Why School Attendance Matters at BVWS

Punctuality & Attendance

Why supporting your child’s attendance at school is one of the best ways you can contribute to their success in Waldorf Education…

Waldorf lessons are experiential, dynamic, and primarily oral, rather than worksheet or lecture-based. They are designed to be experienced in the moment. Many lessons, by their very nature, cannot be made up or prepared in advance, so students need to attend classes daily. For the health of the class and strength of the learning community at Boulder Valley Waldorf School, we ask that all students will be in attendance on all scheduled school days unless they are unable to attend due to illness or other extraordinary circumstances.

Punctuality is a very important social and educational necessity. We are working hard to instill and nurture this virtue within the children. The school day begins with the Class Teacher greeting each child individually at the classroom door, with a handshake and exchange of “Good morning.” The morning activities (usually involving movement, music, and/or recitation) helps the class come together and focus their energy for the morning lesson. Children typically do not like to miss these opening moments of the school day.

When children are consistently present, they strengthen a feeling for the continuity of the subject matter and develop a deep connection with the material. We want to develop a love of learning within our students, and certainly avoid feelings of anxiety or helplessness that may arise if making up missed work starts to feel overwhelming. Likewise, we also want to avoid feelings of being left out and uneasiness that may come with interrupting the flow of the class activities during a late arrival.

In small tight-knit classes such as ours, students care deeply about their classmates. Small-group and whole-class work is essential in every class. These social interactions and learning opportunities that happen in the moment simply cannot be made up. We believe that each child has gifts to develop in this world and each child has something to give to the school community. The beauty and success of Waldorf Education requires yours child’s presence in the classroom.

For all of these reasons, we want to reemphasize the importance of timely and continuous attendance. Please connect with your child’s teacher or with the front office if you would like some strategies to support your child’s attendance.

We, as the BVWS faculty and administration, request that, if at all possible, you do not plan vacations on school days including Fridays or Mondays. Please also schedule personal appointments outside of the school day. We would like teachers and parents to hold this message together so that the children experience that school is important, and we value active participation in learning every school day.

While any absences may be difficult, there are certainly good reasons to miss school. First and foremost is illness. If your child is ill, please have them recover at home. And if they are just getting ill, then in many cases that is when they are most infectious, and a great time to keep them home for the sake of everyone else. Other valid reasons to miss school include bereavement in the extended family or religious observances. If your student must miss school for a protracted period for any reason, please stay in regular communication with the student’s class teacher and the administrative staff.

Please know that your safety is paramount. If there is a safety issue preventing on-time arrival or attendance on a particular day, please make the call that you believe is best for the safety of your family and know that the school and class support you in this decision. For example, if you live in a more remote area and the road conditions are bad, please stay home even if school is open.

A Brief Introduction to Waldorf Education at BVWS

Boulder Valley Waldorf School educates children for the whole of life, using the curriculum and educational principles of Waldorf Education, so they become confident individuals, capable of making free choices, able to realize their full potential, and inspired to make a difference in the world.

We see education as an art of awakening what is already present in students, and making meaningful connections between the subject content and the human being.  As a result we are committed to teaching with the understanding that all subjects are interconnected.  Learning is a meaningful whole, not as a collection of fragmented subjects. Education is about much more than acquiring facts and skills.  It is also about developing strong character and a solid ethical and moral foundation for life. The curriculum and teaching methods here strengthen the imagination and foster creativity in our students: creativity in artistic expression and creative, free thinking warmed and infused with the passion and will to discover truth, beauty and goodness in the world. Our hope is that children will be imbued with a lifelong passion for learning and life, and will be at peace with life, themselves and others.

Here at BVWS, we believe that healthy life processes are founded on rhythm and repetition: waking and sleeping, in breath and out breath, activity and rest. Rhythm and repetition support development of the will and strengthen imagination. Waldorf education works in harmony with these rhythms – providing for routines repeated daily, weekly and yearly that build good habits. Educational practices alternate periods for learning, forgetting and remembering, and periods of intense focus and of rest.

Another of the primary aims is to join in the continual work of creating and renewing community. We foster an atmosphere in which adults, parents and teachers, work collaboratively to create a community centered on and surrounding the school. Our community is a living organism that requires nurturing to remain healthy. A strong community and at-home support are imperative in order for our curriculum to be successful. We place great emphasis on the home-school connection and into ways parents can contribute to the educational goals.