May 8th Newsletter (May 8th, 2020)
Packet Pick up on Saturday, Not Sunday
Packet Pick-Up change for this weekend is Saturday, May 9th from 9:00 to 1:00, in reverence to Mother’s Day this Sunday. Please note that Larry and Tim will open the Handwork Room door on Monday and Tuesday, May 11th – 12th as well from 9:00 to 1:00, if you cannot make it on Saturday.
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! (Number guesses 1-19, moving down the grid left to right, like reading the lines of a book and number images in order)
This Mother's Day
Dear Parents,
My Mom would turn 98 next week were if that she was still alive. I was born the seventh in our family of eight with three sisters and four brothers. My earliest memories of Mom are of her working in the house from when we first awakened until I closed my eyes. I recall lying in bed when I was elementary school age and hearing mom pass by my window walking out to the clothesline to hang out the first of six loads per day. A little while later, she came to let us know that it was time to get ready for school. Time was not her ally, but I never heard Mom complain about the list of chores performed each day. By the time that I was up and in the kitchen for breakfast, something warm and hearty was prepared and placed before me. As the group of us made it out of the door each day, hugs and kisses were the order of the morning. We often passed the second shift coming in to replace us as the daycare children began to arrive.
It seemed to me that she placed very few expectations on us. Mom always made our beds, washed our clothes and cooked our meals. She expected in return that we perform well at school, act kindly to others and do our best at whatever we tried. I can never remember a time in my elementary school days that Mom wasn’t at home when I arrived in the afternoon. There she was with the daycare kids well looked after and waking from their naps, and she was greeting us at the door with a glass of milk and snack to hold us through until dinner. She asked what homework we had and made sure to remind us that it was a priority. Dinner preparation was often on its way by the time we made it home and one knew only too well not to be late for the one and only seating at 5:30. The menu was rhythmical, kindergarten like in its selection of choices for particular days of the week, always plenty and always warm. Mom served us all first and took her seat last at the table.
She baked five days per week with Tuesday night being “cookie night”. If she was lucky, the twelve dozen cookies she produced that night, might make it through to Thursday afternoon if the neighbor children didn’t visit on Wednesday as was prone to happen. Bedtime was regular and consistent and was the time that you received the very few minutes of private time with Mom. Her tasks were varied and with the stretch of ages being 17 years from oldest to youngest, her parenting needed to serve quite a variety of needs. With all of that, I recall very few of our games or events that my mom missed. What is even more amazing is she never had a driver’s license and drove a car. If it bothered her that it limited her mobility, she never let on. For the most part, it seemed that she never needed her own time. She made us believe that we were what she was in need of and made us feel that way. As I aged and began to hear the term unconditional love, I realize that it was an idea created for people like my mom.
With Mother’s Day this Sunday, I feel very fortunate that I was a blessed child. I really believe that I grew up understanding what it meant to be a parent. My memories of childhood are rich, and for that, I am very grateful and strive to this day to make her proud. No, I don’t need to prove anything to her any longer, but I still strive to please her memory because I know more than ever, that her love for me ran very deep. She taught me a great deal about being human with very few lectures to prove her point. Her ethos was well established.
I wish you mothers the very happiest of days, and that you are celebrated like you have never been before. You are the life blood of us all, and the world is a truly amazing and loving place because of you. The staff and faculty at the school have the privilege of enjoying symbols of your love each day, in the classroom or on Zoom, these days. I express to you our deepest gratitude and for the joy that you bring to each of us. Your children have depth, and a love for the world, all kindled by your style of unconditional love.
With much respect and admiration,
Tim Connolly, Faculty Administrator
Larry Smith, Business Administrator
Anne White, Community Development Administrator
Presenting a Virtual Window into Waldorf Early Education!
Do you have friends, family or any connections in your network who have expressed an interest in our school or you think might be a good fit if they had the chance to dip their toes in? This is our chance to invite one and all to a virtual window into our Waldorf Early Childhood Education Program and provide a welcome and introduction to new families looking for a different kind of education program for children ages birth to 6 years.
Two live Q&A sessions on Thursday May 28th at 1pm & 8pm offer the chance to hear from and interact with the ECE faculty, current parents and our enrollment team. In the week ahead of these live Zoom sessions, a virtual introduction video and tour will be shared to give a taste of our program and hopefully spark curiosity! Stay tuned for that exciting video premiere. To learn more about the event, register or pass along information to others who may be interested, please click here.
You must register for this event to receive an access link, visit the event page and follow the link to register.
Roaring Fork 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
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
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.