Presenting the TWS Animal Farm

By Heather Church, FGC Chair

The TWS Farm and Garden Committee (FGC) has, for years, had hopes and plans for animals on the TWS farm. In the past we have had sheep and chickens for four months of the school year. Lately, due to not having a full time farming and gardening teacher lately, we have been maintaining the chickens but have not had sheep.

This year, for the first time, we have chickens from a biodynamic farm and we are feeding them biodynamic feed. For the past two months we have had a student volunteer, Lennart, from Germany, doing his grade eleven social service practicum in the Forget-Me-Not Kindergarten. In the afternoons Lennart built a new chicken run to move the chickens about the farm so that they can have more free-range opportunities in safety, and he has brought new life to the chicken coop and the straw bale garden building by painting them. We also have Eva Cabaca working hard, on a part-time basis, to maintain the beautiful gardens that have been developed over many years.

Farm Club with animals to be launched at TWS

The Committee has recently accepted an offer from faculty members Todd Royer, Michèle Andrews and Todd’s daughter Lydia Reynolds-Royer, to raise animals year round in our paddock area near the garden at no cost to TWS. The proposal is to establish a mini-farm of dairy goats, poultry, rabbits, and, maybe in the future, a mini dairy cow. Todd and Michèle will be paying for all fencing and building improvements, would own the animals, and take full responsibility for their food and care. Read more

Reminders

Grade 8 Play: The Magic Flute
Four performances: Monday, June 7 at 1:30 pm and Tues - Thursday, June 8 - 10 at 7:30 pm.

Seating is limited and tickets must be obtained in advance. This play is not suitable for children under 11 years of age. Please note that the first scene will include a 5 minute video clip that was produced, filmed and edited by the Grade 8 students. Ticket and play details

2010-11 Dates
We will soon have all our key dates loaded onto the web calendar for next year. In the meantime, here are a few important dates for you to note:

First day of school: Tuesday, September 7^th

Early Childhood and Lower School Parent – Teacher Interviews (no classes): Friday, October 29^th

Fall Break – NO CLASSES for Early Childhood, Lower School and High School: Monday November 1^st and Tuesday November 2^nd

Middle School (Grades 6 – 8) Parent Evening: Thursday, November 4^th

Professional Activity Day – NO CLASSES – Early Childhood and Lower School: Friday, November 26^th

Last day of school before the December Break for Lower and High School: Friday December 17^th, 12:30 dismissal

First Day back from December Break: Monday, January 3^rd

March Break: Monday, March 14^th through Friday, March 25^th

Last Day of Classes for Lower and High School: Friday, June 17^th

TWS Summer Camp is Heating Up

You may not have noticed but not only does it feel like summer, summer is fast approaching. Three weeks until TWS Summer Camp starts! Enrollment is coming along and there is a hum of excitement in the air about summer camp. The first weeks are filling up and later weeks would love more campers!

There is a lot of work happening behind the scenes to prepare: craft supplies are being purchased, lunches are being planned, the farm buildings are getting new paint, hammocks will be hung and there will be more animals coming to join the chickens on the farm. We are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the children.

We have our leaders and student leaders lined up and ready to go. We have signs to go up in the Grade 8 classroom to let the students know that we are seeking counselors in training. Each week we will need two students to help from 9 am-4pm.

Be sure to sign your children up soon and do share your posters with your friends and neighbors: the more the merrier! Keep checking the website to see more details about camp; as we get closer we will have more and more details available. Any questions you may have can be answered by sending a message to camp@torontowaldorfschool.com.

Thank you,

Heather Church, TWS Summer Camp Director

Who's Learning What?

Grade One Sounds & Words	Grade Seven Renaissance
Grade Two Review: Language Arts	Grade Eight Play Rehearsal: The Magic Flute
Grade Three Shelters	Grade Nine Farming Practicum
Grade Four Humans & Animals	Grade Ten Business/Trade Practicum
Grade Five Geography	Grade Eleven Social Service Practicum
Grade Six Middles Ages	Grade Twelve Calculas with Helene Gross or French with Anahid Movel

Candlelight Children’s Fair

Lead Volunteers Needed!

As we begin planning in earnest for next fall, one key area of need is to find one or two experienced parent volunteers who would be willing to lead the organization of our annual Candlelight Children’s Fair.

The decision has been made to keep the new format we tried this year – a separate vendor market from the Children’s Fair. We have already picked a date for the Children’s Fair – Sunday, November 21^st. We are hoping to preserve the magical qualities of this day and also find even simpler ways of presenting the Fair that can make the work for parents much lighter.

We already have a handful of class parents ready to provide tremendous support, we just need the “lead” to appear! If you are interested in playing a leadership role on this committee, or you have any other questions, please contact me.

Many thanks,

Michèle Andrews, Administrative Director

Tweets and Facebook Treats

Right now on the TWS Facebook page you can see images of the Grade 3 Plant Sale, Mayfest, the Art Tournament, the Spring Revue, news stories, a documentary and even a high-speed tour of the school led by an exchange student. If you haven’t yet joined our growing online community, please do so. It’s a great way to share the liveliness of the school with your friends and family.

We’ve been fortunate to have an alumnus help to update our page and make it lively, but he is about to embark on a long journey. If you are interested in working with me to keep our Facebook page fresh (it would require perhaps a half-hour of work spread across the course of each week), let me know. I especially welcome TWS alumni/ae, but not exclusively.

TWS is also on Twitter, and I’d love to have someone keep that account updated as well. If you’re an avid tweeter, why not feed two birds with one seed and help out TWS?

Let me know if you’re interested in helping with either, or both, the TWS Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Thanks,

Ryan Lindsay, Marketing

In the News

TWS Alumna: Maayan Ziv Surpassing Her Years
By Ron Egatz for Profoto
May 28, 2010

From the editor: Check this great article (and images) about TWS Alumna Maayan Ziv and her stunning photography work!

Dividing her time between Toronto and Richmond Hill, Ontario, young Maayan Ziv was originally drawn to photographing insects and architecture. Blessed with pretty sisters who love to be in front of the camera, Ziv soon became fixated on photographing people, be it lifestyle, portrait, fashion, or street scenes. Studying Radio and Television at Ryerson University, “I’m trying to do both that and photography in order to expand my knowledge of other kinds of media,” she says. Read more and view Maayan’s photos

When Should My Child Begin Music Lessons? A Comparison of Waldorf and Suzuki Philosophies
By Sarah Baldwin, M.S. Ed
2009

In Waldorf pedagogy, formal academic learning does not begin until, ideally the age of seven. This comes after a period of intense growth during the first seven years of life, after which, according to Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, the child's "etheric" or life forces are freed up for more cognitive pursuits. As a child of seven is better able to sit and focus on formal "lessons" than a younger child, so a child of this age would be better able to focus on formal music instruction, and to be capable of practicing. I have questioned many different music teachers - Suzuki teachers, traditional music teachers and Waldorf music teachers -- on whether there is a great advantage to starting children on an instrument as early as three- to five-years old and, by and large, most teachers I've talked to seem to agree that children who start when they are older (say, seven or eight) are not at a disadvantage; they are usually able to catch up quickly with the children who have been taking lessons since they were much younger. Read more

Neighbours on Campus

Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto
Fire and Bread: Sunday, Mary 30th 10 am to 4 pm at the outdoor bread oven (behind TWS) with Warren Lee Cohen. Also Summer Intensives for teacher development and everyone who is interested: (all programs 8:30 am to 4:30 pm): Art Curriculum for Grades 1 through 8, Mathematical Development of the Teacher, Preparation for Grade 1, and The Heart of Childhood, Preparing for Grades 3, 4 and 5. More details

Graham Jackson
Former eurythmy accompanist long connected with TWS will play an all-Chopin concert on Friday, June 4, at 7.30 pm at The Church of the Christian Community, 901 Rutherford Road, around the corner from the school. Read more

The Village Market
It's a beautiful day every Saturday at the Village Market and this week is no exception. More and more local organic produce coming on stream with each passing week. Experience organic dining with your choice of organic raw vegan or Caribbean food, great atmosphere, live music and so much more. Full list of this week's vendors