Welcome back students and families!

School is bustling with excitement as our teachers and parents are busy setting up classrooms in anticipation of our students returning next week.

Thinking back to my own childhood I can recall how the first day of school was always rich with anticipation – the joy of fresh crayons and clean sheets of paper – each new school year brought the promise of endless possibility. So too is this coming year rich with unknown potential.

Campus is awakening, but it won't be complete without you. Our hope and goal for this year is to safely and intentionally bring community life back to the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork.

I am reminded what a gift it is to us, as parents and educators, to have the opportunity to imbue our own children's classrooms and campus with love and abundance. As we look forward to a year of assemblies, plays, and diverse opportunities to see our children’s growth, it will be thanks to the unwavering dedication of each and every member of our community.

In our 30th year we look forward to the re-enlivening of the festivals and volunteer life that are the roots of our school and community. Please consider joining us for some of the back to school events below and keep an eye out as details for future events and festivals. In the coming weeks class teachers will share more opportunities for volunteering, and please be on the look out for newsletters detailing upcoming events.

We look forward to seeing you all on campus!

John Moffitt, Faculty Administrator

On behalf of Administrative Council

Dear WSRF Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am delighted to introduce Morgan Jacober as WSRF’s new Community Development Administrator. Many of you have gotten to know Morgan as a beloved parent at WSRF over the past eight years. Her warmth is immediate and her genuine care for others is apparent in all she does.

After a decade as Co-Founder and Director of Programs at Valley Settlement in Carbondale, where she led efforts to provide immigrant families the support they need to thrive in the Roaring Fork Valley, we are so fortunate that Morgan has brought her many gifts to the role of CDA. Underscoring her talent for bringing people together is a dedication to fostering healthy community. In her words, “My past work experience tells a story of commitment to people, community, relationships and excellence. I have always chosen work that is in service to others, that is intentional with building and nurturing relationships, and that seeks to make broad impact often off the beaten path.”

Morgan holds Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is currently completing a Master of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of Denver. Prior to founding Valley Settlement, Morgan served as the Executive Director at Manaus, a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with others to help create sustainable solutions to issues that further equity within our communities. In speaking to references, Morgan was consistently described as a skilled collaborator, a strategic thinker and a thoughtful leader.

Morgan and her husband Forest have three children, Weston (Grade 6), Brody (Grade 3) and Reese (Toddler Program). They have lived in and served the Roaring Fork Valley for most of their lives. From their deep and strong roots flow an openness and generosity that inspires the same in all of us.

The Community Development Administrator is essential to the health and success of our school, particularly during this moment in the life of our school as we come together to reimagine and recreate our school’s healthy social life. We are so excited that Morgan will be a steward of our reconnection. Please join me in welcoming Morgan into this role as we welcome each other back into community at WSRF.

With much gratitude to you all

Elizabeth Allen for the Board of Trustees

Back to School Events

We are excited to welcome family and friends back onto campus for our back to school events. Please be on the look out for emails from your class parents for class picnics and workdays.

Wednesday August 25th

Rose Ceremony outdoors on Sun Porch (south side of lower grades building); 1st and 8th grade parents invited

8:15-8:40am Administrative Council hosted tea for 1st & 8th

grade parents, outdoors on Sun Porch

8:40-9:00am Rose Ceremony

Welcome Back Ice Cream & Watermelon Social outdoors on Sun Porch 12:15-12:35pm

Students in the grades will enjoy with buddy groups prior to dismissal.

Students and parents in Kinderhaus welcome following dismissal.

Reminder: 12:30 dismissal all classes and grades. Bus service but no aftercare.

Friday August 27th

First All-School Assembly 8:25am (outdoors); All parents welcome following drop off!

Reminder: Please wear masks while indoors on campus

Re-Opening Statement

Important Transportation changes for the 21/22 school year

The school will operate two bus routes this year. One up-valley and one down-valley. The down-valley bus has a large ridership, and we are making significant changes to the route. We will simplify the route this year to just two stops each way one in Carbondale at Sopris Park and one in Glenwood Springs at Park Drive. The anticipated schedule can be found here.

We are doing this for two reasons. Mainly, to reduce the amount of time children are on the bus. This will have health, safety and behavior benefits, as well as a lower cost of operation. Secondly, it allows us to retain the small white bus that last year was the “Glenwood Express” for its original purpose as an activity bus to be used by teachers for class trips.

We recognize this change may cause inconvenience for some of you. If you find that utilizing the bus in this way is no longer of service to your family, the school will refund your transportation fee. Simply request a refund to larry@waldorfschoolrf.org

Fall & Spring Parent Child Programs: Limited spaces still available!

Registration for Fall and Spring Parent Child programs with the magical Ms. Holly are open and very limited spaces are still available! This incredible collection of classes, from Sweet Peas to Bilingual Musical Storytime and much more, are perfect for our youngest learners to begin spending time on campus with caregivers (siblings welcome too with a per family cost for all classes). Music, rhythm and socialization for both children and parents take center stage in an environment filled with love and joy that nurtures both new and returning families. If you are or someone you know might be a good fit for these programs, please explore, register and share the page here for more information: https://waldorfschoolrf.com/parent-child

Waldorf Curriculum Spotlight: Rhythm

Welcome to the Curriculum Spotlight series! Each newsletter, a new element of Waldorf Curriculum will be introduced and explored as we all continue to learn together. If you have questioned around Waldorf Education you’d like to see answered in this space, please email any & all questions here. For more information around Waldorf Education, please explore our continually growing blog.

Rhythm is a fundamental element of Waldorf Education across every grade level. It takes countless shapes that impact our students and every human being, both internally and externally. An element that’s been extra challenging to grasp recently, rhythm nurtures developing human beings at a level we may know but still often overlook in our adult striving for a sense of rhythm in ever changing realms of chaos.

For our youngest students, Waldorf Education’s focus on rhythm brings security, safety and settling that allows individuals to lean into the calm that comes in knowing what to expect; giving intentional space for imagination, curiosity and wonder to grow over worry and uncertainty. A focus that continues and grows through the grades. Rhythm in Waldorf Education guides curriculum that moves between thinking and doing and schedules that support a balance between energy expelling from our Middle Schoolers and drawing them inwards for contemplation, consideration and reflection (for just a couple examples).

Entire books exist on the influence of rhythm on Waldorf Education and humans in general in an increasingly chaotic world. For now we welcome all our families to the rhythm of another Fall season and finish with a question: what might we all gain from considering the impact of intentional rhythm on our daily, weekly, monthly, yearly lives and how might we collectively support a focus on rhythms that nurtures human beings?

Thank you, Bier-Moebius Family & 13 Moons Ranch

As the faculty and staff prepared the final push before the start of school, we made sure to set aside time to gather as a colleagues and peers.

This is never done lightly. With so much to be done, taking two days for collegial work and team building was a sacrifice few of us made lightly. And yet, in order to be a school that is run by teachers working in collaboration, this sort of work is imperative.

How wonderful then, to find ourselves in the shadow of Mount Sopris at 13 Moons Ranch. It was an essential reminder that our work as educators is done hand in hand with the beauty of the natural world. Our children are blessed have a school in this incredible setting, and we are blessed to be their educators.

Thank you to the Bier-Moebius family and to 13 Moons Ranch for sharing the land for our retreat, and for the timely reminder of how we can each strive to come together in community, in the world.

Movement Program is looking for the following: