Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School ~ 40 years of igniting a lifelong love of learning

Contact: Robyn Perry Coe
518-392-2469, robynpc@gmail.com

(Berkshires, MA) January 12, 2012 – Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School (GBRSS) continues a free series of children’s puppet plays in the new year at Matrushka Toys and Gifts, 309 Main Street, Great Barrington, with the performance of “Mashenka and the Bear” on Saturday, February 11, 2012. There will be two show times at 10:30 and 11:30am, appropriate for toddler through kindergarten age children. In this delightful Russian tale, a little girl, Mashenka, cleverly outsmarts a bear to find her way home. Puppeteer Michelle Kuzia is a lead kindergarten teacher at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, where she began her teaching career by founding the nursery class in 1978, when the original school was expanding from a one-room kindergarten in a timber frame barn. Kuzia earned her Waldorf Early Childhood certificate from Sunbridge College, and her M.Ed in Waldorf Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Antioch University. A Berkshire native, Kuzia has been pivotal to the strong growth and success of the school, from which all four of her daughters — including Matrushka owner Brooke Redpath — matriculated.  Matrushka Toys and Gifts, located at 309 Main Street in Great Barrington, brings a love of “action” to children of the Berkshires, specializing in a unique collection of “child-powered” toys, entertaining games, classic books, beautiful children’s clothing and natural baby gifts, in a store that makes room for imaginative play. Matrushka enhances the community with free in-store events, such as partnering with GBRSS to present puppet plays that come to life in the hands of an experienced early childhood teacher. Matrushka is open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Sunday 11am – 4pm. For more information about Mornings at Matrushka, please call the store at (413) 528-6911.

Early Childhood at GBRSS – Watching puppet plays, hearing stories and learning songs cultivates the child’s imagination, strengthens the ability to concentrate and inspires a love of language.  The Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School understands how important the early years are to healthy development and lifelong well being, offering Kindergarten (for children 4-6, in a program of 5 or 4 full days or mornings), Nursery (for children 2 years and 9 months to 4, in a program of 5 or 3 full days or mornings) and Parent-Toddler Circle (for parents and their children ages 1 to 3, in a program offered once a week for 8-week sessions). Tuition for Nursery and Kindergarten is based on a sliding scale. GBRSS is now accepting Early Childhood and Parent/Tot  registration for 2012 school sessions. Interested families are invited to call the school at (413) 528-4015, ext. 106 for more information. Application forms are also available at http://www.gbrss.org

Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School: Authentic Learning in the Berkshires – Founded in 1971, the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School provides a warm welcome to learning through Early Childhood programs, including Parent/Toddler, Nursery and Kindergarten, progressing into engaging elementary education for First through Eighth grade. The Early Childhood program nurtures children ages 2 to 6 in five classrooms in the Early Childhood building, surrounded by gardens, woods and play areas, and prepares them for elementary school on the other side of the 30 acre campus. First through eighth grade students (from the Berkshires, northern Connecticut and New York’s Columbia County) follow a rigorous academic and artistic curriculum, preparing them for their choice of high school and college. One of over 1,000 Waldorf schools worldwide, and part of the movement of independent schools developed over 80 years ago by scientist, philosopher and writer Rudolf Steiner, the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School operates from a core belief that to educate the whole child is to engage the intellectual, spiritual and physical self in all areas of learning.  For more information, call 413-528-4015, or visit http://www.gbrss.org
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Interviews and high resolution images are available.  To schedule an interview with GBRSS Early Childhood teacher Michelle Kuzia or GBRSS School Administrator John Greene.

In this delightful Russian tale, a little girl, Mashenka, cleverly outsmarts a bear to find her way home. Puppeteer Michelle Kuzia is a lead kindergarten teacher at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, where she began her teaching career by founding the nursery class in 1978, when the original school was expanding from a one-room kindergarten in a timber frame barn. Kuzia earned her Waldorf Early Childhood certificate from Sunbridge College, and her M.Ed in Waldorf Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Antioch University. A Berkshire native, Kuzia has been pivotal to the strong growth and success of the school, from which all four of her daughters — including Matrushka owner Brooke Redpath — matriculated.

Matrushka Toys and Gifts, located at 309 Main Street in Great Barrington, brings a love of “action” to children of the Berkshires, specializing in a unique collection of “child-powered” toys, entertaining games, classic books, beautiful children’s clothing and natural baby gifts, in a store that makes room for imaginative play. Matrushka enhances the community with free in-store events, such as partnering with GBRSS to present puppet plays that come to life in the hands of an experienced early childhood teacher. Matrushka is open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Sunday 11am – 4pm. For more information about Mornings at Matrushka, please call the store at (413) 528-6911.

Open Houses are scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month in the 2011 – 2012 school year. If you can’t make it to the February one, plan on coming to a future monthly open houses or call the school at (413)528-4015 to arrange a tour.

Mark your calendar for the opening night – March 10 at 6 pm – of the 2012 GBRSS Art Show presented by the Good Purpose Art Gallery.

Featured artists are past and current Steiner parents: Dan Bellow, Christine Casarsa, Ben Junta, Christina Lane, John Lawson, Michael McManmon, Alan Papscun, Paula Shalan and Alix Von Avenmueller and Steiner alum, Luke Shalan. Look for your invitation, but get the sitter now!

All proceeds from the art show will be divided by Good Purpose which is the supporter of the not-for-profit Student Educational Development Fund (SEDF) foundation and GBRSS. Visit the Good Purpose Art Gallery for more information coming soon.

Open Houses are scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month in the 2011 – 2012 school year. If you can’t make it to the February one, plan on coming to a future monthly open houses or call the school at (413)528-4015 to arrange a tour.

Café Night is March 17.

Doors open at 7 p.m.

Contact Jenny O’Haver at jenny@ohaver.net if you are interested in performing.

Four musicians / singers who perform a concert of folk carols for the Yuletide celebration. Playing fiddle, accordion and other instruments with four part harmonies, an audience chorus, and a Mummers’ Play in the midst of it all. Great family fun.

December 23rd, 7:30 p.m. Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets available at GBRSS or Matrushka

$20 adult/$15 kids (6 and under free) $12 for GBRSS Students through 12/12