one of the few times that the whole school, both Early Childhood and the Grade School, comes together in celebration. With our combined strength of will and inner courage we face the darkness together and shine a bright light to guide us through the coming winter.
Our Michaelmas celebration takes place within the school day on Wednesday, September 27th. Parents will be regaled with stories at the end of the day but are asked not to come to the actual festivities. We have noticed that it is especially hard for the children whose parents are unable to attend, so it’s best that Michaelmas be a festival purely for the children.
Woodworking…develops self-discipline, self-control, an awareness of one’s strengths and one’s limits, the striving for beauty in all work, experience of others’ struggles and successes, the value of mutual support, and the experience of the possibility for improvement that points into the future.”
Atta Turck, Woodworking Teacher, Eugene (OR) Waldorf School
WSP Woodworking teacher Todd Parker White knows the simple joy of creating an object of beauty and utility from a piece of wood, and he wants you to feel that joy, too. Todd offers woodworking workshops for children and adults after school and in the evening, respectively.
Student Woodwork – for children in grades 4 and above. We will focus on various activities involving green woodwork (the transforming of large logs into useful items). Program are on Thursdays after school.
Adult Woodwork – we will explore shaping green wood logs into a variety of utilitarian objects such as spatulas, spoons, and bowls. Programs are on Thursdays from 7p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Contact: Todd White at 717-916-9949 or TKERKUK@gmail.com for more information.
Mondays at 3.15 p.m. – 4.15 p.m. from October 1st to November 26th
Oak Tree Kindergarten Teacher, Patricia Cornelius, is also a yoga teacher with 25 years teaching experience. She brings her Waldorf teaching style along with her experience working with young children to this class, providing yoga instruction through imaginative story, song and games.
Interested? Contact Patricia at yoginipgc@yahoo.com – the cost for this 8 week session is $80.
After School Handwork Program
Mondays from 3.15-4.00 p.m. This class is for students who are new to our school in grades 2-6, and for any students who might need some extra instruction or practice on their in-class handwork project or a home project. The cost is $10 per class, payable in class blocks of 5 or 10. Please contact Ms. Nicola to sign up. You can email her at nicolenicola@verizon.net.
Handwork for Grown-ups!
Please join us for the 2012/2013 season kick-off of Parent Handwork this Friday, after drop-off until 10.30 a.m., in the Community Resources Room (between the nursery and the applied arts studio). Bring your own craft and enjoy the company of fellow Waldorf parents or show up to help with craft making for this year’s Childrens Shopping Room or Parent Handwork Table at the upcoming Holiday Fair. All levels of craftiness welcome.