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College Nights: Preparing to Apply for College

May 4, 2022 @ 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm
denver waldorf high school college nights applying for college

Preparing to Apply for College & Making the Most of Summer

Parents and students are invited to attend the May session of our monthly College Nights series with DWS College and Post-Secondary Guidance Counselor Laura Shope.

Topic: Preparing to Apply for College — Ideal for 11th Grade

Date: May 4th, 2022

Time: 6:30pm

Location: In person at DWS

What You’ll Learn

This evening’s topic is specifically geared to our junior class families (all others are welcome to join to hear a preview!). We will be discussing and identifying the most helpful approaches to the summer before senior year for your students to be prepared as they enter the fall. Whether it is experiences, skills, learning or restoring, how will you make the most of this summer? What is reasonable to take on specifically in regards to college applications? What does your student need most?

Key takeaways include:

  • Perspective and a clear approach to this upcoming summer for your rising senior
  • A review of the college application parts and timing for the process
  • Specific next steps relevant to your family

About College Nights

Our monthly College Nights series focuses on different aspects of the college and post-secondary application process. Laura Shope designed each evening to answer questions and support parents and students in the college application process. These meetings are open to all, although probably most useful to the grade listed with each topic.

  • October 7th Application Process 101 (Grades 10 and 11)
  • November 4 — SAT and ACT (Grades 10 and 11)
  • December — No meeting
  • January 6 — Supporting Your Student through the Process (Grades 10 and 11)
  • February 3 — Paying for College (Grades 10 , 11, and 12)
  • March 3 — Making Choices (Grades 10 and 11)
  • April 21 — College Engagement and Success (Grade 12)
  • May 4 — Preparing to Apply & Making the Most of Summer (Grade 11)

About Laura Shope

Laura Shope came to DWS in 2021 via the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor, where she served as the High School Student Support Coordinator and High School Administrator for the past three years, and a parent in the Waldorf community for more than 17 years. She has extensive training in career development and personal coaching, along with having recently completed her Waldorf High School Teacher Training through the Center for Anthroposophy. Her plans for working with our students and faculty include creating a rich program of self-reflection, support, and clarity around the decisions the students make for their plans after high school.

Laura is a passionate artist and works with stone, clay, wood, weaving, and plaster to create abstract forms. She and her husband, Dale Jensen, are outdoor enthusiasts and look forward to exploring all that Colorado has to offer. They have two sons, Wilder and Corbin, who attended Waldorf schools from preschool through grade 12 (Corbin will graduate from RSSAA in 2022).

About The Denver Waldorf High School

The Denver Waldorf High School offers a liberal arts education, consciously aimed to nurture and encourage adolescent ideals. The high school experience aims to balance the students’ academic needs with their longing to find meaning in the world. Scroll down to hear from a few of our faculty members.

Engaging Body, Intellect, and Emotion

At the start of each day, movement helps spark students’ circulation and bring them together. They then engage in a long, uninterrupted seminar (referred to as main lesson in elementary and middle school) to activate their minds, followed by music and elective classes to spark emotional expression. Music classes and elective courses promote the development of healthy emotional expression through creation.

High School Music

Regarding music, all high school students participate in chorus, with the option to participate in either music ensemble or orchestra until their senior year. Students new to DWS and who have not played their instrument before are strongly encouraged to take private lessons.

Hands-On Learning of Real-World Skills

Students apply what they’ve learned theoretically to scenarios in the real world. For example, a study of soil composition could be applied to a chemistry lesson on acids and bases, as well as a close reading of The Grapes of Wrath, and a course in black-and-white photography in which they learn to develop their own film.

Rhythm of Thinking, Feeling, and Willing

Our goal is to expose our high school students to academic wealth, and demonstrate to them that all knowledge is valuable to encourage their pursuit of wisdom throughout life.

The high school curriculum revisits themes and subjects periodically to strengthen functional knowledge. Students cultivate their ability to think critically, organize ideas and information, and clearly present thoughts through an academically challenging mix of math, English, humanities, physics, life sciences, chemistry, world language, practical, industrial and fine arts, chorus, orchestra, drama, and physical education.

About The Denver Waldorf School

The Denver Waldorf School is an urban pre-K through 12 independent school in Colorado. Founded in 1974 on Rudolf Steiner’s humanitarian curriculum, DWS believes education should foster what it is to be human, cultivate lifelong curiosity, and inspire a love for the world. We are currently enrolling for in-person learning:

Want to learn more about us? Schedule an in-person tour of our Denver campus or join us online during our virtual events.

Details

  • Date: May 4, 2022
  • Time:
    6:30 pm - 7:45 pm
  • Event Category:
Here’s your peek into this weekend’s prom 🎉! We may be a small Waldorf high school, but we are big on celebration, energy, and festivity. There is no shortage of dancing, fun, and good moves 😊! Come as you like and be as you wish! 💫
Our handwork room is a place to slow down. To cultivate patience and perseverance. To foster creativity and individuality. Fiber arts aren’t just about learning a skill - they’re part of how we support each student’s growth as a whole human being in our Waldorf education.

In the 4th grade, as students become more aware of their individuality, cross-stitch offers a balance of freedom and structure, giving way to not only their creative expression but also pride in their work.

Along the way, mathematical concepts like grids and symmetry also come alive as they are implicitly experienced through a tactile learning process.

There is so much more happening here than just stitching 🧵!
Welcome to our Festival of Life Renewed - an honoring of spring and all that it represents. This festival is a time to express gratitude for the season’s renewal of life and embrace a commitment to practices that nourish and sustain it. With freshly braided flower crowns, we gathered in community with song, dancing around the Maypole, and celebration. Festivities included seed ball making, face painting (thanks to our high schoolers!) , tie-dying, mending, and much merriment as we reflected on the many gifts of this good Earth. 

Thank you to the Family Grove for hosting this cherished festival and to all of our parent and high school student volunteers! May we continue to move together in rhythm - with each other, with the music, and with this season. 🌸 // music by Denver’s @micrograssband
What happens when the study of quadratic functions meets the power of the sun? Our 10th graders might say a gooey marshmallow 😊, but they found out by designing, building, and testing their parabolic solar cookers from upcycled cardboard. Moments like this turn abstract concepts into a hands-on experience. Our students aren’t merely presented with equations to memorize. Instead, through this exercise where they can see, touch, and taste - visualization, manipulation, and analysis all come together for a math class to remember.
“Through music we refine the capacity to connect. To harmonize. To resolve dissonance. To heal. To think. To feel. To mature. To make sound judgement. To vibrate. To tune. To move about the world with wholeness. To develop and hold onto that sense that the world is good.” - words from steinerschoolny. 

This afternoon, we had the opportunity to experience music together with our entire student body performing “Finlandia” to open our Festival of Life Renewed- our celebration of spring that is meant to be inclusive for all living on our earth and an honoring of our planet. We were reminded once again how making music together is essential in experiencing what it means to be fully human. How grateful we are for the togetherness, harmony, and rich tradition we share as a community. More to come from our festival in the spring sunshine ☀️
Our classrooms certainly extend beyond the walls of our school. Earth Day and every day, we spend time outdoors. Whether it’s a nature walk in the park, or twice daily recess outside, or a festival celebration, or an overnight camping trip - we breath the fresh air, soak in the season, and connect to the world around us.  We foster a sense of wonder and reverence for the natural world we share. Stewardship of the Earth is an integral part of our curriculum and culture- believing that our work and commitment to environmental sustainability and social renewal can make a difference, together. 🌎❤️
Yes, a middle school dance does exist where social dancing is the norm, nobody is on their phones, and joy is greater than judgment. Some might think having middle schoolers do the cha-cha, foxtrot, waltz, and twist are old fashioned. But there is an intention to our dance curriculum. 

If you’ve ever had a chance to witness a Waldorf middle school dance, you notice that there is just something different about our dances. Often rotating partners, our students comfortably dance the night away! It’s not about going with a date or corsages - it’s about providing a wonderful social outlet as they navigate the middle school years. Through their practice, they learn how to move together with a partner - developing respect for one another, confidence in movement, and a healthy appreciation of each person’s best efforts- all the while having fun with friends. A big thank you to The Schoolboys (a band comprised mostly of DWS alumni parents!) for keeping us going all evening!
Our 4th grade class took the stage this week, bringing to life four stories from the wisdom of the First Nations, including the tale “How Music Came to the World.” They began their performance joining their voices together in round, singing “Dona Nobis Pacem” (Grant Us Peace) - a reminder of the healing power of music and its ability to connect us all. 

The Waldorf class play is an element of our curriculum that weaves together many aspects of our learning. The 4th grade has been studying Colorado history and geography, and as part of that, focusing on stories from the First Nations people who have long called this place home. Through song, tradition, and embodiment of story - our students cultivate a deep connection to the curriculum while also creating something meaningful as a community. It’s on this stage that courage, collaboration, and connection to the world around us can come alive through our shared humanity.
Our 1st grade tree has almost come full circle - from the autumn leaves to the spring petals falling to the fresh leaf buds of wonder 🌿. As we step into this final season after spring break, the energy in our halls is palpable! Just like Ms. Nelly’s evolving chalkboard, the beauty and curiosity in our learning continue to grow. We’re looking forward to all that is to come this season together.
In our Waldorf classrooms, math lives within us - mind, body, and imagination too. 

As we introduce math in our early grades, numbers are discovered through movement, rhythm, and story. We sing, jump, clap, and stomp our way into counting and patterns. We begin to see math all around us.

In middle school, practical math skills are first built through business math - giving their classroom practice real-world application. Geometry emerges through observation and beauty. 

Even in our upper grades, while students move into more abstract work, math is never disconnected. Through hands-on projects, real-life puzzles, problem-solving, and artistic thinking, students learn more than just how to solve - they learn how to think. 

Math is more than just numbers on a page in our K-12 curriculum - it is something we experience.

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The Denver Waldorf School

2100 S. Pennsylvania St.
Denver, CO 80210
p) 303-777-0531
f) 303-744-1216
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