Ashwood Has A Special Place In My Heart

This year I am celebrating my 10th year as part of the Ashwood Waldorf community. To date, it is 30 years that I have worked as a Waldorf teacher and 40 years as teacher, all round numbers…so let’s get out the champagne, please!

Ursula leading the Morris dancers at May Fair.

But before indulging, and before going into the summer, I would like to give a special tribute to Ashwood: I would like to tell you why the school stands out for me as a unique Waldorf school and why it occupies a very special place in my heart. 

Since I joined Ashwood, teachers have come and gone, each leaving his or her special mark and contributing to the school. At this point in time, the school is carried by a faculty that fulfills what I value most, a genuine caring for each child and every person in the community with an integrity that includes honesty and acceptance that we are all different and on multiple learning paths in our lives. Each teacher and everyone else involved with the school strives strongly to recognize each child as special—from early childhood through the grades. 

Since making the decision in 2010 to embrace the multi-age model, the school has continued to offer the breadth of curriculum that every Waldorf school aspires to achieve, each teacher bringing unique talents and an unwavering commitment to his or her work. In my role as specialty teacher I have been privileged to visit all classes, and I have seen how well the children thrive. It is an honor for me to continue as an active part of the Ashwood community, this year as interim French teacher. 

It is often said that relationships either grow over time or fade away. Although I have done my best to “retire” from Ashwood, history shows that I have not been able to break that relationship. I know that the school will always be a part of me, and I hope that it will continue to nourish and inspire me for a long time to come. I am closing this … my brief and spectacular take on Ashwood Waldorf School …  with my deep appreciation of the Spring Concert, Water Ways, which I attended in April. The children’s beautiful choral and symphonic presentations still linger and resonate within me, another example of the excellent quality and skill brought by Ashwood’s teachers. What a gift for all of us!
—Ursula Leonore, Interim French Teacher

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