Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School: A Year in Review

A Year in Review THe 2019-20 school year at hawthorne valley

Top photo credit: Lawrence Braun

This academic year at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School is one that we won’t soon forget -- indeed, it may be the most memorable school year across the globe. It has been a year that has brought us new challenges that we never thought we’d see in our lifetime. We have faced uprooted rhythms, distanced learning, isolation, and the loss of our normal year-end trips and celebrations. Yet we have also had wonderful festivals, uplifting performances, innovative learning, and inspirational journeys. To celebrate these moments, we’ve compiled some photos from throughout the year for everyone to remember and enjoy.

We created...

Europa by Fiona Middlebrook, Grade 5 (top L), an angel by Kira Schneider, Rose Kindergarten (top R), circle time by Esther Wilcox Bachrach, Grade 1 (bottom L), and a landscape by Olive Strompf, Grade 4 (bottom R).

Grade 11 Enamel work by Quianna Brown (L), Alexis Charron (top middle), Amy Dalton (top R), and Zia Williams (bottom).

Senior Massimo Hamilton's artistic rendering of Hector Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust.

Grade 10 Copperwork by Gaetano Hamilton (top left), Otto Ward Miesmer (top right), Quinn Haley (bottom left), and Violet Hoppe (bottom right).

Grade 12 Stone Carving

A Greek Hoplite by Thomas Madey, Grade 5 (L); and an illustration of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Dune, Grade 3 (above).

Grade 2 drawing.

High School Arts Elective - Art as a Daily Practice

Pastel Rainforest by Sophia Madey, Grade 7.

Senior Portraits.

By Berenika Lehrman (R); by Christopher Hertle (above)

by Chloe Trachtenberg

by Jennifer Mentzer

We explored...

Grade 1 visited Love Apple Farm

Grade 3 was excited for their Farm Trip week!

Grade 4 explored our local landscape on a trip to Beebe Hill Water Tower.

Grade 6 took trips to go caving, hiking, and visiting a science museum.

Grade 7 visited the Berkshire Museum to see an exhibit on Leonardo DaVinci, and also traveled to the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Vermont.

Grade 8 enjoyed exploring and camping at Moosehead Lake, ME.

Grade 9 visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Mr. Stolfo.

Grade 12 studied Marine Biology in-depth at Hermit Island, ME with the senior classes from 8 other Waldorf Schools.

We inspired...

The Winter Concert

Grade 8 gave an exciting performance of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.

In October, Grade 5 helped us celebrate Diwali through a performance of The Govardhan Lila.

Winter Eurythmy Performance at Camphill Village Copake.

The Magical Puppetree performed The Rock Spring Wonder to mark Waldorf 100 (L), The Story of Witcharoo to celebrate Halloween (middle) and The Story of John Brown for the Spring Open House (R).

Early Childhood's Advent Play

Grade 7 wowed us with their Circus performance!

The closing picture (by Gabriel Lopez) for Grade 12's virtual performance of "Under Milk Wood"

We played...

Morning Star construction time

Our Cross Country, Basketball, and Volleyball Wildcats.

Grade 5 took part in the annual Olympiad with 5th Grade classes from area Waldorf Schools.

We stretched our minds...

Grade 1 chalkboard drawing.

The Middle School Science Fair and the Rube Goldberg machine.

Abram and Izzy in Grade 6 Physics class.

Grade 3 practicing the violin.

by Sonia, Grade 4

by Leander, Grade 8

by Zander Garrity, Grade 7

Grade 9 German class enjoying the sunshine (L) and Grade 10 experimenting with mechanics (R)

Marco Polo Exploration Game by Analucia Hadiks, Grade 7

The EARTH Program.

Grade 7 working on drawing like Michelangelo as he worked on the Sistine Chapel.

Local author Kimberly Erwin and local musician Otha Day spoke with our Middle School and High School in February.

Grade 5 toured the US with a State Project and shared what they learned with each other through a State Fair.

6th and 7th Grades traveled the globe with a Country Project. Each student created a brochure for the country of their choice.

We learned in new ways...

Cooking Class, one of many courses offered in our new Afterschool Program.

Grade 1 continuing their lessons in spelling and math from home.

L: the 7th graders learned about combustion by building (supervised) fires in their yards; Above: Sophia Pyfrom's pH experiment.

Hugo Crane carved a traditional Yoruba Head out of styrofoam and then poured molten bronze on it to create a Bronze Casting of the head.

Mrs. Ping and Ms. Thea brought their puppet shows on the road this spring.

Lotta Gerhard, Grade 4, working on her nature drawing in her yard.

Maia, Grade 6, built a castle as part of their studies on Medieval times.

Distance Learning this spring meant that the second half of the seniors couldn't complete their stained glass block in the traditional way. Instead, these innovative students used their original concept for stained glass and created masterpieces with whatever materials they had.

Woodcarving by Amarina Eidson

Digital Print by Sam Boswell

Pastel Crayon by Majel Udjate

Wood carving and copper wiring by Odin Esty (above), collage by Magdalen Garrity (R).

An indigenous shelter created by Ridley, Grade 3 (L), a completed baby doll by a Grade 2 student (R), and a Robin's Nest walk in the forest (bottom).

For their service project, Grade 6 sent cards (example by Finn Williams), made masks (modeled by Finley Zhu, and made hand sanitizer (by Gabby Kozel).

For Michaelmas, Grade 7 felted the balls to use in the Michaelmas Pagaent. Then, after the COVID-19 outbreak, they sewed masks and sent cards to residents at local nursing homes.

We celebrated...

We began our year welcoming everyone back and acknowledging our Senior and Grade 1 classes at the Flower Ceremony.

The Seniors and 1st Graders as they prepare to walk to the tent.

Our whole school marked 100 years of Waldorf Education this Fall. Photo credit: Mike Pewtherer.

For Halloween, our Seniors picked up pumpkins...

and worked with the First Graders...

to create magical masterpieces.

Grade 5 all dressed up (top L), the puppet stage ready and waiting for an audience (top R), Mother Earth ready to welcome the children to the Halloween Celebration (bottom L), and a fox spotted in the woods near the stream (bottom R).

The re-dedication of the Foundation Stone this fall.

Students drew pictures and wrote notes to include in the capsule before it was buried by the Peace Pole.

The Early Childhood Martinmas Lantern Walk.

Our annual Gingerbread Contest filled the Music Room with cheer at this year's snowy Yuletide Fair! Photo credit: BABU Photo Video.

Grade 4 marked St. Lucia Day by visiting classrooms and singing

The EARTH Program celebrated St. Lucia with residents at Camphill Ghent.

We found ways to share our remote May Day celebrations together...

We are Hawthorne Valley School...

Thank you to all the parents, students, and faculty for all your work this year to adapt to changes and keep our learning journey moving forward. We are so grateful for our community, and look forward to welcoming you all back in September!

Appreciate