It was as early as 1954 that a small group of young people met on a regular basis to study lectures by Rudolf Steiner and to socialize in general. Some of the participants came from Europe and, with the relentless carnage of the Second World War still freshly in mind, were on the search for a meaningful and human philosophy of life. There were John and Pat Kettle, Gerhard and Helga Rudolph, Frank and Franzeska Steinruck, Helmut and Renate Krause. From 1961 onwards, Aedsgard and Elisabeth Koekebakker, and a number of other participants joined the group. Each year at Advent, they began to rehearse the Oberufer Christmas plays, which were then performed in churches, halls and hospitals in Toronto.
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In 1956, three young Canadian musicians, Graham Jackson, Harry Kretz and Irene MacLellan, independently took an enthusiastic interest in Waldorf education. In the following year, they attended the teacher-training program at the New York Steiner School and later went to many places in Europe in order to become fully acquainted with the philosophy and practice of this education. In 1963, after a long and intense immersion abroad, Graham and his wife, Veronica, returned to Toronto.
In 1957 Francis Edmunds, one of the most experienced Waldorf teachers in England, gave his first lecture on Waldorf education at Trinity College, University of Toronto. Encouraged by the enthusiasm and optimism of this lecture, the original group started to concentrate its studies more and more on questions of education. From 1959 onwards, members of the group attended the annual conferences at the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Spring Valley, NY. These experiences prompted them to organize their own conference in Toronto in 1962. Dr. Ernst Katz, physics professor at the University of Ann Arbor, John Gardner, chair of the Garden City Waldorf School and Dr. Godfrey from Edmonton, were invited as guest speakers to this well attended and successful event.
The lectures by Mr. Edmunds, by now founder and principal of Emerson College in England, became regular yearly occasions, each time rekindling new enthusiasm for the creation of a Waldorf school in Toronto.
Planning, Preparing, Implementing: 1964 - 1968 By 1964, the resolve to found a Waldorf school in Toronto had been firmly established and decisive steps for its implementation were systematically pursued. The Waldorf Education Committee was formed, consisting of Bob and Shirley Routledge, Helmut and Renate Krause, and Graham and Veronica Jackson, with the task of organizing public events and preparing to form a legal school entity.
During the winter, Graham Jackson gave a series of lectures on Waldorf education in Toronto, usually followed by demonstrations and classes in Bothmer gymnastics. In the fall of 1964, the Rudolphs decided to leave everything behind in Toronto and enroll in the teacher-training program at Emerson College in England.
In 1965, the Waldorf Education Committee was greatly strengthened when John and Pat Kettle and Douglas Andress joined their ranks. The first concrete step was made when Douglas and Else Andress purchased a nursery school in Willowdale. At the time there were twenty children registered in the nursery. The teachers, Helen Coleman, Doreen Browning (later Rawlings) and Mieke Cryns, stayed on for many years with Toronto Waldorf School. The little school moved into some rented rooms in the annex building of St. Patrick's Anglican Church, also located in Willowdale. The committee changed the nursery's name from “Bunny Hop’ to “Sunnyhill’ and its business management was taken over by Veronica and Graham Jackson and Shirley and Bob Routledge.
In April of that year, the Waldorf School Association of Ontario (WSAO) was officially incorporated. The aims of the WSAO were described as:
The three couples, the Andresses, Routledges, and Kettles, worked on these tasks in a very thorough and professional way creating hypothetical cases of possible enrollment numbers, fees, salaries, rental costs, initial deficits, possible locations, etc., always assisted by Graham Jackson with regard to educational considerations.
In order to establish a future faculty, Pat and John Kettle traveled to Michael Hall Waldorf School in Forest Row, England, to meet with a number of potential teachers who had been invited by the committee. The meeting took place in the home of Helga and Gerhard Rudolph during the Whitsun holidays of 1967. (Gerhard had become a class teacher at Michael Hall in the meantime.) Present were Alan and Mary Howard, Helmut Krause, Diana Lawrence (later Hughes), Cecil Jordan, George Wilson, Pat and John Kettle, and Helga and Gerhard Rudolph.
For three days, they discussed the plans for the future school and what contribution to it each could make. In the end, Alan Howard, Mary Howard and Diana Lawrence pledged that they would come to start the school in September of 1968. Helmut and Renate Krause committed themselves to join in 1969 and the Rudolphs agreed that they would come as soon as their commitments at Michael Hall had been fulfilled. It was a tremendous good fortune to have in the Howards two very experienced teachers to guide the new school into life.
In May 1968, several rooms at St. Patrick's were rented and alterations were designed and carried out. The Sunnyhill Nursery School still occupied the basement.
On June 16th, 1968, Toronto Waldorf School was officially incorporated. The committee had completed their preparations. The worthiness of the cause and the thoroughness of the planning inspired Cawthra and Julyan Mulock and Douglas and Else Andress to pledge to cover all losses predicted for the first three years.
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In 1957 Francis Edmunds, one of the most experienced Waldorf teachers in England, gave his first lecture on Waldorf education at Trinity College, University of Toronto. Encouraged by the enthusiasm and optimism of this lecture, the original group started to concentrate its studies more and more on questions of education. From 1959 onwards, members of the group attended the annual conferences at the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Spring Valley, NY. These experiences prompted them to organize their own conference in Toronto in 1962. Dr. Ernst Katz, physics professor at the University of Ann Arbor, John Gardner, chair of the Garden City Waldorf School and Dr. Godfrey from Edmonton, were invited as guest speakers to this well attended and successful event.
The lectures by Mr. Edmunds, by now founder and principal of Emerson College in England, became regular yearly occasions, each time rekindling new enthusiasm for the creation of a Waldorf school in Toronto.
Planning, Preparing, Implementing: 1964 - 1968 By 1964, the resolve to found a Waldorf school in Toronto had been firmly established and decisive steps for its implementation were systematically pursued. The Waldorf Education Committee was formed, consisting of Bob and Shirley Routledge, Helmut and Renate Krause, and Graham and Veronica Jackson, with the task of organizing public events and preparing to form a legal school entity.
During the winter, Graham Jackson gave a series of lectures on Waldorf education in Toronto, usually followed by demonstrations and classes in Bothmer gymnastics. In the fall of 1964, the Rudolphs decided to leave everything behind in Toronto and enroll in the teacher-training program at Emerson College in England.
In 1965, the Waldorf Education Committee was greatly strengthened when John and Pat Kettle and Douglas Andress joined their ranks. The first concrete step was made when Douglas and Else Andress purchased a nursery school in Willowdale. At the time there were twenty children registered in the nursery. The teachers, Helen Coleman, Doreen Browning (later Rawlings) and Mieke Cryns, stayed on for many years with Toronto Waldorf School. The little school moved into some rented rooms in the annex building of St. Patrick's Anglican Church, also located in Willowdale. The committee changed the nursery's name from “Bunny Hop’ to “Sunnyhill’ and its business management was taken over by Veronica and Graham Jackson and Shirley and Bob Routledge.
In April of that year, the Waldorf School Association of Ontario (WSAO) was officially incorporated. The aims of the WSAO were described as:
- To explain and promote the ideals and principles of Waldorf education amongst educators and the public in Toronto and, with time, in all of Ontario.
- To prepare the establishment of a Waldorf school in Toronto and later the founding of more schools in the rest of the province.
- Faculty and Staff
- Public and Publicity
- Site and Building
- Finance and Administration
The three couples, the Andresses, Routledges, and Kettles, worked on these tasks in a very thorough and professional way creating hypothetical cases of possible enrollment numbers, fees, salaries, rental costs, initial deficits, possible locations, etc., always assisted by Graham Jackson with regard to educational considerations.
In order to establish a future faculty, Pat and John Kettle traveled to Michael Hall Waldorf School in Forest Row, England, to meet with a number of potential teachers who had been invited by the committee. The meeting took place in the home of Helga and Gerhard Rudolph during the Whitsun holidays of 1967. (Gerhard had become a class teacher at Michael Hall in the meantime.) Present were Alan and Mary Howard, Helmut Krause, Diana Lawrence (later Hughes), Cecil Jordan, George Wilson, Pat and John Kettle, and Helga and Gerhard Rudolph.
For three days, they discussed the plans for the future school and what contribution to it each could make. In the end, Alan Howard, Mary Howard and Diana Lawrence pledged that they would come to start the school in September of 1968. Helmut and Renate Krause committed themselves to join in 1969 and the Rudolphs agreed that they would come as soon as their commitments at Michael Hall had been fulfilled. It was a tremendous good fortune to have in the Howards two very experienced teachers to guide the new school into life.
In May 1968, several rooms at St. Patrick's were rented and alterations were designed and carried out. The Sunnyhill Nursery School still occupied the basement.
On June 16th, 1968, Toronto Waldorf School was officially incorporated. The committee had completed their preparations. The worthiness of the cause and the thoroughness of the planning inspired Cawthra and Julyan Mulock and Douglas and Else Andress to pledge to cover all losses predicted for the first three years.
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