May 15th Newsletter (May 15th 2020)
Packet Pickup for Sunday, May 17
Please note that Packet Pick Up will return to Sunday this weekend from 9:00 to 1:00.
Last Call for Financial Aid Applications
Please submit your application and upload all required documentation no later than Monday May 18th. Applications can be accessed through link available here https://waldorfschoolrf.com/tuition-financial-aid .
The Class of 2020
Can you name them all? Email us your best guesses. We'll draw from the correct answers and send one lucky winner a batch of Tim's Famous Cookies! (Pictures are number 1-19 working from left to right like the lines of a book)
May 15, 2020
Reflections
Dear Parents,
I am the fortunate recipient of many letters and expressions over the course of a week. Some of it can be the mundane and yet an equal part of it, often gives me pause to think and relish the beauty of people’s impressions. In the past week, two particular writings crossed my desk and I wished to share them with you. The first is an excerpt from a parent letter that was written by Ms. Noll:
“I am reminded that no matter what - life goes on. The flowers still bloom, the river still runs, and the birds still prepare nests for their babies to come this spring. As I was compiling the packets for this weekend pick up, I was startled as I walked down the middle school hall, which we will soon call home as a class, by a bird that flew out. I noticed she had made a beautiful home on the May pole suspended near the ceiling of that hallway. As I was missing the students, I suddenly felt blessed by this simple reminder that life goes on and felt grateful for the simple things in life, like a mother bird busily preparing a home for her soon-to-be newborn babes.
I didn't focus on the fact that those May Faire ribbons may need to be replaced. I didn't pay attention to the mess under the nest other than to smile and think about how making a home can sometimes be messy. While that mama bird was so busy building, I found myself in quiet contemplation with a heart full of gratitude and hope for the birthing of all that is on the horizon, both within ourselves and those soon to be baby birds.”
The second excerpt is a letter that Mr. Johnson received from an 8th grade student relative his observations during a recent Zoom class:
“After my last class with 8th grade, I recognized that the past two weeks have felt much heavier and the students have just appeared exhausted and sad (understandable given the situation and the loss of many culminating experiences). A student was sending me some of her work to check over, and so I shared with her my observation and invited her to share her feelings about it. I thought it would be good for us as a school to have some feedback, especially given that we might have to do this again next year. Here is what I received back:
Dear Mr. Johnson,
You’re the best!
Yes, I have been sensing a bit of the “heavy” feeling lately too. I think that part of it is because we are a super tight class that has been through a lot, and this situation of not being able to see each other 5 days a week, 7 hours a day is a bit saddening for sure. Also, the fact that it’s our last year together makes it all the more difficult and sad.
Zoom classes also get to be boring and hard to focus on, especially when we have multiple classes in a day. Usually, Math is later in the day, which is fine, but it also means that we’ve most likely been doing other Zoom classes earlier in the day, draining our focusing skills and capacity for screen-staring. On top of that, the homework load we are getting from our other classes is a lot to handle, and I don’t know about other people, but my computer says I have been spending 5-8 hours on it a day. Not fun.
This is aggravating, and it’s always nice when we get assignments that are not on a screen. Math is a great example of that, because we get to have a break from the screen to work on the sheets and ML pages, which I appreciate. I have seen the annoyance with online school in Wren as well, and we like to joke that we’re going to throw our computers out the window when we get tired of staring at them.
The screen time is definitely taking a toll on the both of us, but we try to balance it out by going for hikes together, sing and play guitar, making good food, etc. I feel like I am learning things for sure, but spending time on a screen is taxing and not very fun. However, I can only imagine what it’s like for you and our other teachers, who are having to put all our assignments together online.
Thank you so much for all your thoughtful emails and encouragement, it’s helped a lot. I hope you are staying healthy and happy.....don’t drive Mrs. Mullally too crazy.... Thank you for being such a fun and supportive teacher!
Stay well, Daisy Kelly
I hope the words of both Ms. Noll and Ms. Kelly, move you the way that they moved me. Daisy’s insights about distance learning were particularly interesting to me and provides important insights from the student’s point of view.
With much respect and admiration,
Tim Connolly, Faculty Administrator
Larry Smith, Business Administrator
Anne White, Community Development Administrator
Class of 2020 memories
Mr. Baruch to depart for California
Last week, Mr. Baruch announced to the Faculty and to the families of his class that he and his family were relocating. Baruch has been with the school for five years now and very much a part of the community of the school. I have included for you an excerpt from the letter that he addressed to his Faculty colleagues. He will be missed, and we wish him all of the best.
“I wished to write and let you know that I have been offered a teaching position at Yuba River Charter School in Grass Valley, CA. I have accepted the position of lead teacher in the Rose Kindergarten for the Fall of 2020. This is the same school that I taught at for 8 years previously (7 years in the Rose Kindergarten and one year in 3rd grade) before coming to teach at WSRF. I began my teaching career at Yuba River and this feels like a homecoming for me and my family. Our family will plan to move to California this summer and get settled in July. The community at YRCS is joyful for us to return. Additionally, I will see many of the children I had in Kindergarten there as they are now students in the upper grades.
I wish to thank you for supporting me along the way in my path at this school, as well as with this decision. I feel so very blessed to have taught at WSRF for five years, and for all the countless gifts that this community has given to me, to my children and family. The festivals, faculty meetings, as well as strategizing policy, practices and procedures have all been so fruitful to my soul. Thank you for being a part of my life these past years. I will miss each one of you. I will miss the children and families and this beautiful school and the wild lands immensely. Please come and visit us if you’re ever in Northern California.”
Class of 2020 memories
WSRF Business Directory
WSRF is deeply grateful for the continued support of businesses in our community --- especially those owned and operated by current and alumni families. Your dedication makes our work possible.
We are compiling a business directory for our community. Our aim is to continue supporting one another in the weeks and months ahead by connecting our incredible web of businesses, creators, entrepreneurs and doers. All while encouraging us to engage with our local community in new and dynamic ways.
If you are a business owner and would like to be included in the directory, please complete the form here:
Administrative Council
Class of 2020 memory!
School Operations and Calendaring ahead
Over the past days, Staff and Faculty have been fielding questions about the traditional year end events at school and how we might be carrying out those important deeds. These events are important to all of us, and we are in the midst of many brainstorming cohorts to determine what we can do versus what we cannot do.
We are fortunate to have an alum parent who works at Garfield County Public Health. She has been very helpful to us in trying to navigate the various protocols in place. Key to all of this at the moment is that we are not allowed to gather in groups of more than ten. Her advice has allowed the 2nd and 3rd grade classes to form in small groups away from campus to conduct important classroom activities.
Please know that while we continue to navigate these protocols, we are keeping in mind our good citizenship to the school and larger community. We plan to continue to work within these parameters with the hope that health comes soon to our community and that of the global community. In the meantime, we hope that with creative forces, we can end the school year with a sense of celebration and joy for what we were able to accomplish in a time of crises. It is hard to swallow at times like this as we wish to enjoy our traditions. As has been said often, though, these times offer the time for rebirth and new growth. Author and Playwright, Joan Didion, calls this “magical thinking”. I think it is well said.
Administrative Council
Class of 2020 memory!
WSRF COVID Financial Statement
The school is aware that this crisis is creating real financial strain for many of our parents. Lost jobs, few if any customers for your businesses, kids at home making it very challenging for those able to work from home to get work accomplished, the list is long and the challenges real. The school wishes to offer our support, knowing that this too shall pass, and hoping that this occur sooner rather than later. Please know that a core principal of the school’s Financial Aid process is to never lose a family strictly for financial reasons.
At this moment, the school offers these steps to relieve financial burdens:
1) Tuition Payment deferment
a. For parents that have short-term cash-flow constraints that make it difficult or impossible to meet your current tuition payment obligations. Perhaps you hold out hope that either the stimulus check will hit you bank account soon, and/or that the new unemployment benefits will begin to take effect and then your tuition payments can be made.
b. Fill out this worksheet, and email it to Larry Smith who will be in touch to discuss option.
2) Tuition Payment reduction
a. For parents who have or anticipate longer-term financial impacts and seek to either have current year payments reduced, or will need help for the 20/21 year starting in July, we invite you to participate in our Financial Aid process. Please begin here: https://waldorfschoolrf.com/tuition-financial-aid We know that the documents requested in this process will not accurately reflect recent developments. These documents enable a consistent starting place, and changes due to the crisis will be understood through conversation with the Needs Based Financial Aid Committee.
Seeking Workspace
Dear Waldorf Community,
I am writing this to get the word out in the community (and beyond) in an attempt to find a solution to an obstacle that has just arisen. As many of you might know, my father is a master furniture builder and wood carver; he is the one responsible for the entry doors on the front of the school, as well as the doors with the bees on the Kinderhaus building and the bench inside the sunroom that he carved as a memorial to Doug Sheffer. After graduating my class in 2016, I spent the majority of the next three years apprenticing with my father in his shop and then designing and building furniture in my own right.
We were just informed that the land and building that has housed our shop for more than 28 years has sold and we have to be out of the space in August. Working with wood has been my father’s passion for more than 40 years now, and although I am not in a place where I have a desire or the ability to build furniture full time, I have become very attached to the shop and the knowledge and skills that my father has passed down to me. The tools are more than a means to an end at this point; they are indeed now heirlooms. Although my father is now in his mid-80’s and he produces work at a slow pace, he is still active in the shop nearly every day. It is not a great source of income at this point in his life but a source of creative expression and passion and a center point of our family culture. He carries a certain degree of heartbreak at the thought of it just being shut down and packed up, as do I.
Given the cost of space in this valley, it is not realistic for us to rent space that would be adequate. We are looking for someone who might have a heated, dry space that would accommodate a furniture shop and who is interested in the idea of an artistic, creative space that is an extension of a family culture. While we are not able to contribute a lot in the way of rent, we could cover utilities or trade work for the use of space. The machines are heavy and difficult to move, so we are less interested in a super short term space, but we would entertain anything if it is what is available. I would welcome any conversation that leads to a space to house this aspect of my family’s history, and I am available to answer any questions, concerns, or ideas for a path forward.
Thank you all…. Sending wishes for good health and peace to everyone,
Matt Johnson
Fabien Cousteau Ocean Journey Zoom
THURSDAY, MAY 28TH @ 5PM
Please join us for a Zoom Video Picnic with the first grandson of Jacques Cousteau, the legendary Aquanaut and Ocean Explorer, Fabien Cousteau, as we take a journey to uncover the wonders of the ocean. We will travel to places Fabien visited as a young boy when he started scuba diving at the age of 4. We will make our way through mangrove forests and restore some coral reefs with 3D printed technology. Our last stop will be at the underwater habitat where he lived and worked for 31 days. We may even get to visit with Sylvia, the 500-pound barking Goliath Grouper who lived under the habitat.
RSVP to anne@waldorfschoolrf.org with the question: If you could live underwater for 31 days what would you want to take with you? Anne will send you the zoom link with RSVP.
See you in the ocean!