The Ancient Egyptian Spring Festival of Sham Al Naseem
Today, as Denver gets soaked in spring rain, some of our kindergarten students are learning about the ancient Egyptian festival Sham Al Naseem — thanks to DWS parent Bassant Mahran and DWS Kindergarten Teacher Kristina van’t Veer. With gratitude for a community rich in cultural diversity, we hope you enjoy the following description of this celebration written by Bassant.
Sham Al Naseem, which literally means “smelling the breeze,” is an ancient Egyptian spring festival celebrating the renewal of life and hope. The original festival name Shamo means “renewal of life” in ancient Egyptian language, and it is believed to be the first city festival ever celebrated. It dates back roughly 5,000 years, and came to be during the 3rd dynasty of the old kingdom in Heliopolis (“City of the Sun”).
Ancient Egyptians considered spring an essential time and the beginning of creation; the weather warms, the flowers bloom, and all the trees turn green again. Although the day of Sham Al Naseem was not fixed each year, it was announced at the Great Pyramids the night before the festival was to take place.
Later, when Christianity entered Egypt, the dates coincided with Easter celebrations, and Sham Al Naseem began taking place the Monday after the Orthodox Easter. This is still so today, and marks when painting eggs became part of Easter celebrations.
As a child, I remember waking up early on this morning to perfect spring weather. Fresh flowers surrounded our house, and we would start the day painting eggs and writing our names on them. As the morning turned to day, outdoor concerts and shows were held, families picnicked in the parks or took boat rides on the river Nile, and beachgoers who lived in the northern parts of Egypt dotted the coastline.
Another big part of the celebration is food: colored hard-boiled eggs, salted and smoked fish, green onions, and lettuce — each with a symbolic meaning:
Eggs — Symbolize the beginning of creation. Ancient Egyptians painted eggs and wrote their wishes and prayers on them and hung them on trees and temples the night before the festival. The next day, they would break the eggs so all their wishes would come true and their lives would be renewed.
Fish — Symbolize life development, goodness, and welfare.
Green Onions — To drive out evil spirits.
Lettuce — Symbolize hope and the beginning of spring.
To this day, Egyptians celebrate Sham Al Naseem in nearly the same way their ancestors used to celebrate it.
Parent Council Meeting: April 2021
For our last meeting of the school year, the DWS Parent Council was joined by Student Support Coordinator Dr. Sarah Boyer and Health and Safety Manager Christa Gustafson. Please enjoy the recording, minutes, and student support resources below.
We also came across this article you might find valuable from The Atlantic titled There’s a Better Way to Parent: Less Yelling, Less Praise.
Meeting Minutes
Click the button below to download the minutes from the April, 2021 Parent Council meeting.
Recorded PC Meeting and Student Support Presentation
Student Support Resources from Dr. Sarah Boyer
Spartan Senior Night
Celebrating Margaret Hecox and Alexie Pearson
It is with gratitude, excitement, and joy that we honor our beloved 12th graders on Senior Night — a DWS tradition taking place during the varsity girls basketball game on April 21st. About these incredible students, Coach Quinn reflected the following.
Margaret Hecox
Alexie Pearson
Step Inside The Denver Waldorf High School
Step Inside The Denver Waldorf High School
Our high school was founded more than 26 years ago, and our robust and dynamic curriculum has been taught throughout the world for more than 100 years. But today, students find that it’s our hands-on approach to education paired with a diverse and inclusive environment that best prepares them for the world beyond our doors. In fact, when students graduate from DWS, they possess the motivation and the confidence to do the work the world so desperately needs.
Watch the instagram reel below to get a feel for what our high school students value about their Waldorf high school education.
Hear from High School Faculty
All high school classes are honors-level courses that integrate high academics, arts, and movement to educate the whole student. Our seminars are organized into nine four-week blocks. During each block, the curriculum focuses on a single subject (such as chemistry, calculus, or history). These focused blocks allow our students the time to immerse themselves in a subject. In this way, we’re able to hone our students’ true abilities by exposing them to rigorous academics while exciting their critical thinking and developing their academic confidence.
Click the images to watch the videos below and get a sense of how various parts of our curriculum contribute to the larger tapestry of our high school experience.
Hear from DWS Alumni
How does a Waldorf school prepare today’s students for college? Of course, 100% of Denver Waldorf students are accepted into college, the vast majority finishing in four years. And our graduating classes, although intentionally small, average more than $4 million in scholarships per year. The investment feels worth it. But what are the experiences of our recent alumni once they go beyond our doors? During this podcast, we sit down with two recent graduates, Ellery Lewark and Vander Georgeff, and they candidly reflect and share about their experience.
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.
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.
Denver Waldorf High School Virtual Open House
Step Inside The Denver Waldorf High School
Wondering if The Denver Waldorf School is the right choice for high school? Join us for a virtual open house with some of our faculty to discuss how the curriculum integrates academics, arts, and athletics in educating the whole student.
Date: April 23, 2021
Time: 12:30pm MDT
Location: Online via Zoom
Please register to reserve a seat.
What You’ll Learn
Led by DWS High School Director Brie Kaiser, you’ll hear from faculty on our approach to humanities, life sciences, art, theater, music, athletics, and more. Take a sneak peek by watching the videos below, and then we’ll dig in with a live Q&A on the 23rd.
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.
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.
Senior Projects
A highlight of the senior year at a Waldorf School, the Senior Project culminates in an oral presentation before classmates, faculty, friends and family. This year, we are live streaming the presentation over two evenings.
Date: April 7th and April 8th
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Online via Facebook Live
Wednesday, April 7th
Margaret Hecox—Custom by MH
Kobi McMillen—To Read Music: Piano & Guitar
Morgan Young—Aeronautics on the Small Scale
Alexie Pearson—Art, Community, Crafts
Carter Inmann—So I Built an Electric Guitar
Ellexus Glockner—Illusions of the Mind
Thursday, April 8th
John Kauffman—My Journey Into Automotive Mechanics
Ellysia Black—Digital Art & Social Economics
Jack Carr—Young Dumb Entrepreneur
Jessica Short—Mental Illness Artwork
Calvin Polon—DJing & Producing
Alex Reynolds-Scheel—Sarah Tonin
What are Senior Projects?
The senior year at a Waldorf school is designed to be a synthesis of the students’ education and a preparation for their next step in life. As twelfth graders stand on the edge of adulthood, they long for independence and yet are still unsure of their place in the world. The Senior Project is designed to help students begin to bridge this gap, preparing them for college studies and professional work in the world. Students must design a project that forces them to pursue a new area of interest or something that will stretch their abilities, mentally, physically and/or emotionally.
The individual projects are approved by the High School faculty and supported by an adult mentor who is an expert in the chosen field of endeavor and preferably someone outside of the familiar school community. The project scope is equivalent to one main lesson block, or about eighty hours of work, and typically extends over many months of the school year. The project culminates in a formal presentation of learning to the community.
Diversity Book Drive
- Visit our SignUpGenius page to see each teacher’s selections. Teachers have chosen between one and three titles.
- Signup to purchase either an individual book or a half or whole set.
- Purchase your selection* and send to:
Contact Info
Many thanks to Mahdyeh Nowkhandan, the parent behind the book drive who is also a member of the DWS Diversity and Inclusivity Committee and co-lead of the Denver Waldorf Racial Justice Parent Group. For more info, please reach out via email.
The Denver Waldorf School Happenings - March 2021
The Denver Waldorf School is a k-12 independent school in Denver, Colorado
