Staff Biographies

Terry Anne PaquettePosition: Mixed age Kindergarten Teacher

Terry Anne Paquette was born and raised in Bremerton, Washington on Puget Sound. Prominent in her childhood, music continues to be a source of enjoyment. She loves to sing, walk, take care of home and garden, visit with friends and family and spend time near or in rivers and mountains.

Terry Anne received a B.A. in Sociology/Psychology from Linfield College, McMinville, Oregon in 1969. Never dreaming she would one day be a kindergarten teacher, Terry Anne had a long career as a newspaper computer typesetter, production manager, graphic artist and vocational education teacher in Reno/Lake Tahoe area. Terry Anne was introduced to Waldorf education in 1988 when her son Joshua entered third grade at Mariposa Waldorf School. After serving one year as the Aftercare Director at the school, she entered the evening training course at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California. During her training, Terry Anne cared for children in her home Waldorf-inspired pre-kindergarten and summer camp (called Heavenly Days). She then taught kindergarten classes at Portland Waldorf School and Mariposa Waldorf School before helping to found the Yerba River Charter School (YRCS) in the summer of 1994. In July 2002, Terry Anne was selected to serve as Administrator.

“You come in the early morning. Maybe the dew is still on the ground. You start gathering what you need to set up. More people come. The tents come up. The flowers arrive. More people come, and now the may pole is up. Slowly, more and more people gather together and now there are hundreds of people there and the children are dancing around the may pole. There is music, and singing and laughter that goes on and on.
Slowly the people begin to leave. The tents come down. The May pole is put away. More people leave until the land is quiet again. You stand there and remember all that has happened there that day and there are no words that can express that feeling. It is something that you can only experience for yourself. That is May Faire for me. It happens with all of our festivals. But that is my May Faire. I hope that some day it can be your May Faire too.”
– Spoken by Terry Ann Paquette, Rose Kindergarten Teacher at the first new parent orientation at the New Waldorf School of Bend, Sept 1, 2010.

Betsy Mitchell,

Position: 1st Grade Teacher (2010/2011)

I began teaching when I was a teenager, growing up in Michigan. I worked afterschool and over the summer at an alternative school for special needs children. This was an “ experimental” school back in the seventies that had the guiding principle that what the kids really needed was love. They use ”play therapy” to connect with the kids at their own level. I moved from Michigan to Oregon to go to college. I had planned to go to the College of Education in Monmouth, Oregon. However, when I came to tour the campus I found that the University of Oregon in Eugene to be a better fit for me. I changed my major from education to psychology and graduated with a BS degree in 1985. Trying to find a job in Eugene with a degree in psychology turned out to be very difficult. I ended up moving to Portland and getting a Massage Therapy License from the Oregon School of Massage in 1987.

Studying the human body in Massage School sparked an interest that led me into the medical field. I ended up studying Nursing, and graduated from Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland in 1991 with an RN license and a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Nursing. I worked as an RN for 19 years. I found that the part of my job that I liked the best was just talking to the patients and hearing their stories. It seemed that the more time that I had to talk to the patients, the faster they got better. Over the years there was less and less time to connect to the patients and their families.

When I wasn’t working, I was home raising the children with Bill. We started with Keenan. Keenan went to the Portland Waldorf School Kindergarten in 1992, and the Eugene Waldorf School first and second grade. Then we had Caela and decided to home school. We used the Waldorf curriculum to home school Caela until her sixth grade year. Keenan has since graduated from Wesleyan University, with a degree in film in 2009. He works and lives in New York. Caela has finished her freshman year at the University of Minnesota. She is studying classical flute performance. Nicholas and Mallory are at the Waldorf School of Bend and are very happy here. I found something very nurturing about our school and felt drawn to it as well. It seemed that the more time I spent at the school, the more I enjoyed being with the children.

Last year I began to study Waldorf education with the intention of becoming a Waldorf teacher. I entered the Michael Institute Waldorf Teacher Training program and found warmth growing inside me that I had never known before. I love learning, and teaching, and connecting with people. Being a Waldorf teacher is like coming home for me. It unites different aspects of my life experiences and allows me to share what I have learned with children and their families. I am honored to be here now.

Favorite Quote: “Let the beauty we love be what we do. “ – Rumi

Laura Elmore, lelmore@bendwaldorf.com

Position: 3rd Grade Teacher (2010/2011)

Born in Battle Creek, Michigan and raised in Cadillac, Michigan where the temperatures plummeted to subzero, Laura has been in the warmer climate at the Waldorf School of Bend since 2003. Laura has been involved in Waldorf education for about eight years, but in 2004 she began her training at the Micha-el Institute in Portland. She plans to continue at the Institute to complete her Waldorf Teacher certification. Laura has experience teaching Waldorf preschool, kindergarten and grades. Says Laura, “Waldorf Education is unique and that in itself brings us here”.

Laura is also a licensed Massage Therapist. She specializes in baby massage and partner massage for pregnancy and labor. Dancing and music is another passion. In addition, she loves to hike, camp, bike and sit on her porch to watch the world. When she has the time, she loves to cook. When not working, most of the time is spent with her three beautiful and active daughters and her loving husband.

Favorite Quote: “Live to Love – Love to Live”

Loren Trux

Position: 2nd Grade Teacher (2010/2011)

Loren completed his undergraduate work at California State University, Chico in 2007 and received his California teaching credential the following year in 2008. Upon Moving to Bend in 2008, Loren became a substitute teacher for the ‘08/’09 school year. Loren started his Waldorf teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA in the summer of 2009 and will finish the summer of 2013. Loren discovered Waldorf Education through his loving wife Ashley. Loren likes to do anything out doors. He likes to mountain bike, cross country ski, telemark ski, fish, skateboard, kayak hike and much more.

Loren says, “Waldorf education is the most beautiful form of educating I have encountered. ”

Susan Elizabeth Strauss

Position: Main Lesson Teacher / Eurythmy Teacher / Supplemental Teacher

Susan was born in New York City and grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. , but moved west in 1979 driven by a love for open landscapes and a teaching position with the High Country School, a traveling, academic outdoor school (located in Portland). She taught English and Environmental Issues with their high school programs. During this time, her career as a professional storyteller was born. She researched Native American Coyote Stories in early anthropological and linguistic texts and developed several friendships with Native elders. Today her performances included traditional stories from many cultures. Susan is recognized, internationally, as a storyteller and author of natural history themes. She has presented keynote addresses, performances and her signature Passionate Facts: Storytelling Science Workshops nationally and internationally in such venues as the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Port Arthur World Heritage Site (Tasmania), two international conferences on heritage preservation, Warick Castle (England), National Geographic Society, the Oregon Symphony and the National Park Service. She has authored original narratives for museum exhibits, National Forest Service restoration projects as well as three children’s books, The Passionate Fact: Storytelling in Natural History and Cultural Interpretation and six audio recordings. She teaches Storytelling in Environmental Interpretation at Oregon State University. Website: www.straussstoryteller.com

She holds a B.A. cum laude and a Masters of English Education from the University of Virginia. She holds a Eurythmy diploma from Rudolf Steiner College after also studying at Spring Valley. Susan didn’t learn to read until fifth grade and consequently has a rich love for the musical qualities of language. When she began to read Dr. Steiner’s ideas on storytelling, speech, eurythmy and the development of the ego, she was amazed how his ideas perfectly matched her own experience. She brings her love of foreign languages into her Eurythmy teaching, including bits of Hebrew, French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Japanese and Shahaptin (Native American- Plateau tribes.)

Susan first learned about Waldorf education when her sister’s friend, having seen one of her storytelling performances, suggested that she should contact Waldorf Schools in her upcoming European tour, because her “storytelling was so much like Eurythmy.” The original Waldorf School in Stuttgart invited her to perform for their high school students. Magda Meier (who started teacher training in Germany after WW II) invited her. When Magda gave her a tour of the school and explained Waldorf education, she fell in love. Although she had no children at that point, she was determined that her future children would be educated in this system. She became a founding parent of the Waldorf School of Bend. Some years later, in order to improve her Artist-in-Schools work with younger children, she studied in the foundation year program in Eugene, Oregon. It was there that she experienced eurythmy for the first time and began the long quest to become trained as a eurythmist.

Favorite Quote: “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are a thousand way to kneel and kiss the ground.” Rumi

Moe Anderson

Position: Grades Teacher (2010-11: 6th/7th Grade)

Martina Muller, mmuller@bendwaldorf.com                                           

Position: Specialty Teacher for German