The History of Polaris

The history and endeavours of FWEO

In February of 2015, a large community gathering was organized to bring together those who held Waldorf  education in Ottawa at heart. With the support of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA), arrangements were made to have Flora Seul-Jacklein, AWSNA Board of Trustees President, come to Ottawa to facilitate a coming together of the community in Ottawa to allow for reflection, closure and possible new ideas to come forth. She led us through a circle process that allowed us to share our stories and reflections. Her role was not to bring answers, which no one individual would have, but to hold the space for all of us to create what we needed and what may be called of us.

From this two-day event, a group began to meet once a month. The group’s intent was to create a new impulse, based in community, integrity, and sustainability. The group was called Friends of Waldorf Education in Ottawa, or FWEO. ​

Our starting point was to look at the history  of Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired Education in Ottawa...

Our starting point for this was to look at the history of Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired education in Ottawa – in the three different (independent) schools that had existed – and to glean from this what we could learn for our new initiative. Three main needs to be addressed arose from this investigation: The first was financial stability and the need for affordable tuition that was truly integral to the school’s structure and community. The second was protecting a pillar of Waldorf-inspired education: the freedom of the teachers within the governing structure of the school. The third was a need to re-examine and open up the pedagogical expression of Waldorf-inspired education while staying true to its fundamental principles, and to find how it relates to modern society. We saw a need for a much more concrete relationship to nature and agriculture, and for much more social engagement and social healing.

...the importance of healthy relationships
​came up again and again.

After these initial explorations, we conducted interviews with founders of established schools both in Canada and the United States to hear the journey each community had gone through to found their school. We learned about the challenges each school had faced, including those in the financial realm and in the governance structure of the school. Furthermore, we asked them for key advice for creating and maintaining a healthy school. It was quite impressive to hear how many times the importance of healthy relationships came up again and again. This, it became obvious, was the key message: Healthy relationships between administration, board, and teachers, between parents and teachers, between teachers and children, and the importance of the school in the larger community – both the supportive community around the school as well as the immediate neighbourhood surrounding the school – are of utmost importance. As a result, community became another focal point in the creation of this new school impulse.

...community became another focal point in the creation of this new school impulse.

 Our next step was to consult with different experts, such as Mary Roscoe, Gary Lamb, and Les Black, to gain a better understanding of “Affordable-to-All” tuition models, governance structure, various school models, such as farm schools, and keys to building healthy community relationships.

Together, we studied Christopher Houghten-Budd’s Freeing the Circling Stars,  about healthy school economy, Gary Lamb’s work around school governance structure, and Jon McAlice’s Engaged Community: The Challenge of Self-Governance in Waldorf Education to learn more about healthy school community, a healthy working faculty, and healthy pedagogy.

During this time, we hosted community events such as a presentation of Kim Hunter’s film Time to Play, outdoor Advent spirals, lectures by veteran Waldorf teachers such as Monica Flamenco, James Brian, Les Black, and Eurythmy workshops and performances.

To strengthen the Waldorf-inspired impulse in Ottawa and the community involved, we connected with other Waldorf-inspired initiatives for possible collaboration: Darla Barrows’ Stone Soup Parent-and-Child Program, Yasmeen Osman‘s Garden Gate Kindergarten, Kati Gabor’s Sun Child Nature Program, and Yvette Halpin’s Nimblekids.

In May 2018, we founded a new not-for profit organization as the seed of governance, the legal body, for the new school. The name of the school was chosen after consulting with the community on August 20th, 2018. Read about it here. Polaris school was founded with the intention of becoming a recognized Waldorf School. As we work toward that we identify as Waldorf-inspired. 

We see this first year as an opportunity to
​meet and build the community...

In June 2018, we held our two community meetings, and from these we drafted an official proposal for the community for our pilot year. We see this first year as an opportunity to meet and build the community, to start implementing the governance structure based on the threefold social order, allowing the teaching faculty to work together in freedom. We will start fostering community partnerships and see how a flexible program with emphasis on nature and social renewal can manifest.

This is a very exciting time,
​full of hope and courage...

FWEO now organizes events and workshops to support
​Waldorf-inspired Education.
​You can visit their website here: fweo.ca

Our great task is to develop free human beings that are able to give meaning and direction to their life.
​Imagination, a sense of truth and a feeling of responsibility
- those three forces are the very nerve of education.
 - Rudolf Steiner