Community Life

Friday Evening Lecture
7:00 - 9:00 pm

Biodynamics: A Healing Impulse for the Earth
by Harald and Cynthia Hoven
Mountain View Campus, Eurythmy Room

Probably the most comprehensive system of organic and sustainable farming in the world, Biodynamics was developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1924, just as European growers first began to notice that their crops were losing their vitality, and the chemical industry was beginning to pour synthetic fertilizers into agriculture. With its unique insight into holistic life systems and the relationship between the earth and the universe, biodynamics offers unique approaches to heal and steward our planet.

Suggested donation: $15 to cover costs
Registration link will be sent by February 1.

Saturday Workshop
9:00 am to 5:30 pm

Special Tree Planting & Blessing of New Garden Saturday 12:15 - 1:45 pm Music, lunch and blessing Open to WSP parents, students, faculty, alumni and friends - new and old! Registration not necessary for this celebration.

Composting and the Biodynamic Preparations
with Eurythmy

Compost recycles wastes and transforms them into life-giving food for the earth. Learn how the biodynamic preparations enhance the process of composting to offer new vitality and harmony to the soil and the entire ecosystem.

Eurythmy
Dynamic experience working with the forces of life.
Through eurythmy we can enter into a personal, somatic experience of the concepts offered in the lectures.
With Cynthia Hoven

Practical experiences in building compost piles
Participants will join Harald in building a compost pile. Bring your kitchen waste!

Horn manure preparation
Preparing the biodynamic preparation and applying it to the land.
We will stir the preparation and apply it to our school gardens.

Workshop cost: $75, including Friday lecture and lunch
Registration link coming early next week.
(limited to 30 participants)

Registration link will be sent by February 1.

Harald Hoven is the director of Raphaël Garden, master gardener, faculty member, and founder of BDANC (Biodynamic Association of Northern California). He teaches the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening workshop series, leads evening study groups, and teaches gardening and phenomenology to students enrolled in programs at the college. He has worked at Rudolf Steiner College (RSC) for 25 years and is well known as a regional and international speaker on biodynamic farming and gardening.

Cynthia Hoven received her eurythmy diploma from the Goldridge Eurythmy School in 1979, and then traveled to the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, where she joined the stage group for two seasons. Cynthia became the director of the Weekend Foundation Studies program at RSC and assumed responsibility for teaching all the eurythmy classes. Following a dream she has long held, Cynthia founded the Eurythmy training at Rudolf Steiner College in 2002.

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From the High School Faculty

Learning About Assessments with Dr. Paul Zachos

We would like to invite any of you interested in learning more about learning goals, assessment and the important work being done at our high school on this topic to join us for a two-part experiential introduction.

Both meetings will take place at the Mountain View campus in the 8th grade classroom.

Part 1: Monday, January 23, 7:00 pm

This first part involves experiencing a student's point of view of learning as an introduction to the concepts of learning goals, assessment and educational evaluation.

Part 2: Tuesday, January 24, 7:00 pm

The follow-up session will review the results of the assessment from the previous night and how this information can be used to improve educational programs. It will be more creative and interactive and will include a review of Monday's experiment.

While any whose time and eagerness permits is warmly encouraged to attend both sessions, attendance at one or the other is also welcome. We look forward to sharing an important part of the work of our faculty this school year with parents (and high school students who will also receive this invitation).

Please email mvoffice@waldorfpeninsula.org if you plan to attend.

Faculty Evaluations

by Janet Dunwoody, Faculty Chair
Last week we were delighted to have two very experienced Waldorf teachers visit from the Calgary Waldorf School (Go Flames!) to evaluate seven of our Lower School teachers. We also had a visit  from a member of the San Francisco Waldorf School faculty (Go Niners!) to the High School to evaluate and mentor a few High School faculty members.  

I would like to share with you some of the general comments from the Calgary teachers' observations at the school:

“The school as a culture feels both embedded in the world of technology in Silicon Valley – modern and integrated into its location yet apart as a cultural renewal initiative as well. Commendable. You walk your talk and it shows in your students, teachers and the working culture of your school”.

“Children look healthy and happy.”

“Striving, committed teachers and staff.”

“Hard working, strong, well-educated faculty.”

“Informal feel – teachers wear blue jeans, staff and students together in the common room on Mountain View campus.”

“Remarkable time-table structure to build directed encounter between the high school and middle school students. Innovative and creative thinking and problem solving.”

The teachers who were evaluated (myself included) were very impressed with the level of observation, questions, and interest in our work. The evaluators gave us all excellent advice on how to work even more effectively with the students and we will be following up with professional development plans.

Yours,
Janet Dunwoody
Faculty Chair 

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Common Ground Speaker Series

For details visit the website at http://www.commongroundspeakerseries.org/.

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Heart's Delight Gift Store

January at Heart's Delight

Book Bonanza Sale
Come check out our large selection of sale books marked 10-60% off. 

We are making space for new titles arriving this spring, so we have cleared out many duplicate titles and children’s books. Take advantage of our book clearance and stock up for the upcoming winter break.

Sale effective January 23, 2012 to Thursday, February 2, 2012

Ostheimer – Many items permanently marked up to 40% off. Come quickly and peruse the limited selection.  Many items are discontinued, will not be restocked or will only be available by special order.

Valentine’s Day is Tuesday, February 14th
Stop by to see our beautiful selection of candles, treasures, jewelry, love stories and skin care items sure to please you and your loved ones.

Book Corner
Attention all Tiptoes Lightly fans: Reg Down has recently released a fairy tale for adults. The Fetching of Spring is a joyful, heartbreaking, action packed, contemplative, funny, whimsical, uplifting and deeply serious fairy tale for grown-ups. It is wonderful reading of the very best sort: a story strong and true, told with joy and wonder, clarity and hope. This one is not to be missed. Nancy Parsons, Waldorf Books”.  Come in and pick up a copy for yourself.

School/Art Supplies
Holiday Faire depleted our inventory on School and Art Supplies, but we are happy to announce we are now fully stocked up so that your budding artist can acquire all the materials needed to make beautiful Valentines for their friends and family.  For the yarn fans, we have added two new pink tones to our collection.

End of Holiday Consignment
We were blessed with many Consignment items for the Holiday Faire, but now it is time to send them back to their creators.  On February 1st, we will box up and return felted sculptures and clothing consignment items.  If you have had your eye on one of these unique offerings, stop by before January 31st to purchase it before it is gone.

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Community Bulletin Board

Departing Family Bids Farewell

Dear Teachers, Administration, Staff, and Families of WSP: It is with both joy and sorrow that we bid you farewell.  You are a beautiful, warm, and compassionate community and we are deeply grateful for our time with you. Our girls have been surrounded by so much love and we know they will always be held here.  We have all grown and made true heart connections that we will treasure and nurture always.
So, this is not goodbye, but farewell until we meet again.
Wishing you all peace and many blessings,
The O'Callahan Family

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