cing project will create a lot of change for our school environs, and we will keep you updated in the weekly ASA about our progress. We are excited to an- nounce that, through a generous donaon by grandparents Barbara Schilling and Richard Carr, we will have a new middle school this year. Three modular class- rooms will be built at the site of the current music and extended day class- rooms. The new build- ings will be SAGE (Smart Academic Green Enviro- ment) green classrooms, the recipient of a 2012 internaonal SEED de- sign award. The design provides enhanced natu- ral daylight, drascally improved air quality, spaciousness, and high quality non-toxic materi- als in a compact and beauful building. Use of a “whole building de- sign” approach increases energy efficiency dra- macally. This integrat- ed design was a collabo- raon between Port- land State University. Blazer Industries and Pacific Construcon Services. We are the first school in Oregon to have these new buildings. We will be part of a project with Energy Trust of Ore- gon to evaluate their efficiency. This ex- New Green Middle School! Inside this issue: New Programs and staff 2 Michaelmass 2 Electives 4 Ask Agatha 5 Health Guidlines 6 Confluence UPCOMING EVENTS Join us for Michaelmas on September 26 at 11am SEPTEMBER 2013 Take a stroll on the new path We have a new path that circles the playground, providing a wonderful surface for running and walking. It measures exactly ¼ mile, and will be used extensively by Girls on the Run. Al- ready students and staff have been using it every day. We invite parents to take a stroll; each fooall helps keep the gophers away! Many thanks to Tim- berhill Dental, The Bark Place and Ham/Mock Landscaping for dona- ons and discounts that made the path possible! The vision for this space includes porches, a new entry area and even bathrooms. If you are interested in mak- ing a contribution to help fund this larger vision please contact Mrs. Thom.
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Transcript
citing project will create
a lot of change for our
school environs, and we
will keep you updated in
the weekly ASA about
our progress.
We are excited to an-
nounce that, through a
generous donation by
grandparents Barbara
Schilling and Richard
Carr, we will have a new
middle school this year.
Three modular class-
rooms will be built at the
site of the current music
and extended day class-
rooms. The new build-
ings will be SAGE (Smart
Academic Green Enviro-
ment) green classrooms,
the recipient of a 2012
international SEED de-
sign award. The design
provides enhanced natu-
ral daylight, drastically
improved air quality,
spaciousness, and high
quality non-toxic materi-
als in a compact and
beautiful building. Use
of a “whole building de-
sign” approach increases
energy efficiency dra-
matically. This integrat-
ed design was a collabo-
ration between Port-
land State University.
Blazer Industries and
Pacific Construction
Services. We are the
first school in Oregon
to have these new
buildings. We will be
part of a project with
Energy Trust of Ore-
gon to evaluate their
efficiency. This ex-
New Green Middle School!
Inside this issue:
New Programs and staff 2
Michaelmass 2
Electives 4
Ask Agatha 5
Health Guidlines 6
Confluence
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join us for Michaelmas
on September 26 at 11am
SEPTEMBER 2013
Take a stroll on the new path
We have a new path that
circles the playground,
providing a wonderful
surface for running and
walking. It measures
exactly ¼ mile, and will
be used extensively by
Girls on the Run. Al-
ready students and staff
have been using it every
day. We invite parents
to take a stroll; each
footfall helps keep the
gophers away!
Many thanks to Tim-
berhill Dental, The Bark
Place and Ham/Mock
Landscaping for dona-
tions and discounts that
made the path possible!
The vision for this space includes porches, a new entry area and even bathrooms. If you are interested in mak-
ing a contribution to help fund this larger vision please contact Mrs. Thom.
New Programs and New Staff
year.
An ancient wisdom placed a
festival at each of the four
turning points of the solar
year. In autumn, this festival
is named after a mythological
figure, the archangel Michael.
The name Michael is Hebrew
and its meaning is the ques-
tion, "Who is like God?" Leg-
ends abound about Michael,
the most notable being of his
confrontation in heaven with
the rebellious angels, led by
Lucifer, who sought to over-
throw God. The forces of Mi-
chael cast these angels out of
heaven and held them in con-
trol in their earthly form as
dragons. Michael did not slay
the leading dragon, but held
it under his control through
his own inner strength.
This dragon is not an external
reality, but lives in all human-
kind, represented by cold,
dead, overly rationalistic
thinking. It is alive within
each of us as a potentially
negative, restrictive force.
Michael's message to human-
ity is not to try to slay the
dragon within ourselves, for
we would not live in
freedom if we did, but to
overcome the dragon with
conscious thinking and
strength of will. Michaelmas
is a festival of inner strength
and initiative, an opportunity
Why We Celebrate Michaelmas The following is an abbreviat-
ed version of an article by
David Mitchell, master Wal-
dorf teacher.
The autumn is a rare time in
Corvallis. The tree leaves un-
dergo their color changes, the
air become crisp and clear,
the evening skies show mete-
or showers visible even in our
city skies. Darkness starts to
wrap around us, and we are
moved inside to the comfort
of our homes. The dreamy
mood of summer is replaced
by a new vigor, and, for many
of us in a school community,
September is more a New
Year than
January 1st, as we establish
our rhythms for a new school
We have two new preschools
this year. Sweet Peas, a three
morning program for two
year olds, is taught by Jessica
Henry. We are currently ac-
cepting applications for a
waiting list. We also have a
three day preschool for three
and four year olds called Hon-
eybees, taught by Marcya
Rosecrans. There is still space
in this program if you have
friends looking for our special
early childhood programs.
The class of 2015, 7th grade,
is now being taught by Steph-
anie Croft. She is a California
native and has been involved
in Waldorf education in the
US and Canada since 1987.
Andrea Delos-Reyes is the
new Golden Rose preschool
assistant. She is excited to be
working at the school the
children attend. Julie Gust is
the new Extended Day Direc-
tor. Ms Gust worked as an
Extended Day Provider last
year. She has taught music
and elementary students for
the past eleven years. Liz
Riley and Anais Alexander are
sharing the job of Enrollment
Director. Liz worked as our
Development Director last
year and Anais, class teacher
of the class of 2010, has re-
turned to our school in an
administrative role!We are
delighted to welcome both of
them back in their new roles.
Page 2 CONFLUENCE
Michaelmas is a
festival of inner
strength ...
for our higher being to con-
quer fear and anxiety.
The backdrop for the drama
of history is the struggle be-
tween the powers that strive
for the forces of Goodness
against those that struggle
for the power of Evil. It is
within each individual that
this drama is enacted. We live
in an age of individuality and
personal freedom. We have a
multitude of personal choices
and live amidst the unsettling
realities of shifting forms of
social order, order that once
represented stability for man-
kind. We can no longer rely
on outer forms but must give
direction to our own lives out
of our personal initiative and
strength. In the legend of
Michael we find he offers
four gifts: strength, courage,
the will to do true deeds, and
love. To those who are willing
to undertake self-
transformation and look to-
wards that which is divine in
every human being, the
transformation and the battle
with the dragon are uniquely
individual.
At Corvallis Waldorf School
and Waldorf schools around
the globe, children hear sto-
ries and legends of
Michael. Then, this year on
September 26th, our stu-
dents and faculty will gather
on our grounds and
see the enactment of
Michael's battle with the
the back field for our Mich-
aelmas pageant.
dragon. Most of the student
body directly participates as
the pageant unfolds, and
each and every child inwardly
participates in feats of skill
and courage.
Please join us
this year at
11:00 a.m. on
Thursday, Sep-
tember 26th, in
Page 3
Join us for dragon
bread and a picnic
after the
Michaelmas
pageant.
Middle School Elective Program
programming.
There is more and more re-
search to substantiate these
concerns. See:
Endangered Minds:
Why Our Children
Don't Think by Jane
Healy
Failure To Connect: How
Computers Affect
Our Children's
Minds For Better
and Worse by Jane
Healy
Four Arguments for the
Elimination of Tele-
vision by Jerry
Mander
The Plug-In Drug by
Marie Winn
Evolution's End: Claim-
ing The Potential of
Our Intelligence by
Joseph Chilton
Pearce
What about computers and
Waldorf Education?
Waldorf teachers feel the
appropriate age for computer
use in the classroom and by
“Ask Agatha” If you have questions, bring them to the office!
The Corvallis Waldorf School is proud to be an independent, not-for-profit educa-tional organization. Unlike public or charter schools, independent schools receive no funding from the government. Our funding comes from family tuition, commu-nity donations, and grants. We welcome students of all nationalities, ethnicity, and spiritual backgrounds. There are four pillars of our interdependent and cooperative governance and decision-making. They include, the Board of Directors, Faculty and Staff, Administration and Parent Council.
Our Mission The mission of Corvallis Waldorf School is to educate independent thinking people who meet life with
courage and respond with initiative and creativity to the needs of the world and their fellow human beings.