Messenger fall 2015 final

WWS MESSENGERNews and Views from the Washington Waldorf School

Fall 2015

Capital Campaign Report Inside

2 3WWS MESSENGER Fall 2015

As they entered our newly renovated building on the first day of school,

the students’ excitement was palpable. Finally, they were seeing and experiencing what they had heard so much about. Even though many of us had seen the drawings on display all spring, we were unprepared for the breathtaking experience of our new space. After reflecting on what we have accomplished and what this means for our future, I am filled with gratitude for the generosity and hard work of our community in making the dream of a new space a reality.

Five years ago, our Trustees Council began negotiating for a long-term lease that would enable us to improve our building and give

us a new home for the next 30 years. After 5 years of negotiating, planning, and fundraising, we met our goal. On September 14, our renovation was both substantially complete and under budget. On behalf of the faculty, I offer my deepest thanks. (Please see the special Capital Campaign insert for detailed information on who made the project possible.)

Now that our renovation is complete, we can begin enjoying its benefits. Our state of the art HVAC system will bring us all-season comfort and save us hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent credits. In the place of our old boiler, we have a faculty lounge and two private tutoring spaces. We have added new office space, two new ADA accessible bathrooms, and a foyer that will be a center for community gatherings, concerts, and student art displays.

Last spring we achieved a particularly important milestone: a full 10-year accreditation by the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools (AIMS), and a renewed accreditation by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). It is unusual for a school pursuing AIMS accred-itation for the first time to receive a 10-year accreditation. This achievement reflects the accrediting bodies’ respect for our teachers, administration, and program.

Commensurate with our new building, we have revised and improved our program and services. In the Children’s Garden, we launched our Waldorf in the Woods outdoor kindergarten, under the guidance of master teacher, Linc Kinnicutt, and his assis-tant Lynn Adelmann. In the Lower School, we increased the availability of therapeutic eurythmy, expanded our reading support program, and added a math enrichment teacher. On the administrative side, David Wu joined us as Operations Manager, bringing his business and accounting expertise to our organization. We also reorganized several administrative roles, upgraded various network systems, and considered new marketing and out-reach approaches. Amidst all these efforts, we are delighted to be starting the 2015-16 school year with our highest enrollment in 8 years.

A Letter from the Faculty Chair, Jennifer Page A Banner Year for Giving

Fields of Fancy Spring Gala Last May

Jennifer Page, Faculty Chair

The WWS community was exceptionally generous this year, reflecting an extraordinary level of commitment to the school. Thank you!

The Build Our Vision capital campaign exceeded its goal of $4.4 million, with 311 gifts and pledges totaling $4,789,753. This allowed us to complete the renovation of our building over the summer, on time and within budget. (See the capital campaign newsletter insert for more about the campaign.)

While the capital campaign was central to our fundraising work this last year, the Annual Fund remains the foundation of philanthropic support to the school. Last year the Annual Fund reached $203,466. Although this total was less than our goal, the number of donors increased (from 275 to 291) over the prior year, as did the number of first time donors. In addition, the level of participation was excellent, with 100% of Trustees, 94% of faculty, and 90% of current parents making an annual gift. As both enrollment and the level of participation by the various constituent groups in the community continue to increase, we are optimistic that the Annual Fund will also grow.

Our “Fields of Fancy” spring gala and auction at Calleva Farm was a notable success. Altogether the gala brought in just over $104,000, of which $26,500 was for financial aid, $32,700 for furnishings for our new entrance foyer, and the remainder supporting day-to-day operations. We introduced several new features to the gala, including popular “buy-in parties” and a successful push for business sponsorship. Attendance was also up compared to last year, with about a third of attendees being newcomers.

Our last major fundraiser was the fall bazaar, which raised about $27,000, on par with prior years. The bazaar offered several new features, including an alumni shop and café and a first-ever vendor preview night. One of our most treasured traditions, the bazaar continues to be a wonderful gathering place for our entire community, as well as a great introduction to the school for prospective families.

More than any year in recent memory, the 2014-2015 school year showed how much parents, alumni, faculty, and friends care about WWS. We are deeply grateful for the level of support shown to the school, and we extend our deepest thanks to all who did so much to keep us strong financially and enlarge the range of possibilities for our students

Front cover: Our New Entrance Canopy

Senior Play: Lend Me a Tenor

In the Nursery Class

Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2015. Members of the class are matriculating to the following colleges and universities:

Courtney Athas – Frostburg UniversityCameron Bechmann – Brandeis University

Nina Cavalcanti – American Academy of Dramatic ArtsEvangelina Hakes – University of Maryland – University Honors College

Nicholas Huguet – University of VermontJoseph Johnson – St. Mary’s College of Maryland (state honors college)

Matt Oxley – College of CharlestonNoah Scher – Christopher Newport University – Honors Program

As WWS enters its 47th year, I hope you will join me in savoring this moment in our journey. By working together, we have accom-plished something wonderful. I hope you will join me in expressing gratitude for the ceaseless efforts of so many. Because of your efforts, we will face the future inspired, much stronger, and with a renewed sense of confidence in all we have created together.

Field Day

First Graders and Senior Cameron Bechmann

Senior Trip to Nova Scotia

Spring Gala guests: Leah Kedar, Debbie Spitulnik, Carol Petrash, Lynn Bufano, and Michele Coleman (with Mr. Spitulnik looking on)

Fields of Fancy, Faces in the Crowd


one hand, pride in the accomplishment of a job well done is, in itself, a wonderful feeling that reinforces our own sense of self worth.

On the other hand, disappointment at failure is an awful feeling when, deep down, we know that it was due to our own halfhearted commitment or lack of effort. Strive to do your best, and, even if you fail, you will, in the long run, feel at peace with yourself. Now, lest you think that I am preaching about ideals that are difficult if not impossible to achieve, let me be the first to admit that we are all human. We all have weak-nesses, and we all fail from time to time. But the measure of a life well lived is not perfection, but whether we strive to do our best, to learn from our failures, and to address our weaknesses. In my personal and professional experience, I have come to realize the wisdom of these ideals, the value of striving to achieve them, and the learn-ing that comes from failure.

And I have also learned from the example of others.

While I have known many people who exhibit these values in their lives, I would like to speak about one such person I came to know from my time at the Academy. That person was not a fellow classmate, nor was he a professor, senior officer or other important figure. He was a

simple janitor at the Academy and his name was William Crawford, or Mr. Crawford as he was known to us.

Mr. Crawford was a quiet, elderly man who walked slowly with a limp. In the frenzy of life in a military barracks, he went about his job cleaning up after us in the hallways and bathrooms almost invisibly. He worked longer hours than required and kept the facility in perfect condition. He was gentle and warm-hearted—a comforting presence in our midst. Over time he became a friend to each of us, often giving a word of encouragement when we seemed to falter under the demands of cadet life. He was an honest man as well. There were no locks on our room doors and it goes without saying that nothing ever went missing.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I did not at that time fully appreciate Mr. Crawford nor did I see him at the time as a role model. Like most of my classmates, I was too busy with all the other demands on me and I simply took him for granted. So after 4 years at the academy, I graduated and moved on with my career. That was in 1971. Like the rest of my classmates, I suppose, I eventually forgot about Mr. Craw-ford. But he had one more lesson in store for all of us.

Fast-forward almost 30 years to the spring of the year 2000 when I received my quarterly Academy alumni magazine in the mail. I noticed an article reporting on Mr. Crawford’s death due to illness at the age of 81. He had been retired from his job at the Academy for many years. The article referred to a lengthy obituary that had appeared in the Denver Post. Why, I wondered, had the Denver Post devoted so much space to the passing of this janitor? As I read the story, I was stunned by what I learned about our quiet, humble janitor who walked with a limp.

It turns out that Mr. Crawford had grown up in a small town in Colorado before World War II. He had just graduated from high school when the United States entered the war in 1941; he was called up for service in the army. By 1943, he was a young private in a unit fighting in the rugged mountains of Italy. On September 13 of

Graduation Address by Dan Wacker May 30, 2015

It is indeed a great honor to give the commencement address to you, the graduating

Class of 2015, as you embark on the next, and possibly the most important, stage of your lives. Before accepting this honor, I thought a lot about what, if anything, I could say that might be meaningful to you, not only in this next stage of your life—whether it is college, travel, work experience, or something else—but also for the rest of your lives.

Commencement speakers are often called upon to impart “wisdom” to their audience. However, I am not sure I am old enough to qualify as the giver of “wisdom.” So I decided to take the advice that often given to new novelists, which is: “write what you know.” So with that in mind I will speak to you about certain a formative experience that I had when I was your age, an experience that provided me a set of values that have served me well as guideposts over my lifetime.

The formative experience that I am referring to is the period of 4 years that I spent after high school as a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy. The values I learned during that experience have guided me throughout my professional career, first as an Air Force officer and later as a lawyer in the world of international business. I realize that you may find this to be somewhat ironic—the prospect of a retired Air Force officer addressing a Waldorf class about values learned in the military—but please bear with me.

In 1967 I graduated from high school, and two weeks later reported to the Academy in Colorado

for basic training—the start of a rigorous pro-gram that would last for 4 years. My classmates and I experienced all the stereotypical depriva-tions, indignities, and disciplinary demands of such training, which you all are probably famil-iar with from the movies. But it is not this aspect of my experience that I intend to dwell on.

Rather, what I do want to talk about is the expe-rience we had of learning to live up to a certain standard expressed in the academy’s motto, which is literally chiseled in stone at the entrance to the school. The motto expresses three values as follows:

“Integrity firstService before selfExcellence in all we do.”

Now, before I explain these in more detail, let me say that we, like many young people, were rather cynical at first about what we thought sounded like a slogan imposed upon us by others. We certainly looked for and found examples of hypocrisy—that is, upperclassmen and others who, it seemed, had not lived up to these values. But as we endured those years as a class—living, studying, training, and working together—we began to appreciate and internalize the wisdom contained in that simple statement of values.

So what do these words mean?

Integrity first. There is a reason integrity must be put first. If you take nothing else away from my presentation, remember that your integrity is your most valuable asset. Nothing is more important in all your relationships for the rest

of your lives. Practice integrity; be known as a person of integrity; and you will earn the benefits of trust and confidence placed in you. So what is “integrity?” We can certainly define it in negative terms, as we all probably learned as children, as not lying, cheating, or stealing. Or we can define it in positive terms as being truthful and honest. But I came to realize over subsequent years that integrity means more than that. It means admitting when we are wrong, avoiding the taking of positions on issues that we cannot support with facts, and standing up for a person’s rights even when we dislike that person. When confronted with a person who holds views on an issue that differ from our own, integrity means engaging that person by disput-ing the merits of the issue, not by attacking the person himself. Unfortunately, we see examples of this form of personal attack every day in our civil society. Consider how often on Twitter or on television we witness someone disparaging the person rather than the idea. It’s all too easy, and more entertaining perhaps, to call someone a despicable name than it is to refute an argument with facts and logic.

What about the second of the three values: what does “Service before self” really mean?

At one level, we can define it by saying that it requires us to subordinate our personal interests to those of a larger group, be it family, team, class, work group, or in the context I learned it, a military unit. This is based on the sound concept that “we are all in this struggle together” and that in order to flourish or indeed survive, we must be able to count on others, and they have to be able to count on us. This version is certainly true, but it misses the larger meaning of the value: by dedicating ourselves to the needs of others, we experience a fulfillment of purpose thatultimately makes our lives worth living. Winston Churchill said it best: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Finally, the third value: “Excellence in all we do.”

Perhaps this is the easiest to understand and the most difficult to carry out on an everyday basis. But it rests in the understanding that any task that is worth doing is worth doing well. On the

that year, his platoon, including several wounded soldiers, was pinned down in a ravine by heavy fire. Although he faced almost certain death, Private Crawford volunteered to move out of the ravine to search for a possible route of escape. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt award-ed Private Crawford the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on that day in saving the lives of over 20 of his fellow soldiers. But Private Crawford was not at the White House to receive the medal—in fact, the medal was awarded post-humously and presented to his father. Because, after assisting his fellow soldiers to escape the ravine, he had turned back to search for the last missing and wounded comrade, but never returned. It was assumed he had been killed. In fact, he had been wounded and captured, but that wasn’t known until the end of the war when he was liberated from a POW camp in Germany.So that quiet and self-effacing janitor had, unbeknownst to all of us, given us all a profound example of “service before self.”

Let us all hope and pray that we never find ourselves in any such situation that calls for such an ultimate kind of selfless service. But we all will have many opportunities in our own lives to make small contributions to the benefit of others in need. Answer such calls for help. Volunteer your time and your skills to work for the com-mon good of all. In other words, place service before self. In so doing, you will enrich our own lives as much as those of whom you serve. I think mother Theresa of Calcutta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her service to thepoor and homeless of India, said it best: “Not all of us can do great things, but all of us can do small things greatly.”

So, in summary, I will leave you with these few words of advice: If you wish to have a life of meaning and fulfillment, place integrity first, put service before self, and strive for excellence in all you do. Thank you and congratulations.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Dan Wacker is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and Har-vard Law School. He served as a Judge Advocate in the Air Force for 6 years, stationed in Korea, England, and Germany. He left active duty in 1980 but continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After leaving active duty, Dan returned to Harvard Law School as a Visiting Fellow in East Asian Legal Studies. In 1981 Dan joined Mobil Oil Corporation, where he enjoyed a distinguished legal career, with postings in New York, Tokyo, and London. At the time of his retirement in 2000 he was responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of Mobil’s worldwide legal department. Since leaving Mobil, Dan has volunteered widely in the community. Dan served on the WWS Board of Trustees from 2001-2012, and was its chairman from 2005-2012. He served as co-chair of the Build Our Vision capital campaign and of the site committee that oversaw negotiations for a long-term lease and renovation of our building. He also volunteers in support of veterans, and at Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring. Dan and his wife Yon have two daughters who both graduated from WWS.

Dan Wacker


Class NotesThank you to all alumni who shared their news for the class notes. Although WWS considers anyone who ever attend the School to be alumni, most of the individuals below graduated from the WWS high school. Some left after 8th grade, as indicated by the year “xxxx-8.” We invite all alumni to stay in touch with us. We’re proud of you and want to share your stories.

Derek Parsons (1987) lives in Arlington where he teaches, ceramics, art, and computer graphics at Washington-Lee High School. He is also going into his 20th year as the men’s head rowing coach.

Cari Sherlock (1991) and her family live in Austin, Texas, after moving from the Connecticut/New York area 8 years ago. Her two children, Sienna and Aidan, attend the Austin Waldorf School, where they are in the third and fifth grades respectively. She received her BS in social work from George Mason University.

Joanna Harma (1995) is a consultant on international education, now based in Paris, where she is researching low-fee private school options for the poor in India, Mozambique, Zambia, and Kenya. She is a recognized authority on the subject and was recently quoted in an article in a special issue of the Economist, focusing on low-cost schooling in the developing world. This November she will be visiting Free School India, a school for girls she co-founded in Uttar Pradesh.

Jennifer Spitulnik (1997) finished her PhD in May and is enjoying being called Dr. Spitulnik. Her book project is under offer with University Press of Mississippi as part of the Folklore Studies in a Multicultural World Series. Jennifer is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and the Associate Editor for the Center for Studies in Oral Tradition and Center for eResearch at the University of Missouri. She lives in Columbia, Missouri, with her husband Josh and their daughter, Risa. Visit Debbie Spitulnik’s office if you’d like to hear all about Risa!

Glenda Goodman (1999) is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to her appointment at Penn she was a postdoctoral fellow in the history department at the University of Southern California. She received her PhD from Harvard in 2012, her masters degree from the Julliard School, and her bachelors degree from Oberlin College. Her research focuses on music in North America in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Yumi Kendall (1999) is continuing to enjoy her work as Assistant Principal Cello in the Philadelphia Orchestra, where she will be starting her twelfth season this fall. The Orchestra toured Europe in May, as well as making its regular appearances at Carnegie Hall and its home at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia throughout the season. In addition to chamber music, she gave a benefit recital for the Lyre Association of North America at Camphill-Kimberton, where she got to work with former WWS music teacher Sheila Johns for the first time in more than a decade. She continues to mentor at the Curtis Institute, teach privately, and perform chamber music whenever she can.

Antonio (Tony) Williams (1998) was promoted from Director to Senior Director of Government and External Affairs for Comcast NBCUniversal. In this role he manages Comcast NBCU’s relationship with National Civil Rights organizations such as the National Urban League, Rainbow PUSH, and NAACP. Tony and his fiancée Erika are planning to get married next May in Chicago. They travelled to Paris and Amsterdam earlier this year. He has also relocated back to the DC area from New Jersey.

Caroline Wright (1999) is a pediatric anesthesiologist at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Sophie Toolanen (2000) married Vinson Milligan last June. Several WWS alumni attended the wedding, including Caitlyn Shelley, Noah Stevens, Narayana Campbell, Tony Williams, Chris Hopkins, Elizabeth Hopkins, Shenbaga Boucher (Hellmuth), and Elizabeth Gadbaw.

Bryan Atkins (2001) and his wife had their first baby, a boy, named Caius William Atkins.

Iris Levin (2001) is in her second year as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Colorado-Boulder. She is using miniaturized proximity loggers to quantify social interactions in barn swallows. She is answering questions about what traits structure barn swallow social networks, how social feedback affects physiology (particularly stress physiology), and how the social network facilitates the transmission of gut microbes.

Danielle Menditch (2002) lives in Denver, Colorado, where she enjoys hiking, camping, backpacking, and skiing in the mountains. She owns her own career consulting business, working with Millennials (ages 16-39) who are looking to find their career calling. She works with clients one-on-one and also teaches workshops at schools, nonprofits, and her local community college. Last spring she published an article about helping Millennials discover their life purpose in the magazine, Career Convergence. The article is available at http://goo.gl/fnO57d. Her website is www.careerpioneernetwork.com.

Amy Wilkins (2002) left her work as a nurse in Medical Oncology at the Washington Hospital Center last April and moved over to the National Institutes of Health. In her spare time she enjoys yoga, running, and knitting.

JD Dolan (2003) recently completed 8 years of service as an Army Officer, which included assignments leading Light Infantry and Special Operations units during four combat deployments – one to Iraq and three to Afghanistan. His final assignment was as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at St. John’s University in New York. While living in New York, he pursued his MBA at Columbia Business School from which he graduated in May. JD is now living in Casper, Wyoming, and working full time for LDR Investments LLP, a business consulting firm that he co-founded with two of his fellow infantry officers in 2011. He moved to Casper to better serve some of their clients in the energy sector and expand LDR’s base of consulting relationships.

Laura Johnson Macauley (2003) married Shane Macaulay in June 2014 in Georgetown, and then moved to Shane’s hometown of Perth, West Australia, though they plan to return to the States at some point. A few Class of 2003 Waldorfians joined her in the celebration.

Natasha Blank (2004) is based in Brooklyn with her new husband Sascha. Her work as a DJ and dance catalyst takes her to festivals and events around the US. She hosts an epic dance party in NYC called “The Get Down” and writes weekly articles about dance, music, and consciousness that are syndicated in several publications. She is extremely happy that following her dreams turned out to be a viable career path. Her website is http://www.tashablank.com/.

David Giusti (2004) is a farmer in Wheatland, Virginia. He offers a CSA that delivers high quality, sustainably produced vegetables throughout the DC area. His website is www.secondspringsca.com.

Laura Lawler (2004) is in her second year of graduate school pursuing a masters degree in geography at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her masters thesis focuses on livelihood decisions of refugee farmers and refugee farmer training programs in the United States. She is loving Madison and being back in academic life, but misses the Mojave Desert and San Diego where she lived since 2008.

David Lassiter (2004) is exploring the world and is out of the country for the next several months. Otherwise he is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, working with a group under the name of Bureau of Ships (www.bureauofships.com).

Tom Mansour (2004) is a Lieutenant in the US Coast Guard. He currently serves as the Commanding Officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter MAUI, deployed to Manama, Bahrain. Prior to his deployment to Bahrain, he was on the Deputy Commandant for Operation’s Executive Support staff where he served as the Executive Assistant to Rear Admiral Atkins at Coast Guard Headquarters. He also served as the Deck Watch Officer on the USCGC STEADFAST, stationed out of Astoria, Oregon, and as the Executive Officer on USCGC KEY BISCAYNE, an Island Class Patrol Boat based in Key West, Florida. His military decorations include the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, the Coast Guard Achievement Medal (two awards), Commandant’s Letter of Commendation, and various service and unit awards.

Jordan Schware (2004) lives in Minneapolis where he is CEO of The Racery a high-end cycling store that caters to professional cyclists

and serious amateurs, which he started after moving from Boulder, Colorado, where he founded a similar business. His website is www.theracery.com. He became engaged to Smash Bremsky in September.

Alden Towler (2004) is co-owner and chef at Win Win Coffee Bar (www.winwincoffeebar.com), Philadelphia’s first cooperatively owned and operated cafe, bar, and kitchen. Win Win opened in December 2014, and actively promotes locally and sustainably sourced offerings, alongside community-oriented event programming. This fall his experimental music project Tygerstrype is releasing their second full-length album entitled We Learn To Love Our Chains on vinyl record. Their music video for the single, Deepelder, is available at https://goo.gl/Ly6xgS. Alden also teaches English as a Second Language (ESL), math, art, science, and music to refugee students from Bhutan, Burma, Eritrea, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo through Philadelphia’s Migrant Education Program.

Ileana Anderson (2006) is the Assistant Director of Experiential Education at a private

boarding school in Utah that works with at-risk children. She is also a professional mountain bike racer. She took second place at this year’s Enduro Cup Series, and was recently named as an Ambassador for Juliana Bikes.

Eryn Lake (2006) and her husband Tyler are expecting their first child in December.

Adam Mutschler (2006) graduated from Northwestern University last May with a degree in organization behavior, and has moved back to the DC area with his wife Erika.

Abby Wacker (2006) is currently a second year master’s student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, where she is pursuing a degree in international educational development. As part of her program, she spent the summer in India interning with the Aga Khan Foundation. Abby worked for nearly 2 months in the Foundation’s New Delhi office, where she assisted with reports, project monitoring and evaluation, and other tasks. She also spent a month in Patna, Bihar, where she conducted research on school leadership. Abby plans to graduate in December 2015.

Cari Sherlock with her husband and two chil-dren, Sienna and Aidan

Iris Levin

Laura and Shane Macauley

Dave Giusti

JD Dolan

Lt. Tom Mansour

Ileana Anderson

Sophie Toolanen, with WWS alumni and friends: Caitlyn Shelley, Noah Stevens, Narayana Camp-bell, Tony Williams, Chris Hopkins, Elizabeth Hopkins, Shenbaga Boucher (Hellmuth), and Elizabeth Gadbaw.


Rachel Chamberlin (2007) is pursuing her PhD in medical anthropology, with a joint masters in public health at the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently in Brazil for a year of doctoral dissertation field research on healthcare choice models, working with anthroposophic and conventional physicians and patients. In her free time, she gardens, sings in the neighborhood choir, attempts to learn samba, practices “renda do bilro” with the local lace makers, and even visits her boyfriend in Peru. She also attended a biennial anthroposophic medical conference in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, which had 500 attendees from across Latin America.

Michael Kramer (2007) is a guitarist with the US Army Band and Army Blues, as well as a faculty member at the Shenandoah Conservatory and private teacher. Highlights of the year include a tour with the Airmen of Note, where he played with many guest artists, including Wycliff Gordon. This year he and his wife Glennys moved to Woodbridge, Virginia, with their two children, Maya and Akiva. His daughter Maya started in the WWS nursery this year.

Ava Petrash (2007) has started a new job as an Academic Program Manager for Summit Public Schools, a charter school network in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this role, she is responsible for managing curriculum development for all schools in the organization, implementing academic projects, and coaching new teachers. Before taking the job with Summit Schools, Ava taught English for 3 years at a charter school in Redwood City, California.

Hetta Towler (2007) finished a graduate program at the University of Colorado at Denver last spring, receiving her degree in educational psychology with a focus in literacy. This fall she started her second year at Friends’ School in Boulder, Colorado, as co-teacher in a preschool/pre-k classroom. Other than school and work, she is enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery in Colorado.

Rosa Trembour (2007, 8) graduated from the University of Colorado Law School last spring, then passed the Bar Exam in July. Prior to graduation Rosa served as a member of CU Law’s Environmental Law Review, and competed for the law school’s National Mock Trial Team. During law school Rosa interned at the Denver District Attorney’s Office, trying seven jury trials in the course of her internship. She just started a year-long clerkship with Judge Ann B. Frick in Denver District Court. When Rosa is not in the courtroom, she spends as much time as possible in the Rocky Mountains. Some recent favorite adventures include a backpacking trip with Naomi (WWS ‘08) and her dog Moose, summiting two of Colorado’s highest 14,000 ft. peaks, and hiking from Aspen to Crested Butte over West Maroon Pass.

Patricia Sarcos Alvarez (2008) graduated last May from the University of Maryland with a BS in psychology. She has applied to dental school and is waiting to hear back.

Daniela Rose Anderson (2008) is a second year medical student at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She is being published as the lead author for research conducted during an internship last summer. She has also written and illustrated a book for children, The Little Prince and the Sea, which will be published next year.

Jamie Barkin (2008) is pursuing a masters degree in education at the University of Maryland, combined with a certification for the state in secondary English. She got married in May 2014.

Constantine Dixon (2008, 8) recently returned from 27 months in Zambia, where he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He worked with rural subsistence farmers, collaborated with the local community to plant over 200 fruit trees, and learned the ways of life in a very rural Zambian village. While in Zambia, Constantine proposed to his now fiancé, Arianna Koudounas, who was visiting him last December. Constantine has now returned to DC and is seeking out his next professional opportunity.

Joe Sandman (2008) received his JD, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School last May, where he was an executive editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He is starting work at the law firm of Skadden Arps in DC this fall.

Sandy Wacker (2008) is a communications associate at Reingold, a public relations and marketing firm in Alexandria. When not working on campaigns for the Library of Congress and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Sandy spends her time running and traveling. She is looking forward to running the Marine Corps Marathon/Philadelphia Half Marathon and visiting Budapest and Prague.

Julien Hemmendinger (2009) is majoring in film studies at York University in Toronto. He is active in theater, and co-stared in Mad Life Imagined at the Toronto Fringe Festival last winter

Alex Hill (2009) is beginning his second semester of graduate school at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he is pursuing a masters degree in integral counseling psychology, integral meaning the meeting of

eastern philosophy and the western empirical model and the joining of somatic and cognitive approaches to the human psyche. He is doing carpentry on weekends to support himself and loving the West Coast.

Lincoln (Dylan) Lin (2009) is in his second year of a masters program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Nanjing, China. Over the summer he worked at the East-West Center in Washington, doing researching and writing short articles on various US-Asia related issues. His article on “Pigskin Diplomacy” is available at http://goo.gl/T3nBCY. This fall he will be working on his thesis, which focuses on cultural restoration and protection projects in Yunnan province.

Allie Miraglia (2009) lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she moved last June. She works as a Project Manager for a federal contractor, managing grants and contracts funded by the Cambia Health Foundation, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the Utah Partnership for Value. Before moving to Utah, she lived in Bozeman, Montana, where she worked as a Clinical Microbiologist, then Associate Study Director at a product testing facility, running clinical trials of hospital grade soaps, surgical scrubs, and corticosteroids on human subjects. She worked with pharmaceutical clients from all over the world. She graduated from the Honors College at the University of Maryland with degrees in public health and French in 2013.

Jan (Stoneman) She (2009, 9) is a musician and singer based in Berkeley, California. He recently released an album of mantrams (“spiritual formulas for transforming consciousness”), available at www.janshe.bandcamp.com/releases. He trained at the Julliard School in New York and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Colin Taliaferro (2009) has settled into life in southwestern Missouri with his husband and business partner Casey Kinard. They were married in September, in Maryland and are slowly growing their trucking business, Iron T Transportation LLC. Through their trucking business, they have traveled all over the lower 48 states in the past year and love life on the road, even though they hope life will slow down after they get established and they can start a family at home.

Melanie Dimitri Schutt (2009) graduated last May from the University of Maryland, with a BS in nursing. At Maryland, she was a member of the Sigma Theta Tau honor society, and was named a Clinical Scholar. She passed her NCLEX exam, and is now an RN in the State of Maryland. In July she began working in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Maryland Medical Center. She is interested in pursuing doctoral studies in nursing at some point in the future.

Zachary Smith (2009) is a second year medical student at Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. Over the summer he participated in a research project on pulmonary critical care medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. Prior to starting med school at Albany, Zachary earned his MS in physiology from Georgetown University.

Bridget Wilkins (2009) is an analyst with Jones Lang LaSalle’s Strategic Consulting Practice, where she recently lead AstraZeneca’s change management program in North and South America.

Lily Barnwell (2010) is in her last year at Towson State University where she is pursuing a masters degree in occupational therapy. Last spring she had two full-time occupational therapy internships, one at a state psychiatric hospital in northern Virginia and one at an assisted living facility in Ellicott City.

Emily Hall (2010) is a first grade teacher at the Circle of Seasons public charter Waldorf school near Allentown, Pennsylvania. Last spring she completed a one-year Fulbright Scholarship, teaching English in rural Nepal.

Robert Coleman (2011) graduated from the University of Maryland last spring with a BA in music with a concentration in jazz guitar. He is currently teaching private guitar lessons and playing both rock and jazz gigs around the DC area. A sample of his playing from his senior

recital at Maryland is available at http://youtu.be/iBPCNdiLiQc.

Eliza Dezenhall (2010) graduated from McDaniel College in May. She is now working at the Baltimore Zoo as an animal attendant, working mainly with Arabian camels.

Zinta Rutins (2010) graduated from the College of the Atlantic in Maine, and is planning to relocate to Sydney, Australia. Last fall she attended the Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Parks in Sydney, where she was a co-presenter of Parks Across the Curriculum: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Protected Area Education.

Theo Zika (2010) lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife. He has a bachelors degree in fine arts from the University of Michigan. He works as the head production craftsman in the Terrazzo division of Sensitile Systems, a manufacturer of high-end products for a wide range of architectural and design applications.

Ben Bryla (2011) is a senior at Clemson University where is he pursuing a BS in bioengineering. While at Clemson he complete a year-long co-op work experience with Noramco, Inc., part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

Justine Epstein (2011, 8) graduated magna cum laude from Colorado College in May 2015, with a degree in philosophy. Since then she has been working closely with the School of Lost Borders (www.schooloflostborders.org) on reintroducing wilderness-based rites of passage and vision fasts into contemporary society. Her interest is in empowering youth through ceremony to imbue them with a sense of belonging to the natural world and to themselves. She has also

Class Notes continued

Rachel Chamberlin

Michael Kramer with Secretary of State Kerry

Costa Dixon

Julien Hemmendinger in Mad Life Imagined

Colin Taliaferro and Casey Kinard

Eliza Dezenhall


been practicing a facilitation method called “council,” which brings authentic listening and communication into classrooms, workplaces, families, and communities. She is primarily based in California.

Raquel Hakes (2011) is finishing her coursework for her BS in fire protection engineering at the University of Maryland. Last year she was one of two recipients of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering Chair’s Award, which is presented to the department students who made the most significant contribution during the year. Raquel has also been a teaching assistant for several classes, as well as a mentor to local minority high school students participating in an engineering design challenge. She will stay at Maryland for her masters degree in fire protection engineering, for which she is researching ignition properties of burning embers from wildfires, which are a main cause of home fires.

Ryan Kulesza (2011) graduated from Bowdoin College in May with a major in computer science and a minor in visual art. He is now working for the consulting firm Booz, Allen, Hamilton in McLean, Virginia. At Bowdoin, Ryan was on the swimming team, and in his spare time developed two businesses developing apps and selling reconditioned BMWs, while also painting.

Julia Roche (2011) graduated last spring from Beloit College with a BA in health and society. She is now participating in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, a year-long program focusing on community, sustainability, faith/spirituality, and social justice. She is living in a communal house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with six housemates who are also participating in the program. As part of the project she is working full-time at Sojourner Family Peace Center, a nonprofit domestic violence advocacy program, as an advocate in the Milwaukee County Restraining Order Clinic, providing support for victims of domestic violence.

Aubrey Tingler (2011) graduated with honors last spring from Emory University where she majored in environmental science and minored in English. At Emory she worked for the Miller-Ward Alumni House as an event manager, interned with Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives, served on the University Senate Committee on the Environment, and worked as editor-in-chief of Generation Response (an environmental and social justice magazine). Last

year the Spring Garden Waldorf School, which she attended from grades K-8, presented Aubrey with the “Waldorf Difference Award” for her work on environmental stewardship. She is now an AmeriCorps volunteer working with the US Fish and Wildlife on a mix of field biology and environmental education projects.

Elizabeth Wells (2011) graduated last spring magna cum laude from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is now living in New York City working as a user experience design intern at Stinkdigital, a digital production agency. Her clients have included Google, Twitter, Chevrolet, and Spotify.

Paige Duncan (2012) is a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she is majoring in interior design with a minor in historic preservation. Recent studio classes have included retail design, workspace/office design, and cruise ship design. She is staring to focus on her senior capstone project and is planning a post-graduation trip to Bali, Indonesia.

Julian Feeley (2012) is a senior at Claremont McKenna College. In the summer of 2014, he interned at a social finance startup called Prodigy Finance in Cape Town, South Africa. He then spent the fall 2014 semester in Kunming, China. The program included a 3-week long learning trip to Thailand and Laos. He returned to Claremont for the spring 2015 semester. Last summer he worked in the Los Angeles area at a commercial real estate investment services firm called Matthews Retail Group.

Ilyana Flefel (2012) is a junior at the University of New England, where she is majoring in marine science with a concentration in marine biology. She loves her major, and is looking forward to a career in marine conservation, or something similar. She plans to graduate in 2016 then seek a one-year internship somewhere exotic like Fiji, Australia, or the Galapagos.

Ayella Maile-Moskowitz (2012) is a junior at the University of Maryland where she is pursuing a BS in environmental science and technology. Over the summer she worked with a Maryland professor on a project using anaerobic digesters to transform chicken waste into biogas, which can be used as an energy source, and an effluent that can be used as a fertilizer. It was a smelly but productive summer!

Sam Girdzis (2012) is at senior at the College of William & Mary, double majoring in physics and math. This year he was awarded two physics-related scholarships: the E. Gary Clark Memorial Scholarship from the W&M Physics Department and an Undergraduate STEM Research Scholarship from the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. Over the summer he interned at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, researching nanotechnology for magnetic materials.

Bao-Tich Nguyen (2012) has returned to George Mason University, after a varied summer spending time outdoors and exploring new music programs and composing/recording in his home studio. He is especially interested in exploring Eastern medicine, including herbal medicine, acupuncture, other alternative methods.

Hannah Rose (2012) is a senior at Bennington College. Last winter she interned at Buzzco Associates, Inc., an animation studio in New York City. She also completed an animated trailer for a science fiction book she is writing. She adds that she is having a blast at Bennington, where she is famed as the girl who walks around at night dressed in black and spends 99% of the night lurking in the art building.

Mei Mei Lin (2013) is a film major with a music minor on a pre-med track at Mount Holyoke College. She is also continuing her jazz studies at Amherst College. Next spring she will study abroad in Seville, Spain. After graduation she plans on attending nursing school.

Julian Feeley with Chinese Host Dad

Mr. Petrash, Mrs. Coleman, and 8th Graders at Field Day in May

2015 Athletic Awards: (L-R) Joe Coleman, Knight of the Year; Elise Hackman, Alanna Marie Lake Award; Sophia Bryla, Lady Knight of the Year

Class Notes continued Donors 2014-2015

ANNUAL FUNDIn calculating membership in giving circles, corporate matching gifts are credited to the individuals who made them possible.

Visionary Circle$25,000 or moreLex and Chrissie Sant

Phoenix Circle$10,000-$24,999Brad ClarkRoger and Vicki SantDan and Yon Wacker

Knights Circle$5,000-$9,999Clark Charitable FoundationGurujeet Singh and Gurujeet Kaur KhalsaJeff Naimon and Carla WheelerMicrosoft Giving CampaignJennifer and Greg Page

Partners Circle$2,500-$4,999AnonymousNatalie and John AdamsJack Benson and Cecilia Berg-BensonCarlos and Ana CavalcantiCombined Federal CampaignAshley FloryJon Jackson and Maria Monteverde-JacksonMichael and Carol JosephAllison Fultz and Steve LangerGreg Mueller and Patty DeusterCarol ParsonsLinda Caro ReinischNeeran SarafStanford J. Reinisch & Carol Dechant Foundation

Leadership Circle$1,000-$2,499Hasan and Zeena AltalibMichael and Susan BarrJack Cayouette and Laureen GastonDorine Colabella DiConti and Michael DiContiMichele and Fred ColemanKevin and Maybelle CollierNelson and Carolyn CrouchExxonMobil FoundationDaniel and Adria FosterRoy Hakes and Debra Marshall

Alex and Anne HawkinsonMalvery and Murchison HenryMichael and Greta HornSteven HorowitzDaniel Ballard Jamieson and Jennie RabinowitzCaitlin MacKenzie and Noel BicknellMary Ann MacKenzieScott and Suzanne NashDavid Nebiker and Barbara CuthillDustin and Lanh NguyenBob Roche and Nancy HirshbeinMichael and Colette SilverShawn Sun and Sherry LuCharles and Georgina TrainTimur Tunador and Christiana JaegerSteve Wilkins and Peggy McManus

Friends Circle$500-$999Anonymous (2)Anthroposophical Society, Greater Washington BranchGeorge and Christa AthasAaron and Adrienne BrunerBarbara Buchman and John VerleunKevin Conway and Shelli AvenevoliJohn DammannJimmy Daukas and Meg RoyceJason and Robyn DavisRichard Efron

Jim EpsteinExxon Mobil Educational AllianceBill and Nancy FosterJoel and Susan FullerHiroko FultzLaurence and Katalin GingoldZachary and Jamesen GoodmanIBM Matching Grants ProgramBill JacksonBallard and Diana JamiesonIsiah and Esther JohnsonStacey KornegayPeter Kristensen and Sunny KaplanMarcia and David LeonardAndrew Lipton and Elizabeth FrancoSteve and Jenifer LuckBill and Heidi MerkelEron Picus and Sarah HeirmanAdrienne Paiewonsky and Paul GirdzisPeter Sisler and Deniz Ergener

The Washington Waldorf School is deeply grateful for all gifts from our extended community, and we are honored to recognize these gifts to the school. Tuition does not cover the full cost of a Waldorf education. Gifts to the Annual Fund make a vital contribution to closing the gap between revenues and expenses and keeping WWS financially healthy. In addition, donations to the school, especial-ly through the spring gala and auctions, allow us to better serve our students and expand what is possible. This year also saw the conclusion of the Build Our Vision Capital Campaign. Gifts to this campaign are included in the campaign newsletter insert. We have checked all donor lists carefully and have made every effort to ensure that they are accurate. Please inform us of any errors or omis-sions by contacting Steve Smith, Director of Communications, at [email protected] or at 301-229-6107 x123.


Colleen and Scott TaliaferroDawn Tanner and Emily SiegelSuzanne and Carlos TapiaTARGETDavid and Pavla TeieTroy and Paula ThomasCorey and Kenann ThompsonUlrike and Rodney ThornPaul and Erica TinglerMax UrmeyBarbara Vellmerk HalpernSusan WalshKent Waymire and Gretchen MaxwellDaniel and Julie WendtKristian WhippleDamian and Lydia WhithamSandy Wiggins and Tracey BowenMichael Wolf and Betty-Ellen ShaveYolanda ZamoraCalvin Zon and Laurel Blaydes

OTHER GIFTS

2015 Spring Gala and AuctionSponsors who made gifts to help underwrite the cost of the galaBeasley Real EstateDr. and Mrs. David RabinowitzFoxhall CateringInternational School of MusicJFW, Inc.Lynn Tucker, Washington Fine PropertiesMartha Vance CelloMobile PosseSimon Says YogaWashington Walks

Gifts through gala special appeal in support of financial aidNatalie and John Adams Michael and Susan BarrJack Benson and Cecilia Berg-BensonJanet CorneliusJohn and Laura Cox Nelson and Carolyn Crouch

Norihiro and Mari SuzakiThe Tiny Zukerberg Family FundCraig van SchilfgaardeBruce and Ginny WeberElizabeth WellesWells Fargo Foundation Educational Matching Gifts ProgramGeorge and Kristina Wyatt

Community Circleup to $499Anonymous (12)Sven AbowStephen and Lynn AdelmannAhold Financial Services (Giant)David and Maianne AlsopAli Alwahti and Marilyn NogueraScott Anderson and Brigit ViksninsLaurent and Clare AndreSimon and Jane BabilRich Ann BaetzGeoff and Carol BakerBarbara and John BancroftBank of America Charitable TrustMagali BarbaranPhilip and Lisa BechmannAlexander Belida and Patricia ReberNevin BenderKarim and Aglaia BenniTom Berry and Brigitte MoserHelmut and Heidi BillensteinPatricia Fortino Blond and David BlondCarol BoggsMarc and Lynn BonitatiDavid Boos and Rebecca BurgessMajor and Danielle BowenJohn and Mary BrauerPhilipp and Doerthe BraunCully and Sara BrownsenStanley and Dolores BrylaJim and Chrissy BrylaEdward Buckley and Margaret GennaroDonald and Lynn BufanoJack Burbridge and Nancy RaymondWendy Cardany

Helen CaroJeff Caudill and Judith GraffJoe Chambers and Judith WidesVanessa ChangIvan and Kathy CharnerDavid ClissoldDavid Conrad and Paula DinersteinRoman CuenaKevin and Andrea DaneyAlan Demmerle and Joy BelluzziRandy Dentel and Tina Daub DentelChristos and Joanne DeVarisJennifer DumasLur EganBasil and Mona EldadahSiham EldadahTove and Susan ElfstromJay Endelman and Kathy SimonettiLionel and Elizabeth EpsteinJonathan Epstein and Rachel HershDavid EpsteinAnne FleishmanNate ForresterEric and Amy ForseterChristian and Kari GardinerXavier Gibert-SerraCorinna GittelGramp FoundationGreg and Phyllis GreerMark Greiner and Kolya Braun-GreinerJody and Carlo GrossmanJonathan Habermann and Jung PakAndre and Shelly HackmanLiz Hagerman and Edwin WellesFrank and Anna HallDavid and Stephanie HansonElliot and Christina HarrisHarris TeeterChris and Vivian HartenauRaymond and Debra HearnKaryl HenryMichael and Phyllis HermanLani and Alan HillDavid Hills and Kristen Henley-HillsPatrick HoganEric and Susan HoldsworthDavid Hollweger

Thomas Holmberg and Alison SouthallLarry and Barbara HooverMark and Marie-Christine HooverPatricia King JacksonJoseluis and Sigrid JimenezAndrew Joseph and Gabriele SchilzPeter and Cecelia KarpoffLincoln and Gopi KinnicuttDavid Kirby and Sarah VakkurPhyllis KornegayUlrike KozakWally and Mechelle KuleszaBrian Lake and KseniaKwame Lawson and Aimee Lykins-LawsonLezlie Lawson and Rob BarnwellValerie LeBlancMarcus and Isabelle LedbetterAndy and Julie LeesAnnette and Jonathan LelandGloria LeonWilliam LeungBruce LibonnRobert Lindsay and Brooke BurchellMatt LoganMeghan and Craig LudtkeReza Mahbod and Bridget MaybudTed and Noreen MajorVictoria MansuriCindy and Alan MartinMarie and Steve MaurerBonnie McClellandCynthia McClellandMichael and Lorenne McCormickSusanne McLeanMarya McQuirterAlden and Connie MeyerMark and April MeyersonCraig Middlebrook and Amy NorthcuttAimen Mir and Ayesha KazmiAndy Mollard and Christina HsiehChristopher MosesKen and Pat MossRenate MuellerAmeha Mulat and Fozia JoshuaAdam Mutschler and Erica GoldfineDileep and Natasha Nair

Donors continued

Evangelina Hakes, Senior Project on Learning American Sign Language

6th Grade Medieval Games

7th Grade Play, Music of the Spheres

Tom Nastick and Jane ChristensonJean-Marc Natal and Valerie Lucchesi NatalIrene NebikerWendy Newell and Troy WindhamRomano NinassiTimothy O’Connor and Iryna PolykovaOne CauseMark and Julie OxleyJon Padgham and Bonnie AuslanderJung PakJane PanagisTrina ParkerJuan Carlos Parra-Osorio and Adriana Gomez-OchoaJack and Carol PetrashVenil RamiahAjay and Lakshmi RavulapalliEliza ReedNat Reid and Rachel RudyMaurice and Pat Robinson

Jennifer Robinson and Eben KaplanRobin Rose and Judy PenskiInta RutinsTaisto and Abby SalomaJennifer SalomaPhil and Fran SandersonMarta Schley and Paul SquireRob Schware and Alice TrembourJurgen Seidel and Aleen Rothschild-SeidelBill and Anna SiglerReid SimonLinda SimonsSumeet and Jennifer SinghJeremy SmallTorris Smith and Nancy Mautone-SmithSteve Smith and JLee NewellJonathan and Betsy SmithA. Elizabeth SommerfeltYdrissa and Christine SowDebbie and Chuck SpitulnikFelice StadlerKatea StittJohn and Kathie StoneSumner Square CondominiumJuliette Tahar

Allison Fultz and Steve LangerLaurence and Katalin GingoldJody GrossmanKatherine and Al HerreraLani HillEric and Susan HoldsworthDaniel Jamieson and Jennie RabinowitzDebra and Jeff KolenderLezlie Lawson and Rob BarnwellAnnette and Jonathan LelandJenifer and Steve LuckCaitlin MacKenzie and Noel BicknellMiguel and Susan MonteverdeMaria Monteverde-Jackson and Jon JacksonKen and Pat MossKevin Mutschler and Leah KedarJeff Naimon and Carla WheelerScott and Suzanne NashJennifer and Greg PageAdrienne Paiewonsky and Paul GirdzisLinda Caro ReinischTaisto and Abby SalomaLex and Chrissie SantMarta Schley and Paul SquirePeter Sisler and Deniz ErgenerSteve Smith and JLee NewellDebbie and Chuck SpitulnikIan StirgwoltJennifer Stirgwolt and John TourekDawn Tanner and Emily SiegelDan and Julie WendtGeorge and Kristina Wyatt

Gifts through the gala special appeal in support of new furniture in our renovated entrance hallNatalie and John AdamsJack Benson and Cecilia Berg-BensonDeryck and Bronwen BrownCully and Sara BrownsonRobert Burchell and Brooke LindsayFred and Michele ColemanJanet CorneliusJohn and Laura CoxNelson and Carolyn CrouchAllison Fultz and Steve LangerLaurence and Katalin GingoldJudith Graff and Jeff CaudillKatherine and Al HerreraLani HillEric and Susan HoldsworthDaniel Jamieson and Jennie RabinowitzDavid Kirby and Sarah VakkurDebra and Jeff KolenderLezlie Lawson and Rob BarnwellCaitlin MacKenzie and Noel BicknellBill and Heidi MerkelMaria Monteverde-Jackson and Jon JacksonJeff Naimon and Carla WheelerScott and Suzanne NashJennifer and Greg PageEron Picus and Sarah HeirmanTaisto and Abby SalomaLex and Chrissie SantMarta Schley and Paul SquirePeter Sisler and Deniz ErgenerSteve Smith and JLee NewellIan StirgwoltJennifer Stirgwolt and John TourekSuzanne and Carlos TapiaSverrir and Christine Tomasson


Dan and Julie WendtLydia WhithamSandy Wiggins and Tracy BowenGeorge and Kristina Wyatt

Other gifts through live and online auction pur-chases that support the operating budgetNatalie AdamsKelly ArwariJanet AsancheyevFrancesca AvelleyraMichael and Susan BarrAnna BelaschenkoJack Benson and Cecilia Berg-BensonLark Bergwin-AndersonNancye BonomoRebecca BurgessNancy BurkeAnne ChamplinVanessa Chang

Michele ColemanJohn and Laura CoxNelson and Carolyn CrouchKristina DayLur EganMona EldadahWalter FerrerAshley FloryAllison FultzAdrienne GalloLaureen GastonLaurence and Katalin GingoldJudith GraffSonya Laurence GreenRoy Hakes and Debra MarshallStephanie HansonKatherine HerreraEric and Susan HoldsworthVirginia IbarraDaniel Jamieson and Jennie RabinowitzSunny KaplanKen Kido and Alison WhitmireLezlie Lawson and Rob Barnwell

Brooke LindsayCaitlin MacKenzie and Noel BicknellNoreen MajorHeather MarrieChristine MasonMarie MaurerLorenne and Michael McCormickBill and Heidi MerkelMiguel and Susan MonteverdeMaria Monteverde-Jackson and Jon JacksonAmeha MulatNatasha NairScott and Suzanne NashLanh NguyenMarilyn NogueraJennifer NovakJennifer and Greg PageEron Picus and Sarah HeirmanChristine PufferEliza ReedLinda Caro ReinischCarmen RomeroMeg Royce and Jimmy DaukasRachel RudyLex and Chrissie SantJulie SedorPeter Sisler and Deniz ErgenerSteve Smith and JLee NewellRobin SorkinAli SouthallSharie SpryJennifer Stirgwolt and John TourekKenann ThompsonChristine TomassonSarah Vakkur and David KirbyJulie WendtCarla Wheeler and Jeff NaimonLydia WhithamSandy Wiggins and Tracy BowenGeorge and Kristina Wyatt

Donations by individuals of goods or services to live or online auctionsCarl AcostaLaurent AndreBonnie AuslanderAlison BabilWendy Wales CardanyMichelle Rabinowitz CarneyAna CavalcantiBarbara CuthillLur EganMona EldadahCornelia FlorescuJudith GraffKatherine HerreraMarie-Christine HooverFozia JoshuaJohn KaboffBhagwan KhalsaDebbi KolenderRussell KramerIsabelle LedbetterJudy LudtkeCindy MartinLorenne McCormickSusan and Miguel MonteverdeMaria Monteverde-JacksonSuzanne Nash

JLee NewallJennifer PageJennie RabinowitzAjay RavapulliMargo Reid and Greg SimonLinda Caro ReinischAndris RutinsChristine SowDebbie and Chuck SpitulnikColleen TaliaferroDavid TeieJudith Wides

WWS class donations to online auctionChildren’s Garden1st Grade2nd Grade3rd Grade4th Grade5th Grade6th Grade8th Grade10th Grade

Donations by companies or other organizations to live or online auctionsArena StageBalticsmith Beltway Transportation ServiceBlank Ankle WineryCamp Glen BrookCareer Pioneer NetworksCircle YogaFinkidFoxhall CateringHotel Monaco, Kimpton HotelsInternational School of MusicKennedy Center OperaKramerbooks and Afterwards Bookstore and CaféKurtz & AtkinsMagic Planet Silk ArtMaMa Organic HerbsMaryland Lyric OperaMcDougall Associates, LLCMOM’s Organic MarketMonunmental SportsNational Archives FoundationNaturepedicNoPa KitchenPACT ApparelPalette and MusePhillipsPitango GelatoRed Velvet CupcakesRoad 31Shakespeare Theatre CompanySouth Mountain CreameryStudio TheatreTeaismThe Washington RevelsThe Sharper Cut, Inc.Theatre JThink Food GroupUnity Woods Yoga CenterWeledaWoolly Mammoth Theater

Donors continued Faculty Member Milestones

Pumpimg water in the Children’s Garden

The WWS Messenger is produced by the WWS Development Office. We welcome your updates, comments, corrections, and suggestions. Please stay in touch.

Director Communications: Steve Smith [email protected]

Director of Development: Caitlin MacKenzie [email protected]

Director of Events and Community Relations: Maria Monteverde-Jackson [email protected]

Design and Production: Mike Zang, Camera Ready Graphics

Phone: 301-229-6107 Web: www.washingtonwaldorf.org Facebook: Washington Waldorf School—WWS Twitter: @DCWaldorf

Carl Hoffman, WWS’s first class teacher, died last April at his home in New Zealand, where he had lived for many years. Jack Petrash shared this recollection on Mr. Hoffman:Carl was our founding teacher and took the first, first grade of 11 children in 1969 and built that into a class of 25 by the time I came to the school 4 years later. After taking the class from grade one to eight, Carl taught German and continued his work as the Faculty Chair. Carl was a wonderful storyteller and teacher, dedicated to the imponderable and surprising effects of Waldorf education on children. Each morning he would stand at the top of the stairs at Hearst Hall and greet the children as they arrived. His white hair, his gentle smile, and his kind words greeted so

many students at the start of the day. He was at our school for the first 14 years before he moved to New Zealand to head up the Taruna Teacher Training Program. He continued to hold our school close to his heart.

In Memoriam

Carl Hoffman, WWS’s First Class Teacher

WWS is fortunate to have an extraordinarily dedicated and capable faculty. Many have served the school for decades, not only as teachers, but also as member of the College of the Teachers, Trustees Council, and countless other capacities. We are pleased to recognize and thank several of our most experienced teachers who reached 20 or more years at the school over the last year.

We also remember Terry Dammann, our long-time librarian who passed away last fall. She built up our library substantially while at WWS, and she and her husband John remained close to the school over the years. Her son Frank graduated from WWS in 1994.Terry Dammann, Librarian

Susan Elfstrom, High School Life Sciences and Chemistry, 20 years

Valerie LeBlanc, Middle School and High School Humanities, 20 years

Mary Brauer, Education Support teacher, retired last year after 23 years

Brian Lake, Class Teacher, Middle School English, 25 years

Nevin Bender, Music Director, 27 years

Barbara Buchman, Handwork, 28 years

Jennifer Saloma, Children’s Garden Teacher, 28 years

Tove Elfstrom, Class Teacher, Woodwork, Metal Work, Blacksmith, 30 years

Frank Hall, High School Humanities, 31 years

Jack Petrash, Class Teacher, now retired after completing four 8-year class cycles,36 years

John Brauer, Class Teacher, Athletic Director and Coach, 40 years

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Back row, L-R: Nina Cavalcanti, Noah Scher, Evangelina Hakes, Matt Oxley. Front row, L-R: Nick Huguet, Joe John-son, Courtney Athas, Cameron Bechmann

Class of 2015

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Messenger fall 2015 final

Documents

Transcript of Messenger fall 2015 final