May 11, 7:00 pm GBRSS Auditorium

The seventh grade class will host the evening as the servers and the musical entertainment. Desserts and beverages will be available for sale. The class will serve German desserts while demonstrating their German language skills.

ALL ARE INVITED

to join us for a lovely evening! If you are able, have your child return the RSVP slips to help them plan enough desserts.

Grandparents & Special Friends Day Schedule

8::30 – 8:50 Registration coffee & tea

Introduction by Faculty Administrator John Greene.

8:50 – 9:00 Escorted to classrooms by the 8th grade students

9:00 – 10:00 Main Lesson with students

9:25 – 10:00 This is for those who have several children to visit. If you plan to leave, please sit close to the door and exit quietly..

10:10 – 10:30 Snack in the Library

10:30 – 10:45 Escorted to your chosen Subject class by the 7th grade students

10:45 – 11:30 Subject class interactive with students

11:30 – 12::00 Grandparent’s & Special Friend’s Extra Main Lesson.

12:00-12:45 Complimentary lunch buffet in auditorium

GBRSS invites the community to celebrate May Day with live music, spring blossoms, and lots of Maypole dancing on the school grounds at 35 West Plain Road, Great Barrington.

The festivities are followed by picnics and games. Bring family and friends, blankets, hats and sunscreen and welcome summer joyfully!

May Day festivities begin at 11:00am, with performances by local Morris dancing teams and country dancing by elementary school students.

The school will also host an open house and tour at 9am the same morning, prior to the celebration, or on an informal basis after the event. For more information, please contact Tracy Fernbacher at 413-528-4015 x. 106 or admissions@gbrss.org

Waldorf schools all over the world celebrate festivals from many heritages throughout the school year. May Day is a favorite among students due to the energetic dancing, cheerful singing and games, and draws many alumni and extended community members to join the festivities. Historically, Northern Europeans considered this time of year (the end of winter, midway between spring and summer solstices) as the beginning of the new year.

At the Steiner School, the 1st of May is celebrated with traditional Morris dances, singing and group dances which weave bright ribbons around the 25 foot tall Maypole. During February and March of each school year, 4th through 8th graders anticipate the end of winter by learning country dances using ribbons, bells and wooden sticks — bells to attract fairy folk, and wooden sticks to wake the earth. The 5th graders perform the dances that weave ribbons around the May Pole with vibrant spring colors.

On May Day, GBRSS is hosting an open house and tour at 9am, prior to the May Day celebration, or on an informal basis after the event.

For more information, please contact Tracy Fernbacher at 413-528-4015 x. 106 or admissions@gbrss.org

Safe Water Saves Lives – Water 1st International

Students in 6th grade at GBRSS are doing their part to help reduce poverty through water, sanitation and hygiene education

Helping communities in developing countries gain access to safe, sustainable water sources and hygienic toilets is a challenging problem to address.

Help yourself while helping others.

Rent a spot to sell your stuff, your clutter, your treasures from your own market parking place in Great Barrington.

Wheeler and Taylor has offered their parking lot next to the Berkshire Co-op Market for a Community Sale on Saturday, April 28 from 10 am – 2 pm.

“One person’s junk is another’s treasure”

Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School 6th grade
When: April 28th 10 am – 2 pm

Where: Wheeler and Taylor Parking Lot in Downtown Great Barrington
(beside the Berkshire Co-op Market)

Space available until there isn’t any left!

Call Rebecca McFarland at 413 528 1954 to reserve your spot for $25

Peer Pressure Panel discussion featuring Nancy Franco, Pamela Giles, Krista Palmer, and Steve Hoff Wednesday, April 25th at 7:00 pm in the GBRSS Library

Peer Pressure” Panel discussion featuring Nancy Franco, Pamela Giles, Krista Palmer, and Steve Hoff Wednesday, April 25th at 7:00 pm in the GBRSS Library

You are invited to an Open House on Tuesday, February, 14th, at 9 a.m. Open Houses offer an opportunity to meet our faculty, see our students’ work, and learn more about Waldorf education. We look forward to seeing you!

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 April one, plan on coming to a future monthly open houses or call the school at (413)528-4015 to arrange a tour.

Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School (GBRSS) invites the community to the 3rd annual Science Fair, Monday April 2nd, from 7-8:30pm in the school auditorium at 35 West Plain Road, Great Barrington. Independent Science Fair projects, in which students work with a mentor who has expertise in their area of interest, allow a student to choose their own topic from Earth Science, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy or Biology. Their project can be an experiment (does lemon juice prevent fruit from spoiling?), an exploration (observe, keep a journal and research crows) or a project (build a generator). In 2012, GBRSS students will demonstrate projects on such diverse topics as cheese making, antique radio restoration, robots, building a catapult, solar ovens, explosives and making furniture with newspaper, to name just a few of the over 40 projects. GBRSS Middle School Science teacher Shawn Green, who was drawn to the holistic nature of Waldorf education after being an educator for the Peace Corps in Thailand, says, “Waldorf education, including science, is taught through the hands, heart and head. GBRSS students conduct experiments with their hands, experience scientific demonstrations with their hearts and understand concepts with their heads. I invite the community to experience the students’ work and enjoy the insights of these diverse projects.” For more information, please call the school at (413) 528-4015 or email office@gbrss.org.