The Kelowna Waldorf Community

The Kelowna Waldorf School has been a proud member of the Kelowna community for over 28 years. When you ask the question "Why Kelowna Waldorf School?" a big part of the answer is Kelowna itself.

First though, let's talk about what makes the Kelowna Waldorf School so great. The answer: the people in the community. Unlike most schools, parents are actively engaged in the school itself. Whether its being on the board of directors, volunteering with extra-curricular activities like carpentry or chess, attending the many festivals we have throughout the year, or attending the music recitals and plays, parents at KWS are very passionate about participating with the school. We believe that quality provides a unique difference for our school and for you being a part of the experience of schooling your child.

Kelowna Waldorf School in the news

Written by Bobbi Sue Menard. (Published in the Daily Courier and the Capital News January 9 2011.)

Kelowna Waldorf School is celebrating its 29^th Anniversary this year.  The independent school on Collett Road in the Lower Mission, is thriving with 89 students currently enrolled in kindergarten through grade 8. 

Waldorf schools offer a unique approach to childhood education: a balance of the head, the heart and the hands, students are encouraged to use all three in all of their endeavors.  The results are children who are independent thinkers who brim with self confidence when they enter the public school system.

Class sizes are kept small with 10 to 15 children per class. Waldorf schools are non-sectarian and non-denominational; the pedagogical method seeks to bring about understanding of the world’s cultures.  Each day begins with the acknowledgement of body, soul and spirit.  “We recognize that children have a soul,” explains Gabriele Knodel, Vice-President of Waldorf School Association of Kelowna.  “Waldorf School is accessible to all.  No one is excluded due to religion, race or finances.”

The full British Columbia curriculum is taught with approaches based on the developmental stage of the child.  The goal is to teach children to think differently about subjects, often through experience, such as touching and manipulating objects, personal movement and music.  German and French are taught from an early age through songs, poetry and movement.  Music is a daily part of instruction and the arts are integrated into all aspects of the curriculum and learning.

The Waldorf school philosophy is a very personal model of teaching.  Typically a teacher stays with a class from grade 1 to grade 8.  The benefits are enormous, teachers truly know and appreciate the students they work with and are able to meet the needs of students effectively.

KWS is located in a quiet residential neighborhood.  The building is a rounded structure reflecting the Waldorf principle that design and architecture are important to the learning experience.

The large yard behind the school has play structures made of natural materials.  KWS chooses natural materials for equipment and supplies whenever possible as part of its school philosophy.  Each class has its own garden, children learn in early grades the basics of nurturing plants, older grades learn botany and the basics of bio-dynamic gardening.

Each school day at KWS begins with the old fashioned school bell, rung by a student and a teacher.  Children gather in front of their classroom doors and then are greeted individually by the teacher with a hand shake as they enter the classroom to start their day. “It is important that the day begins with eye contact, that the connection is made between the student and teacher,” explains Knodel.

KWS graduates have gone on to become health care professionals, engineers, teachers, award winning musicians, world class athletes and other diverse occupations. Waldorf education  instills a love of learning in its students that the students carry with them through life.

Kelowna, the Tuscany of British Columbia

Kelowna itself is somewhat of an undiscovered gem. The town has a population of 100,000 in the winter, and 300,000 in the summer.

Surrounded by the beautiful Lake Okanagan and the Rocky Mountains, Kelowna sits on the tip of a brilliant viticulture and agricultural region at the end of the New Mexico desert. That means when its raining in Vancouver, the climate in Kelowna is often beautifully sunny all summer along, allowing for award winning wines, such as Summerhill Pyramid Winery about one quarter mile away - Canada's largest organic winery in Canada, and who are working towards a biodynamic approach.

In the summertime the city is a vacation destination with boating, hiking trails, biking paths and great cultural events. With a recent $100 million expansion of the Kelowna General Hospital, Kelowna is both accessible (it takes about 15 minutes to get anywhere) and has all the amenities of a bustling metropolitos with a thriving downtown core, shopping, international airport, UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College. In fact, UBCO employs 2500 people.