Director's Blog

2010-2011 School Calendar Approved

Stephen Work-Montaña — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:37:25 +0000

Click hereto see our school calendar for next year!

High Tech Waldorf Parents?!?!

Stephen Work-Montaña — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:12:48 +0000

I was sent this article from the March edition of San Francisco Magazine.

It's interesting how the builders of our high tech industry in the Silicon valley send their kids to low tech Waldorf schools. The parents acknowledge that what they are digitally creating is inappropriate for children, and it's all the more reason for them to choose a Waldorf education!

Teaching our Children to Read, Write and Spell

Stephen Work-Montaña — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:15:08 +0000

Susan Johnson, M.D. is a Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrician who recently wrote this informative article. It supports the Waldorf approach towards teaching Reading, Writing and Spelling.

http://www.lilipoh.com/articles/2007/fall2007/teaching_children.aspx

9-Year Change

Stephen Work-Montaña — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:30:33 +0000

I have to share with you a little on the 9 year change. My oldest child is going through it and I suspect our school in it's 9th year may be experiencing the same sort of energy, although I've only heard of the 9 year change occuring in children!

As we know, many children gravitate to fairy tales and animal fables in the early years because these stories reflect the world that they inhabit. Everything is magical and the children are not so self-conscious yet, and they have the ability to unite with their surroundings and not feel separated from anything. For this reason, fairies and gnomes can feel very real to children at this stage in their development.

As they grow up, the children become more and more aware of themselves as separate beings, it is a sign that they are developing their ability to reason and think critically. This intensifies predictably around age 9 that we often refer to it as the nine-year change.
Rudolf Steiner describes this time as "a process of emancipation with consequences of greater import than we often realize." He also has stated, "In the ninth year the child really experiences a complete transformation of its being, which indicates an important transformation of its soul-life and its bodily-physical experiences."

Although children react differently to leaving the sweet, dreamlike world of early childhood, one response is nearly universal: children become more conscious of their surroundings. It’s an awakening and what was once passed by unnoticed is suddenly focused on and questioned. This awakening to the world may be met with quiet astonishment or sharp criticism, depending on the child's temperament. Unfortunately, we parents are usually the first recipients of our children's critiques and judgments! When they were younger, they needed to see us as powerful and loving authorities because were completely dependent upon us, and that belief served a purpose. But now they have more developed egos and a clearer sense of themselves as individuals. We want to celebrate, as this represents the strides our young ones take as they build their sense of identity and assert their new boundaries. However, it’s not always easy listening to your child point out your faults!

School Photos and Deadline to Order

Stephen Work-Montaña — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:29:24 +0000

Pictateers is the company name that we used for student pictures last spring. Unlike Lifetouch, Pictateers will give the school a percentage of the total sales generated by parents purchasing photos. This year, the company will provide our school with 40% of the total sales.

Most of you noticed the deadline was quite short! I asked about the deadline and was told you may order photos after the deadline. The deadline was intended to ensure that the photos would come prior to the holidays. Ordering after the deadline just means that you may or may not get them before the holidays.

Another interesting thing. Pictateers is going through reorganization and their website is down. The site to order your photos is a temporary fix for them while they reorganize their own website. That explains the odd website name and no indication that you are purchasing photos through Pictateers.

Unlike last Spring the photos will be mailed directly to your home. Please order school pictures they will make for long lasting memories as well as raise money for our Parent Council. Finally, I know that there must be a time in which all the school photos are dumped from this website. Please order them sooner than later, I do not know when that might occur but when it does we have no way of retrieving the photos.

Holiday Market

Blue Oak Admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:10:43 +0000

We will be having a weekly holiday market starting this Thursday. Local vendors are invited to set up during our Pizza Thursday afterschool. Vendors must supply their own tables, chairs and tents. If you are interested in vending or have questions, please speak with Stephen in the office. There is a brief application and the nominal fees collected will benefit the Parent Council. Stephen's email is stephen@blueoakcharterschool.org

Corrections to the Acorn Newsletter

Blue Oak Admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:23:25 +0000

First correction has to do with the Parking Lot Update. Our faculty was concerned about the fast moving vehicles circling around the back of the school and asked that we continue to do what we have been doing. The gates will now be closed until further notice. If you are simply dropping off, please circle around the additional parking lot prior to pulling up to the curb where we will welcome you! If you are getting out and walking your child(ren) to class, please give us an opportunity to stop traffic prior to crossing. We are asking the owners to paint a crosswalk so that we all can cross in just one location versus all over the place. Finally, with no parking up front we have quickly addressed the concern of cars backing up onto East Ave. The cones will be left out to remind you all of no parking in the morning. Thanks for your support and understanding.

Next correction has to do with the cancelation of our scheduled craft faire. That weekend in December has many other craft faires and events happening around town.

And in other news:

Next Tuesday, November 24^th, we’ll have our Thanksgiving Celebration. Each class will recite or sing one of their meal blessings. Then everyone will process through the great pie spiral selecting their slice. Sign-ups for bringing pie and whipped cream will be on class bulletin boards. If you are donating a pie, PLEASE precut it into 8 slices. This will help the flow of the pie spiral.

Rudolf Steiner

Blue Oak Admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:29:41 +0000

Rudolf Steiner was an amazing hard working individual. He developed Waldorf Education along with Biodynamic farming and Anthroposophical medicine. He wrote many books and many of his lectures have been translated and are available. His work may not be the best place to start when it comes to understanding Waldorf Education. The reason is that his writings and lectures are difficult to grasp for most folks. If you are into the challenge and want to know more about Waldorf Education from the horses mouth I want to direct you to two nice websites.

http://www.rudolfsteineraudio.com/

It is basically someone else reading the works of Rudulf Steiner. I don''t know about you, but I love when people read to me, especially when the reading is dense like the works of Steiner. His written work is also available in PDF form through this website:

http://steinerbooks.org/research/archive.php#waldorf

Both website offer his works for free (of course you may send them a donation!).

Swine Flu

Blue Oak Admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:50:36 +0000

Butte County Office of Education has a S1 N1 Swine Flu update page on their website. I also recieved the following from a Blue Oak Parent which I thought was pretty cool, considering with the media exposure any little cough is suspect!

Know the Difference between a Cold and H1N1 Flu Symptoms:

Symptoms	Cold	H1N1 Flu
Fever	Fever is rare with a cold.	Fever is usually present in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the H1N1 flu.
Coughing	A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.	A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the H1N1 flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).
Aches	Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.	Severe aches and pains are common with the H1N1 flu.
Stuffy Nose	Stuffy nose is commonly present and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.	Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.
Chills	Chills are uncommon with a cold.	60% of people who have the H1N1 flu experience chills.
Tiredness	Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.	Tiredness is moderate to severe with the H1N1 flu.
Sneezing	Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.	Sneezing is not common with the H1N1 flu.
Sudden Symptoms	Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.	The H1N1 flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.
Headache	A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.	A headache is very common with the H1N1 flu, present in 80% of flu cases.
Sore Throat	Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.	Sore throat is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.
Chest Discomfort	Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.	Chest discomfort is often severe with the H1N1 flu.
The only way to stop the spread of the epidemic is to spread the awareness.

Halloween Festival

Blue Oak Admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:55:59 +0000

I just wanted to thank the faculty and our upper grade students who made this year's Halloween Festival such a wonderful event! I'm so proud of our children and faculty, they never cease to amaze me! What a gift we have. I love our school!