As deeply caring parents who are invested and engaged in your child’s education, the question of how is your child’s school preparing them for their future and where their education will take them is natural and reasonable. As you may know, some of our WSP faculty are Waldorf graduates as are several of our board members. This past week, Sarah Gillis, the child of a previous WSP School Administrator Sue Levine, took flight aboard SpaceX and played violin in space! You may be thinking that Dr. J has lost his remaining marbles, but read on. It is true! Her beautiful message of “unity and hope and highlighting the resilience and potential of children everywhere” showcased the promise of a Waldorf education, a century old education for today.
As school has returned to session all across California, there has been a nationwide conversation about whether or not schools should ban phones from campus. The following article, More California Schools Are Banning Smartphones, but Kids Keep Bringing Them, discusses this and the associated challenges in doing so. We feel fortunate to be part of a community that values a play based childhood that incorporates technology when developmentally appropriate.
Top image: Illustration by Adriana Heldiz/CalMatters; iStock
by Leah Lader, WSP Music Teacher & DEIJB Committee Member
Welcome back from the DEIJB committee! DEIJB stands for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging. Our committee consists of faculty and administrative staff members who meet weekly for self-study, healthy discussions, and collaborative projects which make a positive difference in our school’s ongoing work of better incorporating DEIJB.
We have great news to share – starting this school year, AWSNA, the governing body for Waldorf Schools in North America, added an 8th Principle to offer further guidance: Waldorf schools honor and embrace human diversity and dignity.
Over the course of the next two years, WSP will work with Alma Partners to start us off on the right path and advance our commitment to DEIJB. Alma Partners works primarily with Waldorf schools to align their practices with their values and bridge the gap between ideals and actions. We experienced the first two workshops in August with Masumi Hayashi-Smith, our Alma Partners Facilitator, who will continue to lead us through an additional six workshops over the course of the next two school years.
During these first two workshops, we discussed the differences between intention and impact. In the context of DEIJB, our intentions might be rooted in kindness or a desire to be inclusive, however, focusing solely on good intentions can sometimes serve as a defense mechanism to avoid accountability. This often arises due to a lack of awareness around the historical and cultural contexts which inform how our actions are received. Understanding the impact of our actions requires a deep commitment to self-reflection and learning.
By centering impact, deepening our understanding of bias and privilege, and grounding our work in shared agreements & community aspirations, we can move from well-meaning gestures to transformative actions that truly support diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, as well as create a community of belonging where all feel welcomed and supported.
by Bridget Kenevan, WSP Middle and High School Counselor
As the mom of a teenage son, the topic of the current presidential race has been on my mind. In that role, I think often about how this election season, and the ways in which the messages of the current presidential campaigns might impact my son and his peers.
The upcoming election is fast approaching, and we are all, including our children, being inundated with input from multiple sources such as yard signs in our neighborhoods, the candidates speaking on television or radio, and comments overheard at school or in the community at large. This election may spark a myriad of feelings and questions for your children. As a parent, it can be difficult to know how to talk with our kids about politics, how to answer their questions, and how to support them through what might be a stressful or difficult time.
The California heat returned again last week, reminding us quickly that summer is not yet over. Squash and chard leaves wilted under the withering sun, bees hummed loudly, and our colony of Western Fence Lizards sunbathed eagerly on the wood chip paths. It’s normal and okay for thin-leafed plants like squash and chard to wilt slightly on hot days, even with adequate water; the transpiration of water evaporating from their leaves is more than what they can drink from the soil. Normally they recover fine come sundown, although prolonged heat waves can cause burning like they did here. Indeed, midsummer heat this year was quite brutal; as recorded in San Josée, July saw average temperatures a full 5°F hotter than July last year, with almost half of the days recording highs over 90°F. Hot indeed, especially for those of us working in the garden!
Yet late in August, we had our first real hint of fall. The fog rolled in from the coast and a few days saw a thick layer of stratocumulus clouds giving us a wide, cool hug. We felt a few spits of drizzle falling from the sky, moistening the garden flowers and releasing their aromas to the breeze. There is some Sweet Wormwood growing in one of the hedges that smells wonderful on these cool mornings; if you elbow your way past the sunflowers and amaranth, you can drink up its sweet herbaceousness by shoving your face right into its feathery leaves. And while you’re there, run your hands through the Black Cherry Tomato leaves and the Genovese Basil that are both in that hedge as well. Nothing smells more to me like late summer than some tomato leaves brushed gently across your skin.
Stepping back to the paths, and speaking of the sunflowers and amaranth, it’s wonderful to see how well they grew this year as tall, colorful pillars of the garden. The Amaranth was such a deep brilliant red and greeted me with joy every time I walked into the garden this summer. It’s hard to identify specific types of sunflowers since there are so many, but one variety grew dozens of small heads so tall and wide that they blocked many of the paths around the garden rings! Another type is hard to identify because I saw the seed head get gnawed off and carried away by a ground squirrel. Turns out sunflower seeds are pretty tasty for all creatures. It’s the perennial problem of growing food in a garden; turns out, all animals are attracted to food. We lost a couple of pumpkins to somebody gnawing through their tops, the bean seedlings got chomped in the bean tipi, and somebody’s been persistently nibbling at the chard. I haven’t gotten a close enough look at the cottontail that visits frequently, but it’s likely a Brush Rabbit which is common around these parts.
Thankfully, despite those frustrations, we were able to harvest many bunches of sweet grapes from the grapevines as an afternoon treat for the summer campers this year. And several of the Sweet Marketmore Cucumbers were chilled and sliced for the campers’ cool snack on a hot day. Through this we can see that life in the garden is strong, and we tend it as best we can for what it is and where we are. As best a metaphor for life as the garden can provide.As we start the school year, I am grateful to this wonderful garden that was built with so much strength and care by those before me. Its flowers peek over the fence and greet all those who arrive on campus. Its strong healthy soils grow so many species of flora, and the gazebo invites anybody to sit and enjoy some shade. As always, there is a lot of work to do; dead poppy stalks to chop down, undesired grasses to pull from the beds, irrigation lines to shuffle here and there, and larger projects on the docket like a water feature and play structure. But the garden welcomes all at whichever stage of life it’s in, and whichever stage of life you’re in. Come walk through the gate, sit for a spell, and listen, see, smell, and breathe. May its calm help guide you in finding yours.
See you in the garden!
Top image: Red Amaranth streaks skyward in the summer garden. Amaranthus cruentus
Chilled California Wild Grapes were thoroughly enjoyed by the summer campers on hot days. Vitis californica
The late summer California garden is a mix of drought tolerant flowers like Sunflower and Amaranth, earlier blooms gone to seed like dried Poppy stalks and the tall Sweet Wormwood in the center, and just general untamed chaos.
A pink-tinged Cosmos flower lends a bit of elegance to a summer garden. Cosmos bipinnatus
This dry-loving shrubby Aster is often called the European Michaelmas Daisy. Aster amellus
by Marie-Aude Bélanger, WSP Community & Events Manager
On Friday, September 13th, school parents, board member, grandparent, alum parent gathered at the industrial kitchen of Don Bugito, a unique food business run by parent Monica Martinez. Her company specializes in sustainable, protein-rich snacks made from edible insects—a bold and innovative approach that highlights the importance of eco-consciousness. Guests sampled a variety of insects through delicious recipes (from tacos to ice cream)! This event not only brought our community closer but also supported our school through the funds it raised.
As part of this growing community collaboration, we’re excited to announce that some of Don Bugito’s most loved products will soon be available at our school store!
Some of the delicious dishes Monica cooked up for the tasting event:
