In celebration of their 50-year reunion, members from the graduating class of 1965 returned to their alma mater on Friday, October 16th. Having travelled from as far away as Alabama, Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, as well as Seoul, South Korea – the alums enjoyed a breakfast meeting with School Administrator Susan Braun, participated in a Forum Discussion with current high school students, had a special luncheon with high school juniors and seniors, and took a tour of the school grounds.

“We were delighted to welcome our graduates ‘home,’ after so many years” said Waldorf’s Director of Development Marjorie P. Jean-Paul. “These alumni are among our first high school graduates and they were instrumental in establishing the Waldorf School of Garden City as one of the first Waldorf schools in North America. Despite the years between our current students and these alumni, the shared experience of Waldorf education and our School traditions unites them today.”

“We had a wonderful time reconnecting with everyone,” said Waldorf alumna Penny Haft Thomason ’65. “A special treat was seeing SeungPil Yu and his wife come all the way from South Korea! I was also deeply pleased to see how far the School has developed over the past 50 years – and in some important ways, has stayed exactly the same. We were especially impressed by the caliber and presence of the current students.”

In email exchanges written after the reunion, alumnus Richard Miller ’65 said, “We grew up as a small family and we still are one.” In borrowing a line from “The Morning Verse,” which has been recited by Waldorf students since the school’s beginnings, Haft remarked, “We all agreed that we are still ‘Looking into the world in which the sun is shining!'”

The Waldorf School of Garden City was founded in 1947 with only two kindergarten classes. Over the years, the School grew – each year adding a new grade – until 1960 when the school graduated its first class from high school.