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Questions? Comments? Come join the Interim Leadership Team every Thursday morning during September starting September 9th for Coffee on the Quad! Coffee on the Quad is an informal opportunity for the community to gather and get to know our school leaders better. Coleen and Vanya will be under the tent on our quad from 8 AM to 9 AM on Thursdays throughout the month and can’t wait to share a cup of joe or baked good with you!
Dear WSMF Community,
July 20 marks my official first day as School Director at Waldorf School at Moraine Farm. Thank you sincerely for the warm welcome; it has already been such a pleasure getting to know many of you, and I cannot wait to both meet and get to know all of you in the weeks and months to come.
I’d like to share the story with you about how I arrived at the school. In May of 2019, my husband Wil and I were visiting Massachusetts from D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. While driving through Beverly, we passed a sign reading “Waldorf School at Moraine Farm.” The school grounds looked unlike anything I had ever seen, so, characteristically, I asked Wil to pull into the driveway. We finally emerged upon the school only to find a teacher, on a weekend, planting flowers in the front garden beds. Wil and I were both in awe of the property, the natural state of the campus, and the dedication of a teacher planting flowers on a weekend. Since that weekend, the School’s name was ingrained in my mind, and I periodically checked the school’s website for updates. That same summer, I spoke to a recruiting firm and shared with them that I hoped to find my next professional-adventure as a principal of a small, spiritual, nature-focused school in Massachusetts. I never thought that WSMF would actually have an opening but promised myself to keep a close eye on the School’s website.
Fast forward fourteen months, and here I am today, starting on this journey, shared by all of you. I cannot begin to explain how this transpired from a seemingly random happenstance so many months ago. All I can say is that I am honored and humbled by your confidence in me to lead your school; I am truly grateful. I am sincerely grateful for the immense work that the search committee undertook leading to a selection for this position.
Last week, I had the privilege to attend training through the Center of Anthroposophy. This week-long program provided me with a foundational cornerstone for Anthroposophy and Waldorf education. The class explored Waldorf-inspired eurhythmy, art, and singing in addition to exploring the philosophy of our founder Rudolf Steiner. I am eager to continue digging deeper into these topics with this community.
Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to witness the groundbreaking of our new quad, a vision and a generous gift from alumni parent Ms. Anita Brewer-Siljeholm. This quad is symbolic of how our school honors its traditions, the Waldorf philosophy, and continues to grow in innovative ways. To me, this celebratory gathering represented the strength and love within our community. I aim to continue to build and support our families, alumni, students, and faculty as we grow.
During my first few months at the school, my initial goals are threefold: 1) to learn about our beautiful school, community, and Waldorf philosophy 2) to work with the faculty, staff, and community to confidently and safely reopen for the 2020-2021 school year, and 3) to find ways to innovate towards an increasingly vibrant future.
In the coming weeks, I will be reaching out to each of you to set up a time to allow us to get to know one another. I want to know about your family, your children, and the many special reasons why you chose WSMF to care for your children. The stories I have already heard speak of the depth of connection between our teachers and your children. I cannot wait to know each of you and learn from you how best I can support your family’s educational journey!
I will also be following up with a future note to describe my goals for the 2020-2021 school year. In the meantime, I hope to see you at the All Community Meeting on July 22nd.
With much love and gratitude,
Urvi Morrison
Wednesday, 6/17, is our last day of school before the summer break. Please join us at 5:30 PM on Wednesday, June 17th for a car parade on the school road. Teachers and staff will line the school drive to wave and congratulate you from a safe distance. Families are encouraged to decorate their vehicles or make signs of love, appreciation, and joy! The wish flags that you have made for teachers will also line the parade route.
In order to maintain a safe environment, no family members will be allowed out of their vehicles and employees will maintain safe social distancing protocols. Wearing masks is encouraged.
We recognize that for many early childhood families, explaining to your child that they are going to school, but are unable to get out and play or see their teachers will be difficult. Knowing this, the Early Childhood teachers are planning in-person events for later in the summer if/when state guidelines permit. All families are invited to the parade, but we understand that some families may choose to wait until these classes can meet in person.
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We are very excited to share with our community that we have found a way to have a short, safe, closed ceremony for our graduating class of 2020. Please know that we are only able to create this special ceremony under the strictest safety standards and therefore cannot open this up to the entire community.
Only immediate family and a small group of teachers will be in attendance. We know you all will be celebrating with our graduates in your hearts! Please join us in wishing our 8th-Graders a happy and healthy journey to high school!
Mark your calendars! The first day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2, 2020 — BEFORE LABOR DAY.
Please know that this date is subject to change depending on state and local authorities.
The last day of school for 2019–2020 is June 17th.
Natalie DiBello and our WSMF mask makers have delivered the first batch to Mt. Auburn Hospital. From Natalie: “Donations to hospitals started going out this week. Here are some happy nurses at Mount Auburn Hospital. They are wearing the cloth masks I made over their surgical masks for extra protection.” Thank you to everyone!
We are excited to share the prospectus co-created by our governance committee to launch the search for our next School Director. As many of you know, we have the support of a search firm that is investing its time to help us navigate the search process. The firm recommended that our first step in recruiting and hiring for this critical role is to ask our community members to get the word out through their personal and professional networks. Please view the complete prospectus on our website and keep us informed if you know anyone who may be a great fit for our school as we build momentum towards a bright future.
We’ve added another two weeks of summer programming for children age 7 to 12, offered July 13-17 and July 20-24. Fine Art & Nature Camp, lead by Mrs. Coffey, is about exploring a unique combination of art, nature, stories, and summer fun! Each morning campers will tend our flourishing garden, nibble herbs, and gather flowers. After which the students will spend time in the beautiful sixth grade classroom where they will enjoy story telling of a fairy or folktale, then take one of the most potent images, scenes, or characters from the story and bring it out of their imaginations onto the paper with beeswax crayons, colored pencils, or watercolor paints, or shape it with modeling beeswax. A highlight of each afternoon will be our nature walk to different picturesque locations on our Moraine Farm property, where they will explore the landscape and listen to a chapter book. Each week-long program will culminate in a “gallery show” highlighting the children’s newly created works of art.
Learn more and register here.
Check out our latest blog post initiated by the Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Five books that we are adding to our school library for early childhood and young grade school students.
Daylight Savings Time has arrived! As a result, the i
nternal clock on the Victron charge controller for the solar panel in the Quad was reset by a member of the Outdoor Life Committee on Sunday 3/7. And since sunset in Beverly is now a little before 7 pm (amazing!), the controller was reprogrammed to turn the lights on/off from 6 – 10 pm instead of 4 – 10 pm. Anyone with questions about the lights is asked to speak to Mr. Hogan. (more…)