![](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hEcsAwKLAI0/default.jpg "Each year at Highland Hall Waldorf School, the incoming first grade class and a senior are paired up as "special friends" for the year. On the first day of school for the lower school, we hold a "Rose Ceremony" where the seniors hand a rose to their new little special friend. The first grade teacher tells a story to the seniors and the 12th grade sponsor tells a story to the first graders. It is a wonderful tradition for welcoming the new first graders as they "come up the hill" and begin their academic journey! Highland Hall Waldorf School is located in Northridge, California. Founded in 1955, it is the oldest Waldorf school in the western United States and offers an independent alternative to public and other private schools, providing the Waldorf Curriculum from Early Childhood through High School graduation. Its mission is to guide students in the unique Waldorf curriculum, striving to endow each student with discernment in thought and action, a joy of learning, and a sense of wonder and reverence for life. Highland Hall's students graduate with a solid academic foundation, the ability to think creatively, a sympathetic interest in the world, self-confidence, and an abiding moral purpose. They move on to renowned colleges and universities of their choosing and continue onto accomplished careers in their chosen professions. Further information may be obtained at www.highlandhall.org. 818-349-1394 x 233")
![](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ig3M2aZR3mQ/default.jpg "At Highland Hall Waldorf School, in Northridge, CA, the nursery and kindergarten classes are where the science curriculum begins. Early childhood teachers introduce science at a tender age through play, story, song and movement. This approach provides an interactive, experiential way for children to live what they are learning, and offers parents an alternative pre-school and kindergarten option to the academic approach of fact memorization practiced in other schools. Current research has shown that an early learning approach that emphasizes knowledge retention can cause stress and lead to learning disorders and attention difficulties as children move up the grades and beyond. Highland Hall's approach seeks instead to arouse interest and curiosity in the natural world, develop imagination and creativity, and then put those creative talents to work answering the basic questions in science, "Why is that? How can it be so?" As part of a three-day back-to-school conference focused on science, the entire Highland Hall faculty and staff were invited to begin the day in the kindergarten. "The conference was designed to provide a deep understanding of the science curriculum throughout the grades. The place where it all begins is in our early childhood classes," offers Lynn Kern, administrative director for the school. The warm and inviting play space of Highland Hall's early childhood classrooms includes beautiful and natural handmade toys and has been created to support sensory ...")
February 17,2013 - Our child had been at Highland Hall since she was in the Parent and Child class with the warm and wonderful Mrs. Shahbazzi. Now in second grade, our daughter is flourishing. The school presents academics in an age-appropriate way, so that the children love school. Arts and music are integrated into the curriculum, supporting critical thinking later on. And, she''s learning two languages. She loves the teachers, is relaxed and joyful...and learning. We love the school.*-Posted by Parent *
Published
April 15, 2013
Here are a dozen or so girls' schools' public thoughts about themselves and their missions.
Make Summer a Special Time!
If you have children in private school, then you are most likely looking at three months, perhaps even longer, which you must fill with activities of one kind or another during the long summer break.
Are You Liable?
Is your DEL key about to get gaveled? It doesn't matter whether you teach in a public or private school setting. You expose yourself to legal risks every single day on the job.
