Newsletter Archive
School Bulletin for the week of December 19, 2007
Happy Everything to Everybody!!
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open letter from betty staley
To the Parents of the Chicago Waldorf School:
It was my privilege to visit the Chicago Waldorf School for four days in October and to observe classes. My focus was the language arts. I visited many classes, had conversations with teachers and looked at student work. It is my impression that the children are making continued progress in their reading, writing sentence structure and syntax. Their comprehension of the material they are hearing and reading seem solid. The school has strong, experienced teachers who act as a resource to newer teachers and a strong educational support system which tracks individual students as well as classes. This is very impressive. As in all educational experiences, there is always room for improvement. I found the teachers very open to suggestions and committed to supporting their students in the learning process. Support from home, especially with reading and spelling, is always needed and helps children in their progress. It was deeply meaningful to experience the engagement of the children with the curriculum, the positive relationship of the children with their teachers and the commitment of the faculty to self-examination and on-going improvement. The love of learning and healthy development of childhood in the context of Waldorf education is alive and well.
Sincerely,
Betty Staley
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A Holiday Gift from the Faculty to You
The Paradise Play • Today • 2:00pm (Please Note: The Paradise Play is not suitable for children under 3rd Grade) The Shepherds’ Play • Tomorrow • 1:30pm The Three Kings’ Play • January 7, 2008 • 7:30pm
All Performances Take Place in CWS Auditorium
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speaker series
This January CWS is proud to present our first ever Speaker Series. Please join us as we welcome four significant speakers to our school community. The first speaker in our series is architect Luigi Fiumara. On January 17 at 7:30pm, Luigi will present a lecture and slide show that will detail the development of a style of architecture called Living Organic Architecture, a style which arose from the architectural contributions of Rudolf Steiner.
Luigi Fiumara heads the architecture division of the visual arts section of the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Luigi designs, builds and consults with Waldorf schools all over the world.
On Wednesday, January 23 Kim John Payne will return to continue his work with us on social inclusion. Kim John first spoke to the community back in September. During this visit, he will meet with faculty, staff and students as well as giving this community lecture.
For the past 24 years, Kim has been helping children, teens, families and schools, both in and out of the Waldorf world, explore issues such as: social difficulties, attention and behavior issues, emotional issues, social resiliency and building environments that support healthy relationships. His return is an event not to be missed!
Tuesday, January 29 Douglas Gerwin will speak about the intensive Waldorf Graduate Survey which interviewed 550 graduates over a six year period. This survey gives incredible insight about how these graduates experience a Waldorf education has influenced their lives.
Douglas Gerwin is the Director of the Center for Anthroposophy and has taught history, literature, German, music and life science at the Waldorf high school level since 1983. He presently divides his time between adult education and teaching in various North American Waldorf schools. Douglas is the founder of the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program at the Center for Anthroposophy and editor of several books related to Waldorf education.
On Wednesday, January 30 at 6:00pm we are pleased to announce that the Chicago Waldorf School and the Lakeshore School are co-hosting an evening with Diane Levin. Diane Levin is a professor of education at Wheelock College. She has taught early childhood education and human development courses for over 25 years. An internationally recognized expert, she helps professionals and parents understand and deal with the effects of violence, media, and commercial culture on children.
Diane is a co-founder of TRUCE: Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment, which prepares materials to help parents deal with the media and commercial culture in their children’s lives. She is also a co-founder of the Coalition for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which works to education the public about and end the commercial exploitation of children. This event will be held at the Lakeshore Schoool, 1147 W Pratt.
Stay tuned for future updates about this exciting speaker series!
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annual fund developments
Thanks to all who answered your phones, engaged in wonderful conversations and donated to the Annual Fund during this year’s Phon-a-thon! Over a two night period, the Development Office was abuzz with volunteers from the Board of Trustees and College of Teachers along with our enthusiastic Annual Fund Co-Chair, Michelle Fire, calling about 200 families in our Chicago Waldorf School community. We are pleased to announce that we have raiseed over $112,000.00 toward our goal of $280,000.00! Remember, your donations to the school are tax deductible through the end of the year! So if you’d like to make your contribution in 2007, don’t delay!
Sheree Moratto and Kristi Richey for the Development Office of CWS
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happy holidays from manna
As 2007 comes to an end, we would like to remind those who placed Manna orders in December that their orders are ready in the Front Office for pick-up. Also, please remember that all orders for January are due on January 9, 2008 before 3:00pm. Pick-up for these orders will be the following week, January 14, 2008. If you are interested in learning more about Manna and how it helps CWS raise money, contact volunteers Judy Collins or Carol McCullough, or Assistant Business Manager Carly Garcia at 773.828.8454.
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2008-2009 applications
If you are interested in re-enrolling for our Early Childhood program or applying to the 1st grade next year please be sure to complete the form and return it to the Admissions Office by December 19th. If you’ve misplaced your form or have any questions, please contact Lisa Payton by e-mail or call her at 773.465.2371. We look forward to seeing all of you next year! We would also appreciate it if you would spread the word among your friends and family about the benefits of a Waldorf education.
Lisa Payton, Director of Admissions
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the loop
It’s time to start thinking about ordering your copy of the 2007-2008 The Loop! You can have your very own copy for $50. The order forms can be turned into Ms. Pellicori in the Front Office or Ms. Ying in the High School Office.
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overdue alert
Parents: Please note the sheet attached to the Bulletin with overdue books! Fines are 10 cents per school day. Lost books must either be replaced or the replacement cost of the book must be paid. Students with outstanding fines or overdue books will be unable to check out additional books. Fines may be worked off. See Mrs. Haase for how to work off fines.
Becky Haase
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p-c winter session
There are still spaces in some of our Parent-Child classes this winter. If you know someone who is interested in Waldorf and has a child age three or younger, please encourage them to enroll in a Parent-Child class – these classes are a great way to introduce families to Waldorf education! Please contact Eliza Bivins by e-mail or call her at 773.828.8468 for more information.
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you do the math!
The last problem was: What is the sum of the interior and exterior angles of a hexagon?
An exterior angle of a polygon is formed by extending one side of the polygon. Subsequent exterior angles are formed by extending subsequent sides in the same direction as the first creating a pinwheel. It’s easy to think that exterior angles are simply the outside angles as several respondents did. In mathematics however, that is not the case. What is special about exterior angles of polygons is that no matter how many sides a polygon may have, the sum of its exterior angles is always 360 degrees.
This is the not the case with interior angles of a polygon. The sum of the interior angles of a polygon is 180(n – 2) where n is the number of sides of a polygon (the sum of the angles of a triangle is 180, a quadrilateral is 360, a pentagon is 540 and so on adding 180 every time). One can also think of this in these terms: Every side added to a polygon adds another interior triangle to the polygon therefore adding another 180 degrees to its interior angles.
The answer to problem #5 is therefore 360 + 720 = 1080 degrees. 360 is the sum of the exterior angles and 720 is the sum of interior angles. John Trevillion correctly answered this question.
I hope you enjoyed that problem, here is another: Problem #6 (This is a challenging problem that was recently on an 8th grade homework sheet): Julie is 30 years old, which is 37.5% younger than Gail. What percent older than Julie will Gail be 12 years from now? Hint: Mind the keywords younger and older.
All answers can be submitted by e-mail or you can put the answer in my box in the Front Office. Good luck!
Coach Starzynski
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commons happening
Come to the Canteen this Friday after drop-off (and before the pre-holiday break assembly) for coffee/tea and sweets – meet fellow CWS parents, let the young children play, or just hang out to get in the holiday mood! As usual, this event is sponsored by the PTO/Parent Task Force.
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coach’s corner
Normally, my column in the Bulletin is a time for me to review the past week. This week, I’d like to talk to you about the importance of fans and appropriate fan behavior.
First, thanks to everyone who has come out to see any of the games this year. I know that the students appreciate your support! It is a lot more fun to play a game when there is a lot of noise coming from the stands, because without that, a game feels like just another practice. It is really amazing how much a loud gym can help the players on the court play at a higher level. I was saddened during our boys’ last home game against Universal because even though there were only three Universal fans, they were louder than we were. Everyone has been working extremely hard this season, so come to a game and help out our team by cheering them on!
When you do come to a game to cheer on our team, remember to be a good fan and cheer positively. Please don’t yell out about the score or the clock. With four people at the desk plus two officials, we are watching every move! If something goes wrong, I’ll talk to the officials during a time out or at the end of the game. If people yell out at us during the game, we may miss something else and the players could get distracted. If fans do yell out in this way, we will consider it a disruption and the fans will be asked to leave the game.
We really do want you to come cheer on our team! Cheering is a huge part of the game and it helps motivate the players, gets their adrenaline up and can often make the opposing team frazzled. The terms “home court advantage” or “the sixth man” are important in basketball. Have a great vacation and see you cheering at our next home game after the break!
Go Thunder!
Christian Schnell, Athletic Director
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high school news
college counseling
I am nearing the end of writing letters of recommendation for our current Senior class and am gearing up for all the January 1st application deadlines! I am also looking forward to Winter Break during which I will sleep in, think positive thoughts for all the applications out in the hands of Admissions Associates nationwide, and read a book (or three).
12th grade parents: don’t forget that you can begin filing FAFSA forms starting January 1st. I will be reading up on FAFSA during break so be sure to check in with me after break if you have any questions (I will also take a class later in January).
11th and 10th grade parents: I will be making appointments with your students after the break to go over their PSAT scores. Please note: I will give scheduling priority to students who are leaving for exchange in January!
Have a wonderful Winter Break and I look forward to catching up with you all when we return!
Eliza Bivins, College Counselor
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curtain call
The Chicago Waldorf High School’s Drama Club had a great turnout for our production of Godspell this past weekend. Thank you to everyone who attended! We also want to thank Jeff Spade for his incredible direction, our wonderful musicians – Holly Mead, Jenny West, Justin Barron, Josh Lava and Jess Suttner (we started calling them Holly and the Jays!), Mr. AV, Andrew Starzynski, for our sound and Blake Palder, stage manager extraordinaire. And a special thanks to Dru Muskovin for organizing refreshments and all of the other high school parents who helped us with the front of the house, refreshments and our strike Saturday night. The proceeds from refreshments went to help support Philemon’s tuition at the MacGregor Waldorf School in South Africa. We’re hoping to put on another show this coming spring – stay tuned!
Colleen Everhart, HS Drama Teacher
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community announcements
warmest thanks
Thank you to everyone for their kind support to myself and my family after our recent fire. I would especially like to thank the 7th grade parents and the parents of my class for feeding Rachel, Gabi and me for the last few weeks. In addition, I would like to thank all my colleagues and friends for all the gifts and moral support you have given us in this trying time. We are now settled into our temporary home and can be reached at our regular phone number. Warm greetings for a happy holiday season to all of you.
Susan Bruck
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women’s renewal
A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, transform. A woman knows that nothing can come to fruition without light.
Diane Mariechild
Please join me for a Women’s Renewal Retreat honoring the Season of Light. We will be using the mediums of music, meditation, movement and artistic expression to honor this powerful season. The retreat will be held Friday, January 4th, 2008 from 2:00-5:00pm in Evanston. The workshop fee is $45. To register or for more information, please contact Sue Smock-Lawson at 847.864.3398 or 847.212.3478.
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plan for learning
Janet Oliver, neurodevelopmental specialist from Plan for Learning near Minneapolis, will be in Chicago again January 24th and 25th. She will be a vailable to do reflex integration screening and follow-up sessions as well as a Handle follow-up sessions at a private home near the Chicago Waldorf School. The cost is $95 for a 1 1/2 hour screening. Visit their website for more information. Contact Margaret McGuire at 773.828.8460; during winter break call 773.271.8379 or e-mail for an appointment.
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classified ads
With the Holidays Approaching and time slipping away, who has time to clean the house? Call Maria, she’s thorough, efficient and wonderful! Maria 773.267.4255.
Achieve Inner Balance and Harmony this busy holiday season with Jia Khechari. He combines acupressure, aromatherapy, light stretching, and energy healing. Slow, gentle limb rotations and the magical tones of Tibetan bowls will restore you to peace. Call Jia for your de-stressing, healing appt at 773.899.4280
Need Quality Artistic Web Design or print work? Waldorf alumni Jean-Patrick Smith can help you! Check out the website , call 773.430.6216 or via e-mail for more information.
My Daughter has Been Very, Very Good this Year! Santa wants to reward her with a used children’s lyre/kinderharp for my daughter for the holidays! Please hurry to help Santa and his elves! He only has $50-75 to spend. Please contact Liz Kantorski at 847.866.6105 to get to Santa.
Walk to Waldorf School! 4 bedroom, 2.1 bathroom Victorian is completely rehabbed with a gracious wrap around porch, zoned heating and A/C, soaring 10” ceilings, newer granite and stainless kitchen with first floor laundry room. Gleaming hardwood floors, natural woodwork, built in hutch. Beautiful glass and marble baths, and private sky lit master suite. Professionally landscaped park-like fenced yard. Offered at $789,500. Contact Maureen Murnane, Coldwell Banker 312.475.3283, or via e-mail.
Rogers Park House for Sale: Large, fully restored, Victorian home to be listed in early 2008; vacated 6/08. Approx 2500 sq ft with basement. 10 rooms, including 32’x16’ living, formal dining, breakfast room, study, 4 bedrooms, 1.75 baths, 2 fireplaces, double lot, professional landscaping, pool, wooden play equipment, 2 1/2 car garage, great neighbors, and much more. $835,000. Drive by for a look before it’s listed: 1921 W. Morse Ave., and call Melanie Hopp at 773.973.2582.
A helping nature is a gift indeed! Searching for the perfect Mother’s Helper to assist mother of three with light household tasks (laundry, vacuuming, etc.) and/or limited childcare as needed preferably on Mondays. 1 block from Fullerton EL stop. Hours and pay are flexible. Short or long-term depending upon our agreed need. Contact Deborah at 773.755.9557 or via e-mail.
10% Off All Purchases from Tree Hollow Toys through Jan. 31st. No minimum purchase! Use coupon code chicagowaldorf. Tree Hollow Toys features beautiful, hand made, natural toys including a line created in Chicago by Waldorf Parent Marisa Pawelko, owner of Modern Surrealist. For more information on this creative collaboration, please visit Tree Hollow Toys and Modern Surrealist.
Congratulations to Zoe & Eli Miller’s Aunt Aimee! She has produced her first CD of original children’s music called Can You Come Out and Play? just in time for the holidays! You may remember her, since she has donated performances to some of the past Waldorf festivals. Check out her music at the Can You Come Out And Play website.
Seeking Sanctuary for Yourself or Someone You Love? Consider giving the gift of a Sanctuary Space workshop! Sanctuary Space is dedicated to the concept that everyone deserves to feel supported and nourished in their home. We will co-create an environment which inspires and delights! Join Sue Smock-Lawson for a 5 week workshop series Wednesday mornings from 9-11:30am starting January 9th. The cost of the series is $125.00. Also available for in-home consulting as featured in last year’s CWS auction. For more info or to register, please contact Sue at 847.864.3398 or 847.212.3478.
Studio or Small Apt urgently needed for a single woman. Can pay between $500-550 per month. Her wish is for a place in the Ravenswood or Lincoln Sq. Areas. Please call 312.217.1768.
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Last Minute Holiday Shopping? Four Seasons Shop School Store Gifts for All Ages!!
Four Seasons Shop School Store
• Store Hours
Tuesday-Friday 8:00am-4:00pm
New! Now Open Saturday 9:00am-1:00pm
Closed Sunday & Monday
773.828.8800
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Bulletin Submission Guidelines
New Deadline: As of October 15, 2007, the deadline for all Bulletin copy is 3:00pm Thursday for inclusion in the following edition.
Submission Guidelines: All submissions must be typed. No handwritten submissions will be accepted. All submissions are subject to editing. Please email submissions to Stefanie Safran.
Community Announcements: Public events (open houses, lectures, performances) can run free of charge in the Community Announcemens section; there is a limit of one insertion per event.
Classified Ads:
All ads must be paid at the time of submission. A classified run is two insertions. Price per classified run:
• $6 – students, parents, staff
• $9 – alumni (students only)
• $12 – all others
Once your ad has run twice we cannot contract for immediate additional insertions. All advertising for goods and/or services will go under the Classified Ads banner.
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newsletter submissions
• Deadline for all material is Thursday 3:00pm.
• Submissions should be emailed to Stefanie Safran and are subject to editing.
• If you would like to receive the newsletter by email, send your email address to Stefanie Safran.
• If you have any questions, call Stefanie Safran in the Development Office at 773.828.8457.