The culmination of the class journey to the 8th grade year in a Waldorf school is a special one with the hope that when the students step beyond the school gates into a larger world, they do so with confidence, ready for an ever-changing world.

The 8th grade year fosters foundational capacities to lead a purposeful life in beautiful ways. Although unique experiences unfold differently for every class, there is a common thread, and it comes from Waldorf Education founder, Rudolf Steiner:

“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.”

— Rudolf Steiner

Preparing to Greet the World

This year’s graduating class, led by Ms. Dianna Guldi, is a varied and energetic group of 19 students from a wide array of backgrounds, including these students and the high schools they plan on attending:

Frances Allen, Cass Technical High School
William Arends, University of Detroit Jesuit

Nathaniel Arsenault, Lakeview High School
Trey Beavers, University Prep
Eve Blake, Royal Oak High School
David Blankenship, Cass Technical High School
Ernest Coger, Undecided

Cass Cooley, University Liggett
India Darling, The Anacapa School
Elof Edlund, Grosse Pointe South High School
Rolan Franks, Undecided
David Honablue, Undecided

Gabriel Mitchell, Rudolf Steiner High School
Henry Putnam, School of Marygrove
Beatrix Reilly, Undecided
Shaya Schreiber, Berkley High School
Anisa Sewell, Cass Technical High School

Felix Swanson, University Liggett
Mina Wilson, Fraser High School

Some of this year’s graduating class have been at Detroit Waldorf School since preschool. Others came at various points in the grades. All of them laud the friendships they made and the interests they pursued that are a deep part of the Waldorf educational experience.

A Framework for Connection

The Waldorf journey is bookended with welcome and connection from the first day of first grade until the last day of eighth grade. At Detroit Waldorf School, we have two rose ceremonies. On the first day, an 8th grader welcomes a 1st grade buddy with a rose in a beautiful ceremony that the whole school attends. It sets a warm tone for the entire school year.

On the last day of eighth grade, the first grade buddy gives the rose to the departing eighth grader, wishing them farewell as they spread their wings to leave for high school. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot finish the school year in our typical ways, but we still want to end with a note of connection and warmth.

Instead, first grade families are driving to the homes of the eighth graders, to offer them a graduation lawn sign and a single rose, along with a handmade card from the 1st grade buddy to the 8th grader.

At Detroit Waldorf School, students eagerly await those final days of eighth grade, that include these traditions and others – including a softball game where 8th graders play against faculty and the whole school comes with signs and enthusiastic cheers.

This year’s graduating class was working on designing their own jersey, but the match won’t happen due to the pandemic. It’s something the whole school looks forward to, along with other times of joyous celebration. Just as these students were held and nurtured by teachers throughout their educational journey, this caring community sends them off to their next educational destination with warmth and encouragement.

Preparing to Leave

The entire eighth grade year focuses on subtle preparation toward departure. Community service projects, curriculum lessons with broader impact, and independence gained through preparing an 8th grade project get students ready to spread their wings.

Just as Waldorf pedagogy seeks to align with the developmental phase of children at every age, eighth-graders engage in a curriculum that speaks to their intellectual awakening, as they awaken to the world around them with curiosity. The curriculum also serves to create in students a sense of stewardship, showing them how they can effect positive change and use their voices to make a difference.

At this age, they make connections, not only within curriculum subjects, but with other people, and with the world. That is most present in this final year as they work one-on-one with a mentor on a profound year-long project of their choosing.

In eighth grade, students read biographies and study history, discussing the complexities of human struggle, perseverance, and the courage to advocate for freedom, equality, and a better world.

What we learn speaks to the sense of truth and feelings of social responsibility students feel as their independence grows and they become more passionately involved in their own causes.

This class was particularly innovative as they wrote their class play, a historical fiction set in Detroit.

The Friendships Last a Lifetime

Beginning in third grade, Detroit Waldorf School classes go on a class trip. As they mature, the trips grow longer, until the eighth grade week-long trip to the pristine lakes of Temagami in Ontario, Canada.

The class trip is pivotal in building student capacities towards responsibility of self and the community. Students spend the middle school years raising funds to subsidize this monumental trip, and they kick off 8th grade with this journey into the wilderness.

Jumping off cliffs, tipping over canoes, portaging over land, slipping on rocks, collecting firewood, preparing camp and meals, dance parties while dishwashing, and gazing at countless stars were but a few of the outstanding moments they experienced. The adventure brought the class closer to nature, to one another, and to themselves.

In parting words, when asked what they loved most about their years here at Detroit Waldorf School, many of this year’s graduating eighth-graders remarked that the friendships they made were some of the most powerful and profound experiences they enjoyed during these years.

Class teacher Dianna Guldi says, “It has been a beautiful journey with this group of blossoming individuals. We have shared many moments of exuberant laughter, frustration, sadness, love and deep understanding, as well as lighthearted fun. We have gone through just about every emotion possible together. A journey together to prepare them to open their wings filled with light, imagination, and purpose.”

Congratulations to the Detroit Waldorf School class of 2020! We wish you well on your way forward, and know that DWS will always be a home you can return to.

An Ending That is a Beginning: Detroit Waldorf School’s graduating 8th grade class of 2020