Dear WSOC Families

Dear WSOC Families,

At the end of the 2015-16 school year, we shared with you that several of our valued and beloved teaching and administrative faculty colleagues are moving on - either temporarily for a much-deserved sabbatical, or to explore new opportunities. The College of Teachers has been meeting throughout the summer to either fill the open teaching positions or implement program changes that offer our students an exciting alternative for the coming school year. We are pleased to share with you the following news:

Over the years, Gina Garrison has successfully worn many different hats as part of our administrative team. Her experience and qualifications, including Waldorf teacher training, made her the ideal candidate for the Faculty Coordinator position, and we very much look forward to working with her in this pivotal capacity.

In lieu of Japanese lessons while Masami Inoue is on sabbatical, the Spanish program in Grades 5 - 8 will be augmented and intensified with additional weekly lessons and class splits. We are excited to offer this expanded booster program to prepare our middle school students for High School Spanish. Sandra Blanco, who has been bringing her expertise and enthusiasm to WSOC's Spanish program for many years, will teach in the upper grades while Rocio Levito will continue to teach Grades 1 - 4.

Ririko Oshiro will be teaching Japanese in Grades 1 - 4. Born and raised in Japan, she has earned her college degrees in the U.S. and is currently enrolled in the WISC Teacher Training program. Ririko is a Waldorf parent of two young children.

Matan Tsufim will carry the Woodwork program in Grades 3 and 5-8. He has an extensive Waldorf background as student, teacher, caregiver, and parent, and will bring his expertise in the realm of Woodworking and other practical arts to our students.

Elisabeth Beck has returned from her sabbatical, during which she expanded her artistic and geographic horizons even further! We are happy to welcome her back as she resumes teaching Eurythmy in Kindergarten through 6th Grade. Lilith Dupuis joins our faculty to teach Eurythmy in Grades 7 - 12. Lilith has extensive experience teaching Eurythmy to adults and children; she has also been a Waldorf class teacher and member of travelling performance Eurythmy groups in the U.S. and throughout Europe. We are pleased to welcome back

We are pleased to welcome back Rusty Vail, a professional musician and trained Waldorf teacher, to strengthen our middle school music program with choir and recorder ensemble lessons. Rusty returns to Orange County and WSOC after holding the position of Music Director at an L.A. area Waldorf school for several years.

Maria Reynolds will hang up her Kindergarten apron and return to her calling as High School Spanish teacher. Maria has a B.A. in Spanish Literature, earned her California High School Spanish teaching credential at UC Irvine, and her Master's degree from Cal State Fullerton in Linguistics. We feel fortunate to have found such an accomplished professional with many years of teaching experience within our own community.

Jessica Bailey joins our faculty to teach Chemistry, PE and Art in the high school. Jessica attended the Santa Cruz Waldorf school through high school and went on to pursue a B.S. in Biology as well as a minor in Art. Jessica brings with her experience in the medical field and as a teacher in a Waldorf inspired program. She will participate in WSOC's Adult Education courses this fall.

Paul Ullrich will be teaching Math and Physics in the high school. Paul has 13 years of teaching experience and most recently was teaching Physics, AP Physics and Algebra at Pacific Academy. He earned a BS in Applied Mathematics at Montclair University and holds a CA single subject teaching credential in Math and Physics. Daniel Pitts has been teaching various High School Math main lesson and track classes (Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 and 2, and Geometry) at WSOC since 2012; we are fortunate to count him among our full-time high school faculty going forward.

With "Ms. Holly" Peterson Richards transforming herself into "Ms. Peterson" guiding the class of 2028 through the grades, Arieta Bizaro has stepped into the role of lead Kindergarten teacher. Arieta began her Waldorf journey as a student. She has been with WSOC for six years, working in the Early Childhood department first as an assistant, then as a co-teacher, and now leading her own kindergarten class. Arieta is a parent of two WSOC students and completed her Early Childhood training at WISC San Diego in 2013. Please also take note of a slight change in our weekly schedule for Grades 7 and 8: To support our excellent Orchestra/Band program, we have in years past had extended days on Tuesdays and Thursdays to give the students the experience of a full and unrushed lesson, despite the extra time needed for setup and tuning. In an effort to streamline the pick-up process after school, we adjusted the schedule last year to the same 2:50 p.m. release time throughout the grades, but this came at a cost. The middle school students ended up having an extremely shortened recess, which is simply not healthy. With quite a few changes in the makeup of our faculty and additional lesson splits to better serve the students and to keep their schedule breathable, it was decided to revert to our previous setup with a 3:15 p.m. release time for 7th and 8th grade on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For your convenience, siblings will be under the supervision of our Aftercare staff until that time on those days (reservations are not needed for this specific service, and the cost is included in your tuition). Pick up times for Monday, Wednesday and Friday remain at 2:50 p.m. Please join us in welcoming our new and returning faculty members who strive alongside all of us to offer an excellent, nourishing, and inspiring education for your children!

With warm regards,

Your College of Teachers