Saturday 18 February’s Open Day at Imhoff Waldorf High was a day showcasing our finest assets – our students, our teachers and the glorious schoolwork our students have generated in their Main Lesson books. It was also a day celebrating the dying art of conversation.
From the teenagers who arrived there willingly to help, to the primary school students visiting and showing others around the woodwork space they have been working in, to the teachers handling sometimes tricky and searching questions, all were engaged in meaningful conversations and making real connections. Thokozani (class 12) was there playing table tennis with our youngest visitors; the sometimes withdrawn Aviwe (class 11) was taking interested parents on tours around the school and articulating with such precision what he personally found to be the strongest points of his education; Kitana and Kaitlin (class 8), two of our newest students were there from the start, baked exquisite cupcakes and set about helping with the tea, along with Caitlin (class 11); Jared (class 9) baked cupcakes and helped with our audio-visual presentation, covering most of the Main Lessons through the grades; Katlego (class 9) woke up and decided he wanted to be part of the day and arrived and offered help to anyone who looked as if they needed questions answered or directions around the grounds. These are teenagers, on a weekend, expressing unequivocal pride in their school and wanting to share it. Willingly. Thinking, feeling and willing.
Some comments that came our way:
Imhoff primary school parents who had been to other open days in the past week, marveled at our Main Lesson books and commented that this was the first school they had been to where the work was on show. Forget about fancy power point presentations – let the work speak for itself, echoed in the words and presence of the students.
Parents, not familiar with Waldorf education, loved the feeling of the school, one parent said it felt like an outbreath.
The fact that the classes are smaller was a big drawcard.
Outsiders really wanted to engage with what our school has to offer and asked searching questions about the ethos and commented on the confidence and presence of our students.
All in all, the high school teachers were happy and pleased with all the positive feedback. We feel that people felt inspired by what we offer at this school. We cannot yet compete with other large and established schools in terms of our facilities – but we certainly can in terms of the quality of our teachers, our commitment to our students and our “heart’! Those are the reasons to choose our high school over others.