Aurora Waldorf School

It's amazing what our talented students create in their handwork and woodwork classes! From early childhood through graduation, students are enhancing their academics while learning these life-long skills.

Waldorf education is non-denominational and yet emphasizes the development of the whole child— mind, body, and spirit. This approach is rooted in the understanding that each child has inherent spiritual qualities that can be nurtured through a rich and diverse educational experience that includes rhythmic routines, verses, storytelling, and artistic activities, which contribute to the formation of a sense of inner harmony and connection.

Read More at Waldorf-Resources: https://www.waldorf-resources.org/single-view/the-spiritual-dimension-of-waldorf-education

It's the opening day! While all eyes are on Paris for this grand event, AWS recently held our own ! As part of an in-depth study of Ancient Greece, our students participated in the annual AWS Olympiad where the focus was on Beauty, Truth, and Strength as they competed in discus, javelin, long jump, wrestling and running races. It was an awesome two-day event! Congrats to all and wishing all a great games!

Does your child love to play and explore outside? Our Pre-K and Kindergarten classes spend ample time outdoors every day. This meets the children’s innate need to be in nature and offers them a joyful sense of calm and security. Schedule your tour today! https://calendly.com/vlucca/60min?month=2023-03

Save the Date! Our Fall Open House will be here soon.

Revisiting some of the gorgeous chalk artwork from teacher Krystal Weston. We are thankful for her talents that adorn classroom walls!

In Grade 2, Saint Francis’s Canticle to the Sun served as inspiration for a writing and artistic activity. This canticle, or song, gives gratitude for the sun, moon, wind, water, fire, and Earth. For each of these, the students created beautiful paintings that helped bring an image to their carefully crafted writing. Great work, students!

Thank you to the East Aurora Advertiser for this profile of our Lisa Carrow and her retirement following many years of service at Aurora Waldorf School.

School Founder and Long-Time Faculty Member to Retire - East Aurora Advertiser Lisa Carrow, current Aurora Waldorf School Faculty Chair and long-time teacher, will retire.Submitted Image Lisa Carrow, current Aurora Waldorf School (AWS) Faculty Chair and long-time teacher, will leave the school at the end of June. Carrow leaves a legacy of service and commitment to AWS. Her car...

Thank you to the East Aurora Bee Newspaper for this highlight of our Lisa Carrow. She will be missed!

Aurora Waldorf School faculty chair and co-founder retiring - East Aurora Bee Retiring Aurora Waldorf School co-founder. faculty chair and teacher Lisa Carrow sought an alternative education for her children – but what she ended up with was a community of her own. A native of Canada, Carrow admits that her own educational experience was difficult. That led her to explore al...

Our students enjoyed a great first week of our summer program with Earth Spirit Educational Services! Hikes, animal explorations, bird watching, fossil hunting, outdoor skills, and more! Thank you for a great week Earth Spirit Educational Services !

Our popular Parent-Toddler program is now open for registration! Beginning the first week of August, we are looking forward to a late summer/early fall 6-week session. Children ages birth-3 come to AWS once a week with a caregiver for two hours of play, shared snack, circle time, outdoor play and more! Register early as these classes do sell out: https://aurorawaldorfschool.org/forms/spring-parent-toddler-class-2024

We loved our week with Earth Spirit Educational Services!

Grade 1 continued to grow academically and socially this school year - a joy to witness! The students demonstrated their teamwork and problem-solving skills during the end-of-year assembly by forming a human knot and then collaboratively untangling it. So fun!

Faculty Chair, founding school member, and former long-time Handwork Teacher Lisa Carrow will retire from AWS at the end of June. We will dearly miss her daily presence and wish her all the best in the future. We were happy to celebrate Lisa with a lunch gathering and bench dedication in her honor.

Happy Summer Solstice! Read on to catch up on the latest from Aurora Waldorf School: https://mailchi.mp/4ecfc30d06ef/summer-updates-from-aurora-waldorf-school

Summer fun with a fourth grader! Families can take advantage of Every Kid Outdoors - a US Government initiative - offering free access to ANY national park and historic site for an entire year for fourth graders and their families. Visit the Every Kid Outdoors website for instructions on obtaining your free pass. Happy exploring!

https://www.everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm

Student-built sailboats set sail! Kindergarten classes worked hard on their handmade sailboats, preparing for last week’s regatta on our neighboring creek. Parents, teachers and students enjoyed a morning by the water, proud of their work creating these boats!

Schedule your tour today! https://calendly.com/vlucca/60min?month=2023-03

Grade 3/4 experienced a week of farm activities at Hawthorne Valley Farm in the Hudson Valley region of New York State. This trip is a tradition for AWS students. The group learned about animals, churned butter, assisted with farm chores, and experienced the joy of cows heading out to green spring pastures after a winter in the barn.

Grade 7/8 recently returned from an unforgettable Hawk Circle Wilderness Education Camp week. The adventure was filled with various activities that tested their skills and brought them closer together, including hiking, fire building, willow-branch weaving, and crafting coal-burned and whittled bowls and spoons. Mealtimes, evening games, and cold-water swimming added to creating lasting memories during this traditional AWS 8th-grade trip.

Students in our Oakwood classroom have much to be proud of upon the completion of their sewing projects! First year students created bean bags, second year students crafted dolls, and third year students designed and sewed their own quilts! These handwork skills will serve them well into the grades, and into life! These projects provide opportunities for artistic expression, concentration and focus practice, follow through, counting, hand-eye coordination and more! Great work, students!

Curious about Waldorf Education? Interested to hear from some of our grads about life beyond 8th grade at Aurora Waldorf School? Watch our recent Alum Panel on our YouTube channel and hear all about how an AWS education prepared these grads for life, college, and careers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAnBO0LHnUE

We’re brimming with excitement for the upcoming AWS Olympiad! Here we have main lesson book work from Grade 5/6 as they studied ancient Greece in preparation for the event. Students will compete in javelin, long jump, running and more as part of city-state teams.

Searching for owls - success!! A group of AWS families gathered for a guided nature walk with Earth Spirit Educational Services to explore our local woods in search of Barred Owls and Screech Owls. We were so lucky to observe a Barred Owl and find some owl pellets. Thank you to our parents for the excellent owl photos!

It was a beautiful night, with some bat sightings, too! Thank you to Earth Spirit for sharing their knowledge with us, and to Earth Spirit guide Daniel for his excellent - and realistic - owl calls.

Kindergarten students planted flower bulbs in the fall, and are now enjoying their blossoms! It’s beautiful to watch how excited these young students are to see the growth and renewal of spring!

Our wildflower meadow continues to expand thanks to a recent planting of native shrubs. Thank you to the team effort of Grade 7/8 and their First Grade buddies who worked together in planting. Nice work, all, and we are looking forward to watching them grow - the students and the plants!

Congratulations to all the graduates!

Springtime exploration, just for Moms! Many thanks to Sandy Geffner from Earth Spirit Educational Services and all the AWS moms who joined us for a spring foraging walk in our nearby woods. We had such fun celebrating spring and celebrating mothers!