Festivals & Events

read-a-thon starts november 11th!

Welcome to Peace Valley's Read-A-Thon!

Why is it important for our children to read books? (Whether the students are reading themselves or being read to is equally important!) Books become part of your personal story. The images and emotions you experience when reading a book are uniquely yours. Reading a book can take you places you never dreamed of going, it can transform you into someone you relate to, or into someone who is on a very different journey from yours. Reading good, meaningful books, especially when we are young, is important because of the life experience we gain and it equips us for the real-life challenges we will face in the future.

So let's read together! This fun event encourages the joys of reading and raises money for our school. Students will log the time they read (or are read to) and collect donations from friends and family to support our school.

Here is the link to the fundraiser - if you would like to support a Peace Valley student.

Rose Ceremony

First graders arrive on the first day with their parents. The ceremony begins, where one of our eighth grade students presents each first grader with a rose. They then make their way into their classroom. This moment marks a transition from early childhood and the beginning of their journey into the grades, and marks the beginning of the last year of the journey for the eighth grade students.

Festival of Courage

Each September, we hold a school-wide celebration for students only during the school day. During this Festival of Courage, in the spirit of Michaelmas, stories are shared about taming or slaying dragons. These stories of dragons conquered give us strength and courage needed to face life’s obstacles and to slay our own dragons. Students also enjoy a play, an obstacle course, picnic, singing and dragon-themed crafts, art and bread. 

HARVEST Faire

This celebration of the fall season is open to the public. Students and their families and members of the broader community gather on school grounds to take part in a day full of festivities. Local artisans and vendors have booths at the event. Games for children, arts and crafts, and music are also featured. A large bake sale of goodies from the 8th graders tempts all who attend. This is a key community-building event.

Dia de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos offers a beautiful opportunity for students to remember their loved ones who have passed on and to connect to their ancestors. This is done through the creation of an altar in each classroom. On the altar, students can place photos of their loved ones, sugar skulls, and marigold flowers. They also get the chance to enjoy pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and hot chocolate.

Lantern Walk

We celebrate the legend of Saint Martin, who as a Roman soldier, passed by a poor beggar. The man had no coat and was shivering with cold. On seeing him, Martin took his own cape from his shoulders, tore the garment in half, and covered the poor man to warm him. Saint Martin was known for his generosity and his ability to bring warmth and light to those who were previously in darkness. On the evening of Martinmas, he is remembered with a festival of lanterns, carrying light throughout the dark, singing songs. 

This quiet celebration is offered to kindergarten through 2nd grade students. Children and parents gather as the sun sets. Handmade lanterns are lit as a symbol for the children of their own individual light. And the walk into the cold, dark evening gives the children and their families an experience of caring and sharing as we move toward the darkness of winter. 

Winter Spiral

Each year as the Winter Solstice approaches, we hold this quiet festival. This is a celebration of carrying light in darkness, and of sharing that light with others. The evergreen spiral symbolizes the inward-turning we tend to experience as the night grows longer and cold drives us indoors. The event will be held outside, with a flickering candle in the center of the spiral. In the darkness, the children find within themselves the courage to walk to the center of the spiral with their own candle to light. They place their lit candle down in the boughs, following the lighted way back out to the end.

Spring Gala

This is an adults-only celebration and benefit for the school! Parents and community members enjoy food, friends, music, and a live and silent auction.

May Day

May Day is a Northern Hemisphere festival and is celebrated in many Waldorf schools. It is an ancient tradition of celebrating the arrival of Summer. The May Pole Dance is a joyful experience, and often the center of the May Day celebration. The May Pole symbolizes the tree of life and growth of spring vegetation. This festival is celebrated as an entire school community. Children from each grade take turns doing a performance around the May Pole.  This is a celebration of Spring for the entire school. 

Pentathlon

Fifth grade students compete in this annual celebration of grace, skill, and determination as a crowning salute to that year’s curriculum. A Pentathlon by definition is an event that comprises five athletic components: the long jump; the javelin throw; the discus throw; wrestling; and a relay race. When all the young athletes gather together at the end of the competitions, the judges (dressed in Greek tunics) identify those who achieved the best performance and the most beautiful form in each area, and crowns of leaves are placed on their heads. The day ends with a feast of Greek food provided by the parents.

Kinder Fly Away Ceremony

A very special celebration of students leaving the nest of the kindergarten to go on to first grade. 

8th Grade Graduation

This rite of passage is held at the end of the school year. Families are invited to gather and celebrate the journey of these students through the 8th grade. Teachers and students speak, and certificates are presented.