Tuesday News - September 18, 2012

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Click here to view our Google Calendar of Events.   

All submissions for the Tuesday News should be sent by Friday, 3:00 pm. to publicrelations@merriconeag.org

Upcoming Events

Waldorf Alumni Gathering in Boston

for alumni 21 and over

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 19

6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Lucky's Lounge, Boston

     Were you once part of a Waldorf community - teacher, student, parent,

graduate, staff, board member?

If so, then this alumni party in Boston is for you!

     Buffet dinner & cash bar - good friends - many reunions

     make new connections - share stories & Waldorf memories!

This event is collaboratively sponsosred by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA), Merriconeag Waldorf School, Cape Ann Waldorf School, Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, Green Meadow Waldorf School, Hawthorne Valley School, High Mowing School, Kimberton Waldorf School, Monadnock Waldorf School, Rudolf Steiner School of NYC, The Waldorf School (Lexington), The Waldorf School of Baltimore, The Waldorf School of Garden City, Waldorf High School of Massachusetts Bay, Waldorf School of Princeton, and Washington Waldorf School.

     RSVP: Patrice Maynard, pmaynard@awsna.org

or

Marjorie Jean-Paul, mjeanpaul@waldorfgarden.org

Wednesday is Handcraft Day at Merriconeag!

      Handcrafts are integral to Waldorf education, and ever since Merriconeag began over 28 years ago, community handcrafts have been instrumental in binding our community together.
      Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 19th, and every Wednesday up until the Fall Festival (Nov. 3) our handwork teachers will be offering free handcraft classes in our beautiful new Handcraft Building on the main campus. Everyone is welcome - whether you are a novice or a very experienced hand worker (knitting, sewing, felting, crocheting), a new parent or returning parent, this is a wonderful way to connect with other parents, deepen friendships, learn a new skill and get instructions and patterns for a new project. The items you make in this class will be sold at the Fall Festival, so on top of all these other reasons to come, you will feel good about supporting Merriconeag!
Fall Fair Crafts
Wednesday, September 19, 8:30 -10:00 a.m. or 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.: Make a pair of black walnut or cherry wood knitting needles. Simple to do and so beautiful to use. All materials provided. Julie Pennington, morning, Sandy Pearson, afternoon.

Wednesday, September 26, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. or 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.: Let Aly introduce you to adorable tiny petal babies in an assortment of fun colors. All materials provided. Aly Fullagar, morning and Sandy Pearson, afternoon.

     No little ones in the morning sessions, please, but children in grades 4 and up are most welcome to attend the afternoon sessions with an adult or on their own. Please sign up with Lisa in the grade school office so we can plan our supplies.
      If you have a suggestion for a project or would like to lead a session please contact Sandy or Julie. (FYI: A doll making workshop is being planned for Weds evenings. Stay tuned for more information.)
We look forward to working and laughing with you as we prepare for the fair.
Handwork Teachers: Sandy Pearson, spearson@merriconeag.org and Julie Pennington, jpennington@merriconeag.org.

More Circus Smirkus Gratitude
Make-a-Wish: There are many magical parts of our Circus Smirkus presentation. One of the most poignant comes when we host a Make-a-Wish Family for a backstage tour and VIP experience in the ring. This year, we hosted the Gallant Family, from Mexico, Maine. Young Nate is undergoing chemotherapy and greatly appreciated the chance to take a break from that grueling routine with an overnight at the Harraseeket Inn, graciously donated by Owner Chip Gray, and a visit to our big top. Merriconeag parent Tricia Toms took these beautiful shots during the Gallants' trip to the circus.

Other local families contributed their professional talent to the Circus:

Merriconeag parent, Patrick Quigg of Riverfront Barbeque in Augusta, donated a sumptuous BBQ feast for the Welcome Bash we threw for Smirkus. It's worth going to Augusta for "the best pulled pork" you'll ever have.

Stacey Sahin-Thurston baked the incredible cakes for that same party.

Meadowood Farm gave us gorgeous flowers.

Derosier's PIzza donated pizza for the tent crew.

Anita Demetropoulos of Island Treasure Toys donated toys and her time to the circus. Professional Organizer Aly Fullagar also lent her immense problem-solving skills to our effort.

Please support all these local merchants and thank them for running away to the Circus.

New Faces Around the Campus

Amanda Gale: Chorus, Grades 5 - 12
      Australian Flutist and Vocalist Amanda Gale is a captivating performer sought after for her luminous sound and poise on stage. She has made appearances as guest soloist, recitalist and chamber musician throughout Australia, France, Italy, Germany, Mexico and the United States; where she often features both flute and voice repertoire by esteemed Australian composers such as Peter Sculthorpe, Carl Vine, Anne Boyd, Elena Kats-Chernin, Ross Edwards and Miriam Hyde.
      Although rapidly establishing a career primarily as a versatile flute soloist and chamber musician internationally, Amanda is no stranger to to the orchestral and vocal music scene, working with conductors and musicians from all over the world. Some of these have included Leon Botstein, Gisele Ben-Dor, Harold Farberman, Guillermo Figueroa, Craig Kirchhoff, Dawn Upshaw and David Krakauer.
      Raised in Tasmania Australia, Amanda began her flute and voice studies at the age of four, which she has exuberantly pursued ever since. Her primary teachers and mentors have been Dr. Tara Helen O'Connor and Jennifer MacDonald. Additionally, she has had the privilege of working closely with artists such as Ransom Wilson, Maxence Larrieu, Douglas Mackie, Helen Todd and composer Joan Tower.
      Amanda is a graduate of both Bard College and Bard College Conservatory of Music.She has plans for her debut album to be released in the Spring of 2013, featuring the entire Telemann Fantasie Collection for solo flute.

     Amanda now makes her home in Freeport, Maine with her accordionist husband Christian Stevens. In addition to her budding home studio of flute and voice students, she is on voice faculty at 317 Main Street Community Music Center where she also leads 317's new Early Music Education Program called 'Little Roots'.

Athletic News - Sports Updates

High School Cross Country

Fort Foster (York) Race Recap: On Thursday, September 13th, the x-country team made the long trek down to Fort Foster in Kittery for our third meet of the season. York, borrowing Traip Academy's home course, hosted Merriconeag, Cape Elizabeth and Poland. The scenic, gently rolling course wound its way past several lovely ocean vistas, complete with a lighthouse. The ocean also provided a nice breezy which helped to offset the bright sun. We had a dedicated cadre of parents present to drive, help with splits and cheer on our athletes (thank you parents!) Click here to read the rest on the blog. Coach Morgan Lake Adams   

Upcoming race: This Saturday, September 22, our team will participate in the Manchester Invitational in Manchester, New Hampshire. For meet details, please click here.

Full results, schedules and more information can be found on our Cross Country Blog..

Middle School Cross Country

NYA Race Recap: The first Middle School cross country race of the season on September 13th, was a wonderful success for our young runners. The boys and girls from the 6th and 8th grade made a very strong impression at this NYA event. All runners gave their very best on this warm and sunny afternoon. Tucker Pierce and Dylan Wu came in first and second place and led an outstanding Merriconeag running team. It was a great pleasure to also see Wilson Haimes and Madelaine Panici in their very first race ever. Congratulations!

     I would also like to very much thank all the parents, drivers, cookie bakers and especially Erin and John Olsen for their hard work, support, and good spirit!

     This week's race will be hosted by Greely at Twin Brooks on Thursday, September 20. Please feel welcome to cheer the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in this big and exciting event.

Coach Oliver Kinzer

Click here for race schedule.

School Community Updates

New this year at the Fall Festival: Merriconeag Marketplace - supporting our local artisans
     We are introducing a new concept at the Nov. 3rd Fall Festival and we invite you to consider participating. Merriconeag Marketplace will showcase the handwork of up to 12 members of our community (current and past parents, alumni students, grandparents, faculty) who have established themselves as artisans. The space, located in the center of the Community Hall, is limited, and the staffing of this cooperative display will be shared by the group. There are no table fees but 20% of each artisan's proceeds will go to the school. We hope to showcase a variety of media (knitted, felted or sewn items, clay, metals, wood, paper) and will jury the entrees if the interest exceeds our capacity. All entrees must be original handmade creations. We will work with you on displays, with the goal of having the entire display be visually cohesive and beautiful.

     If you are interested in participating in this inaugural Merriconeag Marketplace, we request that you send, by Sept. 26th, 3 photos that represent your work, with the approximate size, cost and medium, to: developmentcoordinator@merriconeag.org. You will be notified by Oct. 1st. We have some good ideas about tracking sales, and can share this with you. Questions should be sent to this email address.

     If you are a budding artist, or only have a few items completed, consider donating them to the community-made craft table. Proceeds benefit the school - and all of our students.
     Let's demonstrate how handwork knits our community together! Submitted by Parent Volunteers

David Levi to be Featured at the Common Ground Country Fair this Weekend: Former Merriconeag High School teacher, David Levi, will offer daily classes in the Country Kitchen Demonstrations tent this Friday, September 21, 11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday at noon and 4:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

     David, who is now known as Chef David Levi, has worked at Norma, the Copenhagen restaurant often cited as #1 in the world; at Sweden's Faviken Magasinet, recently hailed by Bon Appetit as "the world's most daring restaurant", at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Perry St. in New York City, now on the San Pelegrino list of the world's 50 best restaurants; and with famed Tuscan butchers, Stefano Falorni and Dario Cecchini, the latter often cited as the world's greatest butcher.

     David is also a professional educator with 10 years of experience as a high school humanitites teacher and tutor.

Since February 2012, he has offered classes on cooking and preparing food as an expression of place and season in Maine. Now he is working to open Vinland, a 100% local-food, zero-waste, fine-dining restaurant in Portland.

Dear Friends of Winnie Shivelhood Kartez: Winnie's Memorial Service will be held this next Sunday, September 23, at 3:00 p.m. at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Portland (the "stone church" at 425 Congress St.) followed by a Reception and light buffet in the Rectory. Please be welcome to attend if you are so moved--it will mean a lot. The steeple of the stone church is coming down for renovationsso don't be surprised by construction flagging outside if you join us next Sunday. Thank you for all the warmth you've extended to Winnie whatever your relationship with her and with our household has been - it has all meant a lot to both of us . Feel free to let me know at jackkartez@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Peace, Jack Kartez

Read (Listen to or Watch) This

No More 1950’s: How Simplicity Parenting is the Way to Prepare Kids for a Complex Future

This article first appeared in the Huffington Post in September 2012. This is an edited version of that article
By Kim John Payne

(Click blue to link through)

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