Waldorf School of San Diego
Encyclopedia
Waldorf School of San Diego (WSSD) is an independent Waldorf school located in the Oak Park neighborhood
of San Diego, California
. It offers preschool/kindergarten through 9th grades with an enrollment of 268 in 2008. Founded in 1981, it is one of approximately 170 independent North America
n and 1,000 world-wide Waldorf schools. The school is a candidate member school of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
In September 2008, the school inaugurated its high school program with Grade 9. The school has received financial support and guidance from the Rudolf Steiner Foundation
.
The Waldorf School of San Diego also serves as a campus for the Waldorf teacher training
program of the Waldorf Institute of Southern California.
. Each grade provides educational activities that are designed to respond to the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs at that stage of the children's development. The visual arts
, music
and other performing arts
, and handcrafts
are emphasized as well as the traditional subjects of reading, English, history, mathematics and geography.
Grade 3 features a trip to an active organic farm
in the area.
The school's gardening
program has included instruction in biodynamic
composting and a project to plant fruit tree
s on the campus.
The school offers sports including track and field, golf
, soccer, swimming
, tennis
, water polo
, and dance
.
Oak Park, San Diego, California
Oak Park is a neighborhood of the Mid-City region of San Diego, California.-Geography:The neighborhood's borders are defined by Euclid Avenue to the west, Chollas Parkway/Streamview Drive/College Avenue to the north, and State Route 94 to the southeast....
of San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. It offers preschool/kindergarten through 9th grades with an enrollment of 268 in 2008. Founded in 1981, it is one of approximately 170 independent North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n and 1,000 world-wide Waldorf schools. The school is a candidate member school of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
In September 2008, the school inaugurated its high school program with Grade 9. The school has received financial support and guidance from the Rudolf Steiner Foundation
RSF Social Finance
RSF Social Finance, located in San Francisco, California, is a non-profit financial services organization offering investing, lending, and philanthropic services to individuals and enterprises with a deep commitment to improving the well-being of society and environment. RSF has over one thousand...
.
The Waldorf School of San Diego also serves as a campus for the Waldorf teacher training
Teacher education
Teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community....
program of the Waldorf Institute of Southern California.
Curriculum
The curriculum of the Waldorf School of San Diego is based on the educational philosophy developed by Rudolf SteinerRudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
. Each grade provides educational activities that are designed to respond to the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs at that stage of the children's development. The visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and other performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, and handcrafts
Handicraft
Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...
are emphasized as well as the traditional subjects of reading, English, history, mathematics and geography.
Grade 3 features a trip to an active organic farm
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
in the area.
The school's gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
program has included instruction in biodynamic
Biodynamic agriculture
Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that emphasizes the holistic development and interrelationships of the soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system. Biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts...
composting and a project to plant fruit tree
Fruit tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by people — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the term 'fruit tree' is limited to those that provide fruit for...
s on the campus.
The school offers sports including track and field, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, soccer, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
.
Additional articles
- High School on the Horizon: Waldorf to Break Ground Soon, Vision Magazine, December 2007. Accessed 2008-09-23.