The Rose Ceremony
On the first day of school each year, we hold the Rose Ceremony. The whole school joins together in welcoming the 1st graders, as their Kindergarten teachers lead them across the Rainbow Bridge to greet their new, 1st Grade teacher with a handshake, and receive a rose from a 12th grader. Each Class Teacher then tells a story of the curriculum the class will be covering that year, and the children depart with their teachers for their first 1/2 day of a new grade. Then at the final assembly of the year, the 1st graders say goodbye to each graduating senior by handing a rose to them and walking them up the aisle, out of the assembly hall. The Rose Ceremonies thus ‘book-end’ the year, bringing it into a full circle.
North Pole Night Craft Sale
This is our annual craft sale to benefit our school, held in November or early December each year. Crafters of all ages work for months to bring a fantastic assortment of goodies: felted wall hangings, nuno felted scarves, ornaments for your tree, dolls for your wee ones as well as your nature table. The sale begins at 6pm in the Woodland Cottage (formerly known as The Woodland Shop) on the campus of the Emerson Waldorf School. Supplies are very limited so come early! Come enjoy a night of cozy shopping for your loved ones for the holidays - see you there!
Holiday Fair
Seasonal crafts and food, handmade toys for sale, singing around the campfire, puppet shows, hayrides and more: on this day we invite the public as well as the EWS community to join together in celebrating with activities linked to the season. Activities include making bird feeders, candles, paper stars and other gifts for parents and friends.
Waldorf Education Day
Each year the Faculty sponsors a day on which parents become students, and learn more about Waldorf Education as they participate in hands-on learning activities just as their children do, and in discussions about the reasons behind these teaching methods. The day starts with a talk by one of our faculty members about an aspect of Waldorf Education, and then parents choose two classes–perhaps ‘Learning our Letters’ or ‘Math and Movement’–in which they experience Waldorf Education first hand.
All-School Music Evenings
Twice each year, the music department presents concerts featuring our performance ensembles. The choruses and string ensembles present a variety of selections that showcase they work they’ve done in their rehearsals. The music is diverse and ranges from Bach to Broadway to Bluegrass to Brubeck, and the audiences include every one from our nursery students to our grandparents.
Winter Gala
This is an adults-only dance, auction and fund-raiser at which parents and friends of EWS have fun together late into the night and bid on items and services donated by community members and supporters throughout the Triangle.
Grandparents Day
Grandparents are a very special part of our EWS family. Each year we honor them in the Spring, with a reception, visits to classrooms to see their grandchildren learning, and a special Assembly at which the students demonstrate some of the things they have been doing in class this year.
The May Faire is a rite of spring at EWS, and includes seasonal crafts and activities such as a fishing pond, painting flower pots, flower garlands, face painting, the pocket person and, of course, the Dragon Swing. Peppermint lemons and strawberries and cream are always a hit, as well as the singing and musical presentations.
Assemblies
Three times a year, before Thanksgiving, Spring Break, and Graduation, the whole EWS community gathers to watch each class present some of their class work to each other, their parents and friends. This provides a wonderful opportunity for parents to see what goes on in the classroom, for students to develop confidence and pride in their accomplishments, for older students to recall their younger years, and for younger children to anticipate journeys yet to come.
Graduation
Each year we commemorate the graduation of our 12th graders with an outdoor ceremony sharing and reflecting on memories and accomplishments as these young adults leave us for the larger world. This is an opportunity for the whole community to say goodbye, and to honor the seniors as individuals and as a group. A reception is held after the ceremony, to which all community members are invited.