Story Dorie; Hike-A-Thon; and May Faire (Please Read!)
Dear Member of The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara Community,
Life has been so full at WSSB -- music concerts, class trips, class plays, the Hike-A-Thon, the upcoming May Faire, et cetera -- it’s hard to know what to write about in this newsletter. We are -- as the saying goes -- spoiled for choice. A good place to start would be extolling Dorie Hutchinson -- also known as "Story Dorie" -- a longtime member of our community.
Story Dorie helps here at WSSB with class plays (playwriting, direction, costumery, stagework); in the classroom (she is a lively teller -- and reader -- of stories, hence her name); and by arranging for ensembles and theatre troupes to visit our school (she recently brought the Santa Barbara Community Early Music Ensemble [of which she is a member] to put on a concert at WSSB). And at Halloween Story Dorie transforms into a knobbly-nosed, black-hatted, twinkly-eyed witch.
In light of her twelve years of generous work in service of the children of WSSB, it seems appropriate to salute her. What follows is the fruit of a short interview.
Dorie spent the early years of her life with her parents and siblings in a cabin in Sunland, California along the Big Tujunga River. There in Sunland she "ran around barefoot and played in the river and danced." The song of the Big Tujunga, she said, was her nightly lullaby. The house's foundation was made from the river's boulders.
Dorie’s cultured and artistic mother -- a teacher of experimental dance who "urged people to move creatively in their own way" -- was a big inspiration growing up. "Let go of the childish and retain the child," she would say to her young daughter. In 1968 Dorie moved to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB where she joined a Balkan dance troupe.
Described by her friends as a "Minister of Fun," Dorie, with her nimble mischievous wit and bohemian elan, strives to keep a connection with "the magic and wonder of things." Such a connection helps with her theater work. Over the years Dorie has put on many school plays ("A Midsummer Night’s Dream" six times); and has even had second-graders performing Shakespeare. Recently she traveled to a Waldorf school in the Bay Area as a paid theater expert.
If we were to guess, your child knows Dorie and her large bright disporting spirit. Recently on a walk in the nearby woods with the Second Grade, she sang songs and held hands with the children. The little excursion felt like a festival. "I like being this Dorie person that I have become and have much love to give as a result," she offers. When asked about her life philosophy, Dorie replies: "Kindness to and acceptance of others; reverence for wild places; a generous heart."
Thank you, Story Dorie, for -- to borrow one of your vivid expressions -- "lighting our lamps" for so many years. We are grateful for you here at The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara. Long may you tend the magics and wonders of children and being.
In other news, our Hike-A-Thon was a big success. The children hiked hard (over 700 miles!), had fun, and we have almost reached our fundraising goal of $20,000. Thank you parents and caretakers very much for supporting your community! And please turn in (to the office) all pledges by this Friday, May 6th.
Finally, the May Faire -- our Spring Festival -- is this Thursday at 11 a.m. on the big field. Come watch the children dance and sing in their flower crowns around the Maypole. Bring a blanket to sit on and a picnic-lunch for after the dancing. We will have usual Thursday Grades' dismissal at 12:45 p.m.
In gratitude,
The WSSB Admin Team
PS The poem of the day -- transcribed below as the author intended -- is by E. E. Cummings:
[O sweet spontaneous]
O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting
fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and
poked
thee,
has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy
beauty how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and
buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
(but
true
to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover
thou answerest
them only with
spring)