Chloe and Dana Rohn painting bookshelves.

Chris Bellamy and Oliver Kress (hidden) install shelves.

Karen Seltzer paints the German room.

Stephen Sagarin, Faculty Chair, lying down on the job.

Many. many thanks to the 18 students, parents, and teachers who showed up Saturday, August 21, for our Work Day, organized by parent Dana Rohn.

We painted the Spanish and German rooms (2 coats), installed bulletin boards in each, painted and installed Chris Bellamy’s beautiful shelves in the “library,” washed windows inside and out, and touched up trim paint throughout the second floor.

Participants, in no particular order, included Dana Rohn, Chloe Rohn ’10, Phoebe Rohn ’12, Oliver Kress ’11, Sam O’Brient ’13, Nick Sagarin ’14, Ann Sagarin, Christine Joffe, Chris and Ramona Bellamy, Teresa O’Brient, Nick and Karen Seltzer, Lelia Bruun, Erik Bruun, Ursula Wirth, Robert Oelhaf, and Steve Sagarin. Thanks to all and thanks also to Elizabeth Lombardi and Tom Sierau for the loan of many dropcloths.

From left: Anna Sierau, Tilo Jackson, Evan Crispell, Darius Graeff, Chloe Rohn, and Elizabeth Orenstein

The Great Barrington Waldorf High School announces the graduation of its Class of 2010: Evan Crispell, Pine Plains, NY; Darius Graeff, Chatham, NY; Tilo Jackson, Great Barrington, MA; Elizabeth Orenstein, Great Barrington, MA; Chloe Rohn, Litchfield, CT; and Anna Sierau, North Egremont, MA.

Graduation ceremonies took place Sunday, June 13, at the Kellogg Music Center of Bard College at Simon’s Rock.

This is the fourth graduating class for the Waldorf High School, which was founded in 2002.

Mark Eurich, a teacher at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, addressed the graduates, and Faculty Chair Stephen Sagarin, Ph.D., presented them with their diplomas.

Each of the graduates also spoke briefly. Speaking to the teachers, Crispell said, “When I think about the problems facing our world, I wonder if just a few more teachers such as you wouldn’t solve them all. From you I have learned to question everything and to move with grace under the load of meaning.”

Crispell will attend Sarah Lawrence College, NY, next fall, where he plans to study anthropology, literature, and history. Graeff will attend SUNY Albany as a pre-med student. Jackson will return to the Waldorf High School for a postgraduate year as he prepares to apply to college. Orenstein will study classics at the University of Kings College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Rohn will attend College of the Atlantic, ME, where she plans to study marine biology and oceanography. Sierau will travel to Germany next year, after which she plans to attend William Wood University, MO, or Cazenovia College, NY.

Thanks to all who helped make the Tailgate Tag Sale a success, including especially Parents Association chair and force of nature Sarah Bingham. On a beautiful day, virtually the entire High School pitched in to create a festive atmosphere and a great event. Several participants asked us to do this more frequently, and the Parents Association will discuss this proposal at their next meeting. (For the record, the school raised $1016.25!)

Organizer Sarah Bingham grabs lunch with Office Manager Ramona Bellamy

Back row, from left: Tilo Jackson, Darius Graeff, Evan Crispell. Front row, from left: Chloe Rohn, Anna Sierau, Elizabeth Orenstein

We are pleased to offer the following brief profiles of our graduates, the Class of 2010. Please join us to honor their graduation on Sunday, June 13, 2010, at 1 p.m. in the Kellogg Music Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock.

Evan Crispell will attend Sarah Lawrence College, New York, in the fall, where he plans to study history, anthropology, and literature. His senior project, advised by Mrs. Robbins, is a research paper examining colonialism in Peruvian literature. Evan spent the fall semester of his junior year in Peru. Last year he interned at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Darius Graeff will attend SUNY Albany as a pre-med student. His senior project has been an internship with the Barka Foundation, including organizing a fundraising “Walk for Water” at Monument Mountain Regional High School on May 20, 2010. Last year he interned at the Great Barrington Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Tilo Jackson’s senior project is an internship with renowned baker Richard Bourdon at Berkshire Mountain Bakery. Tilo will work next year at the Small Building Company, Monte Alban, and Berkshire Mountain Bakery, while taking courses at the Waldorf High School for a Postgraduate year, before applying to college.

Elizabeth Orenstein will attend the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, next year, where she plans to study classics. Her senior project is a solo dance, choreographed by Bettina Montano at Berkshire Pulse. Last year she interned at Berkshire Living Magazine.

Chloë Rohn will attend College of the Atlantic, Maine, next year, where she plans to study oceanography and marine biology. Her senior project has been a study of oil painting with Housatonic painter Kate Knapp.

Anna Sierau has studied dressmaking with Maria Fili this spring, making her own graduation dress, and she has also interned at Harmony Hill Stable in show riding and training with Aimee Boyer and Kasey Brehm. She will work and travel next year, after which she plans to attend Cazenovia College, New York, or William Woods College, Missouri, to study special education. Last spring she interned on a “youth farm” in Germany.

Other college acceptances for the Class of 2010: Barnard College, Bennington College, Evergreen College, Goucher College, Hampshire College, John Cabot University, Leslie University, New York Institute of Technology, Pace University, and Simmons College.

Here’s a link to the WAMC story on the “Walk for Water” for Burkina Faso that Darius Graeff organized as his Senior Project:  WAMC Kids Walk for Clean Water

Darius Graeff, Ina, and Esu at the "Walk for Water"

For his Senior Project, Darius Graeff, Class of 2010, organized a “Walk for Water” on May 20, 2010, to support the Barka Foundation in raising money and awareness regarding water scarcity in the west African nation of Burkina Faso, the third poorest nation on earth.

Around 400 students from the Great Barrington Waldorf High School, Monument Mountain High School, and Monument Valley Middle School walked 6 km (about 3.5 miles), the average distance that a woman in Burkina Faso walks each day to obtain water. Most students carried a one gallon jug of water, although a few managed to carry 5 gallon buckets–the size that the African women carry, which weigh more than 40 pounds. Teachers from both schools, Ina and Esu of the Barka Foundation, Berkshire Hills Superintendent Peter Dillon, and Waldorf High School Faculty Chair walked with the students.

As the group crossed a stream, Ina and Esu, founders of the Barka Foundation, Americans who live in Maine but who travel to Burkina Faso to help dig wells and provide fresh water, taught the group an African blessing.

The Barka Foundation plans to make this day an annual event and hopes to engage every school in Berkshire County in the future.

With great pride
the Faculty, Staff, Trustees, and
Graduating Class of 2010
of the
Great Barrington Waldorf High School
announce their
Commencement Exercises
on Sunday, the thirteenth of June,
two thousand and ten,
at one o’clock in the afternoon
in the Kellogg Music Center
at Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Join us for a catered dinner to recognize the Great Class of 2010 at the First Congregational Church on Main Street in Great Barrington at 6 p.m. this Saturday, May 15. Suggested donation, to benefit the class, is $25 for adults, $15 for students, and $65 for families (but don’t let those suggested prices keep you home–pay what you can). Call (413) 528-8833 to reserve seats and let us know your meal preference (meat or vegetarian/vegan). Between dinner and dessert, enjoy presentations of the Seniors’ projects and internships. See you there!

Save the date: May 22, 2010. The Waldorf High School will hold a Tailgate Tag Sale and Frock Swap at Pete’s Motors lot on Rt. 7, between Price Chopper and Crissey Road. Rain date, May 23. Call the school at 413. 528. 8833 to reserve a space or for more information, or download the PDF from this website and mail it in.

The Tag Sale runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For a $25 entrance fee, you can rent a parking space. Load up a car or van and sell things from the back. Or set up a table in your space. Reload as many times during the day as you want. This is a great way for a family to get rid of stuff in the attic, basement, or garage. It’s a great way for a non-profit to raise some extra cash. Space is limited, so reserve today.

The Frock Swap runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For a $20 entrance fee plus 10 or more articles of used clothing (clean and on hangers, please), you gain access to the event and can take as many items as you want! Trade in too-small children’s clothing for larger sizes; empty the closet of unused items and get a new wardrobe. (If you just want to collect new slightly-used clothing, you may pay $30 and not contribute items to the swap.)

And, of course, you’re encouraged to drop by. You never know what treasure’s you’ll find–and there will be baked goods and other refreshments for sale.

All proceeds benefit the Great Barrington Waldorf High School, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. Support great education for adolescents and Waldorf education in the Berkshires. See you there!

Saint Joan's Inquisition. From left: Darius Graeff, Elizabeth Orenstein, KayLee Bellamy, and Gwynn Jung

The whole Waldorf high school–25 students strong–began rehearsals at the Berkshire South Community Center this week for their production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Saint Joan,” which they will perform Thursday to Sunday, April 15 to 18. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 7 p.m., and there are matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 17 and 18. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for students, and $35 for a family. The Berkshire South Community Center is located on Crissey Road in Great Barrington, just off Route 7 and across from the Riverbend Cafe (formerly Uncommon Grounds).

“Saint Joan” is the story of Joan of Arc, the girl who led the French army to victory over the English during the Hundred Years’ War. Her life stands squarely between the ancient world and the modern. It paved the way for the modern age through the creation of nation-states and the rise of Protestantism, while it harked back to a world of medieval miracles and legends. Shaw used records of Joan’s trial, an Inquisition, and the many legends about her life to craft an engaging play that is touching, humorous, and tragic at the same time. See you there!