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Fall  2011

WSP Makes National News!

by Katharina Woodman
The New York Times published an article October 23rd on the question of technology in education, featuring our school prominently.

Click here or image below to read the article, which has spurred a frenzy of media attention! CBS and NBC News are filming at both campuses this month.

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

WSP Opens Second Campus

by Katharina Woodman, photos by Gail Evenari

5th graders play chess at Los Altos campus.

Well, well, who would've thought it possible? In the almost twenty years I have been a member of the WSP community, I have just experienced a second move. I know, I know, you really early veterans used to move the school every few years or so, but when we moved to Mora Drive, all we ever told people was that "we had found a permanent site for the school". While the Los Altos campus still serves us as the site for early childhood education through fifth grade, our middle and high school grades have found a new home in Mountain View.

This summer, many people made sure in a monumental effort that the site was ready for use on Labor Day, and the excited high school students swarmed in on the following day!

Anna Rainville teaches Revolutions block to 8th grade at Mountain View campus.

Being present in the greater community on two sites is a major step for our school, and a committee has been formed to ensure establishing good relationships with our new neighbors.

Lucy and Simona already met with the mayor of Mountain View, and we welcomed the City Manager on campus last week. We will have visits from members of the City Council and are also planning on inviting our direct neighbors and parishioners from St. Athanasius Church who is our landlord. Anastasia Sinclair, the new gardening teacher, is spearheading a program to grow vegetables in our new garden for the St. Vincent food bank.

Welcoming dinner at Mountain View campus.

Our own community held the annual Welcoming Dinner for parents at the Mountain View site to celebrate new beginnings.

Dawn Cameron, our board president, presented a few surprising numbers to the FAB (faculty, administration, board) in August: starting our 28th year, we now have a budget of $4.7 million and 128 people on payroll! We welcomed 313 students from 218 families on two campuses to the 2011-12 academic year, 51 of whom in the high school grades. The enrollment office is still buzzing, as we can now fill classes formerly restricted by the 250-student limit in our lease permit at the Los Altos campus.

Stephanie Rynas, our administrator, illustrated that our school is in its next phase of development – at the Los Altos campus so far, it matured from the stage of a pioneering school; with the second campus, we are facing a new phase of growth and progress.

Our guiding principle is that we are One School, offering Waldorf education from nursery through 12th grade. A special committee is currently researching the viability of including a parent-tot program and licensing as a daycare facility, so we can offer a full day's program to the families with younger children.

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Campaign for the Future Exceeds $1.7 Million in Funding
for Middle and High School Campus

by Lucy Valentine Wurtz, Development Director
I am thrilled to announce that we have succeeded in raising the $1.7 million needed for two of our major campaign goals:

1) finishing our High School pioneering phase; and

2) supporting our expansion to the beautiful new campus and carrying us through until additional N-12 enrollment returns us to sustainability.

On behalf of the Campaign for the Future Committee, I would like to express my deep gratitude towards everyone who has participated in the campaign.

This success is especially remarkable, as it completes our initial five-year fundraising goal for the high school on schedule despite the most significant economic downturn in recent history.

Top Priority Now: Retirement

Over the summer the board decided to continue the Campaign until we succeed in achieving our third campaign goal:

3) infusing our endowment with an additional $300,000 in order to to increase employee compensation.

Most of you are aware of the extraordinary dedication and skill of our faculty and staff, and the sacrifices they make in order to work at WSP. What you may not know is that our compensation levels currently rank in the bottom third for Bay Area independent schools, and we offer no retirement benefits.

In an effort to improve this situation for our beloved employees, the board has committed the $300,000 raised in this final phase of our Campaign for the Future to a fledgling retirement program.

To meet this goal more quickly, the school will be able to begin a small retirement program — with an immediate contribution to the retirement fund this year — if the $300k goal is reached by March 2012.

The $300,000 would be added to the current $500,000 in the endowment, and interest from the aggregated total would be used to fund the school's portion.

More details about this exciting possibility will be revealed soon. In the meantime, please contact Lucy at 650-294-9405 or lvwurtz@waldorfpeninsula.org if you would like to support this effort or have questions.

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WSP Alumni News

High School News Class of 2012  Lucy Humphreys and Ilana-Mahmea Siegel were commended as National Merit Scholars.

One of our alumnae is using her athletic prowess to land a scholarship: Emily Soley (Schneider, 2007) graduated from Westmont High School in Campbell last spring and now attends San Jose City college. Emily started pole vaulting in high school and was the 2011 Most Valuable Player of the track team. Her goal is to jump 13'6" within two years and attain a scholarship to UCLA ! She wants to major in biology and then transfer to UCSF for medical school to become a surgeon.

Her classmate Connor Crain (St. Francis High School) was accepted into UCLA, but declined in favor of the American Hockey Institute in Waterville, NH. Connor hopes to gain admission into a college playing hockey in D1 or D3.

Another hockey player from Canada, Ryan Kellenberger (Rainville), who spent his high school years playing in teams in Toronto and LA, is spending his senior year of high school in Wichita Falls, TX, playing goalie in the junior hockey league.

Ryan’s brother David (Armstrong 2004) just accepted a job with JP Morgan in San Francisco after studying at Dartmouth College with a stint at Keble College, Oxford, UK.

We welcome back a student from Carolyn Armstrong’s 1997 class as a student again! Kelli Brennan is a practicum teacher in her third year of training in Monica Laurent’s 4th grade.

Former Spanish teacher, Lorena Tamayo, is currently back for some substitute teaching, while her daughter Maya is rejoining her former classmates at the high school.

After having won an award for his innovative design in San José, Vahe Markosian (Aronow, 2001) started his freshman year as a graduate student at the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University where he pursues a Masters degree. Vahe joined the water polo team of the university and participated in several tournaments. His sister Lilit (Rainville, 2007), Cupertino High School, will travel to her parents' native Armenia in January to finish her last semester of senior year at the Waldorf School in Yerevan.

Sad news: former parent Donald Freiberg (father of Jeanette and Katie) succumbed to his illness in August. There was a memorial service for him in September.

Congratulations!

Brianna Denham (Aronow, 2001) got engaged to Matthew Pitchett in August. She has this to say about her life since WSP:

"I graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Art History. While at SFSU I studied art history for a year in Florence, Italy. Since graduation I have been working with kids with special needs in all settings of school, after school programs, camps. Currently I am an early intervention ABA (applied behavioral analysis) Instructor for children with autism. Also I'm working on my Education Specialist Teaching Credential and Masters degree at Notre Dame de Namur University, and I'm student teaching in moderate/severe special education classes. I will finish my Masters in December 2011. I am also working towards becoming a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA.) This is a certification that will further me in the ABA field. I plan to finish the classes for this sometime next year after my Masters and take the certification exam next year as well!

"Waldorf influenced my life in many ways. In relation to my education and my personal teaching practices it makes me a much more relaxed teacher! I can see that there are many ways to teach children; I am not confined by the standards and the "normal" way of teaching. Waldorf learning enabled me to learn a variety of things in different ways and I use that when teaching the kids I work with. I can think out of the box and find new ways to teach. My little kids (with autism) are very visual learners and Waldorf taught me that you don't need a textbook to learn. I use real-life examples and experiences to teach my kiddos, something that Waldorf inspired in me. I also use a lot of art!"

Brianna's father Scott was a long-time board member and instrumental in securing the site on Mora Drive for the school. Aldene and Scott are well known in the community for their many, many contributions of time and talent, and most dearly remembered for their delicious "workers' feast" during Holiday Faire set-up!

Holiday Faire 2011

Hope to see you all at the Holiday Faire, Saturday, December  3, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Please step into the alumni room to find old friends and share any updates about yourself in the binder provided. Thank you.

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