by Kaylee Bellamy, Class of ’11
GBWHS Senior KayLee Bellamy is applying to six art colleges this fall. One of the tasks in her application process was to create a self-portrait, and to write an artist’s statement. Here’s an excerpt:

My current work reflects on my past, but also speaks of my future. Attending Waldorf schools since kindergarten, I’ve been taught through art as the bases of learning.
The comparison of my work at home and my work in class shows a distinct difference in the ways I choose to communicate. At home I have sketchbooks filled with pen and marker figures in love, in despair, in agony, all expressed through gesture. These drawings are from my imagination, influenced by feelings and things I’ve seen. During art classes, my paintings with watercolors, acrylics, and oils, carvings of wood and stone, and sculptures with clay and metal are more guided. Each art block focuses on one medium, starting with an introduction, which then leads to a final piece.

The contrast of my pieces in class with home is, primarily, that in class I know what I’m going to draw, and how it’ s going to turn out. In my sketchbook, drawings might turn out completely different from what I had intended at the start. I like this about my work, because at home I experiment with changing styles and in school, I can choose which
tech-niques to use during class. Most of my final pieces consist of realistic scenes with brightly colored figures and landscapes. For instance, when I paint with watercolor, I draw a quick sketch first, bringing it to life by combining yellow, red, then blue, the three colors I always use for the base.

I believe anyone can make art; there is no right way. Art is something personal that comes from within. When learning to ride a bicycle, nobody could ride it for me, I had to find a way to learn how on my own. I feel with the variety of mediums I’ve used, I’m still learning how I can master each one, just like finding how to pedal with each foot. I appreciate all kinds of art, which is mainly why I’m not set on one medium of choice. Because I don’t restrict myself, I’m able to view and expand on my learning of art. Being open to any forms of art, and wanting to know more about other arts yet to discover, shapes how I see my future as an artist.

Download this issue of The Globe PDF, Winter 2011.

by Stephen Keith Sagarin, Faculty Chair

We learn with more than just our heads. Lots of us, not just those in Waldorf schools, agree with this. In 1956 (and after), to take a prime example, Benjamin Bloom described a taxonomy or hierarchical organization of learning within a threefold context of cognition (thinking), affect (feeling), and psychomotor behavior (will). Based on continuing research, his taxonomy has since been modified and now includes these six levels, from the highest to the most basic: creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding, and remembering.

Based on the work of John Gardner at the Garden City Waldorf School in the 1950s and 1960s and Douglas Gerwin since then, Waldorf schools approach each grade of high school differently in terms of assignments, expectations, and the development of thinking.

Looking over their work recently in preparation for a faculty meeting, it occurred to me that John Gardner almost certainly took Bloom’s work and compressed it—six levels sandwiched into four years of high school. And it makes sense to do this. Bloom’s work was based on higher education, on students who had largely passed the developmental stage of adolescence. For those teaching adolescents, a gradual introduction to sophisticated thinking makes sense.

Interestingly, Gardner had the insight to move the synthesis required of creativity to the head of the list before a reassessment of Bloom’s research in the 1980s that did the same thing—earlier, “evaluating” was higher than “creativity.”

Our high school Core Teachers study education at each of our faculty meetings, and use the concepts outlined above in creating assignments in literature, history, science, and other subjects based on this understanding of thinking, learning, and mastery.

The Fall 2010 issue of the Globe is now available for download.

Soccer practice begins Tuesday, September 14, at the GBRSS lower field.  Practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 - 4:45 pm. Michael Graeff, parent of 9^th grader Justin Graeff, is once again the school’s intrepid coach, and Justin’s older brother and GBWHS graduate, Michael-Christian Graeff, is his assistant. Our first game is a home game against Hartsbrook at the GBRSS lower field.  Come and cheer on our school…GO WALDORF!

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The Spring 2010 issue of the Globe is now available for download.

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The Winter 2010 issue of the Globe is now available for download. Read about trips to New York City, arts intensives, and eye-opening interviews with current students. Many thanks to Editor-in-Chief Evan Crispell ’10 for putting this issue together.

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The October 2009 issue of the Globe is now available for download!

Read about Camp Hi-Rock, History through Art, the Senior Class Zoology Trip, “Why Waldorf?” and other exciting topics through the eyes of our fabulous students!

by Mistral Louw, Class of 2009 - 26 Jan 2009

On Tuesday afternoon we cut short our English class for a forum on the Mumbai attacks and our own country’s response to the terrorism after 9/11. Mr. Oelhaf had asked several students to research different related topics and present the information that they collected.

I had been surprised when I heard about the Mumbai attacks. At first I thought that it was just another one of the terrorist attacks that occur so often in India, but it began to become more real to me when I heard that one of the attacks had taken place at the Taj Hotel. I remember going there when I was ten with my mother and sisters, to use the fancy bathrooms, peek into the rooms, and pose for photos on the red velvet lounges by the pool.

We discussed how this attack in Mumbai was related to India’s and Pakistan’s controversy over Kashmir, the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, and our own invasion of Iraq. In all these instances Muslims have been made to feel threatened by other religions and cultures.

As the forum drew to a close, students clamored to give their opinions or ask questions of each other. Before leaving we decided to hold another forum soon so that we might continue learning about the larger world.

by Elizabeth Orenstein, Class of 2010 - 26 Jan 2009

As a student body we have been to almost as many countries as our school holds pupils. We are a school of travelers. Under the guidance of our language teachers, every student has the opportunity to a foreign country. By the time we turn eighteen we have studied at least one additional language and experienced cultures wildly different from ours. Others have been fortunate enough to live for extended periods of time in another country.

One of our sophomores, Sarita, spent the first six and a half years of her life in Colombia. She describes a magical place: “We lived in a house my parents built. The windows didn’t have any glass.” The flower gardens surrounding the house held hidden ponds and other mysteries. On the outskirts of Cali she played among ducks and geese, dogs and cats.

Eliot, a senior, spent his freshman year living in Hawai’i. He attended the Waldorf school there, where some classes were held outside. Under the Hawaiian sun he learned to surf with his friends and relax west coast style. Hawaii isn’t just coconut groves and beaches though. He recounts that his family lived just a few minutes from the city, where the second largest mall in the world hosts thousands every day.

These students might have been unique in their experiences, but every year at least one student has a three month exchange to either South America or Germany. They spend these months living daily life like every other person around them. Each returns changed, not for the better or worse, but with a mind a little bit broader than when they left.

by Eliot Stier, Class of 2009 - 26 Jan 2009

The end of the first trimester is a hectic time for high school seniors. For those of us who are applying to college, the weight of the applications falls on top of the tests, assignments, and projects that are all being piled on us right before the break.

The demand for individualism is high in college, so we need something to help us stand out. Despite many opposing assumptions, my experience at Waldorf schools has benefitted me immensely in the applications. When I finally completed my artistic high school portfolio, I was actually surprised and delighted to find how much I had done over the years.

SAT scores and GPA’s reflect some aspects of a student, but to make ourselves stand out and appear unique, it helps to have something like a portfolio to show our experiences and artistic skills.

I’ve also found that all the college admissions counselors I’ve spoken with during my interviews are familiar with Steiner schools and respect what they do. All of them said they appreciate the creativity that they see in Waldorf applicants.

So here’s a message to all students: Use your Waldorf experience to your advantage, and make a portfolio.

Without it I would just be just another student with good test scores, a good GPA, good teacher recommendations, and a few good ideas in my essays.