"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." - Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Autumn is a time of year when we reflect on the changing season and turn inward to find new strength to meet the world. With the celebration of Michaelmas behind us and Martinmas just ahead, we are reminded of the need to share our own inner light, to bring our ideals into action and to be of service to others. At City of Lakes Waldorf School, we renew our commitment to our school mission and dedicate ourselves to the work of the year ahead. We strive to bring a living educational experience to the children who have been entrusted to us for education, care and growth. Waldorf education strives to ignite the intellect, warm the heart, awaken the body and the senses, and nurture the soul. Each child has the freedom to develop unique capacities and to engage in an education that fosters inner balance, nurtures creativity, awakens intelligence and illuminates the full potential of the human being.

In our 24th year, City of Lakes Waldorf School pauses to reflect on the vision of an urban Waldorf school held by our founding mothers and carried forward by the striving and hard work of many individuals. Twelve years ago, we realized our dream of having a permanent home and moved into this beautiful building in the Whittier neighborhood. Since that time, our School has taken root and we, like our neighborhood, have changed and developed in exciting ways.

As we further embrace our international neighborhood, we have made strides to develop our world language program. After years of offering first French, and then German and Spanish, we have adopted Chinese as our second language. Our young students are enthusiastically embracing this new learning opportunity. In addition, we are offering a more intensive language experience in grades seven and eight with four Spanish class periods a week. We also have the intention of re-introducing Eurythmy to our students in 2013 and are working towards the development of a full Eurythmy program.

Our Board of Trustees has made a strong commitment to improve the total compensation and benefits program for City of Lakes Waldorf School employees. This year we are excited to offer a retirement benefit and employer match to our staff for the first time. The Board has also begun the implementation of a plan to increase salaries towards market levels.

This year we will also focus on the development of the role of our greatest community partner – our school’s parent body. Parents continue to play a critical role in the ongoing growth and development of City of Lakes Waldorf School through their generous support and volunteerism on the Board of Trustees, school committees, as class representatives and in myriad of other important volunteer capacities. This year we hired a Community Development Coordinator to focus efforts on parent engagement and volunteerism across the school. We also moved our school store back upstairs to better serve classrooms and our parent community. A comprehensive survey in early 2014 will invite parent input on every aspect of school life and seek to capture how we can best partner with and better serve our parent and student community.

We will demonstrate our continued commitment to quality education and school growth through our participation in the accreditation process. We have begun our reaccreditation through the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America and will seek joint accreditation with the Independent School Association of the Central States. Accreditation involves a comprehensive self-study process involving broad participation by school personnel, the board of trustees, and all other major constituencies. The principle objectives are to provide a stimulus for school improvement and excellence, help us to assess our strengths and weaknesses, and confirm our priorities and plans for growth.

As we enter the season of giving and thanksgiving, we often pause to experience gratitude for the thriving community that is engaged in our school as faculty, staff, board, parent, alumni, grandparents and friends. We come together in many ways to support our school's ongoing mission. As we reflect on our work together, we renew our commitment to our unique mission. We are reminded of why we send our children here – because at City of Lakes Waldorf School, students are educated so that they will contribute to the future of the world with clear and creative thinking, compassion, moral strength, and the courage to initiate change in the world - “to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.” Help us reach our Annual Giving Campaign’s goals of $150,000 and 100% participation!

CITY OF LAKES WALDORF SCHOOL • 2344 NICOLLET AVE. S. • MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55404 PH: 612-767-1550 • FAX: 612-767-1551