Sanderling Flower and Rose Ceremony

At Sanderling Waldorf School, we host two ceremonies that flank the school year, marking a welcoming and a farewell, respectively. On the first and last day of school, the youngest and oldest class come together to celebrate the arc of first to eighth grade.

The Flower Ceremony at Sanderling is designed for the oldest students in the school, the 8th grade, to welcome the first graders. Leaving kindergarten and entering first grade is a pivotal moment. Each eighth grader greets the first grader with a wildflower, symbolizing individuality and beauty. This forms a bouquet of natural beauty, enriched by the presence of others. The bouquet signifies unity in diversity, and the first grader has receives a living picture of their own future and the child is sent onward with embrace to start their first day of school.

In June, the first graders celebrate the 8th grade students in Sanderling’s Rose Ceremony. Each student of the graduating class receives a rose from the first grader in a gesture of blessing for their journey onward. This stunning and well-formed rose symbolizes many things, the unfolding potential of the child and the witnessed ritual of beauty marking a new life passage.

The two reciprocating rituals symbolize continuity, the joy of giving and receiving within our community, and the two intersecting arcs of the first grade coming and eighth grade departing - both with joyful anticipation for what their future holds.