COURTESY OF HONOLULU WALDORF HIGH SCHOOL Senior Carol Gress works on a self-portrait in her art class.

Knowledge expands
with wider horizons

Performances, travel, exchanges
and sports complement classes

You asked
Ties that bind -- and gag

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By Malka Haymer
Honolulu Waldorf High School

Every year, the students of Honolulu Waldorf High School participate in Activities Week. It's the one week when we step out of our routines and experience something new and challenging with a group of students from different grades with whom we wouldn't normally spend time. Surfing, swing dancing, cooking, jewelry making and hiking were among the choices this year.

Normally, several of my friends and I would have been with the rest of the high school, but while they were shredding sets and concocting delicacies, Marissa Katz, Sara Lam and I competed in the Sweet Adelines Young Women in Harmony contest. Marissa's cousin, Lehua Nakamaejo, from Kailua High School, was our fourth member.

The competition was tight with a mix of talent from such schools as Kamehameha and Iolani, but we were thrilled to have our group, Jukebox Rhapsody, announced as the winner. We will represent Hawaii at the regional competition in New Zealand in August.

In addition to a full academic schedule, performance is also an important part of our Waldorf education. From elementary school we act in annual class plays. Students are now preparing for our spring concert, which will include selections from "West Side Story."

Waldorf education teaches cultural sensitivity as well. Many of us go on exchange programs and welcome students from all over the world into our school. This year's seniors will be hosting a group of students from the Navajo Nation in May.

COURTESY OF HONOLULU WALDORF HIGH SCHOOL Juniors Amanda Rietfors, Josh Sydow and Tara Keppel check the progress of an experiment during their botany main lesson block.

Our seniors will also take their class trip to northern California in early June, where they will participate in service projects in San Francisco, biodynamic gardening classes and work in Sacramento, and river rafting and mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The seniors have been raising funds over the last four years to go on this trip.

Sports are also an integral part of our balanced curriculum. We're a member of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and have our own intermediate volleyball teams (boys and girls), a sailing team, a diving team and a golf team. We also have athletes who represent our school through the Pac-Five team of small schools.

During this past winter season, sophomores Jason Fung, Ian Kozlovich, Chad Amonn and Tim Reimer paddled their junior varsity Pac-Five team to a tie with Kamehameha for first place in the overall standings. We were especially surprised at their success, as three of the four were first-time paddlers.

All of us are now starting a new main lesson block, a unique way of structuring what we learn, how and when. Each main lesson class meets for 90 minutes in the morning for five days a week. Main lesson blocks last four weeks and allow us to focus on a subject. Lesson subjects include physics, Shakespeare, biology, art and music history, electronics, literature and calculus.

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You asked

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What aspects of Waldorf will you take away with you, and how will they help you in the future?

Compiled by Sarah Lam, Honolulu Waldorf High School

Soni Nandoskar

Sophomore
"The experience of dealing with the same people every day. It will help me with my communication skills among the people I will meet along the way."

Alana Fickes

Freshman
"I will always remember my friends and Waldorf's unique curriculum because of its artistic requirements."

Katelyn Ching

Sophomore
"At Waldorf, I have found myself and have become my own individual. I will carry everything I have learned at Waldorf for the rest of my life."

Tara Keppel

Junior
"I'll take away from Waldorf the feeling of family and how all the people I spent time with in school will still be with me in life while I'm away. While this is true at all schools, it's especially true at Waldorf because of its small size."

Erica Eaton

Freshman
"I will take with me my sense of art encouraged by the Waldorf curriculum, and I will always remember the close relationships between the students with each other and with their teachers."

Jason Fung

Sophomore
"Knowing everybody in the school and trying to cooperate with each individual because of the different ways they think and react. Learning to accept people's diversity is a valuable skill for everyday life."

Shaun Peck

Junior
"I will always remember the familylike atmosphere, which will help me deal with small communities later in life."

Carol Gress

Senior
"I feel that Waldorf has helped me to realize the importance of not only the mind, but the heart, the soul and the artistic side."

Robert Manshardt

Senior
"Waldorf education teaches ideas and philosophy as well as the skills I will need to know in life."

About this page Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their high school. This week's school is Honolulu Waldorf High School. Newspaper: Ka Nalu Ha'i (The Breaking Wave) Faculty adviser: Greg Stock Next week: Kapolei High School Waldorf facts Address: 1339 Hunakai St., Honolulu 96816 Phone number: 735-9311 Founded: 1994 Affiliation: Member of International Foundation of Waldorf Schools, founded in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner in Germany. There are more than 850 Waldorf schools in more than 30 countries. Students: 70 Faculty: 10 core members, 12 part-time/specialty members School colors: Blue and white Nickname: Nalu (waves) Compiled by Carol Gress, Honolulu Waldorf High School

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