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July 2012 - Waldorf School Windhoek

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w-mail<br />

Newsletter <strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong>, www.waldorf-namibia.org<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />

Winner of <strong>School</strong> Award <strong>2012</strong> //<br />

Hit the Beat back from Germany<br />

Tour // Trimester Festival // Thanks<br />

a lot to Simone de Picciotto //<br />

Kidz Fun Fair 4.+5. August <strong>2012</strong><br />

H. E. Neville Gertze, Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia (middle)<br />

Hit the Beat – Choir and Friends<br />

Tour <strong>2012</strong> Germany: Inspired<br />

2500 People and Standing Ovations<br />

Greeting of the Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia, H. E. Neville<br />

Gertze, on the occasion of the concert of the <strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong><br />

Choir at the Freie <strong>Waldorf</strong>schule Berlin Südost on 9 June <strong>2012</strong>:<br />

© Mario Seydel<br />

Best improved pass rate (+ 43 rank points) in Khomas Region in the external<br />

Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate (Higher) 2011 and Best improved pass rate<br />

(+ 32 rank points) in Khomas Region in the external NSSC (Ordinary) 2011 (below)<br />

Winner of the Khomas Region<br />

<strong>School</strong> Award <strong>2012</strong><br />

Every year the Khomas Region<br />

awards schools and teachers for<br />

excellence and improvement in<br />

examination performance. This<br />

year our school received two<br />

awards in recognition of our improved<br />

pass rate, both in the higher<br />

and ordinary levels of the 2011<br />

NSSC examinations. Each award<br />

included prize money of N$1500<br />

and this money will go to the high<br />

school book fund for additional<br />

materials for preparing for these<br />

examinations. This class did exceptionally<br />

well in German (First<br />

Language and Foreign Language).<br />

We are very proud to receive this<br />

recognition and attribute this not<br />

only to the Grade 13 teachers but<br />

also all teachers who taught them<br />

through the years. Kathi Damon<br />

Dear teachers of the Freie <strong>Waldorf</strong>schule<br />

Berlin-Südost, dear<br />

choir members from Namibia,<br />

dear learners of the Freie <strong>Waldorf</strong>schule<br />

Berlin-Südost, dear guests<br />

and friends of Namibia, I am very<br />

pleased to greet you as guests of a<br />

wonderful Namibian evening. I feel<br />

very honoured to celebrate today’s<br />

choir concert with Namibian music<br />

and the good German-Namibian<br />

partnership between the two<br />

schools <strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong><br />

and Freie <strong>Waldorf</strong>schule Berlin-<br />

Südost. The concert “Hit the Beat”<br />

presents a lovely opportunity to<br />

reflect the special relationship of<br />

both these schools.<br />

We are all aware of the social<br />

and cultural differences between<br />

our two countries. But music is a<br />

language in which all people in this<br />

world can communicate with each<br />

other. Since our approach to the<br />

school partnerships is based on<br />

friendship, honesty, and equality,<br />

the event tonight provides us with<br />

another chance to bring people<br />

together and exchange ideas. From<br />

that, the students but also their<br />

families and friends will definitely<br />

benefit.<br />

Namibia has a variety of choirs<br />

singing traditional but also<br />

contemporary songs. Many choirs<br />

tour around the world, take part in<br />

international choir competitions<br />

and become an important cultural<br />

export product of Namibia.<br />

The choir of the <strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />

<strong>Windhoek</strong> can also be regarded as<br />

a kind of cultural Ambassador for<br />

our country which promotes mutual<br />

understanding, friendship and a<br />

long-term partnership between<br />

Namibia and Germany.<br />

The “Hit the Beat” project began<br />

14 years ago and was inspired ><br />

Hit the Beat in Worms<br />

© Norbert Seilheimer


© Norbert Seilheimer<br />

© Melanie Pfnuer<br />

© Norbert Seilheimer<br />

Simone de Picciotto in her element:<br />

Conducting “We are the world, we are the<br />

children”, with Hit the Beat and three other<br />

choirs (200 singers) in the Aula of the Freien<br />

Schule Anne-Sophie in Künzelsau (left).<br />

Short visit at Dome in Worms (right).<br />

> by a student’s idea. A young<br />

German 12-grader developed the<br />

idea to do a drum project. His<br />

teacher, Ms Simone de Picciotto,<br />

supported that project and began<br />

to attend drumming workshops<br />

herself. Soon the first drums had<br />

been bought and the first drumming<br />

group founded. Since then, Simone<br />

has been regularly drumming and<br />

singing with children in schools.<br />

Seven years later, Ms de Picciotto<br />

came to Namibia to teach music<br />

at the <strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> in <strong>Windhoek</strong><br />

where she continued to work<br />

Donations received<br />

during the tour<br />

Total: 16.095 E<br />

Concert donations 11.475 E<br />

Namibia Tour Shop 4.620 E<br />

Donation being handed over to Ilse Lang,<br />

long-serving active supporter of the <strong>Waldorf</strong><br />

<strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong>. The cheque valued at<br />

3500 Euros is being handed over by Sascha<br />

Kaiser. (f.l.t.r) Ilse Lang (Founder of the<br />

ALISA Trust), Sascha Kaiser (Sales and Financial<br />

Manageress of the Culture and Events<br />

GmbH), Uwe Mandler (Pedagogical Head of<br />

the ALISA Centre) and Heike Müller (Project<br />

leader Culture and Events GmbH).<br />

together with her students on the<br />

music project. Tonight, we will<br />

be able to enjoy the fruits of this<br />

intense work, the programme “HIT<br />

THE BEAT”, which is already quite<br />

known in Namibia. Please, enjoy<br />

with me, and be inspired by the<br />

rhythm of a young and ambitious<br />

choir from Namibia. Thank you!<br />

H. E. Neville Gertze, Ambassador<br />

of the Republic of Namibia<br />

....................................................<br />

Voices of pupils<br />

Staying with guest families in<br />

Berlin: We arrived on the 9th of<br />

June at the <strong>Waldorf</strong>schule in Berlin.<br />

We unpacked our suitcases and one<br />

of the teachers there announced<br />

our guest families who welcomed<br />

us nicely and we then drove home<br />

and had dinner with the family.<br />

Some of us went out that night to<br />

see the city. It was a good weekend,<br />

Berlin is amazing and very big, for<br />

some of us it took hours to get back<br />

to the house.<br />

I stayed with Samantha at a girl‘s<br />

house that we knew before, which<br />

was really nice and made everything<br />

easier. Our guest father<br />

took time to show us the city and at<br />

night Lisa (the girl we stayed with)<br />

took us out to Kreuzberg and to the<br />

Alexanderplatz, we enjoyed that<br />

very much. Nikita Kinder<br />

The Performance in Stuttgart<br />

<strong>Waldorf</strong>schule Uhlandshöhe:<br />

To start off it was a great experience<br />

to have such an opportunity. To be<br />

in Germany was a gift I simply appreciate<br />

with so much love and joy.<br />

Well the performance we had in the<br />

first <strong>Waldorf</strong> school was amazing.<br />

We had a hall with great sound, felt<br />

warm and welcoming. We met up<br />

with Mrs Storm and the Spitta family.<br />

The view and the great audience<br />

we had made it all the worth while,<br />

we were so lucky to have a standing<br />

ovation in each performance.<br />

Nade Farmer<br />

....................................................<br />

Voices of guests<br />

Concert in the Mozart Hall in the<br />

Wormser Cultural Centre:<br />

I have never seen a school performance<br />

with so many talented people<br />

before… and I have experienced<br />

many!!! There is so much we could<br />

learn from them. The children of the<br />

<strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> have such a good<br />

stage presence, no matter where<br />

one focusses on the stage – even<br />

up to the last row – one could sense<br />

that each and every child carried<br />

the rhythm from within. Even the<br />

teachers impressed me – the connection<br />

between the conductors<br />

and the learners was fascinating<br />

– attentiveness, discipline and<br />

despite this ease! They all radiated<br />

happiness and I noted that they<br />

were all SELF conscious – excellent!<br />

In the song with the soloist, tears of<br />

joy rolled down my cheeks. The girl<br />

really moved me. Hats off, especially<br />

with what you have achieved<br />

with this school in Namibia!!! You<br />

....................................................<br />

Trimester Festival<br />

and Get Together<br />

for all Parents<br />

Sat 23 June <strong>2012</strong> at our <strong>School</strong><br />

can really be proud of this and I am<br />

happy that I was able to attend this<br />

performance.<br />

Concert during the open air concert<br />

at Hermersberg:<br />

It was a wonderful evening for me.<br />

It is truly fantastic what the youth<br />

can do, how much joy and enthusiasm<br />

could be felt. And the teachers<br />

and choir leaders’ engagement was<br />

admirable. And it was very good<br />

to briefly meet one of our future<br />

Patron Marion Würth<br />

students, to talk to him. Now he<br />

already knows someone at the<br />

Goethe-Institute in Schwäbisch<br />

Hall. This is often helpful initially<br />

in a new environment. Wonderful<br />

how the Würth family supports<br />

the young people! My absolute<br />

respect!<br />

© Katharina Wyss © Melanie Pfnuer


© Norbert Seilheimer<br />

© Norbert Seilheimer<br />

Dear pupils, dear parents, dear friends,<br />

8 1/2 years ago in May 2004 I was traveling on<br />

the highway in Germany with my husband and he<br />

suggested to me that we apply for a job in Bavaria.<br />

I was in shock and answered spontaneously<br />

that before I ever, ever move to Bavaria I would<br />

prefer to move to Africa. This was without any<br />

substance because I had no connection to Africa<br />

whatsoever.<br />

We arrived at our house a few hours later and<br />

on the table I found a magazine from the Freunde<br />

der Erziehungskunst with an article about the<br />

<strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong>.<br />

To make a long story short: 6 weeks later in June<br />

I visited the school, in August I signed a contract<br />

and began to pack up my house. I January 2005<br />

I started my work here. Had I known about the<br />

many challenges I was to face here, I do not know<br />

if I would have had the courage to do this and yet<br />

I am glad I did for I would have missed some of<br />

the most wonderful years of my life.<br />

The past 7 1/2 years have been a melting pot of<br />

the most intense feelings: joy, surprises, excitement<br />

and also many, many challenges. I do not<br />

regret a single day I spent with the pupils at this<br />

school.<br />

The amazing trips I was allowed to enjoy: going<br />

to Germany twice, to Capetown once, the Canyon<br />

River, the many Parzival hikes, enjoying Namibia’s<br />

amazing landscape.<br />

All the theatre projects and showtime events we<br />

did were always something I enjoyed immensely.<br />

Just before I arrived I was asked to start with<br />

teaching a biology main lesson – this was a totally<br />

new subject to me and I was extremely worried<br />

how I would manage – however always just one<br />

step ahead of the pupils I somehow managed to<br />

go forwards – biology and history becoming my<br />

favourites...<br />

Music has always been my passion and building<br />

up the drumming as well as the choir is something<br />

that meant very, very much to me. I know that<br />

choir work is always a challenge when it is compulsory,<br />

however this last project was so amazing<br />

that I hope it has really planted the seed of future<br />

music in the school. I am extremely grateful, that<br />

I was able to experience something like this at<br />

the end.<br />

“Thank you pupils for sharing these years with<br />

me and enriching my life” Simone de Picciotto<br />

But overall I want to thank the pupils for the<br />

amount of trust and loyalty they showed towards<br />

me – I always felt welcomed by them and I enjoyed<br />

going into almost every lesson I taught in the<br />

past years.<br />

I mentioned at the trimester festival, that I was<br />

very naive when I came here and did not realise<br />

what the situation in Namibia was, growing up in<br />

the USA in the 1970’, when the civil rights movement<br />

had just peaked and integration in schools<br />

was a major theme, it was a surprise to me to<br />

find myself in a similar situation here in Namibia<br />

again.<br />

However it seemed to meet my personality<br />

which has always been to embrace youth and to<br />

encourage every single young person to find his<br />

place in society and to realise the importance<br />

of every single individuality in society and the<br />

impact his little deeds can have.<br />

I explained to the pupils this week how I feel<br />

the highest aim for every human is to become a<br />

hero in his area meaning: A hero is one who gives<br />

himself to something bigger than himself because<br />

he has dreams and can make them reality<br />

and grow beyond himself and thereby really<br />

make a difference in this world.<br />

Thank you pupils for sharing these years with<br />

me and enriching my life – they were the most<br />

© Katharina Wyss<br />

passionate years of my life and I will never forget<br />

them.<br />

I also want to thank all the parents for their<br />

support. Without you this would never have<br />

been possible and I thank you for all the positive<br />

feedback and goodwill you showed to me.<br />

Of course the same goes to my colleagues who<br />

entrusted me to build up the high school and<br />

supported my ideas and tolerated my sometimes<br />

very energetic and decisive approaches.<br />

You are all wonderful people and I am sure the<br />

school is in wonderful hands.<br />

I leave you all to be with my daughters and to<br />

bring a bit of quietness into my life, time to regain<br />

new strength and conquer new fields. I will<br />

be only working part time for the next year, will<br />

commence further education as school mediator<br />

and hope to start various projects with young<br />

people, obviously mainly musical projects. And<br />

maybe I can come back here to help in specific<br />

areas as a guest teacher. I would love that.<br />

Thank you all, you will stay in my heart forever<br />

and dear pupils never forget my main line: let<br />

freedom ring throughout your lives and always<br />

know: you can do whatever you set your heart on.<br />

Simone de Picciotto<br />

www.hit-the-beat.org<br />

www.facebook.com/hitthebeatconcert<br />

www.youtube.com > hit the beat namibia<br />

© Norbert Seilheimer


© Katharina Wyss<br />

© Katharina Wyss<br />

© <strong>School</strong> Archive<br />

Roekija Helm<br />

Freca Menzel<br />

Kidz Fun Fair <strong>2012</strong><br />

Last year in May I read the “Namibian Education<br />

Directory” and discovered the <strong>Waldorf</strong><br />

<strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong>. I was involved in the home<br />

schooling topic in South Africa, where I lived<br />

for four years. Back in Namibia I looked for<br />

alternative ways to educate my children. The<br />

philosophy of home schooling is similar to<br />

the Rudolf Steiner pedagogic. So I chose<br />

this school. I have two children in Grade 0 and<br />

Grade 2.<br />

I started working at the <strong>Waldorf</strong> front desk<br />

on 29 May: Administration, enrolments, data<br />

capturing, telephone and many more things<br />

are my field. I feel at home. The atmosphere is<br />

warm and friendly. And this is the main thing<br />

to adapt and to be happy.<br />

Parent’s Ad:<br />

<strong>Waldorf</strong> family urgently looking for 2/3 bedroom<br />

townhouse/apartment close to the school.<br />

Pease call 081-752 18 44.<br />

Events <strong>July</strong> – August <strong>2012</strong><br />

Parents Evening Grade 1, 8<br />

Mon 9 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, 19:00<br />

Parent Association (PA)<br />

Wed 11 <strong>July</strong><strong>2012</strong>, 19:00<br />

Parents Evening Grade 2<br />

Mon 16 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, 19:00<br />

Parents Evening Grade 6<br />

Tue 17 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, 19:00<br />

Parents Evening Grade 3<br />

Mon 23 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, 19:00<br />

Cinema at <strong>Waldorf</strong><br />

Fri 27 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, 19:00<br />

Green Market Café<br />

Sat 28 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, Grade 6<br />

Parents Evening Grade 7<br />

Mon 30 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, 19:00<br />

Kidz Fun Fair at SKW Sportsground<br />

Sat 4 August <strong>2012</strong>, 09:00 – 18:00 (Gates<br />

close at 17:00), Sun 5 August <strong>2012</strong><br />

09:00 – 16:00 (Gates close at 15:00)<br />

Green Market Café<br />

Sat 18 August <strong>2012</strong>, Grade 13<br />

Trimester Holiday<br />

Sat 18 August – Fri 7 September <strong>2012</strong><br />

© Katharina Wyss<br />

Dear school-community, at the end of 2011<br />

I received an invitation to teach at the <strong>Waldorf</strong><br />

<strong>School</strong> in Lübeck, in Northern Germany. There<br />

were a number of aspects that made me feel<br />

that I should go and follow this path – the<br />

possibility of growing still deeper into <strong>Waldorf</strong><br />

teaching through an environment of very experienced<br />

colleagues and teacher-trainers, and<br />

the chance of getting close again to family<br />

and dear friends were just the most dominant<br />

ones.<br />

I am looking back on almost five years of<br />

intensive work at the <strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong>,<br />

with many challenges and a lot of joy.<br />

The open-heartedness of the students and the<br />

commitment of colleagues and parents have<br />

been precious to me, and I am very grateful for<br />

having been part of this community.<br />

Yours with best wishes, Freca Menzel<br />

Teacher’s Training Fund<br />

The teachers decided to also do a Green Market<br />

Café to raise funds for their teacher training<br />

fund. This took place on 7 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong> and they<br />

managed to raise about N$ 2400. This fund<br />

enables us to send delegates to the Nation<br />

Teacher’s Conference in South Africa and to do<br />

further training as a collegiate or individually.<br />

Cinema at <strong>Waldorf</strong><br />

We would like to welcome you to our new event<br />

“Cinema at <strong>Waldorf</strong>”. Once a month we will<br />

show movies and documentaries, and then we<br />

can get together and chat. Starts: Friday, 27th<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, 19:00 “The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner”<br />

Part 1 (1h30min), a documentary film by<br />

Jonathan Stedall. Entrance: free, Food+Drinks:<br />

welcome!<br />

Contact to our W-Mail-Team: Katharina Wyss<br />

wyss@waldorf-namibia.org, Cell +264 (0)81 340 23 79<br />

The annual <strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong> stall at<br />

the Kidz Fun Fair is one of our most important<br />

places to meet new parents and get in touch<br />

with people in <strong>Windhoek</strong>, who are interested<br />

in alternative ways to educate children.<br />

It‘s a great venue to spend a few hours with<br />

your family, to have fun and to enjoy many<br />

activities and, of course, to talk to some of our<br />

teachers.<br />

Dear parents, please feel free to support us<br />

for one or two hours to represent our school<br />

during the 4th August from 09:00 – 18:00 and<br />

5th August from 09:00 – 16:00.<br />

Contact: Katharina Wyss, 081-340 23 79<br />

Kidz Fun Fair at SKW Sportsground<br />

Saturday, 4 August <strong>2012</strong>, 09:00 – 18:00<br />

(Gates close at 17h00), Sunday, 5 August <strong>2012</strong>,<br />

09:00 – 16:00 (Gates close at 15:00)<br />

www.kidz-fun-fair.com<br />

Keep in Contact:<br />

<strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong><br />

P.O. Box 90326, <strong>Windhoek</strong>, Namibia<br />

Andries de Wet Street/Avis<br />

Tel. +264 (0)61 41 52-50, Fax +264 (0)61 41 52-99<br />

office@waldorf-namibia.org<br />

Web: www.waldorf-namibia.org<br />

Blog: www.wsw-connect.org<br />

Namibia<br />

<strong>Waldorf</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong><br />

Nedbank Namibia, Hidas <strong>Windhoek</strong><br />

Branch-Code 461696, Account: 110 000 826 88<br />

IBAN: 46 16 96 11 00 00 82 688<br />

BIC (Swift-Code): NEDS NANX<br />

Germany<br />

Freunde der Erziehungskunst, GLS Bank<br />

Account: 130 420 10, BLZ 430 609 67<br />

VWZ: 4886 WSW Namibia + Spenderadresse<br />

Die Angabe Ihrer Anschrift im Feld Verwendungszweck ermöglicht<br />

das Ausstellen der Spendenbescheinigung.<br />

Switzerland<br />

Freie Gemeinschaftsbank BCL<br />

Account: EK 115.5<br />

Postcheck der Bank: Basel 40-963-0<br />

Kennwort: WSW Namibia<br />

Netherlands<br />

Triodos Bank NV, Zeist, Account: 21.22.68.872<br />

Kennwort: WSW Namibia

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