The heart of the Waldorf method is the conviction that education is an art – it must speak to the child’s experience. To educate the whole child, their heart and will must be reached, as well as their mind.”
Rudolf Steiner
Dear Mulberry Waldorf School Community Members,
In 2022, we reached out to our community with a request to help us achieve our milestone of paying off the remainder of our mortgage. Your generosity and commitment to our school made this possible, and we are thrilled to be able to say that we own the school outright! Now, with established stability in our physical location, we are looking toward the future.
The theme of this year’s Annual Giving Campaign is Prioritizing our Human Resources. The heart of our vision is for an exceptional and meaningful educational experience for our students. This experience rests in the loving and capable hands of our teachers and the strength and capacity of our administration. Waldorf teachers possess a breadth and depth of knowledge: they are experts in child development and observation, storytelling and visual arts, to name a few. Waldorf administrators make it possible to operate an independent school within the principles of the Waldorf Movement. Waldorf teachers have always been a rare treasure. Since the pandemic, educators of every kind, everywhere, are in short supply. It has become increasingly challenging to attract new educators and retain experienced educators. In these economically challenging times, some Waldorf teachers are facing tough choices between what they believe in, a Waldorf education, and where they can afford to work. The pandemic and myriad global issues are leaving many around the world feeling unsettled. We believe this makes Waldorf schools and the education of the whole child, hands, heart and head, more important than ever. We are asking for you to join our campaign to raise funds to empower dedicated, experienced, highly qualified educators who are inspired by the Waldorf pedagogy to come to our school, stay at our school, and access the training and resources they need to meet the Waldorf students of today’s world.
Did you know:
● the average publicly funded full-time elementary teacher’s salary in Ontario is approximately $77,000 with robust benefits and a pension
● the average full-time Mulberry Lead Teacher’s salary is: $47,700 with $1,000 in health benefits and without a pension
In 2022, we reached out to our community with a request to help us achieve our milestone of paying off the remainder of our mortgage. Your generosity and commitment to our school made this possible, and we are thrilled to be able to say that we own the school outright! Now, with established stability in our physical location, we are looking toward the future.
The theme of this year’s Annual Giving Campaign is Prioritizing our Human Resources. The heart of our vision is for an exceptional and meaningful educational experience for our students. This experience rests in the loving and capable hands of our teachers and the strength and capacity of our administration. Waldorf teachers possess a breadth and depth of knowledge: they are experts in child development and observation, storytelling and visual arts, to name a few. Waldorf administrators make it possible to operate an independent school within the principles of the Waldorf Movement. Waldorf teachers have always been a rare treasure. Since the pandemic, educators of every kind, everywhere, are in short supply. It has become increasingly challenging to attract new educators and retain experienced educators. In these economically challenging times, some Waldorf teachers are facing tough choices between what they believe in, a Waldorf education, and where they can afford to work. The pandemic and myriad global issues are leaving many around the world feeling unsettled. We believe this makes Waldorf schools and the education of the whole child, hands, heart and head, more important than ever. We are asking for you to join our campaign to raise funds to empower dedicated, experienced, highly qualified educators who are inspired by the Waldorf pedagogy to come to our school, stay at our school, and access the training and resources they need to meet the Waldorf students of today’s world.
Did you know:
● the average publicly funded full-time elementary teacher’s salary in Ontario is approximately $77,000 with robust benefits and a pension
● the average full-time Mulberry Lead Teacher’s salary is: $47,700 with $1,000 in health benefits and without a pension
We know that we cannot compete with publicly funded schools. We also know that our teaching and administrative staff are dedicated and want to work at our school because of their commitment to Waldorf education. We wish to make it financially possible for them to stay here.
WE INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL OF:
$50,000
We are honoured to announce that we received our first $10,000 donation from the estate of Ellen Collins, who was our very first Preschool teacher. Ellen passed away in October 2022 and left a handwritten note in her will leaving this very special legacy to Mulberry.
Equally important as realizing our monetary goal is reaching our community goal of 100% participation by board members, staff and current families in the 2023 AGC. As an independent school and not-for-profit charitable organization, Mulberry relies heavily on donations to operate our school. Tuition revenues fund only 80% of our operating and capital costs.
Each family’s donation, of any amount, brings us closer together and closer to our goal. Please help support our Campaign to retain and attract teaching and administrative staff!
Donors who contribute $100 or more will receive a Mulberry Waldorf School pewter ornament recognizing our school building’s architectural significance in the Kingston community.
Donations over $25 are eligible for Charitable Tax Receipts.
Donations may be made via:
● An email indicating the amount you wish to donate and the preferred payment date to finance@mulberrywaldorfschool.ca and Lois will initiate a pre-authorized debit (PAD)
● E-transfer to finance@mulberrywaldorfschool.ca (write your name and Annual Giving Campaign in message box)
● Cheque (write Annual Giving Campaign on the memo line)
● Cash (write Annual Giving Campaign on the envelope) - submit to office staff.
With gratitude from the Administrative Committee,
Susannah Groen, Eric Chalfant, Jenny Taylor and Peelu Hira
WE INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL OF:
$50,000
We are honoured to announce that we received our first $10,000 donation from the estate of Ellen Collins, who was our very first Preschool teacher. Ellen passed away in October 2022 and left a handwritten note in her will leaving this very special legacy to Mulberry.
Equally important as realizing our monetary goal is reaching our community goal of 100% participation by board members, staff and current families in the 2023 AGC. As an independent school and not-for-profit charitable organization, Mulberry relies heavily on donations to operate our school. Tuition revenues fund only 80% of our operating and capital costs.
Each family’s donation, of any amount, brings us closer together and closer to our goal. Please help support our Campaign to retain and attract teaching and administrative staff!
Donors who contribute $100 or more will receive a Mulberry Waldorf School pewter ornament recognizing our school building’s architectural significance in the Kingston community.
Donations over $25 are eligible for Charitable Tax Receipts.
Donations may be made via:
● An email indicating the amount you wish to donate and the preferred payment date to finance@mulberrywaldorfschool.ca and Lois will initiate a pre-authorized debit (PAD)
● E-transfer to finance@mulberrywaldorfschool.ca (write your name and Annual Giving Campaign in message box)
● Cheque (write Annual Giving Campaign on the memo line)
● Cash (write Annual Giving Campaign on the envelope) - submit to office staff.
With gratitude from the Administrative Committee,
Susannah Groen, Eric Chalfant, Jenny Taylor and Peelu Hira
