Loose Threads: Issue #6
Where the pieces come together.
With so much activity swirling around us, this week’s Loose Threads offers just one thread — the one that quietly helps hold the fabric of our school together.
We are a school sustained by ourselves and each other.
This season has been filled with lantern walks, winter spirals, and moments of quiet turning inward. Our children are learning that winter is a time to tend the light; to move gently, to listen inwardly, and to carry warmth into the darker months.
Our school depends on that same spirit of shared tending — small flames held by many hands.
Your pledge — one-time or monthly, in any amount — becomes a light that helps keep handwork, movement, festivals, field trips, and joyful Waldorf learning alive for nearly 500 students. Every handmade ornament, every winter festival, every wobbly unicycle ride, every TK/K bowl of soup, every dreamy watercolor painting is a gift that we, the families, offer to one another.
If our school has lit a spark in your child this year, we invite you to join the Family Pledge Program.
If you want to ensure these programs continue next year and beyond, becoming a Family Pledge donor today truly matters.
If you believe in the mission of this school, join the Family Pledge Program.
Your gift becomes part of the light that guides us all — and your light matters more than you know.
"When I think of my family’s contribution to the Foundation, I see it as both a celebration of my own children’s experience and an investment in their future. Our gifts support highly experienced educators, provide beautiful quality materials, festivals, adventure, and nurture a school environment where children fall in love with learning."
— Nicole Camarda, Lower Grades Teacher & Valley Vista Public Waldorf Parent
"Our family gives to the Foundation because we value how it enables a deeper level of Waldorf programming at our school. Our kindergartener adores the handwork projects, the daily snack, and having a full-time aide in the classroom. We’re excited for more handwork, movement, plays, and field trips as she moves through the grades."
— Nathan Spindel & Brianna Wolf, Valley Vista Public Waldorf Parents
“Becoming a monthly Family Pledge Program donor at VVPW has just “felt right” because our children are given so much each day. They are nurtured, challenged, and held by a community of caring adults and a developmentally thoughtful curriculum which aligns with our family’s values of limiting technology, slowing down, and honoring—not rushing—childhood. We are so grateful that VVPW exists, and know that it can only do so with our extra support. Contributing to the Family Pledge Program is our family’s way of voicing a resounding “Yes!” to all that VVPW is now and all it dreams of growing into.”
— Gwynne Johnson & William Gordon, Valley Vista Public Waldorf Parents
"If I had to choose one thing that has had the greatest impact on my children’s development, it would be Public Waldorf education. Waldorf education is defined by its specialty classes, deliberate field trips, and meaningful curricular enrichment—and these experiences simply aren’t possible without the family pledge program. That’s why we pledge."
— Dan Foster and Bonnie Kaufman, Valley Vista Public Waldorf Parents
Thank you to everyone who has joined the Family Pledge Program!
Month after month, your Family Pledge shows up and helps keep the Waldorf experience alive. Your pledge carries the energy of belief that what we are doing here matters. Your steady support truly makes the difference.
Photo & Artwork Credits
Photos by Andrea Reier, Danielle Gutman, Amanda Ferstl, Alessa Palmer, Nick Russinko, Ms. Nicole (2nd Grade), Brianna Wolf, Kelly Brickman, Jamie Hensler, Gwynne Johnson, Lizzy Russinko, and various parent volunteers, teachers, and staff. Geometric artwork by Eleanor Russinko. Mural by Bianca Foss.
