Waldorf Academy

Welcome to Waldorf Academy

Jennifer Deathe — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:45:01 +0000

We are excited to announce we have officially changed our name to Waldorf Academy, a place where learning and teaching are treated as an art and wisdom is understood to be the deeper purpose of knowledge.
We will honour our history and celebrate our future on Wednesday, September 22nd at 4pm in the gymnasium.
For more information please contact Jennifer Deathe, Marketing Manager. Tel: 416-962-6447 Email:
jdeathe@waldorfacademy.org

Upcoming events, ceremonies, fundraisers, picnics

Jennifer Deathe — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:59:41 +0000

It’s that time of year to mark your calendars.
When is the class picnic, when does school start, what time is the Rose Ceremony and what is going on September 9th?
Don’t panic, we’re here to help.
Checklist:
1.Potluck picnics: Many classes organize a picnic the week before school so check with your class rep.
2.Hand in your school forms. They can be found in the parent area; a password was mailed to you or give us a call.
3.Staggered starts: The ECE programs and kindergartens all have staggered starts so check to make sure you arrive on the right day.
4.Official first day of school is Tuesday, September 07. 8:20 to 8:35 am is drop off and the bell rings at 8:35 am.
5.Rose Ceremony begins at 9:00 am and lasts for about an hour. The Grade One students will be welcomed to the school by their Grade 8 buddies. Teachers will highlight the year ahead.
6. September 9th, 7 pm- SAVE THE DATE- a very important event is going to take place! More to come!
7. September 15th New Parent Evening and the first meeting of the Community Council.
8. September 29th Michaelmas Festival
9. September 30th Our 7 Lecture Series on Waldorf 101 Begins! Einat Bar Yosef will address the founding principles of Waldorf Education.
10. October 3rd. Our first ever Golf Tournament. Stay tuned for details. A fundraiser for Tuition Assistance.
The German volunteers are here! Be sure to say hello!
The Garden Fairies are working hard to make the school a beautiful place.

New Room Opened for Childcare.

Jennifer Deathe — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:05:19 +0000

New room opened for growing demand in Daycare. Preschool spots are now available for 2,3 or 5 Day options. Please call our Daycare Supervisor, Lucia Amaral at 416-962-6447 ext 248 or email daycare@ahws.org and book your tour now.

Parent & Child Fall Session Open. Register Now.

Sara — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:47:50 +0000

Our highly popular Parent & Child Program is now open for fall registration. Learn More

Being Excellent at School or Being Gifted.

Jennifer Deathe — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 11:41:18 +0000

What is the difference between smart or knowledgeable children and gifted children?
In the Spring 2010 Waldorf Research Bulletin, Volume 15, Ellen Fjeld Kottker and Balaz Tarnai write a compelling article called, “Educating Gifted Students in Waldorf Schools.” They explain that in the past giftedness was linked with the concept of genius. “The sole use of intelligence tests are considered insufficient because they do not account for ethnic origin, language, schooling and acculturation.” A table is provided from the Danish Association for Gifted Children that distinguishes the difference between smart or knowledgeable children and truly gifted children. For example a smart child knows the answers, learns easily but a gifted child may have wild ideas, knows it already, and may be intense. ( There are many more examples listed than mentioned here.)

Kootker and Tarnai explain that ‘Giftedness’ is more than intellectual talent; it is creativity, memory, motivation, physical or manual dexterity, social skills and artistic sensitivity. Further studies have revealed that as many as half of all children with IQ scores above 130 receive below average grades and 13% of highschool drop outs could be labeled as gifted.

So how do Waldorf Schools educate the gifted child?
Sir Ken Robinson champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence in a 20 minute piece on TED called, "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" However, this is not a new concept for Waldorf Schools but a reaffirmation of what we have been doing since 1919!
Kootker and Tarnai explain that although there are many approaches an individual teacher may take according to the dynamics of their class they will be guided based on the two principles of Waldorf education ; educating the child based on our profound understanding of child development and educating the child according to their individual needs.
“Intelligence, creativity, and other forms of giftedness are gifts of destiny that should be respected, enhanced and helped to grow. Intellectuality, in itself, is not a goal. Many of our brightest and most creative minds may be unrecognized and even falsely pathologized because of a lack of understanding. At Waldorf we will not ignore or misunderstand such a student, nor will we focus soley on that child’s gifts or immature accomplishments.”

A happy gifted child who enjoys his/her childhood is more important to most parents in the end than their talents alone and one can never lose sight of a student’s social-emotional health.
To read more you can purchase the Spring 2010 Research Bulletin, Volume 15 online Waldorf Library

Every Tuesday an Alan Howard Waldorf Artisan will hold a craft session at 9am.

Jennifer Deathe — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:26:15 +0000

Cost: Current AHWS Parent- donation for materials appreciated. If you do not have a child registered with the school there is a $15.00 fee to cover materials. Please register with Sara Anderson admiss@ahws.org

Focus on the Grade 4 curriculum: This is my place and time.

Jennifer Deathe — Mon, 03 May 2010 01:22:37 +0000

This is my Place and Time.
The teacher of the fourth grade class increasingly experiences the children as emerging individuals with strong personalities and distinctive gifts and talents, as well as challenges.
* Focus on group activities draws the class together as a social whole: plays, movement lessons, games, stage performances and the â€˜week in residenceâ€™ at Black Creek Pioneer Village all support this end.
* Students need a great deal of form to meet school tasks, both academic and otherwise. Self-discipline and healthy work habits are developed at this age, often through spelling words and vocabulary lists in French or German.
* Increasing objectivity permeates the curriculum, such as the first overt science study: study of the self and observation of similarities, differences and relationships between the human being and animals. This study is extended through painting, modelling, play acting and poetry recitation.
* Geography study starts with the local area and its geographical characteristics. . Learning to make maps of their classroom, school and neighborhood and discovering the directions of north, south, east and west as they are manifested by the movement of the sun and planets gives the children a sure way to find themselves in the here and now.
* The week-long experience conducting classes at the Black Creek Pioneer Village school is a highlight of the year as students attend daily, in costume. The experience extends to appropriate lunches (in baskets and Mason jars) and recess activities including stilt walking, skipping and marble playing.

Main Lesson Subjects

* Arithmetic (fractions), long division, advanced multiplication
* Reading, grammar, spelling, composition, dramatization
* Local geography and history
* Norse mythology and sagas
* Study of humans and animals
* Two class plays.

Skills Lessons

French and German grammar and reading, music classes continue with singing canons, singing rounds, and using harmonies. Instrumentally, the children continue recorder playing and playing the violin in a group, both of which now require reading from notation, eurythmy (a movement art), painting, embroidery, hand sewing and cross-stitch, physical education, form drawing.

Field Trips:
Fall: Black Creek Pioneer Village for one week.
Winter: Alpine, Nordic skiing, and skating.
Spring: Bike trips
June: End of year trip to Pinecrest Camp for 4 days.

A former student at the Alan Howard Waldorf School, as well as a recent recipient of a Rhodes scholarship. More than a coincidence?

Jennifer Deathe — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:23:47 +0000

AHWS Alumna awarded Rhodes Scholarship. Bruce Nicol writes a few words about his daughter’s recent achievement.
“I can say a few words about what Rosanna might have taken with her from her time at the AHWS, both is terms of her immersion in Waldorf Education, and the time she spent with her teachers.
The Rhodes Scholarship is awarded on four attributes: academic excellence, natural leadership
ability, athletic ability, and an instinctive desire to help the weak and downtrodden. There is an
obvious similarity to three-folded learning that is at the core of Waldorf education. When it comes to
test scores, class sizes, course content, grading, and so on, it is easy to compare Waldorf to public
schooling. The subtle but pervasive notion of engaging the whole child is easy to overlook. A
child who learns through the head heart and hands has a much greater chance to grow up to work and
live in a more integrated manner. Waldorf education is built on this foundation. In my view, this is the principle difference between Waldorf and public school teaching methods.” to read more please see the April 1st Voice.

Music Festival, Earth Day and May Events

Jennifer Deathe — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:43:30 +0000

The students at AHWS celebrated Earth Day in a variety of ways. The morning began with a ceremony in the ravine to honour the earth. The children had painted the rocks and each grade is represented by a colour. Daily experiences with the outdoors and with natural materials develop a personal bond with nature and cultivates a respect for the environment.

The rest of the morning was clean up time. Each grade was assigned an area of the ravine and the surrounding neighbourhood. By noon there was a mountain of garbage collected and some very exhausted students and teachers. But did it end there? No, the music festival was held after school lead by our talented Music teacher Peg Evans. The gym was packed and the children performed beautifully.

The day ended with the draw for the blanket knitted by the children during the Haiti Knit-a-thon.

So what’s coming up?
May 6th, Grade 7 play- Joan of Arc. 7 pm.
May 7th & 8th, The WECAN conference.
May 29th, 10am to 1pm. The ECE maypole at Hillcrest Park and the school picnic.

Earth Day Celebrations, Commonwealth Games and Music Night

Jennifer Deathe — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:33:55 +0000

The students of AHWS sang O’Canada loud and strong in French and English and cheered for the athletes and Mayor Miller at the Torch Relay Ceremony marking Canada’s participation in this year’s Commonwealth Games.
This beautiful spring Monday morning begins Earth Week. Our school will acknowledge the earth in numerous ways. Today, Grades 4, 5 and 6 went on a bike trip to explore the Don Valley. On Thursday students will be supporting the Mayor’s clean up initiative by cleaning up litter around our school neighbourhood.

On Thursday afternoon we will have Music Night- In the Afternoon. The concert will be from 4 pm to 5:30 pm with students from grade 4 through 8 performing. We are hoping to accommodate those parents who can get off work a bit early as well as not keeping children too late into the evening.

At the conclusion of the concert there will be a draw for the Knit-a-Thon blanket in the colours of the Haitian flag. Raffle tickets are on sale and will be available in the lobby in the mornings and before the concert.

>