Archery Club
The archery club was founded in 1999 as an after-school, self-funded, extracurricular activity. Students in Grades 6 through 12 are invited to join at a cost of $25 per year. Funds are used to add, maintain, and replace equipment. The goal of the archery club is to safely introduce the students to the sport and to provide the physical and mental training needed to become a skilled archer. Another goal of the archery club is to provide another means of enjoying outdoor recreation. The club uses only “traditional” archery equipment (no sights, mechanical releases, pulley or cams) to emphasize the archer’s skills. The mood of the club is non-competitive, safe, and fun.
More DWS Archery Club information
Community Service
Community service activities are organized by faculty and parents and could include Kindergartners distributing Valentine posies to neighbors or eighth grade students working at homeless shelters. Seniors and students in Grade 8 have community service built into their curriculum. Other activities might include singing and playing recorders in nursing homes, food drives to local shelters, knitting blankets for elderly, reading to children in hospital, gardening at community shelters, and performing puppet shows in the community. High School students are required to complete twenty hours of community service each year.
Early Music Ensemble
There are two extra-curricular groups that focus on the music of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, a Middle School and a High School group. Each group meets twice a week before main lesson begins. The Middle School group works on polyphonic pieces that call for some combination of sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorder. The emphasis is on ensemble work, developing good listening skills, learning about period composers and the types of pieces they wrote, and tone and rhythmic technique.
In the High School group, students are more often holding their own part. Rhythms are more complicated and often conflicting rather than congruent from part to part. There is more emphasis on fine-tuning the ensemble work and nuances of each work. When possible, additional instruments such as viola da gamba, rebec, and psaltery are brought in, and some pieces include vocal parts or are sung a cappella.
The hope has been to raise these groups, in particular the High School group, to be able to perform for children in other schools, nearby nursing homes, school events, etc. This has been done to some degree in the first three years of this program and will continue to develop.
Foreign Exchange Program
Students have the opportunity to participate in an exchange program with other Waldorf schools internationally. We have either sent our students to, or received students from, Germany, Switzerland, Brussels, Brazil, South Africa, Korea, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Math Club
A group of students from all grades meets once a week to enjoy challenging math problems. They apply what they’ve learned in High School classes to contest problems that the Mathematical Association of America offers in their annual national math competitions. Last year, a number of the club members participated in the competition and received recognition for their results.
Project Week
A week is set aside for High School students to participate as a group in activities away from the classroom. The activities are intended to be age appropriate, provide practical experience in the larger world, and may also include some community service. Grade 10 students traditionally work at an organic farm. Grade 12 combines their Senior Class Trip with a community service project overseas.
Science Club
The Science Club provides an extension for students who are interested in science beyond the required curriculum. The meetings take place twice a month and consist of community outreach, science fairs, lectures, presentations, and social events. Students determine the various outings and topics of discussion, allowing for in-depth questions and answers over a broad range of topics. Summer programs in science are also a benefit to the student engaged in the Science Club. In the past two years, one student was selected for the University of Denver’s Making of an Engineer summer program and another attended a national youth Ethics in Medicine conference.
Senior Projects
As twelfth graders stand on the edge of adulthood, they long for independence and yet are still unsure of their place in the world. The Senior Project is designed to help students begin to bridge this gap, preparing them for college studies and professional work in the world. Students must design a project that forces them to pursue a new area of interest or something that will stretch their abilities, mentally, physically, and/or emotionally. The individual projects are approved by the High School faculty and supported by an adult mentor who is an expert in the chosen field of endeavor and preferably someone outside of the familiar school community. The project scope is equivalent to one main lesson block, or about eighty hours of work, and typically extends over many months of the school year. The project culminates in a formal presentation of learning to the community.
More information on Senior Projects
Unicycle Club
The club was started in 1986 by four eighth graders and the gym teacher. Members buy their own unicycles, but over the years, members and their parents have donated several. These are used as loaners for students (and parents) who wish to try riding. The club meets once a week to learn new stunts, play polo, and joust with foam lances. Learning to ride is quite challenging and few sports will develop a person’s balance more fully. The feelings of accomplishment and confidence gained from learning to ride and perform stunts are great. Members of the club have been on three local TV channels and one national cable outlet. They have performed in area parades and given many individual performances.
Yearbook Committee
The yearbook committee plans and prepares the Kindergarten through Grade12 yearbook each year and is open to students in Grades 8 through 12.
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