Youth Programs – Waldorf School Projects
Kimberton Waldorf School: Triskeles worked with six members of the junior class who were seeking local opportunities for their school’s required social service week. Working with John Hoekstra of Green Valleys Association (GVA) - known for his efforts to clean and maintain the local environment, we set up a project for these hard-working young men and women to work with board members and staff of GVA in various clean-up efforts in East Vincent Township.
The six put in full days working in the cool March weather and accomplished a lot. They cleared walking trails, cut vines, cleaned up the banks of French Creek, and dug out the roots of unwanted, invasive plants.
These pictures and the accompanying article from the Community Courier by Francine Fulton accurately captures the flavor of their service week.
  
Triskeles is also partnering with members of the ninth grade class at the Kimberton Waldorf School to enlist their help in doing their farm practicum in conjunction with our Food for Thought summer program. A few of the ninth graders will not only be working on the local farms, but participating in a wide variety of related activities over the span of a whole month this summer.
Green Building – Kevin Hughes, a high school teacher at KWS, is offering History Through Architecture to his senior class where they will take a close up look at the modern green building movement with Triskeles’ assistance. We worked with Kevin to set up two visits to local 'green' sites: a house owned by a green developer in the Valley Forge area and the new Aerzen corporate facility in Coatesville. Aerzen is headed by Pierre Noack, a KWS parent and former board president.
Waldorf School of Baltimore: After two meetings with staff members of the fledgling high school at WSB, Triskeles is partnering with the school and working with a small group of parents, teachers, and local community members to plan and build into the curriculum, ways to engage the students in social entrepreneurial activities and organizations in their proud old city.
Side by Side
Our newest program addition, Side by Side, continues to grow. Laura Birdsall, along with her crew of dedicated volunteers and teen leaders, has provided two wonderful seasonal workshops this winter for over 50 young people each time.
  Community Building
Working with the staff and board of the River Valley Waldorf School in Bucks County, PA, Triskeles has developed two projects to strengthen the school.
Peer Coaching Project: Developing a modern 'professional community of practice' with a focus on student learning, collaboration, and reflective dialogue among teachers is the heart of this project with teachers from River Valley, Kimberton Waldorf, and the Philadelphia Waldorf Schools. Triskeles engaged Steven Strull, Director of the National School Reform Faculty in New York, to facilitate three great Saturday workshops. These have received rave reviews from participating teachers and will become part of the ongoing practice of the faculties involved.
Sustainable School Project: In order to free up teachers to focus their energies on students, a school must have an efficient administrative function. Triskeles is working with the board, the administrative staff, and the teachers at River Valley Waldorf School to design and implement a new management structure which combines an efficient executive group with an openness to input from members of the school community. All parts of the school have been courageous and resolute in taking up these new possibilities for their future. We are adapting models recently implemented at the Highland Hall and Lake Champlain Waldorf Schools, with great success.
Triskeles Office: We have been helped greatly this year by three terrific interns who have given us a considerable amount of their time and energies. Kate Gundersen, approaching her junior year at the Colgate University in New York, is helping us this summer in various areas of our work, particularly our Food for Thought Program. Alex Dews, a University of Vermont graduate worked with us on many aspects of our program development during the month of January. Kylee Woelfel volunteered in our office two days per week for a month and made an enormous difference in the backlog of work. Thanks to all!
Please click here to read our most recent newsletter: 
Archived News Page: Click Here
|
home |
programs |
general information |
contact us |
supporting triskeles
