Community Hub

Hello, Lake Champlain Waldorf School Community, 

It’s just about that time! We are so excited to welcome everyone back to campus. Here are a few back-to-school reminders as well as links to our Family Handbook.

First Day for Grades 1-12: Tuesday, Sept. 2

All students please arrive at Turtle Lane no later than 8:15 for our Rose Ceremony. We begin each school year with this ceremony to welcome the new first grade class to the grade school and welcome all our students to a new school year. After the assembly concludes, the upper grades students will walk back to Bostwick Road and our lower school students will return to their classrooms with their class teachers.

First Day for Early Childhood (Preschool & Mixed K): Wednesday, Sept. 3

Drop-off is between 8:00 and 8:30 in our Early Childhood building. Pick-up time is noon for our half-day students and 3:00 for our students that stay for our afternoon program. Extended day care ends at 5:30 pm. Please see your child’s welcome email from their class teacher for more detailed information.

School Communication

Every Sunday morning starting in a few weeks, we send out a weekly communication called The Week Ahead that highlights upcoming events, and important school announcements, updates, and news. The Head of School report will be included in The Week Ahead once a month.  Additionally, we send newsletters to our wider LCWS community, called Our Voice, with longer articles, upcoming events, school news, and classifieds.

Remember to check your spam folder if you are not receiving these emails. If you would like to submit an ad for the classified section of Our Voice, please email newsletter@lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org or join the LCWS Families & Friends Facebook Group to connect with our community. Class teachers and Aaron Darland in the High School will send out emails that are specific to your student’s class. Please check our school calendar for upcoming events. If you are not receiving these emails, please reach out to Bryen Fabry Dorsam.

Back to School Forms

If you have not yet submitted your back to school forms in Ravenna, please do so as soon as possible; they are due this Friday, August 15. Please also submit updated immunization records and an EC Health form for Early Childhood students.  We need all forms to be completed prior to the first day of school in order for your child to attend. If you have not received a request to complete your BTS form, check your spam and trash folders. Please contact Su Newberry at snewberry@lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org if you have any questions.

Family Handbook

The family handbook can be found here, on Ravenna under the Documents tab, and on our school’s website. Please read through it as there is a lot of important information in the handbook; in particular, we want to direct you to review these sections:

Dressing for outdoor work and play

Media guidelines, including cell phone usage on school grounds

Prevention of Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying and our HHB policy

Policies specific to the Early Childhood, Lower School, and Upper School

Health and Safety 

If your child has specific medical needs, be sure to send your child with proper supplies on the first day of school. Medication must be in its original container and labeled with the student’s name. Grades 1-6 medications need to be dropped off in the Front Office at Turtle Lane. Grades 7-12 medications need to be dropped off in the Front Office at Bostwick. Early Childhood medications can be given to your child’s teacher.  If your child has a life-threatening allergy and requires an epipen please contact Su Newberry directly.

Driving and Parking 

Please drive slowly entering both campuses, the speed limit is 10 mph. Park at an angle in the parking lot on Turtle Lane. Parking spaces by the Early Childhood fence are reserved for parents and caregivers who are carrying children. Please do not leave your car unattended in the circle; if you need to get out of your car, be sure to park in the lot.

Please note: 

• • The circles are for quick drop-off and pick-up only; vehicles may not be parked or left unattended in the circles.
• • Pedestrians, please stay out of the circles and walk around the edges of the circles to the parking lots as much as possible.
• • Cars, please give the LCWS school bus the right of way and don’t pass the bus when the red lights are on and the stop sign is extended!
• • The same School Bus rules apply on our roads and lots as on any road.
• • The bus has more limited visibility, so please be careful and keep people, especially small children, a safe distance from the bus.
• • At Turtle Lane, we need to keep the space in the circle by the benches open for bus rider drop-off and pick-up (it is marked with cones).

After School Sports for Grades 6-11

For more information and to sign up for sports or clubs, login to your Ravenna portal and sign up via the Extended Care tab. Students will need to be signed up with appropriate paperwork including a wellness exam, prior to the first practice. Email Tyler Macdonald if you have any questions.

Drop off and Dismissal Times

We are pleased to share our Annual Report with the community—a look back at the 2024-25 fiscal year with updates from the current school year as well. Inside, you will find a welcome from Head of School Emily Bayer-Pacht, a report from the Board of Trustees, financial information, pedagogical values, an enrollment and marketing update and a look at fundraising and community building. We hope you enjoy the photos by parents Jen Zahorchak and Amanda Herzberger.
View the 2024 Annual Report here!

As always, we invite your thoughtful consideration, feedback, and engagement.

LCWS offers after school sports for students in sixth grade through high school. All students are welcome no matter their skill or experience level. We encourage families to create a schedule that is manageable for the student-athlete so they can commit fully and gain all of the valuable experiences that come with being part of a team. Find the full season offerings and more details here. Reach out to Tyler Macdonald if you have any questions.

If you missed Shari Carlson’s talk this week, you can watch the recording here:

Shari talked about how we work to strengthen resilience in our Early Childhood program, and how parents can help their children develop this capacity. Thank you to everyone who joined in our conversation, and Shari welcomes any further conversation and questions! You can email her at scarlton@lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org.

Our school recognizes MLK Jr. Day tomorrow, and we encourage our community to be engaged in reflection and conversation around the work and legacy of Dr. King. Ms. Hopkinson shared some wonderful resources provided by the organization Learning for Justice that we hope you might find inspirational. You can find those here.