5-10 Year Plan Committee

Dear New Amsterdam Community,

 

After our open meeting last Wednesday, The 5-10 Year Plan Committee would like to share an update regarding our work. We feel it is important to be transparent about the tasks that we will be working on in this committee and would like to share our mandate with you all. A mandate is an agreement with the decision-making bodies of the school (in this case the Faculty Circle and Board). Our mandate outlines the timeline, tasks, responsibilities, and articulates the goals of the committee. Please follow this link to find our mandate.

 

Also, we would like to invite all members of our community to participate in our weekly study for the remainder of the school year. Please join the 5-10 Year Plan Committee this week May 21, from 4:00-5:00pm. RSVP to Meaghan (Meaghan.witri@newamsterdamchildhood.org).

 

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to continuing our work together.

 

The 5-10 Plan Year Committee

Mandate for a 5-10 Year Plan Committee (Final Name TBD)

 

Members of the Mandated Committee

Patricia, Mayra, Meaghan, Brigitte and Lisa

 

Length of Mandate

This mandate would go through June 2015

 

Context and Background

These are times of intense growth for the New Amsterdam School. To coordinate the many aspects of this growth effectively a 5-year plan is needed. This fall, the Work-Pay committee found it difficult to develop models for a healthy salary structure because such a larger

plan was missing. A sketch of this plan was created. Having recognized the need, we would now like to work on it in earnest. Such a plan will make the work of all committees far more effective (and, in addition, it is something that any outside Waldorf agency, such as

AWSNA, will rightfully expect from us if we seek accreditation). We are committed to researching and developing ideas to help create a sustainable future and life at New Amsterdam.

 

The context for this work springs from the source of the social mission of Waldorf education: to build individual and group capacities, to develop gift consciousness and to bring about a renewal of education for human beings. Self-education is the doorway into understanding any structure or form, and Waldorf education can be the doorway to the future. Bringing these ideals into clearer and pertinent articulations can support this much larger task of our work in relationship to unfolding the future.

 

Overview

Our proposal is to start a new 5-10 Year Plan Committee, that would take up what has been developed by the Work-Pay Committee. We also propose ending (and, in a sense, merging with) the Towards Societal Wholeness group, so that we have more time to dedicate to this essential task. We also expect that some evenings and weekends will be required.

 

This group will be looking into the following aspects of the current plan: salary structure, tuition models, governance structure and the community life. Also, we will look into developing our school in relationship to, and including these foundational ideals: building capacities, gift consciousness, building partnerships, creating cooperatives.  We will be working primarily with Rudolf Steiner’s ideas and indications on these ideals brought to us out of Anthroposophy.

 

 

 

 

 

Accountability

We take responsibility for facilitating this work between the faculty, board and committees as needed. We will report to the faculty on a bi-weekly basis and to the board monthly. As specific areas are identified within the plan, we will work directly with the individuals or groups involved. This collaborative effort will result in proposals made to the faculty and board for final decisions.  

 

Please find below some examples of the topics we will explore and the corresponding groups with whom we will collaborate.

Salary Structure ⇄ Faculty, Finance Committee and Hiring Committee

Governance ⇄ Board, Faculty, Parents, all Committees and Mandated Groups

Tuition (including finance, tuition assistance and admissions) ⇄ Board, Faculty, Parents

Community Life (this depends on what area but likely) ⇄ Faculty, Board, Parents

Peer mentoring ⇄ Faculty

College of teachers ⇄ Faculty, Board

Co-Teaching ⇄ Hiring, Faculty, Finance

Partnerships ⇄ Board, Faculty, Parents, Other Organizations

Cooperatives ⇄ Board, Faculty, Finance, Hiring, Parents, neighborhood community 

Intentions and Tasks

Specifically, we propose the following:

·        Focusing our work on the 5-10 year plan that the Work-Pay group has developed, while still including broader questions around social hygiene and societal context

·        Continuing with the same schedule as Towards Societal Wholeness (Wednesdays from 4-6pm), but more intensively - meeting weekly with some additional evenings and weekends as needed.

·        Keeping the group open to faculty, parents, board members, and friends of New Amsterdam, and to anyone we feel is connected to the school and these questions, with the requirement that all participants are excited by this work and want to make the above time commitments.

-              If anyone has individual constraints that would prohibit their participation, we ask them to speak with us about their needs (childcare, finances etc.) and we will find a way for them to join us.

-              We will also strive to include those who can't make such a commitment with weekend workshops or open meetings.

 

 

March 31st Parent Lecture with Patricia Carlin 7-8:30 PM

Working with the Will of Young Children


How can we best serve the needs of the young children in our care?

Discerning how to work with their wills is fundamental in guiding them to realize their full potential. Come listen to a lecture full of examples from real life, and take away some insights and tools for using at home.

Speaker: Patricia Carlin

Patricia joined our faculty in 2011 and is the lead teacher of the 5-Day Nursery class. She has a Master's Degree in Elementary Education from SUNY New Paltz, and has been a nursery teacher and kindergarten teacher. She will complete her Waldorf professional development training this summer.

Monday, March 31st 7-8:30 PM

1 Avenue B, New York, NY


This event is free and open to the public.  Please invite your friends and share on web groups and social media.

Winter Reflections by Ms. Elea

Snow!


For those of you who grew up in the Northeast, or anywhere else where King Winter reigns this time of year, snowfall brings memories of winter wonderlands past.  How joyful to experience the crystalline mysteries of ice and snow.  Yesterday grey clouds darkened the sky and white snowflakes floated and flew everywhere, mixing with water droplets on windowpanes and forming impressively deep and slushy puddles in the streets.  What a contrast today!  When we stepped out of the school and made our way to the garden, we found the sun shining brightly, the ground covered in a dazzling white blanket of snow and every tree transformed, with bursts of glistening ice diamonds hanging elegantly from branches.


The children have been fascinated by the smooth slipperiness of the ice on the small pond and were especially pleased today to discover that the snow at the garden was wet enough to pack and roll into big snowballs, some of which became so large that they required the help of a few friends to push!  They have high hopes of soon bringing a carrot from our soup day to the garden to make a nose for a  snowman.  It is such a pleasure to return from the garden each day and see the children, rosy cheeked and smiling, breathe a sigh of satisfaction as they take a sip of warm tea and sit down to hear a fairy tale before we say goodbye.  What magical winter moments are you having?  Do you have childhood memories of this time of year?  If you do please share them with each other and with us!


Wishing you a happy winter!


Elea Robinson
Kindergarten Teacher

Fall Parent-Child Program Winter Festival this Saturday, December 14th

Dear Parent-Child Families,

We look very forward to seeing you this Saturday, December 14th for our Winter Festival at 19 Clinton Street.

We would like to cook for you!

Please see below the times for your class to join us:

• Monday and Thursday Classes:  10-11 AM
• Wednesday Classes:  11:30 AM-12:30 PM
• Friday Classes:  4:30-5:30 PM

Please RSVP and send any dietary restrictions  to Brigitte.Choura@newamsterdamschool.org.

Many blessings,

The New Amsterdam Faculty

Reflections on the Community Meeting from Lisa Bono

Dear Community,

What a wonderful community meeting!  Thank you to the many parents who joined us, faculty, board members, administration and committee chairs.  Thank you for your stories, love, and commitment to growing ourselves and New Amsterdam.

I am continually amazed at what Waldorf Education can bring about in the world today and to imagine that the first school began 94 years ago is a testament to the truth and healing that is inherent in the impulse behind our work together.  Each year in some ways we bring the past with us, in some ways the future is built upon this.

It was almost eight years ago that New Amsterdam began and in reflecting on this I realize that we are continuing the work of building a strong foundation.  Each one of us is playing a significant role in the future of  our children, education, New York City and Waldorf Education.

I would like to share our announcement again, we will be beginning  our First Grade at the New Amsterdam School in the fall of 2014!

It is an auspicious time, an exciting time.  We are all apart of this, and waking up to each other and to the challenges and beauty of our time.

With gratitude,

Lisa Bono

Faculty Chair

Letter from Miss Elea

Summer at New Amsterdam

As the weather grows increasingly warm and the grasses grows tall, we find ourselves drawn continuously further out, falling slowly into a dream-like relationship with the world of nature.  Our sense of time becomes temporarily suspended and we pause to reflect, finding a moment of quiet in between breaths, until it is time once again to realize that the wheel of life is still circling and the season turning again towards fall.

The children experience this mood of summer deeply.  Rhythms of school and home begin to shift.  Days lengthen and the sun seems to linger a bit each evening in the sky to enjoy just a few more moments before bedtime.  The element of water comes into play with jubilant splashing in fountains, pools, ponds, and ocean mist.  Magnificent castles are built in the sand and then slide away again with the incoming tide.  And who can forget that summer brings such delights as flavored Ice cream and the most wonderful variety of fresh fruits and berries?

The children who have joined us at New Amsterdam this summer have been enjoying picnics at the garden, and plenty of time for romping amidst leafy trees and bushes, chasing bubbles and imaginary dragons, and giving one another horsey rides with our play reigns.  On many days we walk to the far side of the garden for a visit to the baby chicks who only a few weeks ago were so small and fuzzy, but who now are growing tall and showing off colorful new adult feathers.  On our first day in the summer garden, we laid out our blanket in the shade of the mulberry tree and quickly discovered that the ripe, red berries were raining right down onto our plates!  On another occasion, one of the children looked up into the tree and excitedly pointed to a nearby woodpecker, displaying his jaunty red, white and black feathers and tapping here and there at the bark for something good to eat.

Over by the pond, turtles laze about in the sun and on days when the hose is on, bringing fresh water down to the pond along a rocky creek bed, the children make leaf boats and float them downstream, laughing as the tiny vessels wind their way around the rocks.

While our school community is dispersed in these summer months, traveling and spending time with friends and family, we stay connected in our thoughts and hearts.  In not too long we will reunite joyfully with friends and teachers and admire all the growth and change that has taken place during the bright days of summer.

Happy thoughts and safe travels, until we meet again!

Summer Travels

Dear New Amsterdam Community,

I hope this summer finds you well and that you are enjoying more time with your children.

New Amsterdam has been quietly and joyful  bringing Summer programs and working hard on our grades school initiative.  We look very forward to sharing more soon!

I am writing today to share with you that at the end of July I will be taking fruits of my work with you and your children to 2 initiatives. I will be meeting  children, visiting a few schools, classes and working with teachers.

One is the Rafiki Waldorf school in Tanzania, Africa.

Rafiki was started a few years ago by my dear friend and colleague Victoria Mlay.

The school currently serves children ages 3-7 and in Tanzania, the government requires that a traditional curriculum be implemented.  While this formal instruction is introduced the teachers are working to bring balance and nurture the children’s imagination and bring joy to their learning experience.

Not to far away is the Hekima Waldorf School.

http://hekimawaldorf.wordpress.com/the-hekima-waldorf-school/

http://www.internationaalhulpfonds.nl/afrika/hekima.pdf

While the school is serving about 150 families, they also created a place for orphaned children.

From here I visit  the Tashi Waldorf school In Kathmandu, Nepal.

http://www.childrenofnepal.org/index.php?id=10

My husband will join me for 2 weeks and we will do more of the same work.

I feel the immensity, I feel the future of Waldorf Education, I feel the wonder of our lives. I hope to plant seeds for future partnerships and for new capacities waiting to be born.

I will take you all with me and share my joy, stories and love for the work we are doing together.

I really just wanted to share this with you all. Thank you for taking time to read this and I look very forward to bring to you my experience and seeing your loving faces when I return.

Lastly, both initiatives are in need of supplies.  Although I will not have a large bag I will bring dolls, paper books, crayons, beeswax, paint etc. 

If you would like to make a donation for any of these items please let me know.

lisa.bono@newamsterdamchildhood.org

I leave July 22^nd.

Wholeheartedly,

Lisa

Letter from Lisa Bono

Dear Parents,

On behalf of the faculty and staff, it is with deep joy and gratitude that I thank you and the community for a wonderful and memorable Spring Fair.

A few months ago the theme of sheep, fibers and spinning came alive from the fair committee, just at the same time the faculty chose Spindle, Shuttle, Needle for the puppet show. How perfect they worked together. I feel this is a small picture of what I often experience as a teacher among our teacher and parent community - harmony.

I know of course these events are a lot of work and can bring about some difficult moments, but when the day came it appeared effortless. I was amazed by the simplicity and beauty of the auction, garden activities and the food. It's was so nourishing and my senses grateful, to take in the beautiful handmade auction items. I felt in the room your hearts, creativity, the children and your love in working with your hands. The food was abundant, delicious, and I could taste the thoughtfulness and care in each bite!  The flow of the garden time brought such ease to an afternoon gathering of so many of us...

Most of all what I'd like to convey the amazement I experience by how our community is living through and through in striving with love the gift to humanity we call " Waldorf education" .
Creating a living, breathing strong organization that brings joy to us all.

Thank you thank you!

With Love,
Lisa

Springtime Impressions from El Jardin del Paraiso

"How beautiful!" from Miss Elea

How beautiful it is outside now with many colorful flowers blooming and wonderful springtime activity to observe.

Today on our walk we saw two large robins swooping and chasing each other up into trees and down into the grass, and just last week the children came running to Ms. Meaghan and I, full of excitement over a large garden snail that they had discovered in the wheelbarrow. They gently transported him to the lid of their "soup pot" (a large covered barrel), and gave him leaves and flower petals to climb on while they watched him feel his way along. A few days before, they turned over a large rock and were delighted and amazed to find a whole colony of ants busily making their way to and fro.

On Thursday we had another planting day (in place of our regular painting day) and I was touched to see how quietly and reverently the children watched and waited for a turn spooning soil into the peat pots and holding out a hand to receive a few tiny herb seeds to plant. One of the children really expressed the mood of the room when he sighed contentedly and said "I love planting, don't you?" Our little seeds have already begun to sprout and when they have grown strong enough, we will transplant them into our school plot at the garden, where they can receive rain and sunshine and continue growing until they are hopefully large enough to harvest over the summer!

This past Friday, when our garden time corresponded with a torrential downpour, the children happily formed a little line of friends and adventured together up and down the stone-lined pathway that winds like a creek down to the pond, replenishing it with fresh water in the summertime heat. One six-year-old boy from Ms. Greta's class took over the impressive task of building a slate bridge over a narrow place in the pond, and the others watched, fascinated by his strength and ingenuity. We watched the wind blowing the rain across the surface of the water in ripples while the fish swam underneath and the turtles hid deep in the mud, waiting for a warmer day to climb out onto logs and rocks to enjoy the sunshine.

For just a few short weeks each year, we are surrounded with color: purple hyacinth, pink hydrangea, dark pink and white cherry blossoms, yellow and gold forsythia and daffodils, sweet little purple pansies, and elegant red tulips. Already many blossoms are in full bloom and will soon give way to the fresh green leaves which are just beginning to come forth on the trees. How joyful it is to experience the glory of spring and to share it with children, and how grateful I am for springtime and the beauty of the earth in every season!

Garden Thoughts From Patricia Carlin

The 3-Day Nursery children have been walking to the garden these late winter days.

Walking by the pet shop, they look in the window to see if Poncho the cat is looking out the window at them.

They also love to see an unexpected, though much anticipated, fire truck whiz by.

Yet, new this week, is what our children have encountered just after entering the big garden gates:

You might think the children felt the joy of running free in the meadow.

You might think our little children felt the lure of the big children climbing, then sitting astride the big fallen tree.

Or the goldfish lying still at pond's bottom, or mother turtle digging holes to lay eggs.

However, quite surprisingly, it has been none of the above.

What has been so enticing to our little children was spontaneously discovered by them a mere 20 feet past the garden gate:

The soil!

They have all found little digging sticks, then sat down to poke and prod the soil, and kept at this process the whole garden time!

When it is time to leave, we teachers (Patricia and Mayra) have to help each child up individually, so fascinated is each one by the act of digging and finding dark treasures hidden beneath the surface.

What glories springtime promises!

Ms. Patricia's Garden Reflections

Our 3-Day Nursery children have finally made it to the garden! Speeding along in our new wagons, we make the trip in less than 5 minutes. Upon arrival, the children disembark, and then spread out over the meadow, like seeds blown in the wind! Some find a place to dig, others look for sticks, others gaze up in awe to see a kindergartner perched on a tree limb. Always, there are children romping and playing. What a beautiful sight this is! We are so grateful to visit the garden and have its essence sink deep into the beings of our young children.

News from the Garden in Winter

Recent Garden Impressions:

The mere thought of playing in the garden these days has been motivation enough for the entire class to run (ok, more like trot) along the sidewalk as we approach the gate. “Gaarr-den, gaarrden, gaarden!”, the children chant and we take off, like a hive of bees, toward our destination. Once we get the lock open and the children’s mitten’s unencumbered by their loops, I set them free and at long-last these citified children go off to play in an exceptional natural environment. It is always in the garden when I think to myself: I can’t believe this is my job. What a life!

One seemingly sanguine little girl runs over to me and pulls my mittened hand to a corner of the garden where she’s spotted a cardinal looking for food near the pond. She overflows with excitement and wonder, and it is in this moment that I truly understand the notion of reverence. She tells me that cardinals do not fly away to somewhere warm in winter, and once again I find myself learning from the youngest teachers I’ve ever known. The next day, a little boy begs me to take him to the turtle pond to see the ice. To these winter-deprived children the site of ice seems to be the most mystifying thing. “ICE! ICE!!!”, they shout out on our walk. “Look, there’s a cup frozen in there!!” one boy exclaims. It takes me a moment to calibrate my amazement; even in the thoughtless discarding of another’s garbage, the children can experience the majesty of the natural laws of the universe. Now, on to figure out how goldfish survive under the ice...

*Greta Jee

Lecture November 26th: Importance of Self-Initiated Play for the Young Child (Pre-Birth to 3 Years Old)

Please join us for an evening of discussion on the importance of self initiated play for the young child: pre-birth to three years old.

How can we create an environment inviting children to move freely and out of themselves?  Why is this play so important and how is it laying a foundation for their future? These questions and more will be addressed.

Speakers: Lisa Bono and Anna Ruth Myers currently teach Parent and child classes at New Amsterdam Early Childhood Center. They look forward to seeing you there.

A Letter from Lisa

Dear New Amsterdam Community,

It has been wonderful to be back in the rhythm of our school life these last few days. The children seem settled and relieved to be back to what is familiar and a home for them.

We trust that life is settling for you also, but please let us know if there is anything we can do to support you in this transition time.

This week we have included a wonderful article by Susan Weber which we hope you will find supportive. Also, please note that we will be open for school on Monday November 12, 2012, that we are not closing for Veteran's Day, and that all of the events below have new dates due to Hurricane Sandy.

Much Love, Lisa

Parent Study - October 17th

Dear Parents,

Our next parent study morning will begin this Wed. Oct 17th in the parent lounge - 9:00AM.

For those of you who are new to New Amsterdam, this is a time when parents come together with a faculty member to take up reading articles, books and discussing Waldorf Early Childhood Education.  

There is also a space made for questions in regards to child development, home life, rhythm etc..

For those returning families I look very forward to sharing this time with you again.  I find the work we do together to be a strong aspect of our community life and our growing together.

See you soon.

Lisa

Parent Study - October 3rd

Dear Parents,

Our first parent study morning will begin this Wed. Oct 3rd in the parent lounge - 9:00ish.

For those of you who are new to New Amsterdam, this is a time when parents come together with a faculty member to take up reading articles, books and discussing Waldorf Early Childhood Education.  

There  is also a space made for questions in regards to child development, home life, rhythm etc..

For those returning families I look very forward to sharing this time with you again.  I find the work we do together to be a strong aspect of our community life and our growing together.

See you soon.

Lisa

Volunteering at New Amsterdam

Thank you for taking the time to fill out our volunteer sign up form!  It amazes me how in each day our community is growing as is our need to work together.  Our social task as a community this year will unfold as we start to meet new faces and find the initiative living in each one of us.

In the next few weeks you will receive an email that will identify other members of the committee and who will be the liaison to the board (if need be), the faculty and the administration, identify some of the intentions and tasks of the group, and some next steps to how to continue conversation.

We look forward to generating more discussion around healthy social forms for community life.  Our first all school community meeting is Wednesday, October 3rd. In this meeting we will discuss the economic life of New Amsterdam, Waldorf Education, our future, and look more deeply into community life.

This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to learn more and have a voice in how we are visioning the future. Your presence is essential.

Please mark it on your calendar.

Blessings on our work together, and thank you for all that you do.

Lisa

Welcome!

Dear New Amsterdam Community,

Welcome!  As the summer months come to a close, fall is upon us. This transition of the earth and ourselves brings excitement, renewed life forces, rhythm and the last fruits for harvest.

This transition can be no small task as we start to experience the change: earlier to bed and to rise, new activities coming, and what can become a full schedule overnight.

It is our intention at New Amsterdam to create a haven for your family that can continue to support and replenish our life forces and bring with light, to the children, our joy and wonder for each other and the world.  It is with this in mind that I welcome you back to a new year at New Amsterdam and share with you a few beginnings and farewells of our faculty into the 6^th year of our journey.

It is with appreciation that we welcome Anne Elliott, our new administrator to New Amsterdam. Anne brings her experience as a lower school handwork teacher from the Rudolf Steiner School uptown as well as her experience serving on the board, college of teachers, and finance committee at RSS.  Anne is the mother of two, both graduates from The Rudolf Steiner School. I am happy to be passing the reigns of such an important  part of our school to Anne as someone who has experience and enthusiasm for our growing community.

Meaghan Witri joins us as a kindergarten assistant teacher, a graduate of the Green Meadow Waldorf School,  working in drama and the arts and who has been working with young children for many years.  We are very excited Meaghan has joined us and feel she is a great asset to our community!

Chris Huson, our founder and board chair, has stepped down and will be starting to teach his first year, high school geometry at a public school in the Bronx this fall. We will be thanking Chris for many years to come for all his efforts and vision in founding New Amsterdam! We send you all our love on your journey ahead.

Suchi Swift will be welcoming a new addition to her family in October and is now at home with Oden preparing.  We wish them many blessings and will see them as parent ‘s in our parent child class.

Clarisse Appleman has stepped back from our assistant teacher position but is staying very involved on our craft and first grade committee, and Oliver of course!

Leyla Modirzaden will be moving on and continue her work in the independent film industry and arts.

Sea – Anna Vasilas will be teaching this fall at The Eurythmy School,  Spring Valley.  Sea – Anna recommended Averi Schloss who will be joining us this fall.  Averi graduated last year from The Eurythmy School,  Spring Valley, and is a graduate of the Chicago Waldorf School.

We look very forward to seeing you soon.

With Love,

Lisa Bono

Faculty Chair