Weekender
A Newsletter from the Youth Initiative High School Waldorf Initiative
Viroqua, Wisconsin, USA Friday , 2007 Editor: Conrad Rehbach
Calendar
Every Wednesday
3:15 PM Administration Group Meeting
Monday Feb 12
3:15 PM Long Range Planning Meeting
Tuesday Feb 13
7:00 PM Board Meeting
Wednesday Feb 14
Ben Caldwell leaves for Germany. Auf Wiedersehen.
Feb 19—23
NO SCHOOL
Monday Feb 19
10:00 AM—3:00 PM Faculty In-Service
Tuesday Feb 20
9 AM—5 PM Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday Feb 21
3 PM—8 PM Parent Teacher Conferences
Tuesday Feb 20
9 AM—5 PM Parent Teacher Conferences
Feb 21—Mar 17
2007 Guatemala Trip
Needs List
Needs List
1. Seats for 15 passenger shuttle bus
2. Flat panel LCD computer monitors
3. Laptop computers
4. Video projectors
5. Curtains or shades for all rooms
6. Beautification of an area of your choice at school
7. Cleaning services
8. Someone to make and install a door with a lock for the costume room
9. Someone to fix/caulk leaking sky lights
10. Couches and Easy Chairs in good and sturdy condition
11. Someone to install energy saving plastic sheets on windows
Valentine’s Dinner With
Love From YIHS
You are invited to attend the Valentine’s Day Dinner – Youth Initiative High School - Saturday evening -February 17th, 2007 at 7 p.m., 3rd floor of the Landmark. Requested donation $40 to $60 per person. 5 courses of primarily organic food with complementary beverages served and prepared by the students of Youth Initiative under the direction of chef Jane Siemon. Vegetarian Entrée – Handmade Mushroom Ricotta Ravioli in a Marinera Sauce, Meat Entrée – Organic Stuffed Pork Chop in a Balsalmic Sundried Tomato Reduction Sauce. Complementary beverages. Student entertainment and a silent auction.
To make reservations click here
or call 608-637-6445
Childcare during the Valentine's Dinner will be provided by the PRWS 7th grade from 7 - 10 PM at the PRWS 7th grade classroom. Please conatct Allie McNall at 608-634-6278 or Joan McNall at 608-627-2080-1366 or sign up at the PRWS 7th grade classroom.
New courses announcement - Biology/Human Anatomy
Youth Initiative High School Parent Teacher Conferences February 20 – 22, 2007 in room 304. Dear Parents: It is time to sign up for the next round of Parent Teacher Conferences. The Parent Teacher Conferences are “round table” style with parents meeting with all teachers who have been teaching their student during the spring semester. Please note that only one conference can be scheduled per student. Parents living separately please make arrangements. Donna Simmons reminds us that “you all … please sign up as soon as possible for the Parent/Teacher conferences … Most teachers make every effort to be present for these important meetings. However, as many of us have other work commitments, families to juggle and/or live some distance away, it is very difficult for us to be present when parents sign up last minute. We need to be able to plan. So … sign up as soon as possible so that teachers can arrange to be at your appointment!” Therefore: Deadline to sign up for a conference is Friday February 16, 2007 at 3:00 PM. To set up an appointment call Conrad at 608-637-6445 or click here
Tired of being in the
same old class, YIHS builds four new houses.
By Donna Simmons. First kicked around
playfully in my family last summer (“OK – which House will be Gryffindor?”)
as a creative way to meet the question of the school’s imminent growth,
the idea of the Houses was brought by my son Daniel to the camping trip
last August. After a series of conversations, this new form began to take
root in our school. Instead of dividing the student body by class and
having a class advisor (a faculty member), the students were divided into
four mixed age groups, or Houses. As the students really value being
“mixed all together” this seemed to be an important need to meet. There
are many reasons that I promoted this idea: to respond to parent’s
concerns about preemptive Care Group issues; to have an intimate place for
students and faculty to share questions and concerns; and to improve
communication in the school. For me, these issues are all bound together –
my main interest is in the health of our school community and I see the
relationships fostered by the Houses as being a good focal point for many
“Care Group” type issues. House Leaders are in a good position to know if
a student is having difficulty and are able to carry the larger picture
both of that particular student and of the school as a whole. This is in
part because all four of us House Leaders are dedicated faculty members
with either a very long term relationship to the school and/or are present
and teaching most days. We know how the school works and what the needs of
the students and faculty are. Our position in Care Groups is thus very
strong. The four House Leaders are Vicki Ramsay, Julee Agar, Jacob Hundt
and me, Donna Simmons. One or two of us are always at school and always
teaching. We all are regular attendees at faculty meetings and several of
us usually attend the monthly faculty/student meetings. Between us we
carry 6 path classes, 11 main lessons, life skills, two of the end of year
blocks and the Guatemala trip!! We are in the front line of YIHS activity
and relationships! All of also have an enormous amount of experience
working with children, teens and families. Vicki has been a mentor for a
number of years and worked at a women’s shelter; Jacob is a founder of
this school and the Program Director; Julee has had 20 years work at
Pleasant Ridge in Spanish and movement and has known many of our students
since they were 6 or 7 years old; and I have had almost 25 years’
experience working with developmentally handicapped adults, challenging
inner city children; mentoring teachers; teaching; youth work and much
more. All four of us have, if not an active relationship to Waldorf
education and/or anthroposophy, then an openness and interest in it. So I
think it can be said that as a team, we are in a good position to be
trusted with many of the most delicate decisions and relationships in the
school community. We are still very much in the formation stage of this
new structure, having conversations amongst ourselves and with the
students. The students have shown great support for what we are trying to
achieve and though our student/faculty meetings are still a bit er, weak,
we are working to improve this! Our monthly House meetings have started –
we haven’t yet got it quite right in all the Houses. Hunger has been a
problem and we are trying to see whether pot luck or an all-school
whip-round to buy pizzas would work best. Experimenting to find the right
forms is in the best of YIHS tradition and we are sure that the food issue
will indeed be solved! Seriously, though, Houses do report a number of
excellent and important conversations during these meetings. Another new
area where the Houses are taking responsibility has to do with Independent
Projects. In the past, students wishing to do an Independent Project have
had to formulate the idea and then trudge around to different faculty
members to get the proposal signed… and then submit it to the Admin Group.
In the new stream-lined process, the student first talks to their House
Leader. The idea here is that the House Leader has a good idea of how all
his/her students are doing in school and what their strengths and
weaknesses are as well as their interests. S/he should be in a good
position to help the student think through whether the Independent Project
is a good idea or not. Thus the House Leader might be able to help the
student formulate the proposal better and understand what things need to
be done to make the IS work. The objective is not to place a censor in
position – but to have an informed faculty member who knows the students
well to help with this process – and perhaps even suggest Independent
Projects to his/her students! And, if there is disagreement about it, the
student still has the right of appeal to the Admin Group. Other duties
which will evolve as these relationships are strengthened include help and
support as students think about college and eventually start to apply.
Jacob does a lot of this work in his junior and senior life skills
classes, but the House Leaders will be in a good position to help as well.
One other new change is the idea that House Leaders instead of Class
Parents organize Care Groups. Though the Class Parents’ help has always
been appreciated in this role, logistically, it has often made more sense
for an involved faculty member to do the actual organizing. Class Parents
will continue to play their important role in the actual Care Groups. I
think that this new form heralds an exciting moment in the evolution of
this school – we are growing beyond the informal, intimate “everyone knows
everyone’s business” stage of the YIHS to seeing how big and how broad our
school can grow. The Houses are a great way to keep the intimacy of
conversation and student welfare to the fore without burdensome or
bureaucratic forms which can get in the way of the spirit of flexibility
and experimentation which are so important at this school. As we find our
way in developing the role of the Houses and therefore strengthen the Care
Group process within the School Community, we hope you all will support us
as we strive to do what we feel is best for the health of our community.
All comments or questions – send to Donna
morningglory@frontiernet.net
YIHS Faculty In-Service Monday February 19, 2007. Agenda: 10am - 10:20ish recite morning verse together. Observations/comments from Jacob and Conrad on the effects of this verse in the school community over time - observations from faculty on this. Jacob - bringing a Closing Circle to the school
10:20ish - 11:30 The Golden Rules of Waldorf Pedagogy—presentation by Donna. Conversation - to merge into practical discussion of how to bring more elements from Waldorf into the classroom. Reports on working more consciously with art during main lessons (Jacob, John Madden, Julia Hundt, Donna, Colleen) Literature curriculum (and others) and theatre.
11:30 - 11:45 break
11:45 - 12:45 AWSNA update (Conrad), the Houses (all Leaders present), anything else critical and important (please get on the agenda in advance)
12:45 - 1:30 lunch
1:30 - 2:30 Conversation centered on two articles distributed and read in advance: "The Art of Thinking" Craig Holdrege and "Adolescents in the 90's" Betty Staley
Valentine’s Dinner. Please check the sign up sheets for parents and students. More help is needed. Is there someone who can donate the cost of the wine for this year? Donations towards the silent auction like gift certificates?
YIHS Prospective Parent Evening Scheduled. Thursday evening, 22 March at 7pm at the YIHS: All present and prospective YIHS parents are warmly invited to an evening lecture and discussion on "The Emerging 'I': A Journey through the Waldorf High School Curriculum" with YIHS teacher and parent, Donna Simmons. Donna will give an overview of the purpose and flow of the Waldorf high school curriculum with special consideration given to its special forms and challenges here at the YIHS. Donna has been a Waldorf student (kindergarten through 12th grade), teacher, early years educator, youth worker, consultant and parent educator and enjoys sharing her experience of and enthusiasm for Waldorf education with others! Any questions? Contact morningglory@frontiernet.net
Driftless Folk School Winter Classes. The Driftless Folk School would like to announce that enrollment is still open for the following classes: Spinning: Jan 21; Tile Making: Jan 20; Dressing a Salad: Jan 27; Bicycle Maintenance: Feb 10; Homebrewing: Feb 17; Flatbreads: Feb 24. For more information please call 608-675-3115 or email at registrar@driftlessfolkschool.org. You can also download the latest catalog at www.driftlessfolkschool.org.
Health Club Membership Special. First month free. Join the Landmark Center Health Club! Special: $17/month. Call Nancy Rhodes at 608-637-3306
Minutes of Sports
Committee of YIHS
January 17, 2007
Present: Dawn Hundt, AnnaJo Doerr, Julia Hundt, Brian Wickert, Caleb Whited-Ford, Craig Skrede, Zach Wickert, David Whited-Ford
Discussion / Decision
Which gym to use for Basketball game with Chicago Waldorf School:
We have the option of using the LaFarge or Viroqua public school gym for the Basketball game with Chicago Waldorf School on January 27, 2007. After discussion it was decided to use the Lafarge gym to build better relationships with that school in the coop area.
No admission will be charged but we will pass the hat and ask for donations.
The students will do concessions as a Student Fundraiser at the game.
WIAA Update:
Jack Sulik, principal of Lafarge high school, has asked for a wavier to let boys participate in spring baseball with Lafarge from the WIAA. Jack was told they do not have a procedure to grant such and exemption. However Jack encourages us to contact WIAA and continue the conversation. Dawn Hundt will follow up with a conversation with WIAA.
Fall Sport-Boys & Girls Soccer /Volleyball Discussion:
Craig Skrede from Cornerstone Christian Academy says that he gets several calls a year looking for a place for girls to play soccer. Craig feels that if he opened up the soccer team to girls there could be over 30 players on the team that would make it difficult to manage to get playing time for everyone. He does not know of any girl soccer teams that he could schedule if there were an all girls team. He is open to the idea of girls playing but would need to plan for it a year in advance to get games scheduled. Craig said in the past when they had a girl's volleyball team in the fall, the option of girls playing on the soccer team took players away from the volleyball team and then they would not have enough girl volleyball players to field a team. Another issue was finding a gym where girls could practice volleyball.
This led into the discussion of putting an application to coop with Lafarge for next years fall sports of football, cross country or girls volleyball because the WIAA application for coops deadline is February 1st. It was decided to try to provide a fall sport for girls since the boys have soccer in the fall. We agreed to ask YIHS board approval to put forth a request to coop girl's volleyball in the fall of 2007 with Lafarge public school. Dawn Hundt will ask for YIHS board approval and ask Conrad to fill out the necessary paper work and David Whited-Ford will carry the request to Jack Sulik at LaFarge.
The discussion continued about how many and what sports to ask to coop with Lafarge. Ideas brought forth were as follows:
Provide a sport opportunity for boys and girls for each season. Suggestions:
Fall: Boys-Soccer. Girls-Volleyball.
Winter: Boys and Girls Basketball.
Spring: Boys-Baseball. Girl's -Track
Go slow and build the relationships. Why try to go from nothing to everything in one year?
The cost to YIHS is $50 per sport to apply for a coop.
Why limit it to one sport per season? Keep the door open for other sport possibilities each season
Conversation with Erik Olsen at Austin Waldorf School:
Brian spoke with Erik and they have 90 students in their high school. They belong to a private school sport conference. For fall sports they offer volleyball for girls and flag football for boys. Other students (2-5) run cross-country and train on their own or with a parent. For winter sports they have boys and girls basketball teams. They have 12 to 15 students go out for both boys and girls basketball teams. In the spring they offer boys & girls track & field.
Erik has a $15,000 budget for referees, equipment, uniforms, tournament fees and other expenses. The school pays for the upkeep of the gym out of the general expenses of the school. Erik is the only coach on staff. Other coaches are paid per sport by the school and it cost the schools $14,000 that is listed under salaries in the school budget. Income is small from concessions and admissions. They pay students to do the concessions and most of the gross profit goes to pay the student wages. The school gets around $1000 per year from admissions.
Erik said they are pretty thin when it comes to having people to administer and guide their sport program. They try to keep it simple and it is still overwhelming at times for him to keep everything in order and remember all the details needed to run a sport program. Things like scheduling games, cleaning the gym, scheduling the gym availability, outdoor field maintenance, find rides to games, schedule practices, conference meetings, finding coaches, talking to parents and many other little things necessary for the sport program to work.
Tasks To Do:
Dawn H. will take request to YIHS board for coop with Lafarge for girls' volleyball for Fall 2007.
David W-F will take the paper work to Jack for the fall deadline for girl's volleyball. Ask Jack about an open discussion with parents, students and coaches at Lafarge to get information out and relationship building.
Unapproved minutes respectfully submitted by Brian Wickert
Next meeting Tuesday February 20th 7:00pm
Does this work for everyone?
Agenda for YIHS Sport Committee Meeting for February 20, 2007
7:00 pm at YIHS
Check In Question: What are some or several examples of "Life Lessons" you have learned from participating in sports? Do the lessons hold true in other parts of your life?
Review Last Meeting's Minutes:
Reports:
Everyone: Chicago Waldorf School & YIHS Basketball game
David W-F: Report from Lafarge and coop process.
Zachary: Report on number of students wanting to play baseball this spring at Viroqua Area schools. Deadline for request for permission is February 19th, 2007
Discussion: Curriculum and Extra Curricular Activities at YIHS.
Question #1
How does the curriculum support all of the different extra curricular activities at YIHS? (Forensics, sports, play, band, ect.) Or put another way: How do the different extra curricular activities support the curriculum at YIHS?
(This question is to try to understand the importance or unimportance of sports at YIHS.)
Question #2
Do we need a value or mission statement for the sports programs or extra curriculum programs or both at YIHS? Why? Who would it be for? Coaches? Students? Administration? Parents? If the answer is yes how do we go about creating one or two statements? Who will work on it?
Review Meeting and Tasks To Do
Set next meeting time and date.
Bus. As you may recall,
the school was able to purchase a 15 passenger bus a few months ago.
Repairs have been made and insurance coverage is underway. Having the bus
will be a great boon for many reasons--not least of which is the
phenomenal amount of time it takes our staff to arrange drivers for a
field trip.
I'm looking for someone to take over this project! Here are a few things
that we need to start:
- Find replacement seats
- Develop a
maintenance program/log
- Implement maintenance program
- Develop an operator's manual/checklist/orientation program
- Design & paint the outside of the bus
(great project for a student design contest!)
Oversight of this project will be ongoing, but value to the school will be
ongoing too: reduced bus rental fees and staff time!
I am nearly done with the initial paperwork and it would be a great time
for someone else to step in. Please! For more details, contact me.
Thanks. —Liz Cox, Development Coordinator