Good afternoon. I’m Luke Feigal and I’ve been in a Waldorf classroom since I was in utero. So I’m happy to say that I’m a true “lifer”. I am honored to stand before you today on behalf of the class of 2016.

I want to start by expressing our true gratitude to all of our amazing teachers that have taught this class over the last 14 years and have shaped this class into a group of incredible young adults. I would also like to thank my mom and dad along with all of the senior class parents for all of the love and support that they have offered to us over the years. We would truly not be the men and women that you see here today without your love and guidance.

I recently started playing with a new baseball team this summer. A whole roster of new faces left me, again, trying to describe what school I go to and what exactly it is. Over and over, I told my new teammates that I go to a very small school. Not understanding how small Shining Mountain really is, the question is often asked how many kids are in your graduating class? When I respond 18, jaws drop, and almost every single time, the first thing out of my teammate’s mouth is, “I could not handle that, I would get so sick of everybody else.” The funny thing is, I haven’t even told them that that goes all the way back to kindergarten and not just 9th grade. While I admit that there have been some moments to the contrary, I am happy to say that I am not sick of my classmates. Spending so much time with such a small group of amazing people has deepened my love and appreciation for each one of my peers. The bond that has been created over the last 14 years between members of this small and tight-knit class goes beyond what can be spoken in words. That being said, in the next few minutes, I will try my best to give everyone a small taste of our class and what we all mean to each other.

“All for one and one for all” is a phrase that we often heard from Mrs. Altgelt in first through fifth grade. Mr. Janzen might have said it a few times, too, if I remember right. At the time, I wasn’t much of a fan of that phrase because it usually meant that somebody did something wrong and we all weren’t going out to recess because of it. Even through the hard times of slightly less recess in a day full of outdoor play, I can now see this phrase as a representation of our class in a much more positive light. Our class is behind each other 110%, and any one person in this class will always be there for any other person.

Recently, on our Senior trip to Devil’s Thumb Ranch, our class had a sharing circle. Everybody went around and shared a memory or something that they appreciate about one another. It was a truly special time where many great memories, and kind and meaningful words were shared. What I got out of it was again, how much we care for each other. How amazing is it that a group of people with such a diversity in interests and personalities can come together and really appreciate each other for who everyone else really is? Going into the circle, I was a little nervous because I had no idea what I was going to say about everyone. Once the sharing actually started, I found it to be one of the easiest things I have ever done, and I’m sure that my classmates found it to be just as easy. Over the years, we’ve really had an opportunity to know and appreciate each other at a much deeper level than we even knew, but it didn’t take much digging to find where our appreciation for each other was found.

Even through some difficult times, such as pouring rain on almost every single camping trip we went on, our class has stuck together and gotten through. Often becoming even closer on the other side. One tough camping trip in particular was our fifth grade trip to the sand dunes. We had more rainfall in one night than the area’s annual average. Everything was soaked and we were miserable. We got through it together and today, I actually remember that trip as a positive one with a lot of fun times with my close friends.

The class of 2016 is a family. Everyone in this room is part of the Shining Mountain family. As we prepare to step away from this family, we do so with excitement and a bit of trepidation.

A little over a month ago when I committed to attend St. Olaf, the first thing my new coach said to me was “welcome to the family”. When he said that, I realized that, while it is terrifying to leave this family that we have known for so long, we all have new families out there waiting to welcome us in the next chapter of our journey. It would be downright selfish for this group of people not to share themselves with the world and become a member of those families. It is simply time for us to go out and show the world what we know, which we learned through our Waldorf experience, about what it means to be a part of a family. And when it comes down to it, I know that this is not the end of our Shining Mountain family. A bond that goes beyond words is much too strong to be broken by something as silly as a little distance. We are all walking out of here with more than just a diploma. We are leaving here with a fantastic foundation and support system on which to build the rest of our lives!

 

Photo of the Feigal family at Luke’s graduation ~ Ray, Carma, Mark & Luke Feigal

Hello everyone, I am Kim Speek. My husband Peter and I are the parents of senior student Téa Speek. We’ve been part of the Shining Mountain community since Téa started kindergarten here 13 years ago. I was extremely honored but also surprised when I was asked to share tonight because I’ve always been a behind-the-scenes kind of parent. But here I am in front of all of you!

I’d like to begin with a song called Dreamers and some images of people that helped to bring us together here today …  [Slide show presented at this time]

 

All of us, we are the dreamers…

The photos were of many of the grandparents of the class, both living and passed and some who are with us here tonight, including Téa’s grandmother, Julie Cavaliere, and grandfather, Tim Welch.

I’d like to ask all the grandparents who are here tonight to stand if they are able. On the behalf of the parents and these seniors, I would like to express our gratitude to the grandparents for all of the gifts that they have given us.

These beautiful and wise elders have given us life, and love and lessons…they have helped to shape who we are today and they played a role in our decision to choose this school. Thank you, grandparents.

Grandparents, now that you are seated, close your eyes and take a moment to remember when you were a senior graduating from high school. What were your dreams, your fears? Did you ever imagine at that time what it would be like to be a grandparent and witness your grandchildren’s future appearance on this stage? Feel the pride, the vast potential they represent and the dreams that they will carry forth into the world for you.

Parents of these students, remember your high school graduation, connect with your parents that are here today in physical form or in spirit form, and your beautiful children sitting here on the stage. Touch in with the lineage of your past and your future.

Friends and family that are here to stand witness today, feel into the lineage and hold a space for all there was and all that there will be for these young people on the stage.

And now, Seniors, take a moment to imagine what it was like for your grandparents and your parents to graduate from high school. How at the time of their graduation your existence was a shining star of the future. Think about how you are connected to your family not only by blood, but also by spirit and dreams—theirs and yours. Look into the future at the possibility of your own children and grandchildren and the vast love and influence that you will have on their dreams. Imagine their future appearance sitting on a stage with you in the audience. Just like Téa’s Grandmother Julie is here as her witness right now.

So how did we all, past, present and future, come to be here, right now in this very magical moment? Why did we as parents choose to send our children to this particular school? How did we all choose to be in this community together?

I like to think back to when my daughter Téa was ready to “graduate” from pre-school. The stress and worry I felt, trying to decide what kindergarten would be best for her. At the time, I was involved in a very conscious and engaged mother’s group. We were from various backgrounds and there were different opinions, but all of us agreed that we wanted to slow things down, nurture our children, and most important of all, keep them safe.

When Peter and I first went to the open house at Shining Mountain, Barbara and Ian Edwards, parents of Gavin who is also graduating today, came along with us. We became friends with Barb and Ian in child-birthing class, a month before our children were born.

All four of us were enchanted with the curriculum and the Waldorf philosophy. We felt that our lives would have been enriched if we had received an education like this. We loved the magic, the pace, and the safety in which the children were nurtured and meaningfully educated.

As we got back into the car after the tour, we all shed some tears as we explored our personal feelings about schools. That first step in a new direction was difficult and most important. We decided to put our trust into these Waldorf teachers.

I’d like to express profound gratitude from our parent group and our seniors for the way their incredible and committed teachers, coaches and administrators have so beautifully held and nurtured our children.

As parents, we have volunteered for, organized, and witnessed countless plays, musical performances, events like Pentathlon and Medieval Games, class trips, festivals, and triumphant or heartbreaking athletic competitions.

For 13 years this parent community has shared deeply and intimately so many, many things. I have never known a community with such depth and connection before all of you came into my life. We have all experienced such powerful feelings of love, anger, gratitude, conflict, forgiveness, healing, connection, laughter, heartbreak and joy.

Our journey has been meaningful and fulfilling but it hasn’t been easy. Sometimes the depth of emotions felt like too much for me, I would feel overwhelmed and need to retreat. I’ve often wondered if anyone else ever felt that, too? We’ve been through so much, and we have done it together—illness, accidents, marriage, divorce, death and birth—many powerful and heart wrenching events again and again. And while this parent group is rich with joy, love and connection, it’s also important to remember as we celebrate this milestone that it would serve us well to forgive anyone, including ourselves, for the things that have hurt us or our personal and private regrets over these past years.

Recently, Fiona Havlish sent a vulnerable and courageous letter to our parent group. She cited a beautiful and ancient practice that originated in the islands of the South Pacific called Ho’o ponopono. It is a simple prayer that clears past wounds to make things healthy for an individual, our family or our community. The words for this simple ritual are straight forward and I offer them now for each of us and for our community, to let go of pain from the past, make a place for inner peace, and create a healing closure.

“I’m so sorry…Please forgive me…I forgive you…Thank you… I love you…”

The heart of each of us is made up of our lineage, our community and our experiences.  Eventually all merge into one so that everyone you know helped to build your heart. Seniors, your heart is part of your lineage and your community and it will help to carry you on your journey out into the world. May your journey be blessed with a hunger for life filled with purpose, deep meaning and profound love.

 

 

 

I’d like to conclude with this poem written by David Whyte.

My Daughter Asleep

~ David Whyte

Carrying a child,

I carry a bundle of sleeping future appearances,
I carry my daughter adrift on my shoulder,
dreaming her slender dreams

And I carry her beneath the window,
watching her moon lit palm open and close
like a tiny folded map,
each line a path that leads where I can’t go,
so that I read her palm not knowing what I read

And walk with her in moon light on the landing,
not knowing with whom I walk,
making invisible prayers to go on with her where I can’t go,
conversing with so many unknowns

that must know her more intimately than I do.

And so to these unspoken shadows and this broad night
I make a quiet request to the great parental darkness
to hold her when I cannot,
to comfort her when I am gone,
to help her learn to love the unknown for itself,
to take it gladly like a lantern for the way before her,
to help her see where ordinary light will not help,
where happiness has fled,
where faith cannot reach.

My prayer tonight

for the great and hidden symmetries of life
to reward this faith I have
and twin her passages of loneliness with friendship,
her exiles with home coming,
her first awkward steps with promised onward leaps.

May she find in all this,
day or night,
the beautiful centrality of pure opposites,
may she discover before she grows old,
not to choose so easily between past and present,
may she find in one or the other

her gifts acknowledged.

And so as I helped to name her
I help to name these powers,
I bring to life what is needed,
I invoke the help she’ll want following these moonlit lines
into a future uncradled by me

But parented by all I call.

As she grows away from me,
may these life lines grow with her,
keep her safe,

so with my open palm

whose lines have run before her to make a safer way,
I hold her smooth cheek

and bless her this night and beyond it

and for every unknown night to come.

Please help high schoolers Emma Schaefer and Ava Lowell, from Shining Mountain Waldorf School, win a trip to Germany. Their video is one of 10 finalists in the Goethe Institut’s national Step into German competition. Students chose a song by German “Newcomer of the Year”, Joris, and produced a music video for it. Emma and Ava decided to sing “Herz Über Kopf”‘ themselves for the video. Those present at the Shining Mountain Waldorf spring assembly would have heard their beautiful rendition.

Help Emma and Ava get into the top five by voting for them. The musician, Joris, will choose which of the top five will win the trip for two to Germany.

You can vote once every 24 hours from now until April 28. Please pass this onto your friends and family to help them get as many votes as possible.

Here is the link.

http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/prj/stg/mus/cop/enindex.htm

You scroll down to the video from Shining Mountain, click on “Video ansehen und abstimmen.” That opens up the video so you can view it. It also brings up a voting form. You have to fill in your name (last name, then first name), school (optional), city, state and email address. We want people to grade it a 5 = super!

Vielen Dank,

Frau Blum

On Wednesday February 10th, all SMWHS German students participated in “German Day” at CU Boulder. During this day of German immersion, the students took part in interactive workshops which were led by the German TAs and graduate students. They watched film clips from a selection of German films and then acted out what happened next. In a game of Jeopardy, they answered questions about German history, geography, the economy and food. They were journalists at an art gallery opening of Gustav Klimt’s works and wrote a description of one of the paintings. They toured the CU campus and heard about the architecture of some of the buildings. Hanni Geist from DAAD ( German exchange service) told them about how they can study in Germany for free. Lastly, they interviewed Stefan Biedermann, the German Vice­ Konsul.

Our SMWHS students were complimented on their high standard of German, their willingness to join in and their creativity during the activities. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and are thankful to Dr Berit Jany and her team of helpers at CU Boulder for organising the German Day.

Paula Blum, MS and HS German teacher

Photo by P. Blum­ | Emma Schaefer, Abby Leuchten and Eliza DuBose