Mrs. Babcock’s first grade class made beautiful beeswax daffodils today. They were also working on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
(PS — It’s so quiet and still because the children are out at recess!)
Dinner for Two Anywhere in the World Raffle — Last Year’s Winners
Traveling to Florence was a “dream come true” for Marilyn and Anton Kobus, winners of the 2012 “Dinner for Two Anywhere in the World” raffle. Thanks to the CAWS community, the couple was able to relive a dream born twenty-seven years ago on their honeymoon. The newlyweds vowed to return to Florence someday to explore the city more thoroughly. Winning the raffle made it happen.
Anton and Marilyn spent three nights in Venice at the Hotel Flora near Piazza San Marco, followed by four nights in Florence at a beautiful convent just outside the city. The grand prize included a special meal at La Giostra in Florence, “a warm, vibrant place with fantastic regional cuisine”.
Do you have dreams of Florence? Would you like to send a loved one to Asia or meet a friend in Tulum? Our annual raffle – Dinner for Two, Anywhere in the World – has kicked off. You could win a trip for two, yes, anywhere in the world. So please spread the word.
All raffle proceeds support our school.
Middle School Students Learn Wood-fired Baking
Every winter, the middle school students choose a six-week elective, offered Friday afternoons. This year, six brave souls (who don’t mind the cold) are learning to bake in the school’s new wood fired oven. Here’s a little bit of what we’ve done during the first three sessions — Kristen Fehlhaber
Week one: we baked pitas, but had a hard time getting the oven hot enough. Our dry-stacked bricks, combined with a beehive shape, left too many gaps in the walls. But the pitas all got eaten — no one seemed to mind.
Week two: we took the oven apart, down to its hearth, and rebuilt it, all in 90 minutes. What a great bunch of hard workers! We also baked some rolls (in a conventional oven), with some stenciling on top.
Week three: time to test the newly designed oven. After it was cleared of snow, it sent off a lot of steam. Then we baked two kinds of naan — snowshoe naan with sesame seeds and Uighur naan with scallion, cumin and caraway seeds. It held its heat nicely and we are looking forward to three more weeks of this baking elective.
$10,000 Challenge Grant Met!
Thanks to donors like you, Cape Ann Waldorf School met the $10,000 challenge grant!
Thanks to the generosity of the CAWS community, we met the goal of our December challenge grant. CAWS will now receive an additional $10,000 for the 2012-13 annual fund. In fact, over 81% of community families made a gift or pledge to the annual fund by Dec. 31, 2012 — exceeding our goal of 75% participation!
We are thrilled and deeply appreciate that so many of you demonstrated your support during what we recognize is a busy and often financially challenging time of year. It is wonderful to see our community working together to keep our school strong.
If you haven’t done so yeat and would still like to make a donation to the 2012-13 Annual Fund, please visit this page. Congratulations and thank you to all of the CAWS community.
Painting the Sistine Desk
Seventh Grade Curriculum Update by Anna Scalera
The seventh grade recently finished a history block on the Renaissance – a period brimming with excellent possibilities for learning through biographies. Our block began with the life story of Joan of Arc. The seventh graders marveled at Joan’s bravery in choosing death over imprisonment. Learning about the lives of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael was fascinating for students and teacher alike. From Leonardo’s flying machine sketches and dissections, to Michelangelo’s habit of not wearing socks for long periods of time, the artist’s quirks and timeless masterpieces captured our imaginations.
One assignment asked each student to copy a great master painting of their choice. They quickly realized how challenging it was to draw the figures (and in two cases, horses), as well as match the values and hues. We were able to apply our math study of ratios to scale the paintings down to the size of our paper while keeping the same proportions. One of the most memorable experiences of the block was a drawing activity intended to simulate what it might have felt like for Michelangelo to work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. For about 30 minutes, students drew a map of Italy on the underside of their desks! (photo below). Credit for this fun idea goes out to Mr. Masi, former intern in grade one.
At the end of the block, students shared which of the triad of great artists was their favorite. The top two were Michelangelo and Raphael – the former for his incredible willpower, and the latter for his gifts of being well-loved, and able to produce an abundance of beautiful paintings. Other figures we studied were Filippo Brunelleschi, Martin Luther, Johannes Gutenberg, Henry VIII, and Queen Elizabeth. For seventh graders – a time when the students’ identities are emerging – the theme of strong individuals was potent medicine.
Our next challenge will be to take on Shakespeare! Keep an eye out for the seventh grade play in March!