What's in a Name?

Aaahh… Change is in the air! The muggy heat and rain of the past few weeks have faded, and now we have our first crisp taste of fall. I love this time of year because this hint of change is contagious. It offers us a fresh opportunity to look at ourselves and the space we occupy in the world – to step out of the ruts that we so often find ourselves in and to look around us clearly. The crisp air wakes us up from our dreamy summer slumber and brings with it a sense of opportunity and endless possibilities.

I experienced this very strongly today while sitting on the kindergarten playground with my class. We were attending the Michaelmas Ceremony in which The Redmont School officially became the Alabama Waldorf School. School founder, Sheila Rubin, described how the school has grown and changed over the years and related this to the change and transformation inherent in the celebration of Michaelmas. Lisa Grupe gave us a vision for the future, symbolized in the ragged, yet sturdy, little maple tree that we potted up today. There was beautiful singing and ceremonial watering of the tree, but uniting all of the ceremonial parts into something even greater was an overriding feeling of community and change. The weather played its part perfectly!

I hope that this feeling continues to permeate the school in the months to come. We have a sturdy little tree here at the Alabama Waldorf School, but we face challenges as well. Like the Michaelmas dragon that is transformed with love, so can we transform our challenges into opportunities. At the State of the School meeting next Thursday evening, you will hear about these challenges and what steps have already been taken to try to meet them. And there is possibility and opportunity here as well – what could we accomplish when working together to meet our goals? What creative solutions might come from a group of united individuals? How might we transform our financial challenges into an opportunity?

I firmly believe in the power of a group working together to achieve its goals. I have seen people in this community work so hard to support the school and accomplish so many wonderful things. Now, in this season of change, we have another opportunity to step back, look around us, and think creatively about how to best proceed from here.

Melissa Downs
Faculty Chair