Eugene Waldorf School Brochure
Welcome!
The Eugene Waldorf School
The Eugene Waldorf School is located on a sunny 4-1/2 acre site in a quiet neighborhood in Eugene's south hills. There is an expansive view to the north over the city, which lies at the southern end of the fertile Willamette Valley. The valley is borde
red on the west by the rugged, majestic Oregon Coast, and on the east by the Cascade Mountains, both an hour's drive away.
Founded in 1980, the school enrollment has grown to approximately 247 students. The Eugene Waldorf School is incorporated as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under state and federal laws, and is a member of the Oregon Federationof Independent
Schools, and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. The
Eugene Waldorf School is an independent, nonprofit, nondiscriminatory
school, rooted in those Christian principles which transcend all
religious denominations.
Social Form of the School
The educational aspects are the responsibility of the COLLEGE OF TEACHERS which meets in weekly conferences. The chairperson, serving on a rotating basis, is the representative of the faculty and the school. The BOARD OF TRUSTEES is responsible for the
legal and financial side and works in cooperation with the whole parent body. The day-to-day administrtion of the school is attended to by the office manager and the business manager, who work closely with the College of Teachers, parent committees and
the Board of Trustees.
School Building and Grounds
Built in the early 1920's, our main school building houses large, sunlit classrooms separated by wide corridors. Ourf high school bacilities consist of two craft classrooms in a remodeled older building adjacent to a new two-story building. The newer p
ortion houses four classrooms including a science lab, the high school library, and faculty room. A new eurhythmy room frees up the gym for physical education and community gatherings. Our stage adjoining the gym is very suitable for both simpler plays
of the grade school, and the more ambitious productions of the high school. A large athletic field, playground, and land for gardening, make our site very suitable to accomodate a full 12-year Waldorf curriculum.
Waldorf Education
"Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who, of
themselves, are able to give purpose and direction to their lives."
---Rudolf Steiner
The primary goal of Waldorf Education is to develop the full creative potential in each individual human being. This is achieved with support of a comprehensive curriculum which is based on the developmental stages of the child and curried right through
the high school years. All subjects in the humanities, the sciences, and arts and crafts are brought to every student through 12th grade. The true aim of education is not primarily the mastery of a body of knowlege as such, but to awaken real powers of
perception and judgement in relation to life.
Waldorf Education is grounded in the life and work of the Austrian philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), an international figure who founded new directions for human cultural and spiritual life. His answers to the questions and co
ncerns of his students led to innovative approaches and renewal in education, medicine, science, agriculture, religion, the arts, and human consciousness. His many books and extensive lecture courses laid the basis for a new understanding of the human be
ing.
"The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of
responsibility; these are the three forces which are the very nerve of
education." ---Rudolf Steiner
Kindergarten
Young children are receptive and open. They overflow with inner liveliness and mobility, and they learn by doing, by imitating all they see. The kindergarten teacher guides the active will of the child into constructive, creative, and rhythmic learning
activities that nourish the child's imagination and physical well-being while fostering social harmony and stimulating healthy play.
In kindergarten, the moods and festivals of the seasons and the wonders of nature are experienced through art, movement, story and song. This environment which nurtures the physical, emotional, social and spiritual development of each child is a
wonderful preparation for the school years as well as for life.
The Eugene Waldorf School has mixed-age kindergartens, four to six year olds, which are half-days, five days a week. After-school care is an available option.
Main Lesson and Class Teacher
As children enter the elementary school, they are guided by a class teacher who begins with the first grade and carries the same group of children through the eighth grade. Students and teacher develop a deep and enduring relationship through the shared
experience of the main lesson. The continuity and commitment of the class teacher allow authority to grow naturally out of love. Discipline at the hands of that trusted guide is internalized over time to become self-discipline.
The following MAIN LESSON SUBJECTS, taught in blocks of 3- or 4-weeks, are presented the first two hours of the morning. During this time, the children are moving, writing, practicing, drawing, modeling, and listening, as their subjects work deep
er into their thought lives and memories.
Curriculum
FIRST GRADE: Phonics; Writing; Speech through recitation and retelling stories; Simple numbers with the four processes; Fairy Tales.
SECOND GRADE: Reading and Writing; Mental Arithmetic and Arithmetic using larger numbers; Legends of the Saints, and Fables.
THIRD GRADE: Grammar; Speech; Weights and Measures; House Building;
Farming; Introduction to Music Notation; Old Testament Stories.
FOURTH GRADE: Grammatical Tenses; Fractions; Local Geography; Man and Animal; Norse Mythology.
FIFTH GRADE: Letter Writing; Decimals and the Metric System; Freehand Geometry; U.S. Geography; Botany; Egyptian and Greek Mythology; Ancient History to Alexander the Great.
SIXTH GRADE: Writing and Speech style development; Gardening as a special subject; Simple Interest and Percentages; Astronomy; World Climatic Conditions; Mineraloly; Physics; Geometry; Perspective Drawing; Roman and Medieval History.
SEVENTH GRADE: Composition; Squaring, Cubing, and Equations; Export/Import; World Spiritual and Cultural Conditions; Physics; Mechanics; Chemistry; Charcoal Drawing; Renaissance History; Physiology-Nutrition.
EIGHTH GRADE: Prose, Poetry, Drama; Algebra; World Nutrition and Health Conditions; Practical Physics; Organic Chemistry; Geometric Calculations; Physiology and Anatomy Drawing as an Art; Epic Prose and Poetry to Modern Times; U.S. History.
Special Subjects Curriculum
Accompanying the main lesson work are the lessons by SPECIALIST TEACHERS.
EURYTHMY, an art of movement developed by Rudolf Steiner, is a key to harmonizing the whole person. Music and the spoken word accompany the lessons.
WOODWORKING, MODELING and HANDWORK bring about not only skills and aethetically pleasing results, but also an expenience of disciplined activity that prepares students for forming judgments and thoughts as life will soon require.
VOCAL and INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC play a major role in Eugene Waldorf School Life, where the students, through daily music making, grow in their capacity to produce and appreciate music. In the early years, students work with pentatonic music on flutes or rec
orders. Later they experience orchestra and choir in various groupings.
DRAMA is another expression of the class work. Every year each class prepares a play, related to their studies, for parents and fellow students. School celebrations and assemblies are a time for sharing the work of classes and individual students.
GERMAN and SPANISH are the foreign languages taught from first through eighth grade. They are experienced orally through story, song, rhyme and movement, giving the children a familiarity and feeling of the qualities of different cultures. Grammar, read
ing, translation, and short plays come in a more formal way in the upper grades.
GAMES CLASSES in the younger grades progress to more formal PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES for older students. The teachers of the games/physical education classes bring to their work Bothmer gymnastics, a special training, unique to the Waldorf Schools.
Class Projects
CLASS PROJECTS such as the building of a stone house, and CLASS TRIPS provide times of working and exploring nature together to cultivate responsibility towards each other and the environment.
High School
"The great thing is to enable the human being to find his or
her place in the world with due confidence in his or her power of
judgment." ---Rudolf Steiner
In our teaching of the adolescent, we appeal to the awakened power of independent thinking and judgement. Mindful of the educational principal that all teaching must contribute to a more thorough knowledge of life, we offer a rich, comprehensive curricu
lum throughout all four high school years.
During these years of inner turmoil and confusing challenges from the outside world, the Waldorf curriculum provides the adolescent with a harmonizing and healing balance. By stimulating idealism and enthusiasm, the curriculum fosters both a livi
ng connection with all that is positive in the modern world, and the initiative to enter into life.
The honing of the cognitive thinking power through the academic subjects, such as mathematics, science, literature, history, geography, and foreign languages, is complemented with the development of the creative faculties through the arts of music
, painting, modeling, drama and eurythmy. Creative imagination is schooled through disciplined artistic experience to become an integral component of intelligence -- as necessary for the pursuit of science as for the enjoyment of culture.
Learning to work skillfully with one's hands requires patience, practice, perseverance and precision. These qualities transfer to life's circumstances as needed. Carpentry, spinning, weaving, metalwork, bookbinding, gardening, handwork and techn
ology, all practical subjects, are distributed over the four-year period, while gymnastics and sports appear in a weekly rhythm.
College Guidance
High School students are guided by class advisors all four years, and college guidance counselors provide the older students with SAT preparations and college direction, as needed. The aim is to prepare students for life as well as for college.
High School Curriculum
Faculty
The Eugene Waldorf School has an experienced, creative, and dedicated faculty. All teachers hold an academic degree (B.A. or M.A.) and/or Waldorf teacher's certification. All faculty members are encouraged to attend conferences, take courses, and throu
gh interaction with colleagues, remain awake to the questions that must be addressed on a day-to-day basis as they meet the children.
Parent Participation
The Waldorf School invites and relies on the parental participation in the cummunity life of the school. The Parent Council includes representatives from each class and meets monthly. Class meetings are held once a term with the class teacher and give
parents the opportunity to stay abreast of the curriculum, to share concerns, and to plan activities to nurture the social life of the class. School-wide public events, such as the Christmas Faire, May Faire, and other seasonal celebrations are organized
by parents and teachers, and become community highlights of the school year. Study groups, workshops, and forums occur throughout the year for parents interested in learning more about Waldorf education.
As with most independent schools, the Waldorf School cannot operate from tuition revenues alone. By supporting special events such as the Christmas Faire, parents, alumni, and a wider circle of friends help to sustain the economic viability of th
e school. Gifts come forth from a deep appreciation of Waldorf education and the real cultural need it fills in the world. Parents operate a store in the school which offers books, toys, and items compatible with the ideals of Waldorf education.
Admittance
The first step towards enrollment consists in the arrangement of an interview where parents, child, and teachers can meet and discuss all relevant questions. Admittance is purely on educational grounds.
Tuition Policy
Although fees, fundraising, and donations are the only sources of income, the school's tuition policy is based on the principle that, ideally, no child should be denied admittance for financial reasons alone. Toward this ideal a limited scholarship prog
ram is offered.
Eugene Waldorf School Brochure -- 1995
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