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For more about Waldorf please visit the following site:
Association of Waldorf Schools of North America
The Waldorf Community
Camellia Waldorf School offers each parent the opportunity to become part of a community that has heart and purpose. There are a number of ways to become involved. Your interests and talents can lead you.
Festivals and School-wide Events: Celebration of the festivals throughout the year provide rich nourishment for our inner selves and an opportunity to socialize with other CWS families. Click on the name of each event below for a brief description:
Opening Day Assembly
On the first day of school in the Fall, the Grades children gather at our outdoor stage for an Opening
Day Assembly. After the Faculty is introduced and sings a song together, the Eighth Grade students
assemble on stage and are introduced as the leaders in the school. The First Grade class then goes up
on stage, and each one receives a rose as a welcoming gift from an Eighth Grader. Students then go
to their classrooms as lessons begin.
Back to School Picnic
Every September children, parents, and teachers gather in our field for the Back to School Picnic. Old friends greet each other, and new friends are introduced. Families bring picnic dinners or purchase dinners prepared by the Eighth Grade. Later there is a dessert pot-luck, and the faculty is introduced. The evening often includes live music, dancing, and games.
Michaelmas
Camellia celebrates Michaelmas, an autumn festival that marks the passage into the darker
half of the year on a Friday in early Fall. Parents, families, and friends are invited to attend the
event which begins with a kindergarten procession and class presentations on our outdoor
stage in the lower grades play yard. After the short presentations, the audience will join the
students in procession around the school to the back field where some farmers (3rd graders)
and blacksmiths (4th graders) may already be busy at work harvesting their crops and forging
iron. If a dragon appears and threatens the farmers, we can only hope that some brave knights
(2nd graders) will come to their aid. If the knights cannot overcome the dragon on their own,
will they remember that the Archangel Michael always strengthens us when we ask for help?
The struggle between Michael and the dragon is a picture of the struggle that takes place
within the human being. Individuals may overcome and integrate the baser parts of human
nature by calling on their higher selves- their Michael forces. For example, we may struggle with
indecision and fear, or with domineering egotism and materialism. We do not "kill" these dragon
forces; they live in us. But we can, with higher help, strive to transform them by binding them to
our will and redirecting their power to constructive ends. The Michaelmas pageant attempts to
artistically portray this human struggle for children in a way that will give them courage for their
own future battles.
After the pageant, the classes enjoy a picnic lunch, followed by games.
Protected Path
The Protected Path is an annual event at CWS on the weekend before Hallowe’en. Camellia children up to the age of 3rd Grade are invited to walk a path lit by luminaria that winds around the campus. Along the way the children meet friendly characters such as fairies, mermaids, magicians, or cowboys in costume who welcome and entertain. Designed for young children by the parents at Camellia, Protected Path cultivates a sense of wonder with none of the scary elements often associated with Hallowe’en.
Winter Spiral
As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, there is a growing mood of the outer
sleepiness of the world. Through the stories, poems and songs we bring, and their own
observation of nature, the children can experience a settling down, a feeling of being
blanketed for a winter’s nap. The fallen leaves, the animals in hibernation, the shorter daylight
hours which bring us inside much earlier (even in California) than at other times of the year all
contribute to this experience. Winter balances this darkness and sleepiness with expectation
and anticipation. It is a time of moving through the darkness toward the yearly rebirth of the
light, when the days begin to grow longer.
The Winter Garden brings the experience of moving from darkness to light to the children in a
simple way. The children walk to the center of the spiral path of evergreens, a path not lighted.
The children bring with them a red apple with a candle in it which they light from the burning
candle in the center of the spiral. They then carefully place their candle down on the path as
they walk back out. The festival begins in darkness and ends brightly lit by the many candles.
We have a moment to sit in silence together before we leave.
The garden of evergreens is a symbol of life everlasting. Arranged in a spiral, the path
represents the path to birth and the process of incarnating. The apple is a picture of the body,
the house that we live in. The red symbolizes our blood and our forces of will. The flame of the
candle is the flame of our individual human spirit.
The Winter Garden is an imaginative experience of our individual spirit light incarnating into life
on Earth, and how it is able to dispel the darkness around us. In community, our spirits shining
together shed a mighty light.
Winter Faire
The Winter Faire is a popular annual event – we open our doors to the public for a day of holiday crafts, foods, shopping, and entertainment. The Faire's highlight is a variety of crafting opportunities for children and their parents - materials and instruction are provided. Entertainment includes storytelling, puppet shows, a gallery of student work, and live music. Vendors offer a wide variety of unique quality gifts including handmade toys and dolls. The "Children's Store" is stocked with treasures designed for the young shopper and to fit a child's budget. Homemade baked goods and warm beverages are available.
Camelliapalooza
Camelliapalooza, an evening of laughter, great food, raffles, and exciting silent and live auctions, is a dinner event held every spring. The biggest fundraising event of the year for the school, auction items include trips to Maine and Hawaii, weekend getaways, private wine tours and tastings, event tickets, and much, much more.
May Day
Camellia’s May Day festival is an outdoor celebration of Spring. Parents, grandparents, and friends
gather round as the May Queen enters and classes sing, dance, and play musical instruments.
Students of the Eighth Grade perform traditional dances around the Maypole. Later there is
strawberry shortcake, and classrooms are open with student work on display.
Closing Day Assembly
On the last day of classes in June, the Grades students gather at the outdoor stage for a final assembly. Children from each class give presentations of music, singing, speech, or eurythmy. In a mirror image of the Opening Day assembly just 9 months before, each First Grader presents a rose to one of the Eighth Graders as a going away gift. All students and teachers then line up in the center of the school for a hand-shake line, as each student and teacher shakes the hand of every other student and teacher in the school, and all are wished a “Happy Summer”.
Parent meetings: The class teachers host these gatherings 3 to 5 times during the school year. The parents of each class meet with the teacher to discuss the school life of the class and to learn how they can help their child at home. Your attendance is an important way to support your child's teacher, to form relationships with other parents and to involve yourself in the school community.
Parent education: Your class teacher will provide a great resource for discussions and questions in parent meetings. Additional evening programs such as lectures and "chat nights" are offered to the parent body so they can learn and experience more of what comprises Waldorf education. Additional courses may be offered in painting, woodworking, doll-making, or Eurythmy.
Parent association: The Francis Guild Parent Association sponsors parent education evenings and social events, supports the fund-raising efforts of the school, and generally fosters communication within the school community.
Fund-raising: The school relies on fund-raising for part of its budget. These efforts include events such as the Winter Faire, Silent Auction and Annual Giving, as well as on-going programs such as scrip sales.
To learn more about the Camellia community, download this pdf: School Community
Spirituality
Camellia Waldorf School actively welcomes students, faculty, and staff of all faiths and creeds. We respect and support all individuals' spiritual beliefs and practices.
We strive to develop the mind, body, and spirit of the child, encouraging in the process, the child's spiritual freedom and growth. As in every Waldorf school, our teaching works toward this aim by drawing on the insights into human development pioneered by Rudolf Steiner.
The Camellia community is diverse in nature and rich in the teachings of many great religious traditions. Students develop an understanding and deep respect for the various cultures of the world through their experience in the classroom and in the celebration of seasonal festivals of the year. Drawing primarily, but not exclusively, on Christian traditions, we celebrate our common humanity, not our separateness in belief or practice.
We affirm the importance of spiritual growth in families' lives, and we encourage families to explore and grow into their spiritual identities while fostering respect for the beliefs and traditions of others.