~ Celebrating 100 Years of Education Worldwide ~

Hello,

Now that summer is here we have the opportunity to reflect upon our recent school year.  Whether we focus on the college acceptances of our seniors, the Simplicity Parenting classes offered by Stephanie Cleary, or the day to day activities up and down our hallways, we can acknowledge many successes.   An achievement of this year that you might not yet know about is the above statement, Diversity at the Waldorf School of Garden City.  This statement was crafted and affirmed by our School’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, our College of Teachers and our Board of Trustees.  We have experienced first-hand how diversity  — all forms of diversity — is the healthy soil out of which our amazing community grows.  Our commitment to diversity is foundational as we continually grow and adapt to educate our students for today’s world and their future.

Sincerely,

Kelly O’Halogan
Faculty Chair

60th Senior Commencement

It is with great pride that we congratulate the class of 2019 on their graduation from high school! The School’s 60th Commencement exercise last Friday celebrated the myriad accomplishments of this diverse group of 31 graduates. In addition to the passionate senior speakers, a highlight was special guest speaker, former guidance counselor Julie Ougheltree, who acknowledged that living in this class is not only a broad spectrum of interests, ideas, strengths, and backgrounds but also a common and important thread that binds them to the community and each other:

“[being away allowed me] to step back and see you as a collective whole. And in doing so I was struck with one significant similarity. Even with all of your dynamic differences, there was one simple trait that connected you all…Kindness.”

Congratulations to the class on this milestone and good luck in all future endeavors!

8th Grade Graduation

Twenty-eight Eighth Graders took the stage this month to commemorate the end of their Lower School careers and the beginning of their next chapter as High School students. The class stood proudly before family, friends, and loved ones and expressed their appreciation for their classmates, teachers, and educational journey thus far.

Congratulations to the Class of 2023 and we wish you the best of luck in High School next year.

What’s Happening in Athletics?

The Waldorf School athletic season culminated on June 5th at the School’s 28th Annual Sports Night Banquet. With nearly 200 people in attendance, the event was buzzing with excitement. Middle School and Varsity teams were remembered as coaches recalled seasons passed and student-athletes were honored for their hard work and dedication throughout the year. We would like to thank and congratulate all of our student-athletes on another wonderful athletic year and we look forward to seeing what next season will bring us. A special congratulations go to seniors Simon Davis and Ali Fraim who were each presented with the Student-Athlete Service Award and Ali Fraim who received top honors as the recipient of the Gabriel Kane Spirit of Athletics award.

Sports Night is an annual event where students, parents, coaches, and friends gather to celebrate the hard work and achievements of the School’s student-athletes. The event is an opportunity to recognize 7th through 12th-grade athletes who participated in school-sponsored sports including; soccer, basketball, softball, baseball, golf, and cross-country, during each school year.

 

News

8th Grade Sets Sail on the Schooner Mary Day

The 8th Grade class, inspired by the positive experience of Alan Reynolds’ 8th Grade trip (Senior Class of 2019), spent their class trip on the Schooner Mary Day, of Camden, Maine. This amazing sail on the waters of Penobscot Bay was a great learning experience of wind, water, work, and wildlife.

8th Grade Projects

A pinnacle of the 8th-grade year is the presentation of special projects on a topic that students are particularly interested in. They spent the entire year delving deeply into their subjects and then created a display in the library for the community to see. We could not be prouder! Projects ranged from learning to play an instrument, metalworking, photography, painting, training therapy dogs, creating model houses, building a remote control airplane, and more!

Senior Play: Seussical!

Due to the musical nature of the class of 2019, it is fitting that this year’s Senior play took the form of a musical.  Seussical!, a charming story based on the Dr. Seuss books, entertained community members of all ages with the student’s enthusiastic performances and the colorful set and costumes. A hearty congratulations to the class–whose roles included, but were not limited to; cast, crew, costume creators, set builders, pit musicians, and choreographers–on their very successful production and a final farewell to the Waldorf School.

Way to go, seniors, we will miss you!

Gala 2019 – An Amazing Night!

We celebrated. We laughed. We cried. We danced…all to commemorate amazing individuals and 100 Years of Waldorf Education Worldwide!  Thank you to all of the Waldorf Community Members who made this Gala a complete success and gave everyone in attendance with beautiful memories for a lifetime.

Thank You for Your Dedication

Our School would like to acknowledge the contributions of the members of our faculty and staff who will not be returning in the fall. A sincere thank you to Susan Braun, Reina White, Dale and Heawon Stuckenbruck, Wenjun Zhang, Andrea Crozier, Stephanie Gonzalez, Carmen Braun, Onsy Elshamy and Joanna Dorman. Your dedication and commitment to our School have shown in your work throughout the years, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Alumni

Alumni Notes

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Jonathan Gill ’15

Congratulations to Jonathan Gill ’15 on graduating from Harvard University with his Bachelor’s Degree, majoring in Statistics and minoring in Economics.  Jonathan will spend the first half of his summer traveling and will then begin a new job at Morgan Stanley. Best of luck, Jonathan!

 

Sheppard Somers ’15

After graduating from Dartmouth College earlier this month, Sheppard Somers ’15 will be spending the summer road tripping the Southwest before starting a position at MasterCard in their Data & Services branch in Arlington, VA. Sheppard majored in Engineering Sciences, minored in Chinese and Computer Science and completed a Bachelor of Engineering degree with High Honors at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Congratulations, Sheppard!

Visit or Join our Alumni Facebook Group:

We are proud of our Alumni! Please tell us what’s new:

Save the Date!

Alumni Weekend & Fall Fair

Friday, October 18^th – Sunday, October 20^th

Have a special reunion this year? We invite our graduating classes with 4’s and 9’s to use Alumni Weekend to celebrate! We are happy to help in any way that we can.

Schedule of Activities

• Friday, October 18^th – 8am-1pm – Alumni Symposium
• Friday, October 18^th – 1:30pm-4pm – Tours of the School
• Friday, October 18^th – 6:30pm-8:30pm – Alumni Welcome Reception at Prost Grill ($15 per person)
• Saturday, October 19^th – -10am-4pm –Fall Fair & Alumni Brothers Band
• Saturday, October 19^th – 10am-1pm – Alumni & Varsity Soccer Games
  Saturday evening open for individual class reunion activities
• Sunday, October 20^th – 9am-11am – Alumni Farewell Bagel Breakfast at Waldorf

A discounted hotel rate has been secured at the Hyatt Place Garden City (516-222-6277 ) until September 10, 2019 with code: The Waldorf School of Garden City.

For details and to RSVP for the weekend’s activities, please visit https://www.waldorfgarden.org/alumnifallfair

Questions? Contact Samantha D’Aleo at Daleos@waldorfgarden.org or call (516) 742-3434 x313

How have you been this past year?

Have you been offered an exciting internship, recently moved, started a new job or business, recently married, received an award, had a baby or a new grandchild? Please let us know about any life events that you would like to share with our community in the annual Waldorf Magazine. Not only do we love to brag about our alumni, but we also enjoy supporting each other, sharing your joy and staying connected.

Send us your note by Friday, July 12th for inclusion in our 2019 issue. Please be sure to include a photo along with your note.

Also, remember to update your address and contact information, so we and your classmates can contact you about special alumni events and activities, by clicking the button below:

Thank you and have a wonderful summer!

Samantha D’Aleo
Development Associate Alumni Relations

In Memoriam – Paul LeSueur

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of former Athletic Director and current Girls Varsity Basketball Coach, Paul LeSueur.

After a sudden illness, Paul left us on June 10th, in Garden City, NY.

Paul LeSueur was larger than life. A generation of athletes and students were fortunate enough to be guided by Paul’s gentle wisdom as he understood that the value of sports goes far beyond winning and losing. A much-beloved member of our school community, Coach LeSueur’s quick wit, and self-effacing humor will be missed — but the lessons he taught us will stay with us always.

Said High School Chair, Roland Rothenbucher, “Paul LeSueur was a beloved Waldorf PE teacher, Athletic Director, and coach. He will forever have a fond place in the hearts of our student-athletes, many of whom he guided through their high school years with a steady hand, steadfast dedication, and dry humor. After his retirement from full-time teaching at Waldorf, Coach LeSueur continued to coach many of the Waldorf High School Varsity teams. Each year in October, Coach also enjoyed playing in the Alumni Soccer game at the annual Fall Fair, where he had the distinction of being the most experienced player on the field and the only player who had formerly been a member of the world-famous NY Cosmos in the 1970s.  What a joy and privilege to have known such a passionate promoter of youth sports!”

Paul is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, his four children Paul Jr., Sarah, and twins Peter and Bethany – all exceptional athletes in their own right – and was the proud grandfather of many grandchildren.

Coach LeSueur was a well-known figure in the soccer community beyond our school. In 1971, Paul was one of the first Americans to play for the New York Cosmos and was a member of the Cosmos’ first North American Soccer League (NASL) Championship team in 1972. After retiring from the Cosmos, he dedicated himself to his family and teaching the youth of Long Island through his love and passion for the game of soccer.

Paul went on to win several amateur national titles before serving in the front office with the New York Power in the Women’s United Soccer Association. He also ran the soccer program for the Garden City Recreation Department for nearly 32 years, coached and trained Garden City Centennial soccer teams, and served the Garden City community as Director of the Centennial Advanced Training Program and Centennial Travel Camp. In 2001, the Nassau County Coach-of-the-Year Award was renamed, The Paul LeSueur Coach-of-the-Year Award, to honor his contributions to soccer and years of service as the coordinator for Nassau County high school soccer. On March 9, 2013, Paul was inducted into the first class of the Long Island Soccer Player’s Hall of Fame.

The accolades are endless, but perhaps Paul’s greatest quality might be that he was a mentor and friend to so many. Those friendships and the Waldorf student-athletes whom he coached will always remember Coach LeSueur for his dedication, passion, and kindness. Said current Athletics Director Shane Flanagan, “We have truly lost a wonderful man who gave his all to our School and our students. We were blessed to have him as long as we did.”

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the Paul LeSueur Legacy Foundation.

Our sincere condolences go out to the entire LeSueur family during this difficult time.

Read more about Coach LeSueur in this article from Newsday!

Camp Glen Brook

Don’t stress about planning your summer family vacation—we’ve done it for you!

Fall in love with our New Hampshire campus and make new family memories at

Glen Brook’s Family Camp – August 14th-18th, 2019

Summer Camp at Glen Brook still has room for boys who have just completed 3rd or 4th grade,

for our August 1 – 10 Session. Register at www.glenbrook.org to reserve your child’s spot.

News from AWSNA

Keep up with all the news from the Association of Independent Waldorf Schools in North America by subscribing to their monthly E-News. Learn more by clicking the button below!

Hawthorne Valley Farm CSA

Hawthorne Valley Farm is a certified biodynamic and organic farm in Ghent, NY. We offer a 20 week CSA program with pick up on Thursday afternoons from mid-June through late October.  Each week you will receive a box bursting with fresh, delicious seasonal produce with the option to add on fruit, eggs, dairy, bread, and meat!  Joining a CSA is a great way to get the freshest, healthiest food while supporting local farms and building local community!

Visit our website www.hawthornevalleystore.org for more information or to sign up!

Save These Dates

Last Day for Annual Giving
Sunday, June 30th

Varsity Soccer practice begins
Tuesday, August 20th

High School Orientation at Glen Brook
Monday, August 26th – Wednesday, August 28th

First Day of School for grades 1 – 12
Tuesday, September 3rd

First Day of School for Nursery & Kindergarten
Monday, September 9th  – 8:10 am – 12 noon

Summer’s End Cocktail Party
Saturday, September 28th