Early Years Centre Open House on Oct. 23

Please join us at for a Community Information Session about our new Spring Creek Early Years Centre opening in November 2019.

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm
Location: Whistler Waldorf School – 7324 Kirkpatrick Drive

 

Our Early Years Program is offered for children 30 month-school age, 2-5 days a week throughout the year.

Whistler Waldorf features a caring, thoughtfully designed learning environment integrating arts, movement, music and storytelling into the curriculum daily. This allows children to learn the best way they know how – by doing!

The info session will include tea and snacks with a short presentation on our program highlights including:

  • Developmentally appropriate curriculum & focus on experiential learning
  • Thoughtfully designed learning environments
  • Strong sense of community & parent engagement
  • Focus on fostering of a love of nature and active care for the environment

We will also share practical details including:

  • Projected open dates & annual calendar
  • Admissions process & wait pool policy details
  • Tuition and Fee Schedule

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and mingle with staff.

For more information please email our Admissions Manager or call 604.932.1885.

Community Corner – Sept. 26

WWS Spotlight…

Carlos & Itziar Cornejo – WWS Family Members

Tell us a bit about yourselves – Our family originally hails from Mexico City. We have 3 children – Triana, Grade 11; Mikel, Grade 8; and Ferran, Grade 6.We are very close, and we love to do things together.  We are very outdoorsy and love trekking, camping, skiing and mountain biking. We are also avid scuba divers.

How long have you been at Waldorf? – We became a Waldorf Family when Triana was entering Grade 4 and Mikel was in Grade 1. We moved to a small town in Mexico intending to stay for one year. We initially moved there because of what that town had to offer, but in reality we ended up staying for 6 years because of its Waldorf School and Waldorf education. Since that time, we have been fortunate to have been in 3 spectacular Waldorf Schools. Even though we still have not had enough time to fully experience the Whistler Waldorf School, the one common denominator in all three, which is incredible, is the sense of community that is built around each school.  You always feel welcomed, you are never alone. It can be with the teachers, staff or other family members, there is always someone there to lend a hand.This is very special for a family who just moved from a different country and culture.

What do you value most about Waldorf education? – The one thing that we value the most about Waldorf Education is actually a combination that grows in most Waldorf kids, and which is fascinating; happy kids that are always hungry for knowledge. To us, this means everything.

Thanks, Carlos & Itziar – and welcome to WWS!

School Bulletin Board…

  • Oct. 3rd  from 7-8pm – Sea to Sky String OrchestraTreat yourself to an intimate evening of classical music at Whistler Public Library courtesy of the Sea to Sky String Orchestra. This event is free to attend, and registration is not required! The program includes Grieg, Respighi, Vivaldi, Corelli, and Elgar, plus a selection of contemporary pieces that the audience will recognize from movies and TV (think: Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones and more.) The acoustics in this beautiful, high-ceiling venue promise to enhance the classical string music experience.
  • Oct. 5th from 6-10pm – Tout l’Monde Swingue… Howe Sound Performing Arts Association is pleased to provide an evening of traditional French Canadian music and dance. The all-ages cultural event will feature live music from Daniel Gervais and Roger Dallaire. The band is sure to keep your toes tapping by calling group and contra dances. The evening will also feature a silent auction, food trucks, and more! Local performers Cam Salay and Sofie Hill of The Spruce Tops will start off the evening. Join us on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 6:00-10:00 PM at Howe Sound Secondary School, 38430 Buckley Ave., Squamish. Tickets: $50/family; $20/adult; $10/child, online howesoundarts.tickit.ca or howesoundperformingarts@gmail.com  Check out our Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/391886408401656/

Early Childhood Teacher & Asst. required

The Whistler Waldorf School is seeking full-time and part-time experienced Early Years Teacher and/or Assistant (s). The Early Years Teacher & Assistant upholds a beautiful, warm environment where the children feel safe and nurtured, creating opportunities for children to experience the world around them through artistic activities, tasks of the household, oral storytelling, singing, movement, and organizing festivals following seasonal rhythms of nature. The posting summaries are below:

Early Years Teacher

Applicants must have an B.C. ECE Teacher Certificate with a licence to practice with the Ministry of Children and Family Development and, ideally, also have a BC teaching Certificate with the Teacher Regulation Branch.

Early Years Assistant

Applicants must have a valid B.C. ECE Asst. Certificate or the ability to qualify for one. 

Further Info. & How To Apply

  • In addition to the above, successful applicants must have: 
    • Training in Waldorf Early Childhood Education or a willingness to be trained.
    • An ability to foster professional relationships between teacher and parents as a mutual working together to support students’ best interest.
    • A desire to work collaboratively with other Faculty and Administrative Staff colleagues
    • A commitment to self-development and a self-reflective practice to ensure personal development to meet the age of the children that are being taught.

Whistler Waldorf School offers a flexible working environment and competitive salary based on relevant education and work experience. For full-time positions, we provide a thorough compensation package including health benefits and insurance, pension, professional development and partial tuition remission for children attending the school.

Please submit your cover letter, resume and three reference letters to principal@whistlerwaldorf.com

Application deadline: Applications accepted until positions are filled.

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Elementary & HS Teacher Asst. required

Whistler Waldorf is currently recruiting for full-time or part time Teacher Assistants to work under a teacher’s supervision to give students additional attention and instruction.

Duties expected:

Teacher assistants typically do the following:

  • Reinforce lessons presented by teachers by reviewing material with students one-on-one or in small groups
  • Enforce school and class rules to help teach students proper behavior
  • Help teachers with record keeping, such as tracking attendance and calculating grades
  • Help teachers prepare for lessons by getting materials ready or setting up equipment, such as computers
  • Help supervise students in class, between classes, during lunch and recess, and on field trips

 Qualifications requested: 

  • Completion of Grade 12
  • A recognized Post-Secondary Special Education Assistant Certificate or the ability to qualify for one.
  • Preference given to a Degree/Diploma in a related field, and/or extensive experience in an equivalent field.
  • Excellent communication skills in English, both oral and written
  • Any experience using techniques of Applied Behavior Analysis, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention training (e.g., CPI or MANDT), Completion of POPARD coursework, the ability to speak a second language and a Workplace First Aid Certificate are considered to be an asset.

Whistler Waldorf School offers a flexible working environment and competitive salary based on relevant education and work experience. For full-time positions, we provide a thorough compensation package including health benefits and insurance, pension, professional development and partial tuition remission for children attending the school.

Please submit your cover letter and resume to principal@whistlerwaldorf.com

Application deadline: Applications accepted until positions are filled.

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Community Corner – Sept. 19th

WWS Spotlight…

 

Sarah Clark & Leo Kwok – WWS Family members 

Tell us a little bit about yourselves – We moved to Whistler this summer after spending three years in Ubud, Bali where our two girls, Tayleigh (Grade 4) and Kailena (Grade 2) attended Green School. Leo and I were both raised in Vancouver, but we’ve spent 14 years abroad – 11 years in Hong Kong prior to Bali. When we agreed it was time to return home to Canada, we chose to build a new life here in Whistler among a more like-minded community of family focused, active and outdoorsy people. Our girls are loving trail riding as well as the wide range of other activities here from musical theatre and aerial silks to soccer and tennis. But the truth is, we all cannot wait to get back on skis this winter (although, Leo keeps threatening to dig out his circa 1994 snowboard)!  

Leo maintains a sourcing and manufacturing company in Hong Kong, however, while in Bali, as the girls ran a muck in the jungle at Green School, Leo’s entrepreneurial spirit took flight and he a few partners opened Ubud’s first full facility family sports centre, “Titi Batu” named after a historical stone bridge and a nearby sacred holy spring. This allowed Leo to indulge more regularly in his passion for squash and basketball while the girls skateboarded, took hip hop dance and swimming classes. I literally got my ski legs back at the boot camp classes last Autumn. I originally worked in PR and journalism in Vancouver and in Hong Kong, but I now practice as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.  In Bali, I practiced with in-home consults allowing my clients a tailored privacy while investigating the root cause of their health issues. I am really looking forward to getting back to work here in Whistler.

Our eldest, Tayleigh is a big fan of both the visual and dramatic arts making Waldorf a natural fit for her. While our youngest, Kailena is a whizz at math and loves soccer, basketball and tennis. Both learned to ski in Dec 2018 and absolutely love it. As a family we love to travel. Over the past few years, we regularly visited the east and west coasts of Australian and explored New Zealand. Our most memorable trip was in 2018 to Raja Ampat, a protected marine conservation area in Western Papua where we shared a live aboard diving boat with another family and enjoyed two to three dives per day while the children snorkeled above us. However, we are so grateful to be settled back home in Canada now and to avoid jet lag for as many years as possible. The odd drive down to Vancouver is enough of a family adventure for now!

How did you first hear about WWS? – We first heard of WWS from a friend who raved not only about her children’s experience here at WWS, but of her own as well. We immediately identified as it’s so important to us that parents be involved and engaged in the school community and that we have a natural rapport with truly invested teachers. We have experienced this beautiful rapport with WWS since our application process began and have been so impressed and overjoyed with our girls’ teachers and our experience as a family at WWS thus far.

Is there anything that has surprised you at our school? Our girls are probably most surprised to have flush toilets at school after finally getting used to the compost toilets at their former school! They are making great progress being back in the developed world, thankfully! As a family, we have all been pleasantly surprised by how attentive the girls’ teachers have been since our arrival. For our younger daughter, her teacher actually came to our home to meet us and to connect with Kai prior to starting grade 2. This was so meaningful and so thoughtful. The number of check ins and follow up emails from both grade 4 and grade 2 teachers have also been really thorough, and extremely thoughtful with a genuine interest in our girls’ settling in and in their learning. This has meant the world to us as the social – emotional aspect of a new school has really been seamless.

School Bulletin…

 

  • Right Turn Clyde – Sept. 22 @ 11am… Waldorf faculty member Katherine Fawcett and Waldorf parents Harvey Lim, Pierre Richer, Robyn Forsythe and Tony Horn are playing music in Village Square as part of Arts Whistler’s Hear & Now Celebration.  Come cheer them on!
  • Creekbread Fundraiser – Sept. 24 @ 8:30pm… Help support Grade 9 students Savannah and Zen as they fundraise for their upcoming Karuizawa  Sister City exchange trip. (50-50; silent auction; raffle). If there is anyone who would like to donate to the silent auction please contact Savannah.
  • Epic SchoolKids Whistler Blackcomb Pack Registering Now... a FREE program for Canadian and Washington State. It’s available for Kindergartners through Gr. 5 and provides five days of free skiing and riding at Whistler Blackcomb. No purchase necessary! It also includes one free first-timer ski or ride lesson with equipment rental, restrictions apply.

The Three Fundamental Forces in Education: Balance in Teaching

Dear Parents and Guardians,

100 years ago, society and education had moved towards a more differentiated system, separating sciences from the arts, the arts from morality, and athletics from academics. Today, finally, educational systems all over the world are “catching up” to Steiner’s observations that separating these fundamental spheres of activity for children could be detrimental to their healthy development, and in fact, advocated that it is in their union that learning becomes an art, and education becomes a vital healing force in a young person’s life.

Rudolf Steiner mentored teachers, and called teachers to task, ensuring that their teaching incorporated a balance and integration of the arts, and sciences. This was, and still is, a fundamental basis for Waldorf Schools.

100 years ago Rudolf Steiner emphasized that the Waldorf approach was a great deal more than simply the application of a teaching method. His new art of education was born out of a knowledge of the growing child as a holistic being – embodying body, soul, and spirit.

This year is the 100th anniversary of Waldorf Education and we believe that one hundred years is only the beginning. In celebration, we will be highlighting the breadth of our curriculum over the course of the year and warmly invite you to join!

Rubeena Sandhu, Head of School

Highlight Reel: Waldorf 100 films

Celebrating 100 years – From AWSNA

An Education for the Future – from the Association of Waldorf School’s of North America is a short video for the celebration of 100 years of Waldorf education with the worldwide Waldorf Community.

Learn to Change the World – Waldorf 100

Waldorf 100 – the International Forum for Steiner/Waldorf education has produced a number of short videos to celebrate this huge milestone for Waldorf education.

Waldorf 100 – The Film (Part 1) – “Learn to Change the World” shows people from around the world who work on the big pedagogical tasks of our time based on Waldorf/Steiner pedagogy.

Waldorf 100 – The Film (Part 2) – After the great success of part 1 of “Learn to Change the World”, the second part deals with encounter, engagement and inclusion: learning that goes beyond merely accumulating information can be understood as an individual way to seek the truth.

Becoming – “Becoming” is the third film in a series of short films produced on the occasion of the centenary of Waldorf Education under the direction of the award-winning Californian documentary filmmaker Paul Zehrer.

 

WWS Celebrates Waldorf 100

Celebrating 100 years of Waldorf Education

This year on September 19 – Waldorf education will be celebrated as officially 100 years old. Waldorf 100 was created to promote the 100 year celebrations and WWS is excited to participate, extending a warm invitation to you and your family to join us in several Waldorf 100 events at WWS over the course of this school year. As Waldorf strives to develop students’ intellectual, artistic, and practical skills in an integrated and holistic manner,  we look forward to celebrating each of these aspects at the events!

October 2019 

Bees to Trees Launch | Annual Festival of Courage  (Michaelmas)

Date:   October 4, 2019 

Time:  10:45-1:00 pm 

Waldorf schools around the world are aiming to have students of all ages participate intensively in the health of bees, from the lower to the upper grades, from harvesting honey to pursuing complex research projects. 

Join us at our Annual Festival of Courage where we will launch our Bees & Trees initiative by making pollinator seed cards and building a native pollinator hotel. 

January 2020

WWS Coffeehouse  

Date:    January 30, 2020 (Thursday) 

Time:   6-8pm  

The importance of art in our children’s education is undeniable. Join us for a social gathering showcasing the musical, spoken word, comedic, and kinesthetic talents of our community members including parents, students and faculty. 

Further details to come including how to sign up to perform! 

March 2020

Concepts out of Insight: Student Led Conferences 

High School Date: Wednesday, March 11

Times:  Session 1: 2-3pm & Session 2: 5-6pm 

Lower School Date & TimesVarious dates/times. Details TBD. 

Rudolf Steiner often told his students that they should not take his word for anything; he exhorted them to do their own research, find their own connections, and come to their own understanding. In a Waldorf school, we ask the same of our students. 

The world does not need adults who simply accept the conclusions of others. The world needs adults who have the imagination and the clarity of thought to conceive of creative solutions to problems that don’t yet exist. What could be more exciting and satisfying than leading your children to be those adults? 

Join us at this year’s student led conferences to celebrate our student’s research, connections and understanding.

Changing seasons; Back to School rhythms

The return of the school year brings us all together again while the summer days are coming to a close.  As the sun rays diminish we now begin to turn inward, and can be excited and challenged to turn also, to the fiery warmth of our school community in the fall.  The turning of the leaves are a beautiful vision, yet can be a symbol of a cyclic transitions within a familiar environment: the returning rhythms of school, the bustle of after school programs, homework and packed lunches, the complexity of old relationships and the challenges of new ones.

As the leaves turn, let us honour our students, our children, our colleagues and ourselves. As we adjust to the changing season, let us turn to each other as partners, and enjoy each other in another school year of growth and development for all.

Rubeena Sandhu, Head of School

Community Corner for Sept.12, 2019

WWS Spotlight…

Ms. Tracey Sheppard–  Grade 4 Teacher

Ms. Sheppard is a new recruit to Whistler having moved here with her family in 2017.  Prior to this, she taught grades 4-7 as well as Health and Physical Education at an independent school on the east coast of Australia.  Tracey has a degree in Biology from the University of Victoria, a coaching diploma through the National Coaching Institute and a graduate diploma in teaching from Griffith University in Australia.  Since her return to Canada, Ms. Sheppard has also studied special education and is currently enrolled at the West Coast Institute where she is continuing her teacher training in Waldorf Education.

When Tracey is not in class, you will find her playing outside with her family, stretched out on the yoga mat, or hidden away with a good book.

School Billboard…

  • Sea to Sky Orchestra – The Sea to Sky Orchestra  is playing on Sat, Sep 14 in the Pemberton Community Barn at 12pm as part of the Mountain Muse Festival. Families can come enjoy a free concert and see music teachers Katherine Fawcett, Yuko Iwanaga and Charlotte Jacklein in action!