Events, Workshops, Classes & Speakers
WSP’s Community Life Committee supports a diverse array of offerings that enrich our lives, deepen our relationships and strengthen our identity as a Nursery through 12th grade school.
These events, classes and workshops are open to the whole community. Please continue to check the school calendar for class-specific events such as meetings and plays.
This page will be updated regularly with additional details.
EVENTS
WSP Student Recital
Friday, February 10
6:00 pm
Los Altos Campus, Eurythymy Room
Free
Please join us for our first WSP Student Recital, where students from all the music studios from both campuses will perform for their parents, siblings, teachers, classmates, and friends. The recital will showcase individual and ensemble performances from students playing violins to violas, cellos, double basses, flutes, trumpets, and pianos. Witness the musical future of our school’s orchestra and band. It is only with you, our audience, that we can show what we have in our repertoire and of what we are musically capable.
For more information, please contact Mark-Daniel Schmid at
mark-daniel.schmid@waldorfpeninsula.org.
An Evening with Edgard Gouveia
Thursday, February 16
7:00-9:00 pm
Mountain View Campus, Eurythmy Room
Donations accepted to cover the cost of the event.
Edgard Gouveia is a global activist and founder and creator of PlaytheCall, a new online game played in the real world by the young and young at heart. Edgard Gouveia Jr. is a dynamic and inspiring speaker from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Trained as an architect and urban planner, he has spent over 20 years working internationally on projects of global activism, working for ecological and social change. Co-founder of Warriors Without Weapons and the Oasis Games, Edgard is both an Ashoka and a Berkana fellow. He will be speaking at both Harvard and MIT in February.
PlayTheCall is a new online game that aims to engage two billion people, integrating physical and digital space by connecting people around the globe and challenging them to “play” together as they perform real tasks that transform and heal our world. PlayTheCall will unlock the inborn power in each of us to take care of our world, igniting a movement that will build a healthy and thriving future for our planet.
Edgard Gouveia's visit our to WSP to speak about
PlayTheCall precedes his work with a group of Waldorf High school students in downtown Sacramento on an urban revitalization project. Waldorf School of the Peninsula’s students will be joining Sacramento Waldorf students in a week of social activism. We invite you to take advantage of this opportunity to hear how activism, service and technology can build a thriving future for our planet.
For more information, please contact Paula Piemonte at
paula.piemonte@waldorfpeninsula.org.
Tree Planting and Garden Blessing
Saturday, March 3
12:00 – 2:00 pm
For WSP Families, Alumni, Faculty and Friends (new and old)
Mountain View Campus Garden
Come help us celebrate our expansion to the new Mountain View Campus.
Schedule
Lunch 12:00 to 12:45 pm
Bring your own lunch or to order a catered lunch for $15, click
here (choose the Lunch Only option).
12:45 to 1:15 pm Blessing and Tree Planting
1:15 to 2:00 pm Refreshment, Music, Campus Tours
For more information, please contact
lvwurtz@waldorfpeninsula.org or Anastasia Sinclair at
azsinclair@gmail.com.
WSP Music Teacher Recital
Friday, March 16
6:00 pm
Los Altos Campus, Eurythmy Room
Free
WSP’s first Music Teacher Recital will feature our talented music instructors who are presently teaching our students on both campuses. They have prepared some exciting musical gems and will give you the opportunity to see them play their instruments in a solo or ensemble appearance. Please come and bring your family and friends to witness our very diverse and talented music faculty.
For more information, please contact Mark-Daniel Schmid at
mark-daniel.schmid@waldorfpeninsula.org.
2nd Annual High School Benefit Concert
Friday, March 23
7:00 pm
First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto
625 Hamilton, Palo Alto
Suggested Donation: $10 adult, $5 student
Stay tuned for more information about the program.
Performance Highlights: Selections range from classical and traditional to modern pieces, including: African Drum & Dance, Recorder Ensemble, Chamber Music Orchestra, Creative Music Ensemble, Chorus & Eurythmy.
Contra Dance
Friday, April 27
7:00 pm (earlier for students performing)
Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos
Cost: $5/person and $20/ family.
Contra dance is a high-spirited dance that can be elegant, lively and most importantly, FUN! It is based on Old English and New England country dancing - with some aspects of American square dancing blended into it. You and your partners will dance to Irish, Celtic, Old English, Early American and modern 'traditional' tunes. Our former violin teacher, Lee Anne Welch, will join Kristine Ortega in playing dance music with our talented 4th and 5th grade students. Several Middle School children will join in as well.
These dances are designed for everyone to participate, so bring friends and family and come join the fun!
For more information, please contact Mark-Daniel Schmid at
mark-daniel.schmid@waldorfpeninsula.org.
Spring Assembly for WSP Families
Wednesday, April 4
7:00 pm
Cubberly Community Center
4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Free
Grades 1,3,5 and 7l
The program presents a variety of class performances. Everyone is welcome! We are looking forward to seeing you, even if your child is not on stage.
Spring Gala
Saturday, May 19
6:00 pm
Menlo Circus Club
195 Park Lane, Atherton
Cost: $90 or free if you sell 5 raffle tickets.
Our annual Spring Gala is a great opportunity to enjoy an adult-only evening with your fellow parents, faculty, alumni and friends as well as support our year’s biggest fundraiser. This year’s theme is “Disco Fever”, so dust off your 70s outfits and get ready to dance!
For more information, please contact Sandy Olson at
danoellie@yahoo.com or Sandy Welch at
bossmomdcc@me.com.
Evening on the Green
Thursday, May 24
5:00 PM
Los Altos Campus
Free
Our entire school community, including children, new families, old friends and alumni, is invited to an evening of social relaxation to celebrate the approaching end of the school year. Bring a blanket and a picnic dinner to the lawn. Besides meeting new friends and catching up with old ones, this evening provides the opportunity to visit classrooms, listen to a program of musical entertainment, and enjoy ice cream and sorbet provided by the school.
WORKSHOPS
Biodynamic Agriculture Lecture and Workshop
with Harald and Cynthia Hoven
Friday, March 2 & Saturday, March 3
Mountain View Campus
Friday, March 2
7:00-9:00 pm
Lecture on Biodynamic Agriculture
Eurythmy Room
Suggested Donation: $15 to cover costs of the event.
Pay at the door or click here (choose Friday Lecture Only option).
Probably the most comprehensive system of organic and sustainable farming in the world, Biodynamics was developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1924, just as European growers first began to notice that their crops were losing their vitality, and the chemical industry was beginning to pour synthetic fertilizers into agriculture. With its unique insight into holistic life systems and the relationship of the earth and the universe, biodynamics offers unique approaches to heal and steward our planet.
Saturday, March 3
9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Biodynamic Workshop with Eurythmy
$75, including Friday lecture and lunch
To register, click here.
Workshop limited to 30 participants
Compost recycles waste and transforms it into life-giving food for the earth. Learn how the biodynamic preparations enhance the process of composting to offer new vitality and harmony to the soil and the entire ecosystem.
Harald Hoven is the director of Raphaël Garden, master gardener, faculty member, and founder of BDANC (Biodynamic Association of Northern California). He teaches the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening workshop series, leads evening study groups, and teaches gardening and phenomenology to students enrolled in programs at the college. He has worked at Rudolf Steiner College (RSC) for 25 years and is well known as a regional and international speaker on biodynamic farming and gardening.
Cynthia Hoven received her eurythmy diploma from the Goldridge Eurythmy School in 1979, and then traveled to the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, where she joined the stage group for two seasons. Cynthia became the director of the Weekend Foundation Studies program at RSC and assumed responsibility for teaching all the eurythmy classes. Following a dream she has long held, Cynthia founded the Eurythmy training at Rudolf Steiner College in 2002.
Saturday, March 3
12:00-2:00pm
Tree Planting and Garden Blessing
(See details above under EVENTS)
ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES
Waldorf 101: 3 Sessions
Please join us for a three-part series that describes how Waldorf education meets the needs of the developing child and adolescent. No registration necessary.
-
The Early Years (Ages 0-7) with Anna Rainville
Friday, March 9
8:45-10:15 am
Los Altos Campus
-
The Grades with Anna Rainville
Tuesday, March 13
7:00 -9:00 pm
Los Altos Campus
- Adolescence with Deborah Newlen
Tuesday, March 20
7:00 -9:00 pm
Mountain View Campus
Anna Rainville, an advocate for play, nature and integrated arts, has taught for over thirty years, including many years at WSP as a class teacher and advisor. As a long-time kindergarten teacher, she was chosen “outstanding teacher of the year” by the California Kindergarten Association.
Deborah Newlen, WSP High School Co-Chair, has taught Writing and Grammar, Comedy and Tragedy, 10th grade Poetics, 10th and 12th grade Plays, World Religions, the Transcendentalists, Ecological Literacy and Parzival (which included a solo experience for juniors in Utah canyon country) at our high school. She established the All High School Summer Reading Symposium at WSP and has been a driving inspiration behind the popular “January-term”, an interdisciplinary exploration of earth, water, air and fire. Prior to coming to WSP, Deborah founded and ran a school of her own and taught at the East Bay Waldorf High School.
Eurythmy for Parents
Michaela Bergmann
Thursdays, March 1-April 5
9:00 – 10:00 am
Mountain View Campus, Eurythmy Room
$50 for six weeks to cover the cost of the accompanist.
WSP's long-time eurythmy teacher, Michaela Bergmann, is beginning a 4-week eurythmy class for parents. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience eurythmy, an art of movement that engages the whole human being, integrating physical movement with movements that arise within the soul. This creates a harmonious relationship between the soul-spiritual element and the body. This class is designed to give you a better understanding of this unique form of movement and to have fun! Comfortable clothing, eurythmy shoes or thick socks are recommended.
Michaela Bergmann completed a five-year training course for performance eurythmy as well as teaching eurthymy for all ages at the Eurythmeum Stuttgart. She also has a diploma from Micheshof Hepsisau, Institute for Therapeutic Pedagogy and has studied acting and drama. Michaela joined our school in 2003 and has taught 1st through 12th grades.
For more information, please contact Julie Humphreys at
casahuhu@yahoo.com.
Parzival for Adults
7 Mondays: March 5, 12 & 19, April 2, 23, 30, May 7
7:00-8:45 pm
Mountain View Campus, Classroom TBA
Cost: $100 for the series
Come get a taste for one of the keystones of the Waldorf high school curriculum and a fundamental metaphor for human life, the major medieval literary masterpiece of Parzival. The seven-week course will enable adults to both use this grail story as a tool for personal development and inner work as well as provide an exciting window into the richness of what our high school students experience in their critical junior year. If enough people are interested, this class could possibly culminate in a Vision Quest-type journey in Utah.
The only requirements for participation are interest and a commitment to read the work on an assigned schedule to facilitate personal work and group discussion.
For more information, please contact Deborah Newlen at 510-691-6624.
To Register, please click
here:
NEW PROGRAM
THE FIRST THREE YEARS: Nurturing Your Young ChilD
Welcome to the World - Soulful Beginnings for Parent and Child
Pregnancy - 12 months
Mondays 9:30 - 11:00 am
8 classes: March 5 through May 7 (no classes April 9 & 16)
Fee: $320 includes book & all craft materials
Los Altos Campus Nursery Classroom
This program will support the threshold into parenting: pregnancy, childbirth & infancy. The journey into parenting offers a uniquely transformative opportunity for inner growth and awakening to the needs of the other - the newborn and infant. Parents will learn to observe their unfolding child with a new eye, create handmade toys from the heart and study child development together in a supportive and nourishing environment.
For more information, please contact:
kim.bick-maurischat@waldorfpeninsula.org.
To register, click
here.
Parenting with the Heart: Babies 12 months through 36 months
This class is a prerequisite to all other 12-36 months classes (except the play group)
Tuesdays 9:30-11 am
8 classes March 6 through May 8 (no classes April 10 & 17)
Fee: $320 includes book & all craft materials
Los Altos Campus Nursery Classroom
This program will provide a nurturing environment for children as well as support and encouragement for parents/caregivers to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to care for the young child. Observation, daily rhythm, movement development, care of the senses, communication and healthy boundaries will be modeled through the program and deepened through parent/caregiver/teacher interaction.
For more information, please contact:
kim.bick-maurischat@waldorfpeninsula.org.
To register, click
here.
was born in San Francisco, California. She received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion from San Francisco University and her master’s in social science from San Jose State University. Kim was led to Waldorf education while pregnant with her first daughter and has been following her children's wisdom ever since. Kim is a trained doula and an apprentice midwife and has been WSP’s nursery teacher since 2006.
Common Ground Speaker Series
Winter-Spring 2012 Events
WSP is a member of Common Ground, which each year presents some of the nation’s most compelling thought leaders in parenting, education and health at venues on the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula. All Common Ground Speaker Series events are free of charge to WSP parents, faculty and staff.
Barbara Coloroso
Good Kids! Inspiring Integrity & Inner Discipline
January 31-February 1
Tuesday, January 31
9:00 am
Trinity School
2650 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park
Tuesday, January 31
7:00 pm
Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School
13601 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga
Wednesday, February 1
7:00 pm
The Nueva School
6565 Skyline Blvd., Hillsborough
Barbara Coloroso has 40 years of experience in teaching young people how to think and act ethically. She explains how to utilize the very stuff of family life — chores, mealtimes, sibling conflict, bedtimes, allowances, curfews and more — to structure a home that fosters responsible young adults. Her books include Just Because It’s Not Wrong Doesn’t Make It Right and The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander. Special note: On February 1, Ms. Coloroso will devote her morning session at Phillips Brooks School to the topic of bullying.
Rick Wolff
Sport Parenting: Inspiring a Win-Win Attitude
March 20-21, 2012
Former Detroit Tiger and Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Wolff is a recognized authority on sports parenting. Trained in sports psychology, Coach Wolff analyzes the pressures put on student athletes by parents, coaches, club sports and the college recruitment process. He provides insider advice on how to nurture well-balanced athletes with winning attitudes. Mr. Wolff’s books include Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way with Cal Ripken and Good Sports: The Concerned Parent’s Guide to Competitive Sports.
Tuesday, March 20
9:00 am
Hillbrook School
300 Marchmont Dr
Los Gatos
Tuesday, March 20
7:00 pm
Menlo School
Athletic Center
50 Valparaiso Ave
Atherton
Wednesday, March 21
7:00 pm
Crystal Springs
Uplands School
400 Uplands Dr
Hillsborough
Ayelet Waldman
The Art of Imperfect Parenting
Thursday, April 26
7:00 pm
Sacred Heart Schools
Preparatory Campus
Michael J. Homer Student Life & Science Center
150 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton
Get ready for a fun, inspirational evening celebrating parenthood with novelist Ayelet Waldman. Ms. Waldman is a refreshingly candid commentator on the feat of juggling marriage, children and career. She and her husband, novelist Michael Chabon, are a dual career couple with four children. Ms. Waldman, a graduate of Harvard Law School, is author of seven “Mommy Track” mysteries, three novels and the New York Times bestseller, Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities and Occasional Moments of Grace.
WSP Auction Information
Alumni Newsletter Fall 2011
