A Newsletter from the
in Viroqua, Wisconsin, USA
Editor: Conrad Rehbach
Friday March 09, 2007
To see the full version of the Weekender click here. This email newsletter has been sent to you via a listserver. If you want to reply please see instructions below.
New Course Announcements
Links
Calendar
Every Wednesday
3:15 PM Administration Group Meeting
Feb 21—Mar 17
2007 Guatemala Trip
Sunday Mar 11
(Y11K) Daylight Savings Time arrives; your computer will stop workingggg
Monday Mar 12
3:15 PM Long Range Planning Meeting
7:00 PM Parent Meeting
Tuesday Mar 13
7:00 PM Board Meeting
Monday Mar 19
3:15 PM Faculty Meeting
Thursday Mar 22
7:00 PM Parent Evening/Presentation by Donna Simmons
Monday Mar 26
3:15 PM Long Range Planning Meeting
Tuesday Mar 27
3:15 PM Personnel Meeting
Apr 06—13
Spring Break—NO SCHOOL
Apr 16—20
Theme Week—All day workshops centered around a theme
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
12. Letter size heavy duty 4 drawer filing cabinet
13. Video Projector
Computers in working condition
19. Installation of a faucet in a bathroom
Thank You. Thank you anonymous donor for donating the needed supplies for photography class listed in last week’s needs list.
The Youth Initiative High School is a Waldorf Initiative in Viroqua, Wisconsin, USA offering Waldorf inspired high school education for grades 9—12. For additional information please visit www.yihs.net. eWeekender submissions policy: All submissions need to be emailed as Word attachments by Thursday noon to the editor. To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here. Questions or comments? Email us. Links don’t work? Complain to: yihs@mwt.net. Or check your pop-up blocker. Allow pop-ups for this page.
YIHS Math teacher John Madden explaining the 5th square root of a=y or something to Sophomore Forest Romary (Picture by Ita Rehbach)
Basketball
Tournament Scheduled for Saturday March 31, 2007. Info:
click here.
Bread & Puppet Theater To Perform and Teach in Viroqua! Bread & Puppet Theater is a legendary company of musicians and puppeteers, based in Vermont, that tells simple, socially relevant tales in community-style performances. They'll be in Viroqua March 30th-April 1st, performing two different shows and leading a recycled material puppetry workshop. Friday's show is appropriate for an older audience, but Saturday's workshop and Sunday's Circus are open to all ages! Don't miss it!!! Friday March 30th "How to Turn Distress into Success" Opening Act: "The Dolly Wagglers" 8pm, ages 14+ Land Mark Center Theater, 500 E Jefferson, Viroqua $5-15 Sliding Scale Saturday March 31st "Make Your Own Puppet Workshop" Build crankies, cantastoria and cardboard puppet shows with these master puppeteers and recycled artists. 10am-3pm All ages, under 10 with an adult Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School Gym $10-30 Sliding Scale $5 Lunch prepared by Pleasant Ridge 6th grade (Bread and soup!) Space Limited! Make reservations by calling 608-637-7828. Reserve lunch by March 26th! Sunday April 1st "EVERYTHING IS FINE CIRCUS" Classic Bread & Puppet Pageant including community volunteers and giant puppets. Fun for the whole family! 4:15pm, All ages welcome! Pleasant Ridge Waldorf Gym $5-15 Sliding Scale Want to volunteer? We need brick oven builders, performers, hosts, cooks. Please call Shawn 608-634-2214 if interested. The more the more better! Part of the proceeds from Friday and Sunday's shows will benefit the Youth Initiative High School. Volunteers and materials needed for Bread & Puppet Show and Workshop! Volunteers: to be participants (requires rehearsal times), to help build outdoor bread oven, to make a meal for performers, to help clean up and set up. Materials: newsprint rolls or tablets, markers, medium cardboard boxes, chop sticks, masking tape, noisy things (chains, tin cans, 5 gallon buckets) for junk band. Interested? Call Shawn 634-2214. Thanks!
POLOR BEARS & A TRIP TO MANITOBA TO SEE THEM. Getting up close & personal with Nature is always a thrill. Getting up close to huge, white, fluffy and oh-so-cute-looking polar bears must be one of the best thrills ever! On Tuesday, Mar. 13th at 7pm , at the Soldiers Grove Library, Joseph (“Doc”) McGlynn will tell us all about his trip to Manitoba , Canada to see those bears. Driving as far as possible, and then choosing an overnight train ride instead of an airplane, this intrepid, retired veterinarian headed north to a remote little town called Churchill, on the south-eastern shore of the Hudson Bay. The bears like the Churchill area because this is exactly where the Hudson Bay freezes over first in the northern autumn and is the last place to thaw in the springtime melt. We’ll find out what that means for polar bears and also for the people of this town, which is about exactly the size of Soldiers Grove. McGlynn has pictures he took of the wildlife (from a tundra buggy!) plus video footage of polar bears in Churchill. Programs at the library are always free of charge & open to everyone.
HOUSE CONCERT AT THE SOLDIERS GROVE LIBRARY. Matt & Shannon Heaton will bring traditional and modern Irish music from Boston to the Soldiers Grove Library on Tuesday, Mar. 20th, at 7pm . Combining passionate singing with upbeat instrumentals on acoustic guitar, bouzouki, Irish flute & whistles, this husband-and-wife duo redefine traditional Irish music. Their imaginative original pieces sound authentic while they make centuries-old ballads sound modern. The Boston Globe wrote, “They bring a savy modernity and American rootsiness to the auld Sod’s music, without losing any of its folksy Irish essence.” Even if you don’t normally listen to Celtic music, Matt and Shannon offer such a fresh, engaging stage show, you’ll wish you had heard them sooner! It’s music that satisfies. This program at the library is free and open to all. You can see Matt & Shannon at: http://ww.mattandshannonheaton.com/ I hope to see many of you soon at the library! Best wishes for Spring —Cele
PRESS RELEASE. For immediate release. VIROQUA, WI: The Viroqua Public Market at Main Street Station will host the 3rd annual Green Home Show March 16 through 17. This 3rd annual event features Coulee Region green builders, architects & designers, building supply, and alternative energy professionals. The show kicks off Friday March 16 at 4pm with vendors, shopping, food & drink from the Meat~ing Place café, as well as musical entertainment from the County Vernon Ceilidh Band, until 8pm. Saturday hours are 9am to 5pm. A special green building community forum will occur at 3pm, with Q&A from an expert panel. During the day on Saturday there will be display and informational booths, shopping, and demonstrations, with a focus on: Energy Efficiency, Green Building Materials, Sustainable Design, Solar Professionals, Organic lifestyles, Wood Manufacturers, Round Wood, Strawbale, and Earthblock. The event which began in 2005 is a natural outgrowth of the Viroqua-area’s notable focus on sustainable living, farming and building. Green building principles simply consider the interplay and net effects of construction, energy, resources and healthy living. Participants to date include Turtle Shell Construction , Home Green Home, Midwest Earth Builders, Hearth and Sol, Todd Osman, Community Energy Cooperative, Prairie Solar Power and Light, Architect Roald Gunderson, and Bramble Books, with more being added. The 3rd annual Green Home Show is sponsored by the Viroqua Public Market @ Main Street Station, Organic Valley Family of Farms, Sibby’s Organic Ice Cream, Gregory Splinter Architecture, and Earthtone Builders. For more information visit the Viroqua Public Market website at www.MainStStation.net or call 608-637-1912.
News from Guatemala. With Our Toes in the Dust and Our Face to the Sun. Fourteen students made their way from the snowdrifts of the Midwest to the sun and tropical jungles of Guatemala. We were quickly shown that reckless driving and little do not exist at home. Who ever heard of the correct side of the road? We were taken to our destination, San Lucas Toliman, a Catholic mission started about 50 years ago by Father Gregory, a priest from Minnesota. The mission has become a magnet for many people who are looking for a way to contribute their time and energy to helping the people of Guatemala. For 10 days we worked on different projects. Whether hauling rocks up dusty mountain slopes, devastated by mudslides, or assembling rebar columns for the cinderblock houses that lined the narrow streets, we always had something to do. We never stopped smiling except for the moments when unhappy tummies spoiled our mood. Each day after work, we would truck home (literally. Riding in the backs of pickups is definitely not illegal here!) to empty our clothes of the dirt that we'd acquired over the day's work. It was an event we all looked forward to. By night, after dinner, beneath the stars and whistling birds, we often found our way to the Pool Hall, where newly-made friends rejoiced at our entrance. Spanish, pool, dancing occasional ice cream and pizza filled a typical night. We were always busy. Enjoyably busy. The week in San Lucas felt like months. It is funny to think back to the drive from the airport, all of us running on no sleep and hunger, and trying to soak in all the unfamiliar impressions. After 10 days, we all felt like we'd been there forever and were almost teary eyed upon leaving. Working with others to make small differences in the world creates an atmosphere from which one does not want to leave. —Anna Chotzen
College Acceptance Update: Congratulations to Emily Valentine-Grimm on her acceptance to Winona State University, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Arcadia College. Congratulation to Daniel Kennedy on his acceptance to the following colleges: Beloit College, St. Olaf College , Earlham College, Lawrence University, Hendrix College.
Congratulations and Many
Blessings! Isaac Park (2006 YIHS
Graduate) and Cathrin Förster (2004 YIHS exchange student) were married on
February 23, 2007 in Munich, Germany.
New Student Joins YIHS. Please welcome Terra Kilkeary who will join the YIHS Junior class on Monday March 12, 2007. Terra lives near La Farge and is transferring to our school from Sparta High School.
Board Member Resignations. I’d like to thank Mike Knapp and John Karlstad for their energy and service to the school and to the board. I will miss John’s warmth and ability to remind me, gently but firmly, to wait my turn to speak. I will miss Mike’s supportive nature and generosity of spirit. Blessings, Charlene Elderkin, YIHS Board President
Dear parents and students, There will be a community meeting of students and parents to discuss the sports coop idea with La Farge School District on March 12th in the La Farge High School at 7:00 pm. Now is the time to listen to others and have your own voice heard on this issue. If you have an interest in this now or into the future please plan to attend. If you need more information or have questions please contact David Whited-Ford, Dawn Hundt or Brian Wickert.
Dr. Strangelove Visit. The Youth Initiative Film Society presents Dr. Strangelove on Friday March 16 at 7 PM. Details.
Justice for Genocide. Learn about the current situation and how you can work to defend human rights in Guatemala. Wednesday March 28, 2007 at 7:30 PM (3rd floor, Landmark Center, Viroqua) —K/GAP
PARENT MEETING scheduled for Monday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. Please send agenda items to Kim Chotzen by Friday, March 09. (kchotzen@mwt.net) or 637-8404. Thank you and enjoy this beautiful snow. —Kim
Facing Karma Anthroposophy Conference update. "Facing Karma" is the theme of the 7th annual Midwest Anthroposophy Conference to be held at the Old Main Building March 16-18th with James Ulness, Ph.D., as keynote speaker. Register for the full conference by March 2, and you will receive a $10 discount. A registration box is in the school office, along with extra brochures. The lectures and workshops may be attended individually for $15 each. This year we offer a variety of afternoon workshops, which are listed in the brochure and on our website - www.facingkarma.com.
YIHS 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
Deborah Baer (professional counselor and tutor) is offering SAT and ACT classes for groups of four or more high school juniors for the April, May, and June test dates. Get your own group of friends together, and we'll set up days/time that works for you! Highly affordable. Individual tutoring in SAT/ACT prep and various other subjects (math, English [including help with papers and college essays], social sciences, and some science) is also available. Private/public high school, middle school, and homeschool students. Email djbaer@mchsi.com or call 637-2918.
Driftless Folk School Update. The Driftless Folk School would like to announce that the registration is still open for the following classes: Feb 17: Homebrewing; Feb 24 Flatbreads; Mar 3: Owling; Mar 17: Egg Breads; Mar 24: Inkle Weaving; Mar 31: Blacksmithing. Multi-session courses: Beginning Fiddle: Feb 24 – Mar 10; Enameling: Feb 10 – Mar 4. Please call us at 608-637-3550 for more information or to register.