Parent Belonging Group
The Denver Waldorf Parent Belonging Group
The Denver Waldorf Parent Belonging Group (formerly known as the Racial Justice Parent Group) is a collaborative and dedicated group of lifelong learners and Waldorf families who are committed to the process of deepening their knowledge, awareness, introspection, and advocacy skill sets around issues race, identity, gender, neurodiversity, and more through discussion and book study together. This group is dedicated to being a safe space for all – where non-expert learners can share, question, discover, grow, and work alongside one another to create a more inclusive, fair, equitable, honest, peaceful and unified future.
Our Meetings
We meet every other Wednesday from 8:30 – 9:30am.
Upcoming Dates: 1/10, 1/24, 2/7, 2/28, 3/13, 3/27, 4/10, 4/24, 5/8
Time: 8:30-9:30am
Location: DWS Parent Council Room
We recently ready “Normal Sucks” by Jonathan Mooney. We are currently reading “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and then we will move on to “Real Queer America” by Samantha Allen.
About The Denver Waldorf Parent Belonging Group
The Denver Waldorf Parent Belonging Group was first formed as the Racial Justice Parent Group in the fall of 2020 as a response to the growing desire within the DWS community to ensure that the relevant and needed topic of racial justice was talked about throughout the school year and remained a topic of discourse that lifted up all people—including and centering around BIPOC voices. We will continue to read books about race and indentity, and now have also broadened our topics to other important matters such as gender, neurodiversity, and more.
We are committed to exploring these issues through fostering a safe, open, warm and non-judgmental container by which to deepen our awareness through studying and growing together.
Race and the Developing Child
Watch the Recorded Webinar: Race and the Developing Child
The 5 Stages of Development
Presented by the DWS Diversity and Inclusivity Committee, this webinar features a panel of DWS community members in a discussion on racial dynamics, creating a community of inclusion, and the 5 stages of development: conformity, dissonance, resistance & immersion, introspection, and synergetic articulation & awareness.
Date: March 15, 2021
Time: 6pm MST
Location: Online via Zoom
We will follow the presentation with a live Q&A. Please register to reserve a seat.
What You’ll Learn
In addition to providing tips and tools—from at-home resources to supportive storytelling and imagery, the panel will discuss commonly asked questions such as:
- What is your experience and that of your children with around cultural identity?
- What is “otherness” and code switching?
- Where do we see DWS striving?
- What are ways to create a community of inclusion?
About the Panelists
Waldorf Educator Magally Luna
Magally began as a Spanish teacher school-wide at The Denver Waldorf School and worked in that position for 18 years and now is focusing her energies on the current 4th grade. She is bringing a diverse curriculum to her class of cuties. She has been on the Diversity committee since it’s beginning, starting with conversations with Laurie Clark in the Morning Glory classroom. She is the founder and co-chair of AWSNA’S BIPOC affinity group supporting Waldorf teachers of color throughout the nation. She has taught BIPOC stories, songs and movement from the Americas at several National conferences.
DWS Board Member Steven Hill
Steven Hill is a parent to a biracial 8th grader at the Denver School of Arts. He currently serves on the Denver Waldorf School Board of Trustees and is a member of the school’s Diversity & Inclusivity Committee. Mr. Hill is a past member of the Denver Waldorf School Development Committee. He earned his Juris Doctor at the University of Colorado School of Law Boulder, CO. He served serves on the Board of Directors, Families Forward Resource Center Denver, CO an organization that deals with social, economical, and racial disparities for families in Colorado. He has served as a Trainer for licensed Foster Care Parents and Kinship Parents in the state of Colorado teaching the topics of diversity and inclusivity, culture, discipline, child abuse, and child placement.
Linda Hsieh, LPC, ACS
Linda is a therapist and coach dedicated to the healing and thriving of QTBIPoC in Colorado and abroad. She is the daughter of immigrant parents from Taiwan, born and raised in the Denver Metro area. She’s mother to Kai (3rd grade) and Meilin (1st grade), and partner to Vernon Dewey (8th grade teacher).
D&I Committee Member Mahdyeh Nowkhandan
Mahdyeh is a new DWS parent, and has recently become one of the leads on the new Denver Waldorf Racial Justice Parent Group. She has a background in advocacy work and racial justice, as well as elementary education — including social-emotional and special education. She is a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Award, and still she views herself as a life-long learner, non-expert, and an always growing member of the BIPOC community.
D&I Committee Member JP Box
JP is a parent to biracial DWS second grade twins. He graduated from Bowdoin College with a double-major in Spanish and Sociology, culminating in a senior-year independent study on the intersection of basketball and race. While in law school, JP helped lead an effort to revise The Georgetown Law Journal’s selection criteria to ensure a diverse and inclusive publication. Together with his partner, Sarah, he is the co-founder of Chasing Windmills, a merino wool children’s apparel company.
About The DWS Diversity and Inclusivity Committee
Waldorf Education is founded in a worldview that acknowledges the spiritual nature of all beings. Waldorf education fundamentally recognizes and values the many people and perspectives of the world. It honors the freedom, equality, individuality, and unique capacities of each child and is dedicated to creating an inclusive community that respects and affirms each of its members.
The Diversity and Inclusivity Committee believes that diversity and inclusiveness strengthens education and fosters the essential element of respect that prepares students to live and work in a global environment.
Purpose
The Diversity and Inclusivity Committee endeavors to create an inclusive community of faculty, staff, parents and students by working to address and dismantle oppression within our DWS community. Committee meetings provide a forum for discussion, education, and exploration of issues of age, ancestry, color, creed, disability, family composition, gender, gender-identification, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.
The committee is charged with helping to shape The Denver Waldorf School as a place where families, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel welcomed and valued.
The committee provides communication to the Board of Trustees and to the College Leadership Council with regard to the diversity scholarship, issues that are facing the student body, parent body, and community. Committee members act in accordance with the Mission, Vision, and Core Values of The Denver Waldorf School.
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.
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.
We are currently enrolling for in-person learning. Learn more about our onsite tours and in-person shadowing for:
Want to learn more about us? Schedule an in-person tour of our Denver campus or join us online during our virtual events.
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The Bridge: Movement and the Waldorf Experience
Up Next on The Bridge: Why we move
Wondering why movement is paramount in the Waldorf curriculum? This month on The Bridge, Waldorf educator Charlie Orphanides takes us on a brief journey through the field of movement, where we will move a bit ourselves and discuss the increasing relevance and indeed necessity of movement in our schools and in the lives of children in general.
Date: March 24, 2021
Time: 7pm MST
Location: Online via Zoom
We will follow the presentation with a live Q&A. Please register to reserve a seat.
What You’ll Learn
During the presentation, Charlie will cover why and how we move in our Waldorf schools—specifically, speaking to the influence and impacts of the whole human being, from the base physiology to subtle neural activity and even into the realm of the spiritual or finer aspects of the human experience.
From Gym and Games classes to the art of Eurythmy, from handwork and woodwork to circle time and jump roping multiplication tables, Waldorf education moves each student in diverse ways. With deep intentionality, Waldorf teachers are also mindful of how they move, the postures they hold, and even the ways in which they uphold their stamina to work with seemingly tireless children all day long.
About Waldorf Educator Charlie Orphanides
Truly a mover, Charlie is an integral part of The Denver Waldorf school faculty, and came to our school after teaching at Waldorf schools in Boulder, New York City, and New Hampshire. He has been teaching for a decade, and began his career fortified with an English degree from Lewis and Clark College, a master of education degree and Waldorf teacher certification from Antioch University—complemented with many trainings in movement, art, and meditation studies. Charlie is also a graduate of a 5-year training program in “Spacial” Dynamics, certified in Bothmer Gymnastics (based on exercises from the first gym teacher at the first Waldorf school), and has been teaching circus for more than 7 years.
Away from the classroom, Charlie’s hobbies include gardening, fixing and building things, running, bicycling, playing with his two sons, reading, writing, studying a variety of healing modalities, and playing guitar and piano (along with anything else with which it’s fun to make music!).
About The Bridge
The Bridge is a monthly webinar series hosted by The Denver Waldorf School on the benefits of Waldorf education. By connecting one another, we aim to join in the worldwide effort to educate for humanity.
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.
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.
We are currently enrolling for in-person learning. Learn more about our onsite tours and in-person shadowing for:
Want to learn more about us? Schedule an in-person tour of our Denver campus or join us online during our virtual events.
Conversations Book Study
Open to all and led by Cynthia Bennet, Conversations is a weekly Waldorf discussion group and book study on:
- Our children’s needs in these challenging times
- Deepening our understanding of Waldorf education
The group’s aim is to deepen our understanding of the basic principles that underlie Waldorf Education through readings from Steiner’s lectures and writing. We will use the readings as a basis for a discussion of our children’s needs in these challenging times.
Book Study
Date: Every Friday morning
Time: 9-10am MST
Location: Online via Zoom
Current Reading: The Care and Development of the Human Senses by Willi Aeppli
On March 3, we will start with the intro.
About Cynthia Bennett
Cynthia Bennett is a Waldorf educator with a long time interest in how Waldorf education meets the needs of today’s children. She has extensive experience teaching and mentoring teachers in Waldorf schools. She worked for many years with Jack Petrash of the Nova Institute as a parent educator and Waldorf teacher trainer. Since 2017, Cynthia has been a member of the DWS community, supporting the faculty and leading study groups for parents.
About The Denver Waldorf School
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. Want to learn more about the benefits of Waldorf education? Join us online during one of our many virtual events.
Register to Reserve a Spot
Register once for all Conversations discussion group sessions.
High School Roundtable: College After Covid
In February, we kicked off our High School Roundtable with DWHS faculty and staff and independent Education Counselor Carolyn Francis to discuss the post-Covid college application process, taking a gap year, and more. Watch both recordings of College After Covid below.
To see what’s coming up next in our lineup, check our Events page.
College-Prep Checklist
Common questions that surface for high school students and parents include everything from when to take the ACT or SAT and how to search for schools. Download our 10-step checklist to help stay on track.
Recordings for the February Sessions of the DWS High School Roundtable
Part 1 — February 5, 2021
Part 2 — February 5, 2021
About the High School Roundtable
The High School Roundtable is a monthly webinar series serving DWS families. The aim is to bring guidance on navigating high school to the table.
Enrollment & In-Person Tours
The Denver Waldorf School is a Denver-based independent school that is currently enrolling preschool through high school students. Schedule an in-person to learn more on our curriculum, admissions process, financial aid, and more.
Spartan Senior Night
Celebrating Kobi McMillen, Alex Reynolds, and Jack Carr
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 boys basketball game on March 4th. About these incredible students, Coach Quinn reflected the following.
Kobi McMillen
Kobi is a four-year varsity player who has started the past two years. He was an integral part of two consecutive runs to the Regional tournament. His hard work and determination on the court were second to none!
Alex Reynolds-Scheel
Jack Carr
Denver Waldorf High School Roundtable: Minding Mental Health
Trends and Tips on Maintaining Mental Wellness
This month on the DWS High School Roundtable, we are joined by School Counselor Jenny Thompson who will discuss mental health for both students and parents. All DWS families are welcome to attend!
Date: March 5, 2021
Time: 12pm MST
Location: Online via Zoom
During the meeting, Jenny will discuss:
- Mental health trends she’s seeing related to how COVID is affecting students, specifically around increased rates of suicide and depression
- Tips to parents about how we can be one step ahead of these problems
- Ways parents might engage in self care
If you have already registered to attend any of our High School Roundtables, there is no need to register again. Otherwise, please register to attend.
About Jenny Thompson, MA, LPC
Jenny is a Licensed Professional Counselor who grew up in Goshen, Indiana, and attended Indiana University for her undergraduate degree in Sociology. After graduating from IU, she received her MA in counseling psychology from Arcadia University. Jenny worked as a school counselor in Brighton before turning her emphasis to individual therapy. She then worked for People House in their affordable counseling program and then segued into working at Highlands Behavioral Health before joining The Denver Waldorf School as our beloved mental health counselor. Jenny lives with her partner and two children, Charley, and Amelia, and enjoys reading, hiking, playing music, and hanging out with her cat Cosmo.
About the High School Roundtable
The High School Roundtable is a monthly webinar series serving DWS families. The aim is to bring guidance on navigating high school to the table.
If you missed our 2-part series College After Covid, you can watch the recording and download the 10-step checklist.
About The Denver Waldorf School
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. Want to learn more about the benefits of Waldorf education? Join us online during one of our many virtual events.
Register to Reserve a Spot
Register once for all DWS High School Roundtable online webinars.
Why We All Play
How do we develop confident, creative, and joyful student-athletes who champion teamwork, participation, and growth? That is the question that drives our athletics program at The Denver Waldorf School.
This ethos begins with a simple no-cut commitment: any DWS student who wishes to play a sport will have that chance. Whether it’s cross country, volleyball, basketball, or ultimate frisbee, our coaches embrace the opportunity to help each and every student grow and develop their talents and work ethic.
Too often, however, youth athletics are plagued by a very different ethos—one that values that domination, recognition, and exclusivity above all else. In Beyond Winning, Waldorf educator and author, Kim John Payne, laid bare the pitfalls of this mindset:
“[T]he obsession with early success in a win-at-all costs culture has created a pressure chamber in which top prospects, even at the age of five or six, are funneled into elite programs while the majority of kids . . . are robbed of the opportunity to discover and develop their talents . . . The result is a youth sports landscape pockmarked with children who end up—at age eleven or twelve—with fractured egos, low self-esteem, and, in some cases, severe physical injuries. It’s why millions of American kids quit organized sports just as they become teenagers.”– Kim John Payne, Luis Fernando Llosa & Scott Lancaster, Beyond Winning: Smart Parenting in a Toxic Sports Environment (2013).
As a school committed to developing the whole child (head, heart, and hands), we believe athletics should boost our students’ understanding of self-worth, increase their self-esteem, and promote health and wellbeing. In short, we believe physical activity through sports is an opportunity for healthful growth.
It’s also the smart tactic to nurture joyful love of sport. As Payne points out, almost three-quarters of America’s youth quit organized sports by age thirteen — precisely at the age when sports can be taken more seriously and occupy a more central role in healthy development.
Imagine a sports culture where our teenage athletes experience joy instead of burnout, embrace team success over individual glory, and value participation over exclusion. By creating a healthy sports culture within DWS, we make these goals into our reality.
We create a culture that nourishes the hearts, souls, bodies, and minds of every student-athlete. It begins with a commitment to let everyone participate, and this is why we all play.
Variety Hour
Watch the virtual Variety Hour via Twitch!
Many Thanks to Our Class Acts
Thank you to all who submitted acts for this year’s Variety Hour. The lineup looks spectacular!
The Bridge: Poised for Success with Cynthia Bennett
Up Next on The Bridge: Poised for Success
How does Waldorf education prepare students for success in an unpredictable future? This week on The Bridge, Waldorf educator Cynthia Bennett discusses how the Waldorf curriculum develops the skills and capacities that will help our graduates find their way in work and life in that future.
Date: February 24, 2021
Time: 10am MST
Location: Online via Zoom
We will follow the presentation with a live Q&A. Please register to reserve a seat.
What You’ll Learn
In his book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink describes the new skills for the workers who will be needed in the future, skills that go beyond a traditional academic education:
- Design
- Story
- Symphony
- Empathy
- Play
- Meaning
Rudolf Steiner spoke of Waldorf education in a similar way. He said, “The heart of the Waldorf method is that education is an art, it must speak to the child’s experience. To educate the whole child, his heart and his will must be reached, as well as the mind.”
We integrate these skills into every lesson at The Denver Waldorf School. As the school’s mission statement reads, DWS awakens and inspires students’ critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and artistic expression, preparing them to bring relevant contributions to the world. The Waldorf school’s varied and integrated curriculum gives students the opportunity to develop, first and foremost, abilities and capacities. In our classes the ability to create, to think, and to do are paramount. Learning which builds toward understanding of the whole is the goal rather than the accumulation and memorization of facts themselves.
About Waldorf Educator Cynthia Bennett
Cynthia Bennett worked as a Waldorf high school educator teaching mathematics and science for 17 years at the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, Maryland. Subsequently, she led the faculty there as College Chair for four years, before leaving to take up adult education. She spent another 12 years educating four cohorts of Waldorf teachers, and introducing numerous parents to Waldorf philosophy and education through the NOVA Institute.
She now works as a Waldorf educational consultant. Cynthia came to Denver in 2017, and since then has been active at The Denver Waldorf School leading parent and faculty studies, mentoring teachers, and supporting the school in many ways. She also is a grandparent of a DWS second grader.
About The Bridge
The Bridge is a monthly webinar series hosted by The Denver Waldorf School on the benefits of Waldorf education. By connecting one another, we aim to join in the worldwide effort to educate for humanity.
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.
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.
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.