Newsletter Archive
School Bulletin for the week of May 14, 2008
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may fair madness!
It's almost here! May Fair is this weekend, Saturday, May 17th from11:00am-4:00pm! There's so much to do and look forward to!
Be sure to come early for Environmental Encroachment! You may remember them from the Holiday Fair. They are going to open the May Fair with their awesome musical marching band! Then we are going to do a little more movement and dancing in a drum circle led by our own Hazel Lucchesi-Ginsberg; all are invited to bring their instruments and join in. Stop by the entertainment tentat 11:45am to see and hear Aimee Cousineau sing children's songs. At 12:30pm our very own 3rd grade is going to perform some wonderful string music with Mr. Hoppe. At 1:00pm get ready to dance around the maypole with the 4th Grade followed by the Morris Dancers! At 1:30pm gather in the entertainment tent for a story telling by CWS mother Judy Lubin. Then get ready for some Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art and dance. The ever popular Jeffrey the Great (aka Jeff Frederickson) will return with his magic show; he's performing at 2:30pm…don't miss him!
There will be the customary Flower Crowns, the Cake Walk, children's games and crafts (make a beautiful butterfly, create your own felted flowers, plant some seeds harvested from the Sophia Garden), jump rope making, face painting, button making, delicious food, the Bakery and tie-dye with Dru Muskovin. And, as always, we welcome our delightful vendors, including hand knitted crafts, acupuncture treatments, hand made soaps and so much more! Where else can you have this much fun?!
Of course, as we've said in previous Bulletins, please bake for the Fair (drop off to Main Lobby, Friday, May 16th or day of the Fair in the Bakery Tent or at the Cake Walk). And please feel welcome to join us for Flower Crown making in the lobby of the Auditorium on Friday, May 16th from drop-off to a little after pick-up. If you have questions about either of these, contact your room parents and⁄or check out the last two issues of the Bulletin. Please park in the lot east of the school on Loyola or the lot at Arthur and Glenwood. Overflow parking at Maloney's Funeral Home on Devon (as long as there are no funerals).
The Fair is open to everyone so do invite your friends and family — it's a lovely opportunity to show off our school and just have a good time. We're all looking forward to having some fun together!
-Tahirih Klass & Katybeth Jensen, May Fair Co-Chairs
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Special Limited Time Engagement! 3 Performances Only!
The 12th Grade Presents:
Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real
Thursday, May 22 • Friday, May 23 • Saturday, May 24 • 7:30pm
Suitable for Grades 6+ • Donations Gratefully Accepted at the Door
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trombones, hoops & flutes — oh, my…!
We are in for a unique treat this year at the May Fair. Environmental Encroachment or EE uses brass, marching band instrumentation and percussion, costumes, performance antics and theatrics to create a variety of entertainment environments.
Our music ranges from Moroccan folkloric-trance to New Orleans-infused funk and horn⁄percussive jamming. We will have trombones, flute, saxophones (bari and alto) and a variety of drummers, as well as dancers and hula-hoopers.
EE will be opening the Fair with a parade procession at 11am sharp, followed by a short drum circle. So come join in on the fun and help us kick off the festivities.
-Hazel Lucchesi-Ginsberg
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asm wrap-up
The All School Meeting was held on Tuesday, May 5th. In the meeting, Mary Spalding, Board President and Chair of CWS, talked about the developing CWS Strategic Plan and gave an update on the current work at the school. This week's Bulletin includes attachments of the the proposed new CWS Mission Statement as well as a draft of the 2008-2011 Goals for Actualizing the Strategic Vision. For questions, contact Mary Spalding directly.
-Cynthia Joho, PTO Co-Chair
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more mayness
Spring is here, and it is a good time to divide some of your crowded plants or herbs. If you end up with extra from thinning, you could donate them to the May Fair. The 5th grade is organizing a plant sale and plant craft for children. Bring your plant, potted or in containers, and we will take care to get them ready for the Fair. Bring them to the courtyard or, if the courtyard is not open, leave them by the door. Please include a written note saying what kind of plant it is!
And, speaking of containers, Mrs. Holdrege is collecting plastic flower pots and⁄or flats and clean, empty yogurt or pudding containers (any size) to transplant plants and for children's projects for the May Fair. Please bring them to the Main Office.
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housing help!
Help needed to find housing for our new administrator, Luke Goodwin, and his family! Do you own any rentals or have leads on any properties? They are looking for an affordable 2 bedroom, family-friendly rental, preferably within walking distance to CWS. If you know of something, please contact Cynthia at 773.528.7913.
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giving for the future we already live in
I once read that people tend to live about 18 months in the future. That is, at the same time we’re living our lives, we're sort of living in our head the life that we'll have 18 months from now, once we get that new job, start that exercise plan, write that novel, whatever. 18 months seems to be the perfect amount of time to imagine transforming your life — by doing something you can actually imagine doing.And I think this is a healthy thing, to keep in your head a better idea of what you could be, just over the horizon. As long as you don't let the future get in the way of making today better, too.
As a board member of the Chicago Waldorf School, this is the world I and the trustees and board members work in. There's what the school is today, and what the school is working on becoming. Sometimes, though, those schools can get in each other's way — the present seems like it's getting bogged down in daily concerns and not getting any closer to the future, the future looks so bright and shiny that the present pales by comparison.
And then when Annual Fund time comes around, it starts to become easy to say, “I'll give more when X, Y and Z are perfect. When the future school arrives…”
But the reality is, the future's always arriving. Your kids and mine already go to the school that we were hoping to create a few years ago. Not in every way, but in lots of ways that have yielded real progress. And it's your Annual Fund gifts that have brought that piece of the future here, and will continue to do so.
Because the future isn't static — we will never get it perfect, and then it will stay that way. Any more than your kids will. Things are always changing. Great people come to the school for a few years, make great contributions, and then go somewhere else. Ideas of how things should be get settled for a few years and then they get revisited by new teachers and new parents. The school develops and matures and just plain changes, constantly. But I believe there are many reasons why the school we have right now is worthy of your fullest support:
• It offers our children a curriculum that honors the development of
the child and that is at a natural pace, not hurried up by
today’s society
• We can have input into our childrens’ education in ways that we
would never be able to in a public school
• Our children can learn about stories based in religion or spirituality
that would never be mentioned in a public school, in nondenominational ways
• Our contributions allow the children of our faculty and staff to
attend the school that they are so involved with, strengthening
their bonds with and commitment to our community
At the same time, the school of the future that we are working toward offers tremendous promise, that it will take your contributions to realize. We have made great strides in improving the operations of the school and we look forward to more progress with the exciting arrival of our new administrator, Luke Goodwin, in July. We're looking at the possibility of expanding on our purchase of the science center, with the ultimate goal of making a capital campaign for a permanent home possible. The future is exciting — and another piece of it arrives all the time.
So I ask you to consider making a generous contribution to both of these schools. The school we hope to be, and the exceptional, unusual, nurturing place we already are. Both schools both deserve your fullest support — and the only way one will ever become the other is through the contributions you make to our Annual Fund.
-Susan Snyder, Board of Trustees
Liam (EC2), Myles (3)
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waldorf in style!
Be in…be stylish…be green. Reject those old-fashioned wrinkled plastic bags! Invest in a reusable pressed ChicoBag available now at the inclusive Four Season Shop — where taking care of our world is always in style!
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keeping current
The Business Office would like to remind families that tuition balances for the 2007-2008 must be paid in full before End of the Year reports are mailed. Diplomas and transcripts will also be withheld on accounts with unpaid balances. Tuition assistance awards are also dependent on accounts being in good standing.
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waldorf vanity?
Thanks to 10th grade parent, Jim Garramone, for the following: For those who ever thought about getting an Illinois vanity license plate, but didn't want to seem too, shall we say…vain. Here's an idea; let everyone know your educational preference. The following 20 plates are available:
WLDFSCL
WLDFEDU
EURTHMY
MOVEMNT
BLOCKBK
MRNGVRS
HANDWRK
FELTING
GNOME
RUDSTNR
ANTHRPO
ESOTRIC
ASTRAL
FOLDX3
TMPRMNT
PHLGMTC
SANGUIN
MELCHLC
CHOLRIC
AHRIMAN
Bet you can come up with more combinations! Just type in your 7-letter combinations at the State website to see if they're available. Have fun!
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high school news
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focus on faculty
Jim Kotz grew up in the Detroit area and knew from an early age that his interest was in science and engineering. A neighbor with training in engineering would involve the boys in the neighborhood in his projects, which centered around building and improving sailboats and rafts that they would use in the lake nearby, and Jim was an avid participant. In high school, he entered a science competition (Junior Engineering Technical Society) and won a prize at the state level. At the University of Michigan, Jim studied applied math and physics and won a graduate fellowship at Wayne State University, where he wrote his thesis on the electrical and thermal properties of a type of conductive glass, which now has application in a type of memory chip for computers. While he was in grad school, a lab associate introduced Jim to his son, who loved his grade school — the Waldorf School of Detroit. Jim kept his interest in Waldorf on the back-burner as he finished his PhD and went on to work in the electronics industry in California. While there, he eventually finished a part-time Waldorf teacher training, and started teaching high school physics part-time at Highland Hall Waldorf School. Jim married around this time and started a family with his wife, Karen. Eventually their path found its way to Chicago, where Karen joined the faculty at DePaul, Gaelin entered the Chicago Waldorf High School and Jim started teaching chemistry, physics and astronomy blocks. “My goal at CWS is to work with colleagues to strenghen an already well integrated high school program, to further meet the educational needs of 21st century adolescents, especially regarding their relationshiop to science and technology.”
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camino real
The 12th Grade will present Tennessee Williams' Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road) on Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24, 2008 at 7:30pm in the Auditorium. Camino Real is a loose parallel of Dante's Inferno set in a mythical Latin American refuge for an assortment of life's lost and forgotten gathered from literature and folklore. Along the road of 'royal' illusions, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Jacques Casanova, Camille, Lord Byron, La Esmeralda and other eccentrics and misfits cross paths with the WorldWar II-era GI, Kilroy.
In Camino Real, Tennessee Williams asks the question that is the theme of many of his plays (The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof): Can our hopes, dreams and ideals withstand the challenges of life? Please come and bring your family and friends (recommended for grades 6 and up) for an evening filled with music, song, circus arts and the beautiful poetry of Tennessee Williams.
Donations from the door will go towards the 12th Grade's Service Learning trip to the Kibbutz Harduf in Israel. The Kibbutz is an anthroposophical community that includes a Waldorf School, a biodynamic farm and homes for at-risk children and developmentally disabled adults.
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community announcements
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summer intensive
The Arcturus Summer Intensive, being held at CWS, June 16-21, is your opportunity to experience the principles, practices and arts that make Waldorf education unique in the world. Master teachers in the Waldorf school community in the Chicago area will be presenting a concentrated experience of the excellence in this pedagogy. The information brochure and registration form are now on-line at the Arcturus href=”http://www.arcturus.info/”title=”the Arcturus website”>the Arcturus website. Printed copies of the brochure are also available on the bulletin boards in the two main entrances to the Chicago Waldorf School. If you have questions please contact the Arcturus office or call 773.761.3026. Due to the lateness of this notice we have extended the early pay deadline for the CWS community until June 1st. Please note this as you scan the registration form.
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working bikes co-op
Newleaf Natural Grocery will host a used bike drive for Working Bikes Cooperative May 16th and 17th. Donate your used and unwanted bicycles to Working Bikes Cooperative, a Chicago-based non-profit working to send used bicycles to developing nations and to sell affordable used bikes in the Chicago area. Working Bikes uses the proceeds from its local used bike sales to provide bicycles to charity organizations within Chicagoland and to ship bicycles to Ghana, Angola, the Gulf Coast, Guatemala, Ecuador and many other places of need. All bicycles and parts in any condition can be dropped off at Newleaf Natural Grocery, 1261 W Loyola Ave, Chicago between the hours of 9:00am-7:00pm. For more information go to the the Working Bikes website or the Newleaf website.
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cd release show!
Staff pianist and CWS alum Josh Lava and his band The Lava Brothers will be releasing their debut album Waking Birds Will Harmonize with a headlining show at Schubas on Saturday, May 24th at 10pm. It is The Lava Brothers' most important show yet, so please come out to help make it a special night. Schubas is located at 3159 N Southport in Chicago and is a 21+ venue. For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/thelavabrothers or contact Josh directly.
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classifieds
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Back by Popular Demand! Lake Shore Day Camp in Evanston, run by CWS senior Simone Lazar. For incoming 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders. June 16 — June 27, Monday — Friday, 9:00am — 2:$200. For information, call 847.208.1358 or email Simone.
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Farm Intern Opportunity: Family farm in SE WI, one hour from Chicago is looking for a few commited, individuals interested in learning about farm life and development of sustainable living on the farm. We have alpacas, dairy goats, horses, chickens and ducks to name a few. To see detailed description go to Attra web site, under interns and WI Alpacas of Whimsical Acres. Looking for Full or Part-time Email Garbiella Szmola or call262.843.2663 or 847.922 3186 (cell).
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Our wonderful long-term babysitter Kathi is now available for part-time babysitting work (roughly 25 hours⁄week). She has worked for Waldorf families for over 13 years now. She is terrific — gentle, loving, patient, very trustworthy and loyal. She will get snatched up very quickly as she is a real 'Mary Poppins'. Please tell your friends! If interested, call Liz Heavenrich for more info or call Kathi Marquez directly at 312.375.7808.
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For Rent: Beautiful, newly redecorated 1st flr apt. in NW Evanston Vintage house, 6 rooms, 2-3 br, 1 bth, updated plumbing, elec. custom kitchen. Big yard, park across street, 1 blk N. of Central and bus, 2 blks to metra. $1650 incl. heat, water, own laundry, storage. Non-smoking. Call Susan 847.869.9898.
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Join Us This Summer for our Inaugural Family Wilderness Journey in the Hiawatha National Forest of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's a journey that will lead to stronger, healthier connections between children and nature — and by extension, between children and parents. Our week (July 19-25) will be an easy, enjoyable way for families to be in nature together. We will provide all the ingredients for a week of wonder and exploration: camping gear, delicious food, and local know-how. We'll canoe, hike, fish, and swim, and there will be plenty of time to enjoy the wilderness one-on-one with your child. To deepen our connection to nature and the land, the journey will also include Native American ceremonies with our guides, who are leaders from the Ojibwa nation. For parents and children age 8-18. For more info contact one of the organizers of the journey 3rd grade parent Cheryl Slover-Linett.
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Early Childhood Student & Experienced Childcare Provider has her own licensed daycare in Evanston for babies/children 0-5 years old. She is kind, loving, gentle. Please email Marie or call her at 224.392.9011. The center will be open 24 hours, depending on parents' need. References provided.
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For Sale: Two wooden play stands and wooden clips. Play stands (originally built by Joe Ruscitti) are in very good condition. Asking $55 for the pair. Play clips also in very good condition, but may need new rubberbands. $5/each (six available). Would prefer to sell all to one person, but will sell clips separately. 'You Pick Up' for playstands (will require an SUV or van to transport). Contact Isabel Liss at 773.583.2836.
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Lok-Kwan, Licensed Acupuncturist will help you relax, renew and rejuvenate after a long, long cold winter! Acupuncture, Shiatsu and herbs will have you ready to 'bloom' in no time! Now offering a FREE pain clinic on Fridays. See Lok-Kwan’s website for details. Also great with children. Call him soon; he books up quickly. Lok-Kwan 847.323.9297. Offices in Chicago and Evanston.
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food for thought
Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.
-Bern Williams
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Four Seasons Shop School Store
New Stock for Spring
Calendars & Note Cards
Books
Uriel Pharmacy Skin Care
Young Living Essential Oils
Toys
and more…
New Extended Hours!!
Open Mondays 8:00am-4:00pm
Tuesdays 8:00am-5:00pm
Wednesdays 8:00-4:00pm
Thursdays 8:00am-4:00pm
Fridays 8:00am-4:00pm
Saturdays 9:00am-1:30pm
Closed Sundays
773.828.8800
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Get Your Bulletins Here!
•Send your email address to Ilene Warfield. We will follow up with a weekly email notification once the Bulletin has been uploaded to the CWS website.
•Go to the CWS website click Current Bulletin.
•You can access past weeks' Bulletins in our Newsletter Archive.
•If you absolutely must have a paper copy, please stop by the Main Office
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BULLETIN SUBMISSIONS
•All submissions must be emailed to
Ilene Warfield and are subject to editing.
•The deadline for submissions is 3:00pm on Thursday for publication in the following week's edition.
•If you would like to receive weekly
email notification of electronic
publication, send your email address
to Ilene Warfield.
•If you have any questions, contact Ilene Warfield or call
773.465.2372.