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What I loved about this game is how clear it was that we needed everyone to be fully engaged, connected with one another, and to perform their role to their best ability. With a missing key player, we had chances for others to step into new roles and this happened beautifully.

If you saw the game you also might have been able to observe the contrast between the first and second half. The effort was consistent throughout the game, but in the second half we began to handle their defensive pressure differently–passing the ball more, and moving it from side to side. Although HCS played hard and tough, we did not lose our composure, and we kept our game plan. Most importantly, we played in a way that demonstrated the trust we have in each other. Trust is a very important aspect of any good team and a wonderful thing to be a part of. It is such a pleasure coaching this team!

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from on .

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Your teachers are missing you! They’ve made some recordings to let you know that they are thinking of you while you are home.

Su Laoshi teaches new characters in Mandarin:

Ms. Galper’s message for you:

Learn a song with Mr. Olson:

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In grades one to eight, each class produces a play. The plays are carefully chosen to align with the subject matter of their curriculum, and also to address social dynamics in the class as well. Our former teacher Colleen Culhane reflects on her many years of experience producing plays for first through eighth grades, to give a window into the depth of experience the dramatic arts can offer:聽

Working with our curriculum through theater arts gives students a unique opportunity to ‘live into’ the material, practice the art of acting, build confidence to perform and speak in front of an audience, and to see their classmates in a new way. Teachers carefully select plays that matche the dynamic of the group of students鈥攊t’s not always an easy choice!

Then comes the casting. There is often a reason for giving a certain child a certain part. Sometimes it is obvious, but other times, the reason becomes clear later, after reflecting on the experience and observing what developed through production. I often have a feeling, which stems from my close relationship with the students as individuals, and the class as a whole. In my choices, I also must consider the course of the eight-year cycle. I want all students to have experiences of being up front sometimes, and also taking more supportive roles other times.

Interestingly, with every play, there is almost always at least one child who experiences a feeling of disappointment at first. Sometimes that is actually part of an important learning experience for a child. Often times that disappointment dissipates and transforms after moving through the process, and the child ends up feeling grateful and proud of his or her contribution to the group effort.

Through the years the students learn the craft of theater. They learn how to act, manage costumes, set, props, music, choreography and anything else that is incorporated into a play. I like the students to be as independent as possible so that they really feel that they have accomplished something together. In our eighth grade play last year one particular student took up the choreography, set design, costume design, and programs almost completely on her own. Working with her was like working with a partner – she was that capable. She had built up the skills, capacities, confidence, and enthusiasm to take on the work and do it well.

On many occasions, I have witnessed a transformation occur in a child through the experience of working on a class play. Sometimes it is in building strength and confidence, but other times it is more mysterious鈥攁s if a cathartic experience has allowed him or her to pass through an important stage of development, or overcome a challenge or blockage. Classes always feel more bonded and appreciative of one another after completing a class play.

Another wonderful outcome that I like to highlight for the students is how our performances are essentially a gift to the audience. The work we do brings joy to others. Bringing attention to the service aspect of performance helps lessen the pressure of self-consciousness.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to shepherd children through this experience so many times. With each play, I have come away with an overwhelming feeling of pride for what these young ones can do.

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Read more about the five core competencies of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making, in the article, “” published by Forbes.

Learn more about our approach to teaching here:聽/how-we-teach/

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On Martin Luther King Day, our students

Senator Ram was introduced by senior Sofia Anderson Harrington:

I am here today to introduce my good friend and Vermont State Senator Kesha Ram. Senator Ram has accomplished many “firsts.” Not only is she the first woman of color in the state senate, she was the first woman of color to be the student body president at UVM, and she was the youngest state legislator in the country when she got elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 2009. While in the House of Representatives, she led efforts to help make sure undocumented immigrants had the ability to drive legally, to have Abanaki Tribes recongnized, and to criminalize revenge porn. She was awarded the Truman scholarship for public service leadership and academic excellence and went on to get her graduate degree from Harvard in 2018. Through my time here at the Waldorf High School, we have been talking about racial justice and equality. These are two things that Senator Ram finds really important, and she is a big advocate for people of color and immigrants in Vermont. I hope that since a lot of us are politically involved with big issues around race and justice, you can learn about more ways to be involved. Please welcome my good friend Vermont Senator Kesha Ram.

Senator Ram described the great Sequoia trees, the largest living things on land, whose roots are quite shallow. The roots, she explained, reach out for and support one another so a whole grove can grow toward the sun. The senator鈥檚 message resonated with third grade students Enza Ruggerio and Arielle Greenblatt. 鈥淚 really liked her story about the Sequoia trees,鈥� said Enza. Added Arielle, 鈥淪he said we should be taking care of each other, like the trees do.鈥�

鈥淔or the students in my group,鈥� noted high school teacher Garrett Kimberly, 鈥渢he take away was really about listening across difference. The story she told about working unexpectedly with a representative with a strongly divergent political and personal background to pass the bill on Abenaki recognition really stuck with them.鈥澛�

Senator Ram left students with the hope that in hard times, all members of a community can rise together. From youngest to oldest, students were held by her words, had lots of questions, and left inspired by her vision.听

Students’ work for the rest of the day was inspired by Senator Ram鈥檚 speech and her guiding image of the Sequoia grove. Younger grades students reflected on her talk through collage and clay modeling, learned about Dr. King and newly elected African-American Senator from Georgia, Raphael Warnock, and engaged in a service project making care packages for Abenaki elders. Grades 4 and 5 students practiced and recorded an orchestral version of the Civil Rights classic, “We Shall Overcome.” Finally, each student wrote a dream for the world, then illustrated another student’s dream, creating an interwoven chain of our hopes. These dreams hang in the foyer now as a giant mobile!

Upper School students took up a legislative focus, asking, “What policies can promote racial justice in Vermont today?” They reflected through art on a Langston Hughes poem, “America Never Was America to Me,” looked at how current events intersect with the Constitution, and took up civic engagement activities, from calling senators to creating art around racial justice issues for the LCWS website. One group focused on how to access political, nonprofit, and activist groups to promote their goals.

Twelfth grader Alya MacManaway shared, 鈥淚 was inspired by Senator Ram鈥檚 drive to work with and for people who have opposing views, and by her wish to collaborate in order to make a better Vermont and a better world.鈥�

In the Early Childhood, a wonderful story (below) written by teacher, Lilly Cartularo, was told to the students in recognition of MLK day. The students listened intently about how young Martin recognized the injustice in his world and grew up to be a leader to show us how to take up this work in our own lives. Our Early Childhood teachers tied this story into how the children do this work every day in our school. They spoke about how each one of us is responsible for being kind, acknowledging injustice, and working towards healing. Everyone is responsible for helping our friends, speaking up when we hear someone being unkind, and remembering to share and look out for one another.

Our students engaged in many conversations about fairness as they really pondered what it means to be fair or unfair. These conversations continue to come up for our students in the Early Childhood program.

Teachers were excited to share with students that a pandemic does not mean that we disengage from our communities. Instead, we looked for–and found!–new and safe ways to be present to each other and to our neighbors and work on the issues that we care about most.

If you鈥檇 like to learn more about the Waldorf school and our curriculum, please schedule a tour with Director of Enrollment, Amy Brennan at abrennan@lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org.听

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Learn more about the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in education in this article: from the New York Times.

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