Letter from Calen's teacher

This is the latest letter from Calen's Teacher.  I am going to start including them with this account so that Calen and Bryce can read with was happening with their school.

Dear Families,

 

A very warm thank you to all who participated in our parent evening on Thursday.  Ms. Pothof shared how we can support the children as they grow into themselves and “bump” into each other in the process.  A major theme was the importance of questions – both those we ask our children, and those that our children are asking through their behavior. We also worked with our experience as a class community when issues have come up for our children or the class as a whole.  Very good questions were raised, and I appreciated the way the variety of answers created a broader understanding of what it means to be on our journey as a Waldorf class.  It was such a valuable conversation and I am thankful for your continued trust and willingness to communicate with respect and openness.

 

I am looking for someone who has notes from the meeting and would be willing to send them to me so we can make them available to those who were not there.  Please let me know if you have notes you can share.

 

In the classroom, the children have been delighted by the ways the letters “hold hands” in cursive writing, and are working hard to master those loops and dance along with the letters.  The artistry of cursive speaks to them in a way that printing does not, and mastering it calls upon the children to bring greater awareness to the direction, form and flow of their writing.  We will continue to learn more letters this week and practice what we have learned, as well as singing and writing our times tables and hearing more of the story of Jumping Mouse.

 

A reminder: This week is our Winter Conference week, and Monday through Thursday will be early dismissal at 12:35. Aftercare is available, and if your child will only be there during your conference time, it is free.  Just write “conference” when you sign-out your child at Aftercare.

 

This Thursday the class will have the pleasure of having Main Lesson with Mr. Topham.  I will be observing at Mulberry Farm, as part of the training program that I have begun there.  I am pleased to be able to delve more deeply into the work they do, and look forward to deepening my work with our class through this study.

 

If it has not been clear before, I would like to make sure you know that the updates and previews I give in these newsletters are intended for parents only, and are not meant to be shared with the children. They learn each day’s schedule when we go over it together in the morning, but they know that I will tell them what they need to know when they need to know it.  This way they have a sense of the day, but can relax into the awareness that they are held by a grown-up who knows what is coming, so they don’t have to.  This is reassuring, and is a part of how we let them be children, leaving the grown-up worries to the grown-ups.  Thank you for being aware of this in your conversations with them.

 

Warmly,

~Annemarie

 

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

 

Fri. Feb. 15^th, 1:30 pm - All-school Assembly in Sophia Hall, Parents and siblings invited

Feb. 18^th-22^nd - Teacher’s Conference Week – No school, but aftercare available.

2013 Parent Evenings - Weds. March 13^th, 6-8pm

                                      Weds. May 15^th, 6-8pm