Announcements: Week of April 5, 2013

- Summer Drop Off Program
This Summer we will be offering a 5-Day Drop Off program for children between 3 and 6.5 years of age who are currently enrolled or have previously been enrolled in our programs and have fully transitioned to separation.  Classes will meet from 9 AM to 12:30 PM with plenty of time for play in the garden.  The Summer session will run from Monday, June 17th to Friday, August 16th (there will be no classes on Thursday, July 4th or Friday, July 5th). >>more

- Announcing Our New Afternoon Nursery Program 

Beginning in Fall of 2013 we will be offering an Afternoon Nursery Program. The program will meet from noon to 4 PM. >>more 

- Next Parent Evening

Wednesday, April 10th, 6:30pm

Our next Parent Evening will be on Wednesday, April 10th.  In addition to meeting with your class teachers, Louise DeForest will present part II of her conversation about first grade readiness.

- Parent Lecture

Monday April 15th 7pm

The topic is A Closer Look at Play, presented by Greta Jee. >>more

- Admissions Events

Wednesday, April 17th
Thursday, April 25th

Join us for our next Open House on April 17, as well as for our School Tour on April 25th. >>more

- Clothing Sale in Support of the Garden

Wednesday, April 17-24th

Our Annual Clothing Sale will be held after the break.  Please set aside a few clean, gently used, quality items to donate. >>more

- Discussion with Gary Lamb
On Friday April 19th 9:00 am - parent lounge Gary Lamb will meet with New Amsterdam parents to discuss Cause NY, how to make Independent Education more accessible and MORE.

Gary has been supporting New Amsterdam's board and faculty in the last few years with his extensive background in working with Waldorf Education. Please join us!! >>more

-Holy Mama Continues
Holy Mama is a workshop to support, honor and inspire the Inner Life of Mothers >>more

- Enroll Now for Spring Parent-Child Classes

The Spring schedule is now available and we are accepting applications. >>more

- Save the Date: Family Garden Day

Sunday April 28th from 11am-1pm

- Save the Date: Spring Fair

Saturday, May 18th

Please Save the Date for our Spring Fair. 

- Support Our School When You Shop with Amazon
Remember that when you shop on Amazon a portion of your purchase can be donated to New Amsterdam!  Just click on the link below every time you visit Amazon, and a percentage of all your purchases will go directly to the school. >>more

- Upcoming Events at Area Waldorf Schools

The Third Annual Power of Imagination Conference, "Resilience: Health in Body, Soul and Spirit",  is taking place in Garden City, NY. >>more

Holy Mama , A workshop to support, honor and inspire the Inner Life of Mothers

What is wisdom? Wisdom is seeing the whole in the parts,and in the whole seeing the holy.
Sufi Teaching

What is the wisdom that mothering offers us as women?
What are the parts? -The parts we can not see, the parts we do not want to see, and the parts that are strong and reflect our deepest essence.
How do we develop the capacities to see and be our whole self, our holy self?
A holy mama is a woman aware that mothering is an initiation into wholeness. Meeting, accepting and learning to work with all the parts of our self we meet in mothering--we become heathy, whole, holy.
In this three hour workshop we will touch many of the parts of ourselves we meet in mothering,each woman in the circle reflecting something in us that has fallen asleep, remains hidden, needs understanding or longs to be born. We will weave together group process, meditation an artisitc activity. Within the safety and nurturing space of a group of women, medicine flows, and we initiate each other into a deeper, fuller, stronger understanding of our self.

The workshop is led by Jerilyn Brownstein, MSW, who has been working with the "inner life" of mothers for the past fifteen years--supporting women in growing themselves while they grow their families.

Gary Lamb to speak on April 19th at 9:00 am

On Friday April 19th 9:00 am - parent lounge Gary Lamb will meet with New Amsterdam parents to discuss Cause NY, how to make Independent Education more accessible and MORE.

Gary has been supporting New Amsterdam's board and faculty in the last few years with his extensive background in working with Waldorf Education. Please join us!!

Gary Lamb has over 25 years experience in business management and not-for-profit administration. He is presently the director of the Center of Social and
Envisronmental Responsibility at Hawthorne Valley, Vice President of the Institute for Social Renewal, and a visiting Waldorf high school economics teacher. He was previously a development director at Hawthorne Valley School and founder of the Hope Through Education privately funded voucher program in upstate New York. His business experience includes being the production manager for Weleda, Inc., and the retail store manager for Hawthorne Valley Farm. Gary was also the managing editor and essayist for The Threefold Review, a magazine based on the social ideas of Rudolf Steiner, and is author of the book, Social Mission of Waldorf Education: Independent, and Accessible to All, published by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.

Upcoming Events at Area Waldorf Schools

"Resilience: Health in Body, Soul and Spirit"
Third Annual Power of Imagination Conference

The day will include an opening lecture give by Dr. Catherine L. Ferrara entitled "How to Treat the Whole Person Not Just the Illness."  Morning and Afternoon Workshops will be offered in a variety of areas and a delicious and healthful lunch will be served.

Saturday, April 13th 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
at the Waldorf School of Garden City
225 Cambridge Ave, Garden City, NY 11530

For more information and registration forms visit http://www.winklercenter.org/events.html or contact Karen Talluto or Patricia Carlin.

It's going to be a wonderful day!

Resilience Conference at the Winkler Center

April Admissions Events

Open House on Wednesday, April 17th from 7-8:30 PM
The open house is for parents only and is an opportunity to see our classrooms, meet our teachers and participate in an in depth discussion about our programs.

School Tour on Thursday, April 25th from 9:15-10:15 AM
During the tour we will take time to observe each of our classes and then there will be an opportunity for a brief discussion. The tour is for parents only and space is limited.

To participate in one or both of these events please contact Karen.Talluto@newamsterdamchildhood.org

Please share information about our upcoming events with your friends and on parenting web groups.

If you are available to assist with the Open House please let me know.

Support the School When You Shop on Amazon.com

Remember that when you shop on Amazon a portion of your purchase can be donated to New Amsterdam!  Just click on the link below every time you visit Amazon, and a percentage of all your purchases will go directly to the school. 

Shop on Amazon for New Amsterdam Early Childhood Center

Links are always available at www.newamsterdamchildhood.org and at the bottom of each Weekly Newsletter.

Fundraising Drive for Community Garden

We are happy to announce that our next fundraising drive for the Community Garden will be held from April 17 - 24th. It is a week long event that begins with parents (yes this means you!) at home. As we all begin our children's seasonal clothing clean out, please put aside several pieces of outgrown, but good quality clothing items and donate them to our Reuse, Reduce, Recycle Resale shop we hold in our own school! It will be held in the Parents Lounge the week of Wednesday, April 17th through Wednesday, April 24th so everyone from all classes will have a chance after morning drop off or before pick up to browse, shop or contribute something. We hope you will join us by donating several pieces of nice clothing in good condition for another child to enjoy. Clothing may be dropped off in advance to either Anne or Nina at the front desk to begin to be sorted in preparation. Please try to give generously! Your participation is wanted and needed. We really are working hard towards raising needed funds - the money earned from this season's Resale Shop will fund plants, beneficial insects, spring fair annuals, mulch, plants, top soil, river rocks and much more.

Many parents may not know that it is only through our involvement, parent sponsorship and funding that our nursery and kindergarten children have the chance and privilege to visit El Jardin del Paraiso with their friends on nature adventures throughout the seasons almost daily. One of the ways we help support the garden is to have family garden days and so please save the date for our next School Wide Family Garden Day on Sunday April 28th from 11am-1pm more details to follow. In the meantime, on behalf of myself, Miss Patricia, the Garden committee, and the school, we thank you in advance and are grateful for all your support!
Shoshana – (mother to Seneca in Miss Greta's kindergarten class)