Events
Festivals & Events
“Festivals are an intrinsic part of a Waldorf school. At WSOC, they play an essential role for our school community as they bring a sense of rhythm to life. This is especially valuable in a child’s early years. Celebrating festivals together is also a way of marking time. Throughout history, festivals have been woven into nature’s cycles. In Waldorf schools, we have found our own joyful way to honor the seasons and their respective significances in our lives.”
The original idea of any sacred festival is to make the human being look upward from his dependence on earthly things to those things that transcend the Earth.
—Rudolf Steiner, Founder, Waldorf Education
Rose Ceremony
The Rose Ceremony occurs on the first and last day of school.
On the first day of school, the 12th graders welcome the incoming first graders. Leaving kindergarten and entering first grade is an enormous shift for children. Each high school senior meets a first grader on stage of the school’s Eurythmy Hall in front of the assembled student body and presents the first grader with a rose or another flower. The new first grader then puts the flower into a waiting vase. By the end of the class’s procession onto the stage, there is a whole bouquet, which the first-grade teacher then brings back to their classroom for the first day of school. On the last day of school, the ceremony format is reversed and the first graders, now rising second graders, present each graduating senior with a flower to say, “goodbye” and to remind them of their days in this childhood home of their school. The Rose Ceremony provides a full circle experience through the welcoming and farewell roses exchanged between the first and twelfth Graders.
Michaelmas
Each September, WSOC celebrates Michaelmas, a beloved tradition that brings together students in Grades 1–12.
Celebrated on September 29, Michaelmas has its roots in the feast day of the archangel Michael, a figure found in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. In Waldorf schools, the festival is embraced for its universal themes of courage, strength, perseverance, and meeting life’s challenges with purpose.
At WSOC, these themes come to life through an all-school day of activity and celebration. High school students create and lead a series of challenges for the grade school students, giving younger students opportunities to test their courage, work together, and experience the support of the older students in our community.
The day culminates with a special challenge for the second grade, inspired by the story of St. George and the Dragon. With the school community gathered around them, the second graders are called upon to summon their courage and face the dragon together. The story of St. George and the Dragon offers an enduring image of the inner strength it takes to meet challenges, overcome fear, and act with courage.
Through story, movement, challenge, and community, Michaelmas invites students to discover courage not as the absence of difficulty, but as the strength to meet it.
Grandparents &
Special Friends Day
On the Friday before the Thanksgiving holiday, we open our doors to our grandparents and special friends for this special event.
Our students invite relatives, including grandparents, extended family, and close family friends who are significant in their lives, to see their school. The event includes classroom visits, coffee and light snacks, and a beautiful program of verse, song and movement from students in grades 1-12.Winter Festival
Winter Festival is an annual curriculum event held on the first Saturday in December.
Our community joins forces for this on campus event to enjoy student musical performances and Festival Singers, participate in crafts and booths for each grade, and celebrate togetherness in the holiday season. In our school, the grades students gather each Monday morning throughout December for a special story to set the mood for the week. Each week honors one of the kingdoms of nature – the minerals, the plants, the animals, and humankind – and this is brought into classroom activities and decoration as well.
May Faire
May Faire, as a school wide festival, is a mandatory curriculum event that generally occurs on the first Saturday in May.
It is a time where our community joins together to create a beautiful event; everyone’s participation is vital and valued. We wear white or light pastels to serve as a backdrop for the splendid beauty of the flowers that adorn our campus. Our children wear flower crowns and dance and weave ribbons around the May Pole. We play games and music, do crafts, frolic with our kids and enjoy homemade treats with our friends and neighbors. This celebration of spring ties us to our greater human family, past and present, in a tangible and powerful way.Annual Auction & Gala
The Annual Auction & Gala is one of WSOC’s flagship fundraising events,
bringing together members of our community to support our school in an amazing evening of music, cocktails, dinner, dancing, and exciting silent and live auctions. The Gala occurs each Spring at a beautiful off-site venue with themes that change from year to year as part of this community celebration and experience.
