Intentional Connections

Letter from Our Head of School

Waldorf education is described as the education of head, heart, and hands—or thinking, feeling, and doing. Teachers work to nurture and engage children through a curriculum that integrates academics, arts, and practical skills. Waldorf education strives to educate the whole child and is based on a deep understanding of human development so that subjects can be brought to students when they are most ready for them and may take them up with interest and enthusiasm.

During the month of February when we are surrounded by the symbol of the heart and children are eager to make valentines for one another, I am reminded of what is at the heart of Waldorf education.

Our curriculum and pedagogy engages students in meaningful relationships with one another and with the world around them. An example of this took place this month when our sixth graders visited first grade handwork class in order to assist them with their knitting.

Prior to their visit, first graders had learned what wool fibers felt and looked like, where wool comes from and how it is spun. They had wet felted their knitting needle tops and made their own knitting needles before starting to knit. Sixth grade students were then invited to assist them as they moved forward on their knitting journey.

Service efforts like sixth grade helping first grade are part of the curriculum which culminate in The Rising Ceremony (formally the Knighting Ceremony), which honors the year-long process sixth grade students undergo, both individually and as a class. Throughout the year, the sixth grade class helps with special projects, interviews and writes about people whose qualities they strive to hold, and to let go of qualities that hold them back. This spring ceremony acknowledges what each student has done to cultivate a noble heart, one filled with compassion and courage as they become purposeful, independent-thinking human beings.

The integration of intentional connections is at the heart of Waldorf education. In turn, one can feel and see students' heartfelt striving at work each day here...and when they leave WSP.

Warmly,

Kirsten Christopherson-Clark

Head of School