March News (March 25th, 2024)
Next week, March 25th to March 29th is Spring Break with no school for all students Parent-Child and Toddler programs through 8th Grade. Our campus will be closed with minimal operations and staff available. We wish all of our families an adventurous, reinvigorating, and rejuvenating week of Spring Break.
We also wish to send all our families off to break with a note of gratitude: Springtime on the WSRF campus means new energy, new adventures, and new connections. All of our programs and incredible experiences for our students including the recent 7th grade hut trip, 8th grade projects, and every dynamic offering on our campus is made possible by the support and dedication of each and every family and parent.
On behalf of the entire WSRF Staff & Faculty: Thank You for your support of Waldorf Education in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Finally a big congratulations to all our 8th graders on their fantastic projects!
We are thrilled to share that there are still a handful of spaces left in all weeks of WSRF Early Childhood Summer Camps! Now that all current WSRF families have had a chance to sign up and secure their spots, we are excited to open these rare spots up to other connections in our community.
It’s finally time: if you have friends and connections in the Roaring Fork Valley looking for summer camps for their children ages 2.5 (and potty-trained) to 5 years old, we encourage you to share the registration link directly with them! Space in the camps remains incredibly limited (less than 10 spots remain in all weeks) but we love when current families can have existing, new-to-WSRF friends join their children on campus this summer so please share with your friends and connections first.
June 17th to June 21st from 8:30-3:30pm
Gardening, Art, and Cooking with Sarah Bromberg: for students ages 6 years to 9 years (rising 1st to rising 3rd graders). Join WSRF teacher Sarah Bromberg for a week of connecting with friends, food, and the earth. Each day we will spend some time tending to our school gardens, creating something beautiful, and make a nourishing snack or lunch together. The day will have a rhythm of in-breath and out-breath activities, including time for free play and visits to the wetlands. Camp is capped at 12 students so sign up now!
July 8th to July 12th from 8:30am to 3:30pm
Nature Crafts and Cooking with Julie Hall: for students ages 7 years to 9 years (rising 2nd and 3rd graders). Join WSRF teacher Julie Hall for a week of exploration and fun on the WSRF campus. This week will include a dynamic range of daily activities including nature focused crafts, cooking and time to explore and play outside on WSRF’s 13-acre campus with riverfront access. Camp is capped at 10 students so secure your spot now!
With deep gratitude and sadness, we announce that Sigrid Fischbacher is resigning from the Early Childhood Coordinator role at the end of the school year to allow for a more flexible schedule and for more time with aging family members in Austria.
Sigrid leaves a lasting legacy that has been created by her selfless devotion to early childhood and her leadership in so many areas of our school. She has touched so many peoples’ lives and continues to be integral in the success of so many of our students. Sigrid will be missed, but we are pleased she can be closer to her family. We appreciate all that she has given to WSRF and we wish her the best in her transition and beyond.
A message from Ms. Sigrid
It has been a privilege to be part of our beautiful school all these years. When I toured the school together with my daughter 25 years ago, I felt a certain pull and knew something was different about this place than all the other schools we’d visited. When we enrolled our daughter, I did not know that it would also be school and a place for me to grow.
I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to guide many children, get to know their parents, to work together with such dedicated, smart, caring colleagues, and for having had the opportunity to coordinate our early childhood programs the last three years. Looking back, it is wonderful to see how much the school has grown in size and maturity. I remain in awe of my colleagues, Board members, and parents for their dedication and enthusiasm to make a difference.
Hiring Announcement
We are excited to announce that Stacie Schaefer. has accepted the role of Early Childhood Coordinator. Ms. Schaefer has an extensive background in Waldorf education some of which was at WSRF in years past. With both early childhood and grades teaching experience, along with many leadership roles, we are very excited that Stacie will join WSRF. Stacie and her husband, Dan, will be moving from Longmont to join us. Please welcome Stacie and Dan back to the WSRF community!
Ms. Schaefer was first introduced to Waldorf Education while traveling and studying in Ireland during college. Since this discovery, she has deeply explored Waldorf Education, including study, training, and over 25 years of teaching and administration work in Waldorf programs. She received a BA in Elementary Education K-6 from the University of Northern Iowa and obtained her Waldorf Teacher Certificate in Early Childhood and the Grades at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California. She also received her birth to three training certificates from Sophia's Hearth in Keene, New Hampshire, and her Forest Kindergarten Training from the Association of Forest Kindergarten in Santa Barbara, California.
Stacie has been a parent-child teacher, a preschool/kindergarten teacher, a grades 1-5 class teacher, a teacher mentor, and Enrollment Coordinator in Boulder, Colorado. She also owned and operated a farm and forest Waldorf kindergarten in Niwot, Colorado. Stacie is a Colorado licensed K-6 certified teacher and Large Center Director qualified.
She is thrilled to return to Waldorf School on the Roaring where her Waldorf education journey began as a grades teacher prior to starting a family. Stacie and her husband Dan are looking forward to reacquainting themselves with the Roaring Fork Valley and enjoying the WSRF community. Their daughter Emma is a Waldorf graduate and recent Grinnell College alum. Stacie enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, crafting, being in nature and exploring the world.
Join Rachel Poirier for a special, three-part series (attend one or all sessions!) which, at its core, will focus on meaningful ways in which intentionality within our parenting can improve communication, deepen connection, and invite increased participation from our children. Sessions will include practical strategies designed to bring more ease and joy to your family’s rhythm, time will be built in for thoughtful discussion and Q&A, and you’ll leave with a roadmap of how to implement the proposed strategies.
All parents are welcome, content is relevant from early childhood through the tween and teen years. If you cannot attend but would like to receive resources, please complete RSVP form! Join us for one or all of the following sessions (childcare available with RSVP):
Tues, April 9* (corrected date!), 3:15 - 4:00 pm - Finding Your Family’s True North through Shared Values
Tues, May 7, 3:15 - 4:00 pm - Making Gratitude a Family Affair
