Submitted by Sarah Shaffer, Grade 8 teacher
Autumn is the season to harvest the bounty and give thanks for the abundance. The season has us storing up for the winter and counting our blessings for all that has come into fruition over the planting and growing season. This autumn, as I begin my last year in this journey with the SWS graduating class of 2020, it occurs to me that there is the spirit of autumn in the eighth-grade year. The planting and growing has been occurring over the course of the last seven years, the harvest time is now, and there is a lot to be thankful for. My feelings of gratitude find themselves neatly dividing into three distinct categories: for my colleagues at the Sandpoint Waldorf School, for the parents of my students and all of the Sandpoint Waldorf School community, and for my students and all of the students here at the Sandpoint Waldorf School.
The teachers at the Sandpoint Waldorf School are hardworking, dedicated individuals who give of themselves completely, doing whatever it takes in order to create a healthy and inspiring learning environment for the students. They work into the late hours of the evening and through their weekends learning the curriculum and coming up with lesson plans that will meet the individual needs of the students in their classes. They serve on committees that run and govern the school. They organize festivals and after school events in order to help bring the community together. They go on overnight field trips to help enliven the curriculum and bond the students in their class. They are constantly focused on meeting, not just the academic needs of their students, but the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs as well. As colleagues they are supportive and encouraging. They are always there to help answer questions and brainstorm solutions when another teacher is in need. Most importantly, they work in love and friendship with one another, maintaining good humor and trust. Their support, guidance and friendship are gifts that I will forever be grateful for.
There is a lot asked of the parents at the Sandpoint Waldorf School. In addition to paying tuition, they are expected to attend evening events, volunteer to drive on field trips, participate in school fundraising activities, serve on committees, help during festivals, and support the curriculum by providing a compatible lifestyle for their child at home. The parents of the students in my class have done all of this and so much more. They have looked out for the health and welfare of the class by contacting me when they have concerns or questions. They have supported and trusted my decisions. They have taken up suggestions of things they could do outside of the classroom to facilitate a harmonious, united classroom atmosphere. They have believed in me and the curriculum and offered a united front when it came to addressing the antipathies and sympathies of the students. They have organized themselves to help with all of the particular needs that come up within a classroom and actively attempted to shoulder as much of the responsibility as they can be delegated to do. There are really no words that can describe the immense amounts of gratitude that we teachers feel for our supportive parent bodies. We could not create the learning environments we strive to create without your support. For ALL the parents in my class I will be forever grateful.
Over the years I have had the honor and privilege to have twenty-five different students in my classroom at one time or another. Like intricate and delicate snowflakes, no two students were ever alike in their dispositions or individual needs. Each student required from me an understanding and holding unique to them. Each student asked something new of me and each student provided me with the opportunity to grow and learn something new about myself and the world around me. Every student added something unique and dear to the classroom experience.
The ever-changing constellation of students made for a fresh and unique classroom atmosphere every year. While I would have been happy to have kept all of them with me for the entire eight years, the passing of different students throughout the years made the journey that much richer and rewarding for those who stayed throughout the eight years. While I still cherish each of those twenty-five students deeply within my heart, I will forever be most thankful to the fifteen students who have continued to end of this journey and will be part of the graduating class of 2020 this spring. It has been such an honor to lead them through their education here at the Sandpoint Waldorf School and watch them grow into the kind, compassionate, enthusiastic, intelligent, capable class that they are. They are loyal, trustworthy and grateful for the Waldorf School and the education they receive here. They are interested in the world around them and ready to be active forces of good on the planet. They have taken up permanent residence in my heart and will reside there for all of my days.
Eight years dedicated to one group of children, their families, and my fellow teachers is a long commitment full of ups and downs, as well as wins and losses; but, thanks to the friendships I found in my colleagues, the support I received from my class parents, and the open and eager hearts and minds of my students, it was eight of the most rewarding years of my life. I am eternally grateful.