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Beyond the Classroom at Seattle Waldorf School. An example

|   BLOG Distance Learning

by Bonnie Freundlich, Vanessa Kohlhaas, and Anouk Tompot

Dear SWS Families,

As we enter our first full week of Beyond the Classroom, we hope that your family has started to settle into a new rhythm. Perhaps this involves waking up a bit later than usual. Taking a family walk and enjoying the fresh colors and smells of spring. Or cleaning out a closet that desperately needed organizing.

However your family has adjusted to this new rhythm, we hope that your children will continue to be grounded in the SWS curriculum that is now taking place in your home. For some of you, this may be a unique window into what happens at school. Perhaps new and interesting discussions have taken place around the dinner table as parents have a new perspective on their child’s school life. For others, there may be a heightened sense of anxiety as families juggle working full-time, supporting an online curriculum, and staying healthy. Most likely, all of these things are happening at once!

This is a whole new experience for your children, for you as parents, and for our faculty. There have been stumbles and triumphs this week for everyone and we will continue to make changes at all levels to the program. What persists, however, is the intention of creating a remote learning program that expresses the values of a Waldorf education. As you read each of our branch letters, you will see those values shine through.

Later this week you will receive a survey about Beyond the Classroom so far. Please take the time to fill it out. Your responses will inform how the program develops as we plan for the week before Spring Break and the week (or more) following.

Online Community Conversation for Parents Tonight!

Please join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. for an online Community Conversation on the topic of “Sex, Youth, and the Internet.” Community member Fred Ingham will present his findings on the prevalence of pornography and sexualized interactions on the Internet—and the potential consequences these interactions can have on adolescent sexual development. This topic is especially relevant now as all of us spend more time online. You'll hear first from Fred, and will be able to type in questions that he will then answer after his presentation. We hope that many of you will be able to participate.

Join the Zoom meeting here.

In this time of heightened anxiety, we hope that you all can find moments of joy and activities that support rest and relaxation in the coming week.

Message to Early Childhood Families

Message to Grade School Families

Message to High School Families

In community,

Bonnie Freundlich, Vanessa Kohlhaas, and Anouk Tompot


Message sent to SWS families, faculty, staff, and Board on behalf of SWS Pedagogical Chairs.

More information: http://www.seattlewaldorf.org/our-programs/beyond-the-classroom