This Week's Highlights:
Parent Events: (click here to view the online Parent Portal calendar)
1) Winter Messiah Concert Friday, December 9; 7:00PM
2) Shepherds Play Friday, December 16 7:00PM
3) Early Dismissal Friday, December 16; 12:30PM
4) Winter Break Friday, December 16 to Monday, January 2
5) School Reopens Tuesday, January 3
School News
Lost & Found Bin
The Lost & Found bin located in the back entryway of Turose will be emptied over the winter break. Please check for your child’s possessions in the bin as well as in the classrooms. All left behind items will be donated to charity.
Wildcats Sports News (click or scroll down to view the full event details & schedule)
Upcoming Basketball Games:
Girls Modified, Tuesday December 13 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 5:30PM
Girls Varsity, Tuesday December 13 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 7:00PM
Girls Varsity, Thursday December 15 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 5:30PM
Boys Varsity, Thursday December 15 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 7:00PM
Boys Basketball Clinic for boys in grades 5-8. Email Taylor for more information.
You shop. Amazon gives to Hawthorne Valley.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Hawthorne Valley Association every time you shop, at no cost to you.
The AmazonSmile Foundation (smile.amazon.com), will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the Hawthorne Valley Association. Use your same Amazon or AmazonPrime account and visit smile.amazon.com, where you’ll simply need to select Hawthorne Valley Association as the charitable organization to receive donations from your eligible purchases before you begin shopping. That’s it! Amazon remembers your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make will result in a donation, at no cost to you when you shop from smile.amazon.com.
Take a brief moment and visit smile.amazon.com to show your support for Hawthorne Valley!
Tools For Schools
Shop at Price Chopper to help our school earn free classroom equipment! Please link your AdvantEdge card to our school code. Each time you shop, our school will earn points towards free classroom equipment. Enroll your card at
www.pricechopper.com with our 5-digit school code: 15772
PTA Announcements
Upcoming PTA Coffee Hours, every Tuesday 8:15-9:30am when there is no meeting:
Our remaining December Coffee and Conversation date is: December 13
th (Steffen Schneider will join us and is offering a guided farm tour). Michael Frosch will be stopping in to most of our Coffee Hours to catch up with parents.
**Coffee Hours are hosted by each class; if you are interested in signing up please contact your class PTA Rep.
Recent and Upcoming Meetings:
| 1/3/2017 |
8:15-9:30 |
Sex Education over the course of a students experience at HVWS |
| 1/17/2017 |
8:15-9:30 |
We will reschedule this topic; it’s currently under review. Coffee Hour is on however! |
| 1/20 |
630-830pm |
High School Curriculum current/into future |
| 1/31/2017 |
8:15-9:30 |
Grade 1-8 Curriculum overview |
For the full list of PTA Meetings see the 2016-2017 school Calendar or look here:
PTA Meeting Calendar
We are grateful for all the parents, staff and faculty who come together to enrich our conversations and collaborate as we create the future, together one conversation at a time.
Your PTA
Yuletide Fair Thanks
Many Thanks to Many Hands
It goes without saying that it takes an army to make great things happen. The
2016 Yuletide Fair was a great HVS Community success and an event that continually revitalizes our enthusiasm for school spirit, good work and family fun. Thank you to each and every one who contributed to the Fair – whatever big or small task it was – it was
ALL vitally important. We are grateful and humbled by all the efforts that were made. It is necessary to thank a core group of Administration, Faculty and Parents who made this Yuletide Fair happen. Your dedication and energy truly helped make this effort worth it! It is with a generous heart that all of us recognize you and truly take time to thank you:
Thank you to
Caroline Geisler - for fielding all the questions and always having the answers (and always with a smile),
Amy Flaum - for truly having the inner workings of the Fair under control and your great insight into all things,
Taylor Race - for all your efforts in communications and organizing the vendors and
Vendor Raffle, Lauren Haberland - for making sure we got all the details just right,
Heather Gibbons - for redesigning and branding an exceptional Yuletide Fair poster and doing creative tasks last minute
Gary Ocean and Bill Bradway - your selflessness, physical brawn, and lightheartedness helped keep us all going!
James Thompson for selflessly stepping in when we needed extra hands,
Janene & Martin Ping for putting on four magical plays and bringing wonderment to the Fair,
Stu Summer & The Earth Program - for setting up the lovely bonfire,
Cliff Keyes and Accounting - for running the boxes and crunching the numbers,
Bruce Frishkoff - because you are you, and calling the Gingerbread Auction as only you can! To
The HVS Faculty that lent us his/her classrooms and helped out in so many behind-the-scenes ways,
The Facilities Team for their ongoing behind the scenes work, tireless clean-up, and for putting the school back together again! THANK YOU!!!
Thank you to The Yuletide Champions & Their Classes:
Christy Field & Walli Zay & Co. for running
Tiny Treasures and making a magical place for children,
The Kindergarten Puppeteers - we don’t know who you are because we can’t see you, but we thank you!
Bruna De Araujo - for the beautiful
School Decorations and keeping your cool,
Jill & Jason Duffy - for your impermeable reliability and dedication to the school, your exceptional efforts with the
Gingerbread Auction,
Kim Ladd - for fully imbibing the spirit of the
Pocket Person,
Judith Madey - for running a wonderful
Children’s Craft Room,
Emma Herzhauser - for your great communication and running a successful
Cozy Café,
Gisela Franceschelli - for setting up a beautiful and thoughtful
Community Craft Room,
Kevin Kilb - for running the
Main Food Tent and having the tenacity to keep things under control,
Linda McNutt -for taking brilliant charge of the
BBQ,
Louisa Heyward - for handling the
9th Grade and Parking and offering sound advice,
Isabel Rooney - for organizing and manning the
Stained Glass Room,
Michele Kowalski - for your patience and handling of the
Candle Dipping Room, Karine Bouis-Towe & The HVS PTA - for hosting many Tuesday morning prep-sessions and the
PTA Fair Table,
Jeanine Earnhart - for organizing all the
Fair Musicians and always with a smile!
Jeff Shea, Dominic Wolff and the Gnomes - for your outstanding craftsmanship of the
Walnut Bench, and handling the
Gingerbread Decorations and Bench Raffle,
Amanda Yorck - for running the
Hand to Hand and Book Hearth all day and never once complaining!
Sanne Ameln-Pietzner, Ashley Hartka & Uwe Kristen - for setting up and running both the online and live
HVS Silent Auction with enthusiasm that abounds,
Anna Taiga - for running the
Cake Walk and being a ray of positivity.
Caroline O’Neill - for running
Turose and the
Turose Annex as beautifully as you do. A special thank you to
Sheila Mahut and
Jennifer Kenyon for lending your experience both in the Stained Glass and Candle Dipping Rooms. Thank you.
Thank you to
Elizabeth Adams & Alex Sierck - for noticing all the small details and filling in whenever and wherever we needed you, and
Elizabeth Coe - for all the much needed notes from Fairs’ past and your truly golden advice,
Susan Wendell - for our great advice and help with Hand to Hand,
Elizabeth Frishkoff & Diane Burfeind - for going the extra mile. Thank you.
To the
Juggling Troupe – WOW! Thank you for bringing an element of surprise to the Fair each year. Your talents and enthusiasm is the icing on the cake. Thank you.
To the
HVS Community who donated Silent Auction Items - Thank you for your generosity and Fair spirit. Thank you.
To all
Fair Vendors - Thank you for participating again in such a wonderful event. Your presence is appreciated and we are grateful for you all. We hope to see you all next year!
To
Each and Every Person who crafted for the Community Craft Room or baked for the Cozy Café, who came early to set up or stayed late to clean up, who donated goods to Hand to Hand and the Book Hearth, who filled extra shifts and lent a helping hand…THANK YOU! Your tireless work meant all the difference!! **If you didn’t see your name on this list (but it should have been), just know that you are thanked…we know who you are and what you have done! Thank you.
‘Til next year…
With Confidence, Gratitude and Deep Respect,
JoJo Roy
(2016 Yuletide Fair Coordinator)
Joanna@joannajeanroy.com
917.544.5888
PS. Please feel free to call or email me with any questions or comments relating to the Yuletide Fair. Thank you!
Winter Concert Featuring Selections from Handel's Messiah
Friday, December 9 at 7pm
St. Mary's Church, 429 E. Allen Street, Hudson NY
The Messiah is here! This is the major choral concert of the year, with grades 4 to 12 participating. The students are privileged to have a fine orchestra, consisting of community members and students, to accompany them along with the brilliant harpsichordist, Mariken Palmboom. These performances are a gift to the community and are presented to all, free of charge. Please invite family, friends and extended family to see the show. All students in the chorus or orchestra should wear concert black and white for both performances.
Weather Related Closings and Delays
As we have now entered the season when our days are sometimes interrupted by the weather, we want to reiterate our policies in our Handbook on this topic:
We will follow the closing or delay decision of Taconic Hills School District in case of inclement weather. When they are closed, we will close. If they are on either a one-hour or two-hour delay, then so is Hawthorne Valley. Closings and delays are placed on the school website (www.hawthornevalleyschool.org) and school voice mail, 518-672-7092, as early as we have the information available. Early dismissals will be placed on the website and recorded on the School Information Line as soon as a decision to close early is made. PLEASE NOTE: on mornings when school closings or delays are likely, we recommend that you check our website or call the School. The Times Union website, www.timesunion.com or the following television or radio stations: Television stations—WRGB (channel 6), WTEN (channel 10), and WNYT (channel 13). Radio stations carrying these announcements include WGY (810 AM), WHUC (1230 AM), and WSBS (860 AM) will also have the school delay or closing information.
Please also note that there are times when the weather conditions interrupt communications – we make every effort to send out an email as well as utilizing the above communications methods, however, do not rely on this as if electricity is out, we may not be able to do so. And, if there is disruption in electricity and phone lines, again we may not be able to let you know. As always, your best judgement for the safety of your children is primary.
In the event that districts other than Taconic Hills are closed or have delays, we will still follow the Taconic Hills policy. On occasion this may mean that there will not be busing for some children. If the school district in which you reside is closed, there will not be a bus to bring your child to Hawthorne Valley so it also important that you check the local television or radio stations to determine whether your home school district is closed or delayed. We will not consider children late or absent if they come from a district that is either closed or delayed.
The boys traveled to Fulton Montgomery Community College on Saturday, December 3 to participate in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament. The event raised $4,103.00 to benefit the American Cancer Society. The boys played a great game, beating their opponent Salem High School 42-34. Their record moves to (0-1) in the league and (2-1) overall.
For scoreboard news and stats please visit http://school.hawthornevalley.org/athletics/scoreboard-news/
Upcoming Basketball Games:
Girls Modified, Tuesday December 13 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 5:30PM
Girls Varsity, Tuesday December 13 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 7:00PM
Girls Varsity, Thursday December 15 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 5:30PM
Boys Varsity, Thursday December 15 @ The old Hudson Middle School, 7:00PM
We are thinking of offering a youth basketball clinic starting in January for boys (and potentially girls) in grades 5-8. If you would be interested in this clinic, please email Taylor Race.
Around The School
The whole School and community are deeply grateful to JoJo Roy who took over the leadership of the Yuletide Fair this year. She was incredibly generous with her time and expertise; she included everyone’s thoughts and ideas, and she coordinated a Fair that was the most financially successful in the past five years! Congratulations to everyone and many thanks to JoJo for facilitating that success.
Alumni News
Kasimir Suter Winter ‘15: Besides his regular 2nd year architecture program at ARCHIP, Architectural Institute of Prague, he is currently also enrolled in a program called Global Design Studio, held at ARCHIP. Some students from California joined and it includes study trips to Vienna, Barcelona and Berlin. On an extra-curricular basis he is involved in a non-profit design outreach program for high school students. They recently hosted a group of 50 students from a Christian school in Vienna. The lamp designs/prototypes, were later donated to homeless shelters in Prague.
The website, which he worked to develop is http://www.designdis.co/ />
We are proud of our alumni and love to share news with our friends and families, so please send any information about our alums to Caroline Geisler.
December Issue of INFORM Newsletter
Click here to read latest issue of INFORM, the monthly newsletter of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
Free Columbia
1. Saturday Morning Painting at Free Columbia
December 3,10 and 17, 9:30-12
Free Columbia’s Space on Main
84 Main Street, Philmont NY
Free Columbia’s painting blocks have been moved to Saturdays. Join us for the upcoming session! We will work with single colors, instruction is individual in a supportive group setting. Class will continue in January. Contact Laura Summer for info and to register. Suggested contribution $0-30 per class
BLACK BOX [IIIIIII]
A Collection Of Arrivals And Departures
Black Box [IIIIIII] is a participatory art project where people from all over the world are sharing their testimony of existence. Come witness a Philmont-exclusive collection, with voices from near and far. Opening ceremony will begin at 6 pm, and will feature live music and something savory. You don't want to miss it!
If you would like to contribute to the collection you may do so until Dec 3. Please contact Lina Maria:
lia_idre@hotmail.com
2. Herbal Gifts Workshop
December 10, 9 -12 noon
Taught by Amelia McIsaac
Philmont Community Center, Lake View Dr, Philmont, NY 12565
Come make bath salts, sugar scrubs, lip balm, and more for those you love. They make perfect winter gifts. We will us the ancient wisdoms of herbs and essential oils to create beautiful, healthy, great smelling products. If possible, bring small clean glass jars with lids, and a mixing bowl. Suitable for all ages.
Suggested Donation $0-15 per workshop.
For more information and to register call Susannah White 716-464-0931 carapacefarm@gmail.com
3. Holiday Wreaths and Centerpieces Workshop
December 17, 9 -12 noon
Taught by Amelia McIsaac
Philmont Community Center, Lake View Dr, Philmont, NY 12565
Bring the outdoors in during the holiday season with centerpieces and wreaths that you have made yourself. We will have plenty of evergreens, baskets, ribbons, candles and ornaments. Start a new tradition or relive an old one. Suitable for all ages.
Suggested Donation $0-15 per workshop.
For more information and to register call Susannah White 716-464-0931 carapacefarm@gmail.com
Center for Social Research
Trump and DeVos as Education Leaders? What Could This Mean for U.S. Education, Including Waldorf?
Presentation with slides by Gary Lamb
7:00- 8:45 pm, Tuesday, December 13, Free Columbia Space, 84 Main St., Philmont, NY
Who Is Betsy DeVos, the Proposed U.S. Education Secretary, and What Does She Stand For?
What is Donald Trump’s Apparent Education Agenda?
What Could Their Combined Impact Be on Public and Private Education?
These questions will be addressed in the context of current education reforms, including Common Core standards, school choice, and the push for digital education by the Federal government, philanthropists, and technology corporations.
References will be made to Rudolf Steiner’s social ideas, the American Constitution, and plain common sense. This event is not meant to be a political venting forum, but rather a wakeup call to the widespread political, economic, and ideological forces impinging on cultural life and education today.
Hosted by the Hawthorne Valley Center for Social Research.
Donations of $1 to $25 at the door will be gratefully accepted to further the work of the Avalon Initiative, an education think tank, co-sponsored by the Waldorf Institute for Waldorf Education and the Hawthorne Valley Center for Social Research.
www.edrenewal.org. For more information, contact, Gary Lamb at
glamb@thecenterforsocialresearch.org or 518 672 4465, x223.
News From Turose
Turose is offering the following workshops:
Gift Time Sat Dec 10 1-3:30pm Come and make a variety of beautiful presents for family and friends. All natural materials. fee is $20.00
Mother Earth Mon Dec 12 8:30-10:30am
Using plant dyed sheep’s wool, we will create a Mother Earth by needle felting.
Knotted Doll Mon Dec 19th 9am-3pm
Using organic cotton flannel and sheep’s wool, we will create a sweet knot doll in perfect time for gift giving!
Bring a bag lunch Fee is $30.
Embroidered Cape Tues Dec 20th 1-4pm
Starting with a silk cape, we will add cotton & silk ribbon embroidery. Fee is $30.
Needle felted Picture Thurs, Dec 22nd 10-2pm
Described as painting with wool, we will add layers of plant dyed sheep’s wool to create a lovely picture.
Fee is $25.
Call for more info or to register for the workshops at 518-672-0052
