This year our school had one of the loveliest, most heartfelt beginnings to the year I can remember.
There are so many beautiful Waldorf traditions, and every year our faculty works to imbue those traditions with more beauty, meaning and reverence. This year I think our two beginning of the year traditions were filled with more heart than ever.
School Blessing
On the evening before the first day of school, the faculty, staff and parent council leaders came together at the school in a dear ceremony of blessing. We formed a circle in the performance space. The names of all of the faculty and staff of the school were read. The eurythmy teacher led us in the hallelujah exercise.
After this, each person lit a candle and carried it through the school while we sang Dona Nobis Pacem. We began in the kindergartens and made our way up through the grades, visiting every office and subject room on the way. Finally, we closed together back in the performance space.
Often it is difficult for teachers and staff to attend the blessing, as so many of us are busy preparing for the next day or making sure our children are tucked into bed so they’ll be well-rested for the first day. But this year our circle was large and the collective good will of all of those individuals was palpable. It was just lovely.
The Rose Ceremony
On the first day of school, all of the students and teachers come together for an assembly to welcome the first graders to the school. We begin the assembly with a song presented to the students from the teachers, the teachers are all introduced and then the first graders are introduced to the school.
When the name of a first grader is read the student stands and comes to the front of the room, where he or she is greeted by an eighth grade buddy. The eighth grader gifts the first grader with a rose, a complexly beautiful flower that evokes great passion and emotion. This flower represents what the first grader will one day become, and it serves as a promise of the growth and development that the student will experience in the coming years. After receiving the rose, the first grader takes the eighth grade buddy’s hand and walks back to the classroom.
This year was particularly meaningful for me and my students. When the assembly began, my gaze went to the back of the room that was filled with so many eighth grade parents. It touched my heart to see all of those smiling, supportive parent faces, there to watch their sons and daughters fulfill their roles as the kings and queens of our school. I’m sure they were filled with memories of when their child was the first grader receiving that rose on the first day.
I’m so proud of the unique individuals these students are becoming. I feel privileged to have participated in their development and I am grateful for their contribution to my own growth.
Many tears (of pride, joy and nostalgia) were shed on that first day. And I’m sure they were the first of many more tears to come this year.
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