A Final Goodbye...

In this final Newsletter I will accept one final opportunity to express my gratitude to all the parents, drivers, neighbours, lunch makers, volunteers, and huggers of the CVWS community as well as all the teachers, staff and board members both past and present.  What a ride it has been!  Without the dedication of all of you we would not have had the incredible community we have been able to create for all the 150+ children that have spent time with us over the years.  For myself personally the past 10 years have been a time of great loves and growing.  It was through my time at CVWS that I discovered my love of policy:), who knew?
 
If ever there was an effort to create a way for children to develop the skills they need for meeting the world with purpose, that is needed now.  If ever there was an effort to build conscious community, that is needed now.  If ever there was a wish to develop in the children a sense of responsibility, compassion, and innovation, that is needed now.  Our mission at CVWS was to walk side by side with you in support of these important things, we dedicated our time to holding this vision, and inspiring it in you.  We believe that you can continue to carry that vision and light as you go forward on the educational journey with your children.  May you forever light the path with hope, love and faith.
 
Thank you for all the hugs and smiles over the years.  Although it was a unique ending to the year I am happy that each child and parent was able to close the year with something solid, in the form of a rock.  Please continue to add rocks to the Gratitude and Rememberance Rock Garden as you are inspired to do so.  
 
All the best to you and your children.
Rebecca

It is with heartfelt gratitude that I write this final letter to our Comox Valley Waldorf School Community.  The past month has been filled with packing and closing up our programs and our buildings, and officially saying goodbye to students and colleagues.  The overriding feeling I had, throughout this whole time, has been of gratitude. There is nothing like a Waldorf Community to put into practice, in real time, all of the values that are taught and illustrated through lesson and curriculum.  Each day, throughout the years, we all showed up, whether it was to bring your child to our little school in the valley, or to help clear snow in the winter, support a fundraiser, or attend a meeting, we all showed up, and became better and more conscious within ourselves, and towards each other, every time. The world is crying for conscious community, and I know that we have practiced this together since our school began. And now that we have established what it means to work and communicate together clearly and consciously, with respect, compassion and humility, then we can continue to do this in the next phase of our lives together. And we can inspire others around us, near and far, to pick up the torch, and to participate in this same work. 

These last months of isolation have brought humanity incredible experiences, challenges and hurdles to overcome.  Adversity is what challenges us to take a step further in our consciousness, wake up, and expand more fully into our possibilities. What I know is that the world needs to get to the point where a Waldorf Community, is just called a community, and Waldorf education is simply called....education. From our time together, we know that our students received the foundation for living healthy, connected, meaningful, purposeful, compassionate, conscience lives on earth, and that this positively affected parents and even grandparents in our community.  This inner knowing of what is truly possible,  we must each carry out into the world, because I cannot think of a better hope for humanity's next phase of evolution. The time is now.  

Blessings to all of you,
Jennifer 

What crazy and challenging times! Had someone told me last fall that the school would need to close for the following year, I wouldn’t have believed them. With all the hard work the board has done over the past few years to help the school gain momentum, it feels all to surreal that this is what it has come to.
 
It just goes to show how precious and fragile an education as incredible as a Waldorf education is, and something not to be taken for granted. With so many critical and delicate moving pieces to run and maintain a school such as this, just one broken piece can bring it all to a halt.
 
It was truly an honour to work with such a great board of directors, each offering their individual gifts. This board was a dynamic and committed group of people who worked collaboratively and with the best of intentions for the school. In the end, we had to make the most incredibly difficult decision of closing the school, which really didn’t even feel like a choice at all.
 
I want to thank each one of them for their countless hours of voluntary and passionate work. It is my hope that this flame will once again be ignited in our valley. In my honest and biased opinion, there’s no better education out there and one that is needed more than ever.
 
I thank every family for being a part of our school, no matter how long or short it was, and I hope you all find the path best for you and your children next year.
 
Sincerely,
Christine
Board Chair

Dear Parent Group… it’s so hard to believe that after gaining so much momentum as a school community, all has abruptly come to an end. As if learning that the school couldn’t continue next year wasn’t hard enough! And then to be hit with Covid-19 completely shutting us down and preventing us from wrapping up the way we would have liked, feels all too harsh and unfair. Having said that, I’m sure many have felt as I have, that it has been a blessing to gain some momentum at home and with our families.
 
I want to express my gratitude to all for having been a part of our school community, and for all you contributed to the school in your own way. The parent group plays such an integral role in the heartbeat of a Waldorf school and I know the friendships formed will continue to live on even outside of the school. I will continue to hold hope in my heart for a new Waldorf school initiative to form again for our community to be apart of.
 
Prior to everyone being forced into lockdown, the Parent Group had decided to help fund a parent appreciation event at the White Whale for the end of May. Unfortunately, this was not able to come to fruition. Having said that, we are still considering ways we may be able to still do something over the summer as restrictions are lifted. So, if anyone has any suggestions for us to consider, please feel free to email me at chrislaird.cl@gmail.com.
 
A special thanks to Sarah Chase our treasurer, Nathan Rothgeb our secretary, and those who faithfully attended our PG meetings to offer ideas, insights and help make decisions.
 
I wish you all a joyful summer and all the best wherever your family ends up next year. We will forever value what we and our children gained, however short or long it was, from the Comox Valley Waldorf School.
 
Sincerely,
Christine
Parent Group Chair