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Experience Waldorf: A Morning in Our Middle School for Prospective Families

October 13, 2021 @ 9:00 am - 10:30 am

Experience The Denver Waldorf Middle School

Waldorf education meets middle school students where they are in one of the most fascinating times in their lives. Journey into our school for a morning where you’ll experience a taste of our curriculum, and begin understanding how it integrates academics, arts, and athletics in educating the whole student.

Date: October 13, 2021

Time: 9-10:30am MT

Location: 2100 S. Pennsylvania St., Denver, CO 80210

Morning Schedule

During your morning at The Denver Waldorf Middle School, you will explore main lesson with:

  • 6th Grade with Charlie Orphanides
  • 7th Grade with Ben Reynolds
  • 8th Grade with Keenan Hand
  • Middle school math with Iliana Flefel
  • World languages with Mckenna Fuentes

Then, we will wrap up with a Q&A session with Education Director Vernon Dewey and Admissions Manager Brooke Camfield.

Reserve Your Spot

Experience Waldorf only allows for small groups. Please register to reserve your spot and notify us if you need to cancel. Please also note that, due to the changing Covid-19 climate, this offering might shift to meet the most recent guidance. Masks required.

About The Denver Waldorf Middle School

6th Grade: The spirit of conquest and the rule of law

A time of collaboration, self-direction, grounding, and emerging, sixth grade marks the emergence of adolescence and the struggle between light and dark. Sixth graders take the first step toward critical thinking as they study Roman civilization and the Middle Ages, as well as astronomy, physics, and mineralogy — subjects met with discernment and insight to encourage a healthy interest in, and compassion for, the world.

7th Grade: Questing into the unknown

Looking outward while feeling inward, seventh graders are expressive and forceful, challenging authority and exploring limits. They seek to assert independence and find their place, while remembering to provide light for those behind them. During this time of discovery, resistance, optimism, chaos, and order, we explore the Renaissance and examine truth and beauty via scientists, religious reformers, and artists.

8th Grade: Extending one’s horizons

By eighth grade, students have gained a well-rounded general picture of humanity and the universe. It is a  time of self-confidence, interest in the world, self-love, and service to others. The elementary education has engaged their hearts, wills, and minds, forming the basis for real learning throughout their lives. The final year of elementary school brings previous experiences to a new peak, enabling students to enter fully and potently into their own time.

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? Learn more about our in-person and virtual events, read our blog, or take a listen to our podcast.

Details

Each day in our Waldorf kindergarten classrooms you will find the children engaging in purposeful work. Whether working alongside our teachers in preparing snack, washing dishes, caring for our toys, digging in the garden, or helping with laundry - our kindergartners participate fully in practical, meaningful work. 

Developing their sense of pride and purpose, the students come to learn that small acts done with great love grow a community, build their foundation for growth, and show reverence for the world we share.

Schedule a tour today to see what our Early Childhood Program is all about. And new this fall - we look forward to introducing our Nursery Program (serving 2.5 - 4.5 year olds) at a satellite location in University Park.
More and more schools across the country are implementing screen time limits in the classroom to meet the backlash against reliance on digital devices. But - keeping iPads, Chromebooks, and personal devices out of our elementary classrooms has always been a mainstay of our Waldorf education. Before technology becomes a tool for learning, we focus on fostering the human capacities that make learning possible - imagination, curiosity, and wonder. Schedule a tour and come see what Waldorf education is all about.
The creation of a main lesson book is a unique element of Waldorf education. Rather than using traditional textbooks, our students create their own main lesson book as a compilation of all of their findings during the block course. They combine art, writing, diagramming, and more to collectively demonstrate their understanding of the subject. It not only serves as documentation, but also as an active learning tool to synthesize the material from the lesson. Learning is not passive in our classrooms, but rather is alive, engaging, relevant, and deeply meaningful. // shown here are pages from our 7th grade students’ main lesson books
In our Waldorf education, participating in the arts are not elective. Rather, they are an essential and integral part of our curriculum. While some may think that this means that Waldorf schools are “art schools” or are only for students interested in pursuing the arts, the way that the arts are integrated into our learning is for all! 

It’s to foster creativity and imagination, it’s for the beauty and joy they bring to learning, it’s for the vitality they bring to our development. We love the arts for the richness they bring to our academics and the range they give to our students - encouraging them to try new things and building all the capacities along the way. So, they create fine art, they hammer away in the artisan courtyard, they find their voice on stage in the class play, they listen to one another as they make music -  they develop their whole selves.
Each day, our kindergartners share a family-style meal with the children helping to prepare the food, set the table, and wash up afterwards. They come to learn the days of the week by the comforting rhythm of the snack schedule - whether it’s “soup day,” “bread day,” or in this case, “noodle day!”

With our youngest and oldest students all gathered together, they learn to develop valuable lifelong social skills, a sense of responsibility, and belonging around our table. The children help chop vegetables, make bread, and set the table - cultivating a shared understanding of all that goes into bringing food before us. Nourishment goes far beyond the meal itself - cultivating gratitude, cooperation, and care!

Schedule a tour today to see what our Early Childhood Program is all about. And new this fall - we look forward to introducing our Nursery Program (serving 2.5 - 4.5 year olds) at a satellite location in University Park.
More than ever, students need an education that fosters resilience, adaptability, compassion, and confidence. They need an education where childhood is honored through creative play, a connection to nature, and purposeful work. They need a learning environment that prioritizes creativity and critical thinking to make a meaningful lesson. They need a human-centered approach that values being well-rounded and develops head, heart, and hands. This is the gift of our K-12 Waldorf education - preparing students not just for college but for life beyond - with readiness to contribute to the world all around them and the capacities to cherish truth, beauty, and goodness. 

Schedule a tour today and come see what we’re all about.
Exploring, playing, gardening, climbing, making up games, drawing, reading, journaling, helping around the home, hiking, swimming, camping, and enjoying the beauty of the natural world- just a few of our suggestions for summer homework for our young students 😊! Soaking in these days of childhood are what build a strong foundation for all the years ahead.
Our Class of 2026 spent their last full week of high school exploring the world beyond, making their final days with DWS an adventure that is not too soon forgotten! After many explorations over the years around our beautiful state of Colorado, their senior trip took them to a landscape far from the mountains - the Florida Keys 🌴!

From snorkeling in North America’s sole living coral reef system to kayaking through mangroves, volunteering with wildlife, and exploring the Everglades, our seniors spent their last days together immersed in the wonder of the natural world.

In Waldorf education, class trips are an integral part of our curriculum. By exploring outside of our classroom walls, students cultivate curiosity, community, and a lifelong connection to the world around them. This journey deepened students’ understanding of marine biology, ecology, and stewardship - all the while creating lasting memories to carry forward into their next chapter!

Class of 2026 - we’re so grateful to have shared the many adventures with you.
This is a peek into 6th grade medieval history, where as part of their studies of monastic life, they each patiently created their own illuminated manuscripts. This coincided with their work that also encompassed learning about the Islamic Golden Age, and practicing Arabic calligraphy as well. 

Art finds its way into all that we do - it is not an extra. Through the arts, subject matter comes to life through experience, creativity, and meaningful connection. As they study history, for example, students are invited not only to study facts about a period in time, but to enter into it through their own hands and imagination.

Moreover, each project supports our curriculum in meeting our students where they are developmentally. In 6th grade, at a time when their developmental stage seeks structure and clarity, this work in calligraphy requires patience, deep focus, and adherence to form. While the completed piece of art is always wonderful to marvel at, moreover, it is about the journey along the way as we nurture our capacities as whole human beings. 
Every day, our first graders would arrive to discover a small change in Ms. Nelly’s chalk drawing that welcomes them into the classroom. A tiny detail. A moment of wonder. A symbol of growth. A cherishment of the season. An awakening before a morning of imagination, stories, and connection. 

And on the last day of school, just as they had on so many school days before, they enthusiastically pointed out the new detail. May we carry forward their delight to take notice of beauty, be curious, and find joy in all the little things. 

Watch until the end to see how the tree evolved over our school year. What a gift! ❤️

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The Denver Waldorf School

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

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