March 2014 Calendar

1 / Saturday

Fathering Today, with Jack Petrash and Kim Payne
8:30 am – 3:30 pmwws Library
Fathers today are asked to take part in their children's lives in new and meaningful ways. Often we are called on to re-imagine our roles as dads to parent gracefully and smoothly in unexpected situations. How to do this is always an important question. Jack Petrash is a Waldorf teacher with more than 30 years experience and is now the WWS 7th grade class teacher. He is author of "Covering Home: Lessons in the Art of Fathering," as well as other books. Kim John Payne is author of "Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less." The cost of this workshop is $60, and pre-registration is required. You can register by emailing Steve Smith at ssmith@washingtonwaldorf.org or by mailing a check to Nova Institute, 3106 Edgewood Road, Kensington, MD 20895. The fee also includes lunch. Space is limited.

Waldorf Education and Biodynamic Agriculture: Partners in Pedagogy with Michael Judge CANCELED
7:30 pm – 9:00 pmPedagogy with Michael Judge
CANCELED, to be rescheduled Waldorf education and biodynamic gardening are sister movements, both arising from the work of Rudolf Steiner. Biodynamic gardening is therefore a natural choice for Waldorf schools to consider when choosing options for environmental curriculum and community service work. In fact, as early as 1920, Steiner remarked at the Waldorf School in Stuttgart that "garden work should be an obligatory addition to the lessons" (through grade 10). In this talk, Michael Judge will address the spiritual and scientific background of biodynamics, why it is important for us now and for the future, and how biodynamics can be incorporated into the Waldorf curriculum. It is a somewhat surprising story. Michael Judge has worked with biodynamics for 35 years in various ways and currently coordinates the Chesapeake Biodynamic Network of Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC, and West Virginia, in affiliation with the Biodynamic Association of North America. Michael has been a student of natural science and anthroposophy since 1978. Likewise, Michael has worked in Waldorf school settings for more than 30 years, and he graduated from the Nova Institute's first teacher training graduating class.

Observation Morning
8:00 am – 10:30 amWWS
Observation Mornings include a presentation on the philosophy and approach of Waldorf education and visits to five classes to see the Waldorf approach “in action.” The tour spans the grades, observing our youngest students in the Children’s Garden, several Lower School grades, and a class in the High School. Observation Mornings begin at 8 a.m. in the school library and end in the library at 10:30 following a Q & A period. These events are for adults. For more information or to RSVP, please contact our Enrollment Director, Lezlie Lawson, at 301-229-6107, x154 or at llawson@washingtonwaldorf.org.

High School Drama Club at Secondary Shakespeare Festival
3/10/2014 – 3/10/2014 Secondary Shakespeare Festival

Parent Organization Meeting: Capital Campaign Update
8:30 am – 10:00 amLibrary
Caitlin MacKenzie will lead a meeting in the library to share information about the Capital Campaign plans for improving our school, and offer a timeline regarding volunteering and outreach logistics. Caitlin will answer any questions so you can help spread the word. As always, refreshments will be provided.

Developmental Steps for Reading, with Alicia Landman, MD
7:30 pm – 9:00 pmLibrary
In this talk, Dr. Alicia Landman will discuss the developmental stages of childhood, with a focus on when children are truly ready to read. As an anthroposophical physician, Dr. Landman brings a comprehensive, integrative approach to medicine that has been practiced for 80 years by fully trained medical doctors around the world. First and foremost, anthroposophical medicine demands training in both observation of, and insight into the whole human being. Dr. Landman received her B.A. from Harvard University and her M.D. from Einstein Medical School in New York. She did her anthroposophical training at a medical clinic in Germany. For over 20 years she practiced medicine in the Amherst region of Massachusetts, where she was consulting physician to the Hartsbrook Waldorf School. In recent years she has directed a part-time course in anthroposophical medicine for physicians, other health care practitioners, and medical students. The initial course, which she pioneered over seven years ago was is the first of its kind in the U.S. She now lives with her husband, a retired biologist, in Moab, Utah.

Developmental Steps for Reading, with Dr. Alicia Landman
8:30 am – 10:00 am
In this talk, Dr. Alicia Landman will discuss the developmental stages of childhood, with a focus on when children are truly ready to read. As an anthroposophical physician, Dr. Landman brings a comprehensive, integrative approach to medicine that has been practiced for 80 years by fully trained medical doctors around the world. First and foremost, anthroposophical medicine demands training in both observation of, and insight into the whole human being. Dr. Landman received her B.A. from Harvard University and her M.D. from Einstein Medical School in New York. She did her anthroposophical training at a medical clinic in Germany. For over 20 years she practiced medicine in the Amherst region of Massachusetts, where she was consulting physician to the Hartsbrook Waldorf School. In recent years she has directed a part-time course in anthroposophical medicine for physicians, other health care practitioners, and medical students. The initial course, which she pioneered over seven years ago was is the first of its kind in the U.S. She now lives with her husband, a retired biologist, in Moab, Utah.