School News
I didn’t realize how grounding it was to look my teacher in the eye every morning and be met with a firm and kind handshake and a welcoming “good morning.”
The day was filled with a focused main lesson, artwork, singing, and purposeful movement, which left me feeling alive. I did not realize my curiosity about the public school and my strong desire to leave the Waldorf school would cast me out on my own, leaving me to face my personal dragon, Fear.
A 7th generation Vermont farmer of the local LePage family, Alan evolved farming methods on his family land in Barre, VT towards biodynamic and organic practices to serve the Central Vermont community for over 30 years. Alan and a few others laid the foundation of the Montpelier Farmers’ Market from the ground up.
Now he shares his passion and dedication with Grace Farm, growing a productive vegetable and melon garden, hand-remediating soil health, and preparing beds for some 400 heads of garlic to be planted this fall.
As we navigate the start of this second year of the pandemic, Orchard Valley is feeling the very real and uncertain challenges facing many schools, organizations and businesses in the United States. Finding, hiring and retaining qualified teaching staff is a clear and present challenge that is now affecting programs each day.
My introduction to Waldorf education came at a talk given at the Child's Garden by a former kindergarten teacher. What I heard that autumn evening changed, in an instant, how I thought about my three-year-old daughter’s developing mind, about parenting, about school. Through the many years that followed, my commitment to Waldorf education never wavered.
From Grades Teacher Libby Case:
The Waldorf curriculum relies heavily on a multi-sensory approach to education. When preparing lessons for the class, teachers attempt to present the material in ways that meet all the different learning styles of the class. They do this through traditional means of learning -- reading and writing; but they also do this through story, song, dance, and games. So when teachers were told they would be teaching from their homes and not seeing the students on a daily basis, they were presented with quite a challenge. Our grades teachers here at OVWS have risen and met this challenge in many diverse and creative ways. I thought I would share a few of those with you.
To begin with, all teachers initially prepared and sent home packets and materials to their students containing three weeks of lesson plans. These included readings, writing assignments, math worksheets, main lesson books, class readers, colored pencils, paints, beeswax, clay, and recorders. These packets were well organized and included suggested daily schedules, step by step guidance for completing assignments and teacher availability to help with work. Beyond that, teachers are reaching out to their students in a myriad of ways.
In grade one, In addition to all of the wonderful practice sheets on writing and math, teacher Dana Cudney has been sending her flute lessons to her students via video. Students receive audio recordings of songs they have been learning in class as well review of poetry and math games. She has a weekly read aloud session with the whole class which the students love.
In grade two/three teacher Lottie Maker greets her children daily with an audio greeting that goes over the work of the day. She has created a Google file that her families can access that contains weekly recorded songs and stories. She meets daily with certain students and maintains direct contact with each student at least once a week.
In grade four/five, teacher Libby Case has been guiding her students through a study of Ancient Egypt through stories, readings, paintings, drawings and clay work. She meets with her whole class once a week on a Zoom call and with individuals at least once a week, and more as needed, to go over assignments. Each morning her students are greeted with a written welcome letter that recaps the work from the previous day, presents the work of the current day and gives a heads up for what is to come. After April break her students will be receiving a daily audio file of the story of the day.
Middle school teachers Jane Hill and Lindsey Benton began teaching beyond the classroom with packets just like the rest of us. They have since moved to daily Zoom lessons with their class. Both have embraced this new method of teaching and are making it work. Ms. Hill is teaching Physiology utilizing numerous hands on exercises to demonstrate the functions of the body. Ms. Benton performs organic chemistry experiments for the students out of her kitchen and has students give some of them a try in their own kitchen.
French, On-the-Land and handwork teachers, Jan Erkelens, Kelly Davis, and Kate Camilletti, all prepared assignments and materials for students to pick up and in addition have prepared audio files and video instructions for the students. Some have directed students to online resources to help with learning songs and new skills. Ms. Davis has all students getting outside each day, exploring nature and keeping a nature journal.
All and all it is a challenging but creative time for all of us here in the grades. We could not do any of it without the support of the parents at home! We are so grateful for this amazing community and we thank everyone for all you are doing during this time. Our greatest hope is that families will feel supported, connected, and loved.
On The Land is one of the "specials" classes in the Orchard Valley grade school curriculum. Through this class, students broadly learn about and move upon the 55 acres that comprise the Grace Farm campus. The curriculum varies by year and by season.
On The Land classes worked with fire throughout the late fall. As the hours of darkness increase with the season, tending to fires brings much needed warmth and light. The younger grades (1-3) learned to build and tend fires, gathering around for stories about how the forest creatures prepare for winter. Class 4/5 learned to cook over the fires they built, making delicious treats such as baked honey apples and bread on a stick! Grades 6-8 worked with friction fire and carved bow drill kits of their own. Friction fire making will continue throughout the winter when the snow is thin.
As winter settles in, the curriculum shifts to ski season. All students in grades 2-7 have been outfitted with cross-country skis, and this week class 2/3 had their first cross-country ski lesson! Grade 1 students will continue to explore the forest in winter, on snowshoes when needed.
While waiting for snow, Grades 6-8 continued their work with friction fire, while grades 4-5 began to work with the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District to learn how the school can improve its waste management and work toward greater sustainability. Grade 2/3 has cycled back to their work with the Three Sisters garden they tended in the fall, baking cornbread from corn they grew and ground into cornmeal themselves! Grade 1 has been working on a large shelter, adding greenery to make a cozy outdoor space to gather in the winter.
Grade 8 will be skiing during Movement class with Mr. Maynard, and will use their On The Land class time in service to the greater community. The class has been split into three groups and each will cycle between working at three locations: 1. North Branch Nature Center, where they will work to protect trees from beaver damage; 2. Orchard Valley's Sweet Clover Nursery, where they will help in the infant room; 3. Good Samaritan Haven, where they will help staff at the homeless shelter to prepare for the winter. Each group will have a chance to visit all three of the sites. The class will then shift into a deeper look at the issues of Global Climate Change and Food Justice.
In school year 2018-19, both grade 1 and grade 2 were standalone classes. This year they combined to become a 2/3 class. This is the third year that Orchard Valley has followed the Bay School Model of combining classes, and the rhythm is really taking shape in the heart of the school and the work of the faculty. Here we'll take a look at how this works in handwork class.
The first year two classes are combined merges the children into a new social group and broadens the range of academic and social strengths than those that already exist in an age-based group. This presents a wonderful learning opportunity for all, as the 2/3 handwork class shows.
Handwork Teacher Kate Camilletti began the year with the traditional grade 2 project -- a knitted rainbow ball. The project was new for the 2nd graders, but a repeat for the 3rd graders. As such, Kate worked with the second graders and students new to knitting on the basic knitted ball, while the other children created a ball that was fashioned more like a baseball, "requiring more mathematics and a deeper process," Kate said.
Working on the same project, but differently, was a great way to bring the class together. The children are now either knitting a gnome or learning to crochet, with Kate assigning students to a project based on where they are individually and not based on grade. Knitting is the foundation, she says, while crocheting is different for the mind and the hands -- and not everyone takes to it. So Kate works to meet each student where they are so that they feel a sense of "joyful challenge" in their work. The students will move back and forth between knitting and crocheting as they progress through the remaining projects this year -- string bags, potholders, and dolls.
Lashio, Shan State, Myanmar
by Child’s Garden Director Stephanie Hoelscher; published in the November 2019 IAWSECE newsletter
When human beings meet together seeking the spirit with unity of purpose then they will also find their way to each other. ~ Rudolf Steiner
An American teenager stood in a Buddhist temple complex. He, the observer, was seventeen, educated through 8th grade at Waldorf schools in southwestern and northeastern United States and now studying in a public high school.
They, the subjects of his interested gaze, were kindergarten-age children eating their lunches. Many, many children. Dozens of children. Too many children to count. Burmese, Shan, and Chinese children.
They sat on benches at long rectangular tables arranged end-to-end. The six tables occupied most of the space in the rectangular room adjacent to a row of six classrooms. Tall pots of rice and vegetables sat on a counter alongside a jug of water and a plate of cups.
The lunchroom was quiet. The children were eating. When finished they stood from their place, scraped their bowl, and rinsed them at a sink. Children wanting more food helped themselves standing on tiptoe at a stool to reach the food. The children were as young as 3 ½. A few teachers worked quietly in the corners of the room. They did not speak. No verbal instruction or redirection was needed.
The observer was astonished. “That would be utter chaos in the United States,” he reported to his mother. His mother, an American Waldorf early childhood teacher, agreed. She turned to her host, Ying Hwe, who had brought them to this “leading kindergarten” in the northern Shan state of Myanmar. This school, the first to bring Waldorf early childhood education to the Shan state, serves over 200 young children in twelve classrooms in a large temple complex perched on a high hill overlooking Lashio, the final stop on the British-built narrow gauge railroad line from Mandalay, a 12-hour ride away.
“We could not do this in the United States,” said the American teacher. “How is this possible?”
Ying Hwe did not understand the question. She cocked her head, wrinkled her nose, crinkled her eyes and grinned at her American friend. The American rephrased the question; she tried to provide a cultural context.
Ying Hwe was quiet. She looked out into the expansive outdoor play space quiet and empty at lunchtime. Some moments passed before she spoke.
Ying Hwe gestured toward her heart. “When the teachers are calm inside, the children will be calm,” she said in reply.
The American mother and son looked at her. They looked at each other. They did not speak.
Ying Hwe sensed their wondering puzzlement. She continued: “Every morning before the children arrive all the teachers come together for twenty minutes of meditation. All together. Two dozen teachers each and every day.”
Ying Hwe’s 7-year-old son pulled on the arm of his American teenager-friend. The older obliged the younger with a smile, and the two scampered off. The two teachers continued to sit together in silent contemplation. Brought together months ago in Dornach. That is another story.
Everyday something must be achieved inwardly.
~ Rudolf Steiner. (1998). “Guidance in Esoteric Training: From the Esoteric School”
As we begin our school year, Orchard Valley Waldorf School marks 15 years of serving children and families. We have much to celebrate! Please read on!
The beginning of the school year also brings the start of Orchard Valley's Fall Appeal. This appeal is a crucial piece in ensuring we can successfully meet our operating costs. Your support is vital to this school and all of work we do on all three campuses -- Sweet Clover Nursery, Child's Garden, and Grace Farm.
We recently received a generous $15,000 matching gift to our Fall Appeal, which means that each dollar you contribute through November will move us twice as far toward our goal! Please donate here. Thank you so much for your support!
"The Tetra is up and they love it," says Libby Case, class 4/5 teacher. This new middle school play structure was a gift to the school in honor of Libby from her 2018 graduating class. The structure was designed by Yestermorrow Design/Build instructor Giocondo Susini; the 10 students in Gio's two-week class then worked with his plans to build it. (Yestermorrow is a Design/Build school in Waitsfield, VT.) Then a team of OVWS parents (Debbie Goodwin, Erica Zimmerman, Casey Gullage, Shaun Stephens, and Madelief Becherer), along with Libby and Gio, spent hours preparing the site and erecting the structure.
The idea for the structure "came out of the need for middle school students to have their own space," Libby says, and "it worked!"
Parents from Libby's graduating class approached the faculty to define a need they could support with a class giving effort. The parents raised about $4,500 for the project with 100% class participation, along with parents from Libby's long-ago kindergarten classes! While a sizable figure, it was not enough to fund a structure without the partnership with Yestermorrow, said Erica Zimmerman. "This project set an example of what graduating classes can do," Erica said. "Giving in celebration of your class's graduation is a great way to support the future of the school."
The structure includes a climbing wall, chin-up bar, and several small decks. It was designed to make it easy to add other elements onto it. Thank you to all!
Orchard Valley Waldorf School
(Main Office)
2290 VT Route 14 North
East Montpelier, VT 05651
