Weekender
A Newsletter from the Youth Initiative High School Waldorf Initiative
Viroqua, Wisconsin, USA Friday January 12, 2007 Editor: Conrad Rehbach
Calendar
Every Wednesday
3:15 PM Administration Group Meeting
Monday Jan 15
3:15 PM Long Range Planning Meeting
Tuesday Jan 16
7:00 PM Board Meeting
Wednesday Jan 17
3:30 PM Sports Committee Meeting
Monday Jan 22
3:15 PM Faculty Meeting
7:00 PM Parent Meeting
Sunday Jan 28—Friday Feb 02
Junior Class College Trip
Monday Jan 29
3:15 PM Long Range Planning Meeting
Feb 19—23
NO SCHOOL — Parent Teacher Conferences and Faculty In-service
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
Not available at Google Earth: Ancient History blackboard drawing by Jacob Hundt
Thank You. Thank you Mara Winningham for sorting and ordering the costume closet which is totally neat now and wants to stay that way! Thank you David Whited-Ford and Organic Valley for letting us use a video projector when ours was kaputt. Thank you Daniel Chotzen for a 52 weeks gift subscription to the Vernon County Broadcaster. Thank you James Kouba for donating office chairs. Thank you to alumni Cole Agar for coming to speak to the 10th Grade Ancient History class about life in Egypt and Julia Hundt leading the class in an art project.
New Courses Announcements.
Social Studies/Perspectives on Socialism
Architecture Main Lesson Block/grade 12
Driver and Vehicles still needed for 11th Grade College Tour: Jan. 28—Feb. 2, 2007. An adult driver/chaperone and two mini-van sized vehicles are still needed for the Junior class college trip to Iowa and Illinois on the week of January 28- February 2. We are also looking for places to stay in Cedar Rapids and Grinnell, IA during the trip. Please contact Jacob at 637-6445 or jacob@yihs.net.
House Meetings: Wednesday, January 17, 2007. The four Houses will be meeting during lunch on Wednesday, January 17 everyone should bring a dish to pass for a potluck lunch.
College Acceptance. Congratulations to Moira Koons for being accepted to Carthage College (Kenosha, WI) and to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Comings and Goings. Talia Winningham (grade 11) has moved. New address: c/o Rehbach, 308 S Lincoln Ave, Viroqua WI 54665.
FORENSICS MEETING. Everyone interested in participating in Forensics should meet after school in the auditorium on Monday Jan. 15 from 3:15 to 4:00 to discuss schedule and how to pick which pieces to present. For those students interested but who are going to Guatemala - the first presentation date is Monday Feb. 19 - and I encourage preparation of a short monologue or skit for this event. The second date is March 17, and I am looking into the possiblities of still being able to go to State if this event is missed. For anyone interested in the Spring Play - this will be a great opportunity to try out a Moliere monologue for critique. K O'Brien
SPRING DRAMA. Moliere monologues will be posted on the board in the lounge. Students interested in auditioning should pick them up and begin looking at them. Auditions will be held Tuesday Jan. 30 at 3:15 in the auditiorium. (Other times can be scheduled if you are unable to attend.) I will be available after school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to answer questions and help with direction on the pieces. There will also be a sheet posted for sign up for the spring play. Please add your name to the list and what you are interested in doing so we can begin to organize ourselves. Thanks! K O'Brien
Our community mourns the passing last Friday of Jaz Gikling. Jaz was a woman of many talents and accomplishments; her occupations included construction worker, coal miner, silversmith and massage therapist. She introduced physio-acoustic sound therapy to the La Crosse area. Jaz created an exquisite Chartres labyrinth that was open to the public for many years at Franciscan Skemp Healthcare.
Jaz was a friend of the
Youth Initiative, and especially present in our founding years. Jaz set up
her Labyrinth here in the Landmark Center during our very first year, and
she and Kim were regular presenters at our annual Spring Health
Conferences.
Jaz wrote, "Carry on to protect the earth. If you are here with me, then
you know I love you and I carry you in my heart." A celebration of her
life will be held on Saturday, February 3rd, 1:00PM at Three Rivers
School, 901 Caledonia in La Crosse. There will be a service, labyrinth
walk, and community potluck.
The Youth Initiative High School is honored that Jaz has named our school
to receive her memorial gifts, along with Pleasant Ridge, Three Rivers
School and the Mississippi Valley Conservancy.
We extend our sympathies to Jaz's partner, Kim, and to her extended
family. Safe travels, Jaz.
Board of Directors. Minutes of the 2006-12-12 meeting are now posted here
Parent Committee. Minutes of the 2006-12-14 meeting are now posted here
Looking for a home. There is a boy from Germany named Niko, who is looking for a place to stay as a "boarding" student. He does not want to make an exchange, he would just like to come to America, and he could pay for everything. Contact me, Ita (637 3913), for further information about this.
YIHS Board Meeting Agenda. Next board meeting is Tuesday January 16, 2007 at 7:00 PM.
Introductions,
Check in
Approval of minutes & agenda
New Admissions committee structure
Care Group Process revisions
Finance report
Development Report
Discussion-is process for closed session w/o student board members needed?
AWSNA report feedback
Board Vacancy
New business
Evaluation, choose facilitator for October
Sophia Institute.
Adult Education/Teacher Training
in Viroqua, Wisconsin, USA. Foundation Studies Courses in Anthroposophy
and the Arts. New Course Starting January 27, 2007. Part I: Introduction
to Waldorf Education/Introduction to the Path of Self Development as given
in Anthroposophy/Artistic Courses.
Detailed
Course Description at
www.sophiainstitute.us or contact
Conrad Rehbach at
sauerkraut@mwt.net or 608-637-7091.
Registration
deadline: January 15, 2007.
Sessions:
Saturday January 27, 2007 (10:00 AM—3:00 PM)
Saturday February 10, 2007 (10:00 AM—3:00 PM)
Saturday February 17, 2007 (10:00 AM—3:00 PM)
Saturday March 03, 2007 (10:00 AM—3:00 PM)
Friday/Saturday/Sunday March 16-18 (Weekend Workshop)
Saturday March 31, 2007 (10:00 AM—3:00 PM)
Saturday April 21, 2007, 2006 (10:00 AM—3:00 PM)
Saturday May 05, 2007 (10:00 AM—3:00 PM)
AWSNA Update. January 4, 2007. Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. Service Mark Update. Dear Friends, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, after many years of holding the service mark for WALDORF, has recently taken some actions to protect our service mark that we want you to understand. The Association has held the service mark for WALDORF since 1993. Subsequent to the registration, the Association created clear communications and guidelines regarding the use of the service mark. The Association created a position statement, sent notices with grand fathering permission to all Association schools in 1996, and communicated with schools that were infringing, all with the guidance of a service mark attorney. The Association has multiple responsibilities that come with service mark ownership. The service mark WALDORF represents a very intentionally specific, anthroposophically founded and independent method of education. Our primary goal is to manage the term WALDORF so that this meaning is clearly understood wherever people see it. At this time, there are organizations in 14 states that are inappropriately using the term WALDORF. When the term WALDORF is inappropriately used, the meaning of the term is potentially compromised. The Association has decided to work with the state departments of education to clarify our ownership of the term. Letters are being sent to these agencies informing them of AWSNA’s ownership of the federally registered term WALDORF and stipulating that the term is only for use by AWSNA schools as outlined in the Membership Handbook. Specifically, these communications are to ask the state agencies to guide the removal of the term WALDORF from public education school names and program descriptions. Although the purpose of our service mark is quite straight forward, the management of the service mark, WALDORF, is complicated because of the wider community implications when limiting the use of the term to AWSNA schools. There are charter schools that integrate aspects of Waldorf curriculum into the public school curriculum to provide an alternative to traditional public school offerings. Many of these charter schools have teachers and administrators who previously worked in an Association school. The relationships with these colleagues span many years, so we recognize and respect the need to engage in conversation with these individuals as we work to clarify and protect the service mark. To that end, we have been in conversation with some charter school leaders on the West Coast. We have had two meetings with the steering group and intend to continue to cultivate strong and regular communications with them. We are very grateful that these conversations have been fruitful and recognize that with additional effort, we will all able to articulate and communicate the differences and strengths of both kinds of programs. As an outcome of our conversations, our charter leadership colleagues have responded by having many of the California charters remove WALDORF from their titles. As we become more clear, through ongoing communication, we anticipate a stronger mutual interest and co-working on behalf of education, in its widest context. There will be a presentation in more detail given to the Delegates in our winter meetings in Pasadena in January. Because of the importance of this work and the need for clear understanding we encourage anyone to get in touch with the Delegate in your school, or a full member school that you are close to, for a report from the January meetings. Please also feel free to get in touch with Frances Kane, Leader of Administration or any of the service mark committee members. Service Mark Committee: Frances Kane – Leader of Administration, Executive Team. Patrice Maynard – Leader of Outreach and Development, Executive Team. Michael Soule – Leader of Programs and Activities, Executive Team. Larry Cohen – AWSNA trustee. Eric Emmanuel – AWSNA trustee and attorney. Karen Lohss – AWSNA trustee president. Arthur Pittis – Texas, Mexico, South Rockies Leadership Council representative. Jane Quale – Attorney (volunteer). In Service, Frances Kane, Leader of Administration, Executive Team
Minutes of Sports Committee of YIHS. December 11, 2006. Present: Dawn Hundt, AnnaJo Doerr, Julia Hundt, Brian Wickert, Caleb Whited-Ford, Henry Hundt, Ethan Wickert. Absent: John Karlstad, David Whited-Ford, Walker Willis, Bo Grams, Zachary Wickert.
We opened the meeting asking each person to tell us if there were only one sport at YIHS what sport would it be and why?
Cross country: 2
Soccer: 2
Ultimate Frisbee: 1
Basketball: 1
Circus Sports: 1
Reports:
David was sick tonight for the meeting so Caleb reported for him. The meeting with LaFarge principal Jack Sulik went well. The idea went to their board and the interest was open and positive to the idea of cooping with YIHS. Jack said the WIAA would not consider a waiver for spring baseball because they have no process for such a waiver in their system.
Anna Jo brought a sport value statement she put together from what she had received at the last meeting. The discussion quickly raised the question if this statement should have more input from the physical education teachers at YIHS as well as from the students and people interested in sports. It was agreed to that the teachers at YIHS need to be asked to join this conversation to create a sort curriculum statement as well as a sport value statement. The sport committee wants to ask the YIHS Board that we continue to include an Extra Curriculum value statement.
Brian did not talk to the Austin Waldorf School about their sport program and physical education curriculum.
John did not get in touch with Craig Skrede about attending this meeting.
Question we discussed but did not come to a decision was; if we should apply to coop with all their sports with LaFarge or just the ones we know students are interested in participating.
Tasks to do:
Julia & AnnaJo will speak to Lerie amd Kamari about attending our meetings.
AnnasJo & Julia will go to a student meeting and ask the interest of the students.
David W-F will talk with Jack Sulik about the next steps to take to work toward Coops.
David W-F will get a list of all sports at LaFarge.
Brian will talk to Craig Skrede about Cooping interest at Cornerstone.
Brian will talk to Erik Olson at the Austin Waldorf school about their sport and physical. ed. curriculum.
Dawn will call WIAA about the wavier and other coop questions she might think to ask.
Next meeting will be January 17th at 3:15 to 3:30 depending on how soon the students get the cleaning done at YIHS.
Biography question will be what is your favorite sport as a high school student and what is your favorite sport now and why? How much time did you or have you spent practicing it?
Unapproved minutes respectfully submitted by Brian Wickert
Agenda for Sports Committee Meeting at YIHS Wednesday January 17, 2007 3:15 to 3:30pm
Check In question: What is or was your favorite sport in high school and why? Then how much time did or do you spend preparing for or practicing the sport?
Reports: Dave W-F: Conversations with Jack Sulik and others at LaFarge.
Dawn: Conversations with WIAA
Brian: Conversation with Erik Olson at Austin Waldorf school
AnnaJo & Julia: Conversation with students about sports in YIHS
Discussion: Curriculum and Extra Curricular Activities
What is relationship between the curriculum at YIHS and extra curricular sports? Do they work toward the same goal? How can they work toward the same goal? What is difference between curriculum and sports? Who makes decision about sports and curriculum at YIHS and what is the process for this decision? What would a value statement be that included both?
Discussion:
Who will meet with the LaFarge representatives from YIHS? What are the values we use to decide if we should or should not co-op with LaFarge? Do we ask to Co-op all sports or just a few? How does YIHS fit in with the Kickapoo/LaFarege co-ops? How do we include Cornerstone in our process with LaFarge?
Set next meeting date. Review Meeting-Review Tasks
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; Ceramic Tile Making: Jan 20; Dressing a Salad: Jan 27; Bicycle Maintenance: Feb 10; Homebrewing: Feb 17; Flatbreads: Feb 24; Introduction to World Religions: Jan 13 – Feb 17. 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.
Job. Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center is seeking an outgoing, self-starting Education Coordinator. Responsible for creating, organizing and facilitating the educational programming for all ages offered by Norskedalen in both the natural environment and cultural heritage of the region. This position could be one full-time person (35 hrs per week) or two part-time people, depending on applicants. For more information/application please contact Norskedalen at 608-452-3424 or email info@norskedalen.org. Applications must be received by January 26, 2007.
Midwest Anthroposophy Conference - March 16-18, Viroqua, WI with James Ulness, Ph.D., keynote speaker. "Facing Karma: How Our Lives are Affected from Out of the Blue" is the 2007 theme. Workshops include: Facing Life with Meditation: How to Begin Your Daily Practice (for all levels); Creative Writing as a Preparation for Meditation; Centering and Posture to Prepare for Meditation through Spatial Dynamics Movement; Watercolor Painting; Drawing with Light and Darkness, and discussion group on the theme. Community meals and Saturday night dance. Cost is $90 for the full conference; or $15 per talk/workshop. $80 if pre-registered by March 2. Contact Sheila Andersen, (608) 637-7206; sheila@leadingedgereview.com. Brochures may be downloaded next month at www.facingkarma.com/metadot/index.pl
5th Annual North Central
Region
Biodynamic Group Gathering is
January 19-20-21, 2007 at Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School in Viroqua, WI .
The gathering is open to anyone interested in Biodynamics. Cost of the
weekend is $30.00. Contact Brian Wickert for more details and brochure.
637-8890 or
bwickert@frontiernet.net. Friday night potluck hosted by the Viroqua
BD Group. Saturday we will have the farmer stories, Bob Bowers & Parker
Forsell presenting the E-Myth and its application at Angelic Organics,the
largest CSA in the midwest. Mac Mead will be speaking on Saturday night.
Title of his talk: The Connection Between the Plants, the Planets, and the
Metals in the Workings of Nature. This talk will be open to the publilc
for $5.00 admission at the Old Main Building (321 E. Decker Street)
at 7:00pm.
STEINERBOOKS. Dear Friend, We hope that this holiday season has been a joyous time for all and a source of light that will lead all souls into the new year with renewed hope and vigor. This email letter is to let you know that more new books have arrived since our last email, including the ones featured below. You will find all our most recent arrivals on our pages of "New and Recent Books" and "New & Recent Books for Children and Family." Don't forget, you can still take advantage of our annual 15% holiday discount, which will end January 15. Also, remember that you can always request our print catalogs (including back issues while supplies last) by writing to friends@steinerbooks.org (be sure to include your postal address).
Into the Heart's Land. A Century of Rudolf Steiner's Work in North America. By Henry Barnes . This is probably the most thorough history of the individuals who have nurtured Anthroposophy in North America as well as the organizations and initiatives they developed. The author of A Life for the Spirit offers us a comprehensive view of the roots and development of Anthroposophy in North America. From its seminal beginnings with a few hearty souls in New York City, it moved across the prairies to the west coast and beyond, to Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii, and took root in the hearts and minds of the “new world.” Here is the story of those adventurous spirits who took responsibility for bringing the work of Rudolf Steiner to North America in the form of study groups, agricultural initiatives, Waldorf and special education, the arts, and so much more.