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July 2010
Waldorf High School of the Peninsula Graduates First Senior!
by Lucy Valentine Wurtz
Valedictorian? Most likely to succeed? Most popular? It’s a piece of cake to take all the honors when you are the only student in your class. On Thursday, June 10, 2010 Melisa Maseo Nolan became the first student to graduate from Waldorf High School of the Peninsula.
 After completing 8th Grade at WSP in 2006 and spending a year at Lincoln High School in San Jose, Melisa joined WHSP’s pioneer 2007 class as the only sophomore, and completed the curriculum in three years.
At graduation, which Melisa celebrated along with WSP’s 8th Grade Class of 2010, High School English teacher Deborah Newlen advised her to “believe in the goodness of yourself, live your life as a work of art, and always ask what you can do to help the world.”
Melisa has been accepted into the Nursing Program at San Jose State.
WSP Earns AWSNA and WASC Highest Accreditation!
by Lucy Valentine Wurtz
As you may remember, a team from AWSNA (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) and WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) spent several days on campus in March and visited all our classes, met with faculty, students, parents, board and administration, and compiled their report for recommendations to their policy bodies.
The team recently notified the school that we have again received the highest level of accreditation from both AWSNA and WASC, including first-time accreditation for the high school! The 7-year term accredits WSP through June 2017.
Following their visit, the team provided WSP with a report which praised the school with the following . . .
COMMENDATIONS
- the faculty, administration, and students for the enthusiasm they bring to the classroom and for the use of variety, creativity and innovation in producing and assessing student work
- the dedicated and talented administration, board and faculty for their steadfast commitment to serving the school and its ideals
- the administration and board for their recent changes to the governance structure, which allow for a clearer division of responsibilities between the FAB (faculty, administration and board)
- the teachers and administration for implementing clear rubrics and assessments that are tied to authentic learning
- the board and administration for a tuition adjustment program that allows more families to join and contribute to the school community
These accolades do not mean we will be able to rest on our laurels! We will spend the next school year working on the team’s recommendation and the priorities we identified in our action plan.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- the board and administration work to find and occupy new sites for the high school and early childhood program
- the board strive to increase the reserve and endowment funds to support the stability, improvement and growth of the school
PRIORITIES
- Complete the pioneering phase of the High School
- Develop and implement student readiness plans for the High School and Middle School
- Create a sustainable organizational structure
- Update the Strategic Plan and its implementation schedule
Annual Giving Reaches 99% - $20,000 Short of Goal
by Lucy Valentine Wurtz
This year our Annual Giving campaign has reached its highest level ever. We have achieved a 100% participation rate from our FAB, and 99% rate participation rate from families. With existing donations and pledges, we are currently at 90% of our dollar goal. We have just under $20,000 to go to reach the $210,000 mark included in this year’s budget.
Like most other independent schools, we rely solely upon tuition revenues and philanthropic gifts to meet our operating and routine capital expenses. All Annual Giving proceeds go directly into our operating budget and help WSP finance ongoing expenses, such as paying teachers’ salaries and benefits, purchasing high-quality art supplies, repaving the blacktop and replacing light bulbs.
Expanding our circle of support from alumni, friends and extended family is an increasingly important part of our development program and critical to our success in meeting the needs of our children and programs. Almost 15% of this year’s Annual Giving campaign has come from you and these other important donors. Thank you.
With everyone participating by giving what they are able to give, we can be sure the school will continue to provide the vibrancy of learning that is so important to the children of Waldorf School of the Peninsula.
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If you are able to offer a gift to the Annual Fund by July 31, the close of our fiscal year, your gesture will have real impact on the school’s capacity to close the school year with a balanced budget.
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"School's Out for the Summer!"
by Katharina Woodman
Which means that Simon, the Site Manager, is busy managing a team of workers (and you can spot the occasional alumni student!) that helps with necessary repairs, and the campus is swarming at any given time with people pouring concrete, waxing floors and moving furniture around! Teachers flit in and out of the copy room, finishing up student reports, and summer campers delight us with circus performances and go on nature hikes. As every year, the field is fenced off for re-seeding, and Carolyn Brown is giving away offshoots from lavender and mint plants.
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Dancing the Night Away!
 Katharina rocks! |
by Katharina Woodman
The 2010 Spring Gala and Auction was a huge success! In late May, we donned our performing outfits, ball gowns or posh frocks for Cirque du Waldorf, an exceptional event at the Menlo Circus Club. For the first time this year, there was an online portion of the auction which had people check their bids on laptops and iPhones throughout meetings.
After a delicious dinner and a lively auction of such magnificent items as a week in Hawai’i, raffle drawing for a laptop and a hybrid car, performances of various kinds, meeting old and new friends, and chatting, laughing, having fun, we were surprised by the band of the evening: our very own Middle Age Band, aka the Soul Providers! –
Middle-Aged Band: The Soul Providers |
Oooohhlala, those guitar classes for adults we now have on campus really paid off! Beth Lee, Business Manager, showed us she can do way more than count the money! Martha Groves Perry, our newest Board member, belted out Tina Turner songs and other tunes. The band, comprised of parents and employees, and originated by Rich Armstrong, parent and musician, had us on the dance floor all night.
Oh, and did I mention that the gala made a profit of $72,000.00 - $20,000 more than last year? See you there next year!
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Adult Education
 by Lucy Valentine Wurtz
In May, the first group of students participating in Rudolf Steiner College’s Community Learning Center (CLC) Foundation Studies Program graduated after three years of study at our campus. Betty Staley, who is the program director for the High School Teacher Training Program at Rudolf Steiner College as well as the mentor for our own high school, developed and directed this CLC program.
Twelve of the 18 students were from our WSP community. The school immediately hired graduate Patricia Senteno as our first grade teacher for next year! Many also participated in the program for their own professional or personal development. We were fortunate in that Bob Froelich, who has been leading anthroposophical study groups on the WSP campus for years, was able to participate in most of the program.
Following are the subjects that were studied over the last three years: Introduction to Waldorf Education, Parzival, Evolution of Human Consciousness, Nature of the Human Being, Biography and Life Cycles, Inner Work, Spiritual America, Rudolf Steiner's Life and Work, Eurythmy, Music, Gardening, Metamorphosis in Clay, Handwork, Veil Painting, Charcoal Drawing, Cosmology, Philosophy of Freedom, Karma and Reincarnation, Planetary Seals, Speech and Drama, and Rudolf Steiner’s Three-Fold Social Order.
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Alumni Updates
by Katharina Woodman
Since we now have our own High School and have graduated our first twelfth grader (Melisa Nolan) this spring - to be followed by the pioneering class next year, I will from now on use a different nomenclature for those students who graduated from previous eighth grades, so there will not be any confusion with the High School graduates (“lifers” – Waldorf students from early childhood through 12th grade) in future years. I will use the class teacher’s name for the Lower School’s grades, as in: Alyssa Woodman (Jain, 2002).
Springtime for baby girls! Congratulations on the new family additions:
Alexandra Phillippe (née Webb; Latimer 1995) had a daughter on Earth Day! Sara Miranda Phillippe was born April 22, 2010.
 Kaja Gibbs-Davidson (Jain) gave birth to vyShara Kahealani on May 17th on Hawai’i.
Her classmate Isha Kuhns will say “I do” on July 11th in the Redwood Grove at Sanborn Park in Saratoga. Isha and her Australian fiancé, Brenton Deville, will live in Australia. They met when Isha was visiting her parents, former Ed Support teacher and Board member Cindy Bajema and former Board Chair Bryan Bajema, in Bangalore, India!
Another wedding will take place August 20th at Rollins Lake Resort in Colfax: Jessica Crosby (Armstrong 1999) will tie the knot with Brandon Smith. Alumni parent and former Enrollment Director, Wendy Baker, will be the photographer, and Carolyn Brown will supply floral arrangements. (Jessie quips, "You’d better be good to your teacher, you never know in which capacity you will encounter them again!")
Jenna Portnoff (Armstrong, 1998) married Tom Martin of London, UK, in April. She and her husband will live in London.
Jeffrey Moore (Bean, 2000) married Joanna Spano from Australia. Jeff is a student at Macquarie University in Sydney, where his wife is a PE teacher. His major is business and he wants to work in the bicycle industry. They both like to surf and ride bikes.
Jeff’s brother Kevin (Latimer, 2005), meanwhile, is studying at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and will be taking a trip to Cuba this summer to study sustainable agriculture. His major is Global Resource Systems Management.
Jennifer Paige Robson (née Albera; Jain, 2002, Sacramento Waldorf High School 2006) just opened her own business. Tell your friends in the Sacramento area to go to The Champagne Parlour Salon and Spa for their beauty needs! Check out her facebook business page or make an appointment at jenpaigechampagne@gmail.com.
Both Jessica Lilley and Lauren Sparks (née Ringelman) of the 2002 class have an etsy site where they sell their creative products. Jessica makes the most amazing felted animals (which can also be purchased through our school store), you can see some of the on the etsy site (http://www.etsy.com/people/LilleyDesigns), and Lauren sews baby hats (http://www.whiteduckdesigns.com).
Check out Allegra Bick-Maurischat’s (Armstrong, 2004) website, where she shows her impressive artwork (http://www.allegrasart.com).
If you followed the news report on the collaboration of Tesla and Toyota, featuring the governor, you may have been dazzled by the exquisite lighting for this event. It was provided by Will Soley (Jain, 2002), who runs a business for Event Technology!
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Scott Jespersen Performs Bluegrass this Saturday
Come to hear Scott's fantastic bluegrass band at the Los Altos Art and Wine Festival this Saturday, July 10 at 11:00 AM on the Main Stage near Walgreens.
"Weevils in the Bisquick" have been together since St. Francis High School days.
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Every few years, we have a student with exceptional talents in the school, be it in the academic field or in the arts. One of our alumni, however, is brilliant in both areas and had made Music and Science his double major. Scott Jespersen (Armstrong, 2004) just raked in another award: Scott won the Pomona College's William F. Russell Prize for the 2009-10 school year in recognition of his substantial accomplishment and significant promise in his study of music, awarded to one or more sophomore students in the Music Department at Pomona.
Patrick Lingane (Aronow, 2001; SFWHS 2005) gained a Masters of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering (this is different from an MS or MA; they call it a MEng) at Cornell. Patrick is a graduate of Union College.
I would love to hear about any updates you would like to share from our former students! Our alumni are our best advertising.
Any updates can be sent to Katharina Woodman at 408-530-9101 or katharina_13@yahoo.com.
Katharina Woodman, WSP Alumni Coordinator
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