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Weekender A Newsletter from the Youth Initiative High School Waldorf Initiative Viroqua, Wisconsin, USA Friday May 25, 2007 Editor: Conrad Rehbach |
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The Spring Play Approaches! This year, it's Tartuffe, by Moliere, along with a short original piece by teacher John Madden and our students. We'll be performing at the Temple Theater again, and we'll be doing a Thursday night performance in addition to Friday & Saturday nights. There will be additional calls for help and supplies coming soon. For starters: We still need an adult helper in the costume department! If you can step in for support and guidance, please let K know. Also, we will need help selling concessions all three nights, both before the show and during intermission. Contact Trish Dougherty: 637-7630 h, trishd@mosaorganic.org, 637-2526 w. If you can contribute to food for the cast, please contact Joann McNall, 634-6278 h, rutwhit@mwt.net. We will also need ticket-takers at the door, and people to sell raffle tickets for the quilt which will be displayed at the theater. Contact Liz at school to sign up for a shift.
Thank You. Thank you Dawn Hundt for organizing the 2007 YIHS Service Week.
Thank you for wonderful cleaning crew. They are awesome! We really appreciated the weeding and the cleaning in the Children’s Library. Thanks guys! Mrs. Creager. Director of Youth Services. McIntosh Memorial Library, Viroqua.
Letter to YIHS school community by Conrad Rehbach: I have been taking a break from some of my duties due to health problems, and have worked for YIHS in a diminished role during the last few weeks mostly from home, with little time spent at my office at school, and not attending any meetings. I have been in contact with the YIHS administration and have met regularly with Liz. I thank all of you – and especially Liz – for the extra work they have taken on during this time. My health situation is as follows. A MRI showed an aortic aneurysm. The cardiologist recommended to keep me under surveillance with another MRI scheduled for November 2007. If the anomaly stabilizes, good, if it worsens, not good. I need to make life style changes, and reduce and manage stress in order for a chance for healing. I will need to make changes in my personal life, my attitudes, change habits, and reveal to my wife where the secret stash of gold has been hidden. As far as work is concerned, I want to continue working for the YIHS, but we need to realize that we will not get the same mileage out of me as before. Changes in the administrative structure of the YIHS will be necessary, in that we move in the direction of more clearly defining tasks and areas of responsibility, structure and define “office hours”, and availability both internally and concerning the public. Committees will need to move towards more independence, efficiency and professionalism. Authority to make decisions and decision making processes need to be clarified. The cooperation between the school’s numerous groups need to be enhanced. Conflict resolution and the role of volunteers in our school need to be clarified. Some of these needed changes have been identified already and been worked on, others will need to be worked on and clarified within the foreseeable future. This all might be a positive development for our school and could actually proof healthy for the whole school community. I will be working with the board and other groups over the summer towards these goals. Please contact me with concerns, questions, advice, etc. —Conrad
Norskedalen would like to thank the YIHS students and Dawn Hundt for bringing their energy, their enthusiasm, their strength and their spirit of community service to Norskedalen during this year’s Service Week. The invasive species were quaking in their roots as the work crews cleared honeysuckle, garlic mustard and buckthorn as well as helped finish the revived Prairie Bluff Trail and prepared the homestead garden for planting. Mange tusen takk (many thousand thanks). —Diane Gunvalson (Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center) www.norskedalen.org
Architecture Class Trip to Chicago: On Wednesday, May 30, the Architecture Class will be traveling to Chicago, returning the following day. We will be staying in the apartment of friends of Jacob. Students should come prepared to sleep on the floor with sleeping bags and ground pads. They should also come with good walking shoes and clothes appropriate for all kinds of weather. Skateboards, longboards, unicycles, pogo sticks, etc, should be left at home. Students should also bring cash for the following: Gas money: $25; Fee for Chicago Architectural Tour: $12; CTA Public Transit: $5; Food for 3-4 meals: at least $25; Miscellaneous: ?; Total: about $70; Please contact Jacob Hundt at 637-6764 with questions.
Parent Financial Commitment meetings. We are beginning to set these meetings up for mornings in June. Please contact Dawn, 608-452-3485, dawn@rotochopper.com
Letter from the Faculty. We would like to express our gratitude for the support we have received this year in the face of unexpected challenges. Our school community thrives here, and it is only because of the goodwill of its members. While there remain unresolved conflicts within our community, much of the resolution must come on a personal level. As faculty, we are committed to improving the processes and policies under our care in order to foster healthy communications and the best possible support for our students. As an example of the work underway, early in the spring (well, really, it was still winter), our Board called in a consultant, Mark Taylor, to observe our Care Group process. He pointed no finger at individuals, but offered several recommendations, summarized below, which are now being considered as Care Group policies are revised.
Along with Mr. Taylor’s recommendations, we have heard other suggestions regarding Care Groups from the community at large:
A “Care Group Task Force” is forming which will have representative members from Faculty, Student and Parent bodies. Parents interested in joining this group, please contact one of us. In addition, there are other groups forming to expand on the work recently begun by our Board, addressing By-Laws, Guiding Principles, and Conflict Resolution policies. We are also in the process of examining and clarifying Administrative duties. This work will be taken up in earnest this summer following a Visioning session in June (date to be announced). Our goal is to have clear policies to recommend for approval at an All-School meeting in August. We welcome your constructive input. We are committed to everything that is beautiful and noble and good about this school. As a group, we can learn and grow in the same way we grow individually: celebrate our strengths, improve on our weaknesses, communicate with respect, and, always, keep the well-being and healthy development of our students at the forefront of our considerations. Blessings on your summer. —Liz, Jacob and Vicki for the Faculty & Staff
True Botanica Order---June 1. Please call or email you order to CaroleHanlein 634-4221, treeline@mwt.net by Friday, June 1. I will place the order if we have enough items. Once it arrives I will call you to arrange pickup. Payment is required by the time you pick up. Thanks to all who purchase True Botanica produats through YIHS. It contributes a small but steady flow into the parent fundraising while making these products available locally at substantial savings.
GRADUATION UPDATE. YIHS students and their families, faculty and staff are invited to the graduation ceremony and celebration on Sunday, June 3rd, 3:00pm- Ceremony, 5:00pm - Reception at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Please bring an appetizer or desert to share. We are still looking for help in certain areas. The golden broom has been passed to the current freshman class who have been delegated to as clean up crew. Hopefully Juniors have found a freshman to coordinate the students.Thanks to Joann Mc Nall who will be parent coordinator. She will need other parent help. Please call her if you are able to help. Thanks to Jane Mussey who will coordinate set up on Sunday begining at 11:00 with the junior class and any parents willing to help. Please call Karen Pothan if you wish to help with set up unless you have already spoken to one of us. Thanks to Toni Schneeburg for helping wih cooking. I will be contacting Senior Parents to organize appetizers. If you know what you would like to prepare please let me know otherwise we have menu ideas you may chose from. Senior parents please get checks to Maureen O'Connor for $50. plus $3.50 for invitations if you recieved 20 invitations- they are .35 each with the first 10 provided by YIHS. As a reminder on the graduation potluck reception:
The Ceremony will take place outside of the Museum building. Please bring lawn chairs and blankets to sit on. There will be one tent set up to give the grandparents seating out of the sun. This area will be reserved for graduate families and faculty. In the unlikely event of rain the ceremony will take place inside where there is limited seating. Appetizers etc. will be set up inside and served after the ceremony. Please call Carole Hanlein, Karen Pothan, or Kim Chotzen if you can help.
Looking for Sublet ... Our plants need a summer home! Some are large and could fill that empty corner in your house that has bad Feng Shui. Others just need a spot on your table. If you can help, please stop by and take a plant home ... it gets very hot at school in the summer, and watering can be irregular. Thanks.
Plastic Bag Recycling Program at Westby IGA!! A plastic bag recycling program has started at Hansens IGA in Westby (on north end of town). Consumers may deposit clean, dry, empty plastic bags. Acceptable material: plastic grocery bags… ; plastic retail bags (remove string ties and rigid plastic handles); plastic produce bags & bread bags (must be clean and dry); plastic newspaper wrappers…; plastic dry cleaning bags…; plastic wrap from paper products (ie paper towel)…; salt bags (remove rigid handles)…; stretch wrap and shrink film. While you are there, stop in and thank the management for offering this service. Submitted by Erin Barstad and Julee Caspers Agar
YIHS enrollment/re-enrollment for 2007/2008 update. Grade 12 (9): Aue, Vaughan/Kilkeary, Terra/Marshall, Troy/Pitsch, Madeleine/Rasikas, Alek/Rehbach, Ita/Tully, Kyla/Wickert, Zach/Winningham, Talia. Grade 11 (12): Caldwell, Ben/Gilgenbach, Nicholas/Grams, Beau/Hundt, Henry/Lantro, Ashontae/Lewicki, Jamie/Martin, Ian/Pitsch, Eva/Pollard, Eva/Romary, Forest/Whited-Ford, Caleb/Kouba, Patrick. Grade 10 (10): Diaz, Katie/Erickson, Sirsha/Hemingway, Freya/Hodges, Liberty/McNall, Randy/ Park, Thea/ Ribbens, Lucas/ Smith, Rebecca/Tully, Ian/Wickert, Ethan. Grade 09 (5): Caldwell, Sam/Lantro, Joshua/Pollard, William/Wainscott, Merla/Shrum, David. Note: All enrollment/re-enrollment is conditional upon the following: (1) tuition/pledge for 2006/2007 has been paid in full by June 30, 2007. (2) supplies fees have been paid by August 01, 2007. (3) if applicable, the tuition/pledge for 2007/2008 has been approved by a member of the finance committee via a pledge meeting. (4) student has fulfilled the academic requirements and student service hours for 2006/2007
Head, Heart and Hands—Summer Intensive. This one week (June 18—22, 2007) summer intensive is for Waldorf grade teachers and parents/individuals interested in deepening their educational skills and for soul renewal. Through the course of the week everyone will have varied opportunities to experience the Waldorf curriculum through the arts and crafts. We will explore the incarnating process of the child as reflected through various arts and crafts in the class teacher years and try to develop a sense for the gesture of each school year through different artistic media. We will be working with: clay and beeswax (modeling), wool (felting, and animal making), wood (carving, toy making), metal (copper), glass (mosaic making). In addition a variety of artistic and study courses will provide soul renewal to the educator. These courses include movement, painting, circle work, and studies concerning the St. John mystery in our time. The workshop will cumulate with a Community St. John’s festival on Friday June 22. Info/registration: 608-637-3913 or www.sophiainstitute.us Registration deadline: May 31, 2007
Online Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy and the Arts. Accepting enrollment now. The Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy and the Arts Online Independent Studies are scheduled on an individual basis typically over the period of 1—3 years. Students will be able to fulfill the requirements at their own pace. Foundation Studies include a variety of artistic courses, independent studies and study courses. Students learn about the different arts, and about the influence of Anthroposophy that has enriched, and transformed traditional art forms, and created new ones, like Eurythmy. Students will need to practice the arts, learn new skills, or deepen their understanding of the arts. Besides Eurythmy, courses in music, speech, painting, drawing, handwork, modeling, and spatial dynamics or others qualify for the independent studies/art courses. The study courses include in-depth study of the basic works of Anthroposophy, and offer the student the opportunity to explore the philosophical and psychological basis of the world-view of Anthroposophy and of Waldorf Education. Students will be challenged to critically examine the concepts and issues addressed in this world-view, which offers a modern path of knowledge and self-transformation. Check out details at OnlineFSC
CAMP WIHINAPA. South of Viroqua, 9 miles. Adrienne Caldwell, camp director 606-2318. Mud oven baking, co-operative games, Moccasin sewing, weaving, metal smithing/wind chime consturction, creating kites that fly high!, wild food collecting and cooking, hay wagon rides, creek stomping, planting garden for Empty Bowls project and food shelters, meeting wild birds...During one day of camp, grades 3 and 4 will learn animal tracking skills, participate in rendevous games and make dream cathcers at the Kickapoo Valley reserve....during one day of camp, grades 5 and 6 will learn archery, canoeing, and participate in a low ropes course and rendevous games at the Kickapoo valley reserve. Session 1 grades 1-2 JUlY 16-19, 9:00 am -3:30 pm Session 2 grades 3-4 JULY 23-27 9:00 am - 3:30 pm Session 3 grades 5-7 JULY 30, 31, AUG. 1,2 Optional overnight for till Aug. 3 9:00-3:30 pm Cost: $140 (Includes camp T-shirt, all crafts and activities, organic garden snacks and mud oven baked surprises. $25 extra for grade 5-7 overnight. Includes dinner and sourdough pancake breakfast.)
Bio-Dynamic DVD Viewing and Potluck. Friday, May 25 at 729 S. Washington, Viroqua. Sponsored by the Viroqua Anthroposophy Group. 6 p.m. Potluck 7 p.m. Showing of 50-minute DVD: "Bio-Dynamic Gardening: A How-To Guide" 8 p.m. Discussion led by Brian Wickert. All are warmly welcome to come to any or all of this event. Free of charge. Please RSVP Sheila Andersen at (608) 637-3546 or sheila@leadingedgereview.com.
This Saturday the Viroqua Biodynamic Group will be digging up the BD preps and cow horns we buried last fall at Chrysalis Farm (Steven Adams & Marcia Halligan's place). We will begin at 9 am and have a potluck at noon. Please bring a dish to pass and your own eating utensils. This is one of our annual get togethers for people interested in biodynamics here in the Viroqua area. Hope to see you this Saturday if you can make it. We have 3-4 new people from out of town coming for the first time. These are contacts we made last February when Gunther Hauk gave his workshop at the Upper Midwest Organic Conference. If you need directions or have questions please feel free to contact me via email or call 637-8890
Chrysalis Puppeteers meet on Friday mornings to prepare puppet shows. We are available for performances or workshops. We have a Spring/Summer show ready: an African fable - "Who's in Rabbit's House?" done with silk marionette animals. Call Marjorie Rehbach, 637-3913
Soccer. Driftless soccer pick-up games have started up again. Tuesdays at 7 PM at the Viroqua High School football field. Everybody welcome. Gooooooooaaaaaaaaal!
CalendarEvery Tuesday 12:20 PM Administration Group Meeting Monday May 28 Memorial Day — NO SCHOOL YIHS Spring Play Performances Thursday May 31 at 7:30 PM Friday June 01 at 7:30 PM Saturday June 02 at 7:30 PM Sunday June 03 3:00 PM YIHS Graduation Ceremony at Kickapoo Reserve (La Farge, Wisconsin)
Needs List Seats for 15 passenger shuttle bus Flat panel LCD computer monitors Laptop computers Video projectors Overhead projector Curtains or shades for all rooms Beautification of an area of your choice at school Cleaning services Couches and Easy Chairs in good and sturdy condition Letter size heavy duty 4 drawer filing cabinet Computers in working condition Installation of a faucet in a bathroom Someone to type up/proof read handwritten essays for the next newsletter
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