Dear families,
As we approach our final week, the rain has been unable to dampen the spirits of students here at school. Filming of the Grade 6/7 play is almost finished. With much focus, effort, laughter and enthusiasm, thirteen out of fourteen scenes have been completed. Just one more epic scene will be filmed next week. The magic of freehand geometry is opening the window to higher mathematics in colourful and experiential ways in Grade 4/5. The family projects in Grade 2/3 are giving students opportunities to explore and share their identities as part of their place in the class and in the world. In Grade 1, students have been designing, prototyping and constructing bridges and parachutes from recycled materials, and in our early childhood, the often rainy outdoors has been the setting to strengthen friendships and discoveries through creative free play. It has been such a blessing to experience the rich gifts of the Waldorf curriculum, which shine through restrictions and modifications to truly meet the needs of children where they are at.
School leadership in our board and administration has the task of providing the opportunity for that education to exist well into the future, to become stronger and meet the needs of ever more children and families. We have long held the vision of single grades classes and a bigger campus where children would be free to stretch out, play and explore in nature. In 2018, the SWS board signed a memorandum of understanding with the Cheema family to dedicate a parcel of land as part of the proposed residential development on DOS lots 509 and 510 towards a new school which the Cheema family would assist in building and financing. Although this parcel is outside the current boundary for development in the official community plan, this MOU provides one of the best opportunities for school to obtain the land required for a suitable campus.
The Cheema family has put forward an application to Council to build a secondary access road to Garibaldi Highlands at the top of Dowad Drive. In addition to furthering their plans for the Cheema lands, this access road will reduce congestion in the Highlands and provide more reliable access for the neighbourhood. Please see this link to a Squamish Chief article for more details. We are asking parents who support this plan to write to council in support of the access road. Please feel to reach out to Christine Martin or myself for more information or a sample letter.
Kind regards,
– Gabriel