West Coast Steiner School eNewsletter

Kaya WCSS Community

Kaya WCSS Community

We are honoured to be situated on the ancestral lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people and how beautiful they are looking at present. The lovely clear, blue Djilba days we have had and some refreshing rain, have helped our gardens bloom even brighter! It is such a pleasure to see the children enjoying outside play and learning activities and adding beauty to our garden spaces. You can read and see more about their recent projects in this newsletter.

The next fortnight is a busy one at school with our Walkathon for Primary classes on Thursday 14 September, Class 2 Play performances on Thursday 14 September and Friday 15 September, and the Greek Olympics for Class 5 at Perth Waldorf School on Friday 15 September. We wish Class 5 lots of luck for their events which they have been practising for all this term. In our final week of term, Photo Day will be held on Monday 18 September, and we look forward to celebrating the Kindy Spring/Djilba Festivals and holding our Michaelmas Festival for the Primary classes on the last day with co-operative team game events. We hope you can attend these special events and festivals.

This weekend on Saturday, our school orchestra will be performing in the Junior Orchestra Festival at Churchlands SHS. We are sure they will enjoy the excitement of playing in front of other school children and families and will also enjoy listening to other schools perform.

Our Curriculum Journey will be held next week on Wednesday 13 September in the evening from 6.30pm. Teachers put an enormous amount of preparation into this, and it is a perfect opportunity to come along and find out more about the Steiner curriculum in a fun, hands on and supportive way. You will experience firsthand some of the activities that your children are involved with each day as they learn at school over the years, and you will have the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Please RSVP to Reception if you are coming. This is a parent only event, please do not bring children.

Although class WhatsApp groups are not condoned as an official form of communication by our school, I know most classes have them and find them to be a very useful forum for sharing information and reminders in busy lives. Just a gentle reminder to use this space kindly and thoughtfully. If you have any concerns about anything that is happening at school, I strongly encourage you to talk to your Class Teacher or to me or Vanessa Beesley face to face. We are always happy to meet with you and to discuss anything.

To our Jewish families who will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah from Friday 15 September, we wish you Shanah Tovah and hope your celebrations are joyful.

May your week be lived with warmth of heart and gratefulness,

Jenny Dougan

Principal

Spirits of water, spirits of air,

Weave in the world full of nurture and care.

Sons of bright fire and gnomes of quick gait-

All of them speak to me whilst they create.

“Oh, we work within the world for purest joyfulness alone,

But remember please the deeds we do – they must not pass unknown,

For you free us from enchantment when you make

Our life your own.”

In the Light of a Child, Michael Hedley Burton

Weaving the Fabric of Community

Dear West Coast Community,

Rudolf Steiner said that “the healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living.”

Recently our community lost a father, a partner, a fellow parent, and a friend in Bruce Jones. The loss of Bruce has been keenly felt by the West Coast Steiner family and has resulted in a deep desire to hold and support Rebecca and Isaac in the very best way that we can.

When we contemplate what might be helpful, what might truly make a real difference the following thoughts come to mind:

Being a good listener and holding space for Rebecca and Isaac’s pain
Staying connected and available – not just in the short term
Helping with practical tasks – not just in the short term
Giving them the gift of self-care time

These are all valuable and heartfelt ways in which we can and are offering support. What struck me however when I contemplated what someone might need in the same situation was the need for time. Time to be truly present and available to help their child navigate the unthinkable loss of their father. Time to heal in nature, time to seek help and to rediscover and affirm the beauty, truth, and goodness of the world for their child and for themself. Money does not buy happiness, but it can give us the gift of time, and this is why I am writing to you.

It is our heartfelt wish to raise enough money to gift Rebecca and Isaac the time and space to begin to heal, to be there for each other and to be freed as best we are able from the financial stresses that may impede that healing. With this in mind, we have organised a Go Fund Me page.

I encourage you to consider donating and perhaps even sharing this fundraiser to help spread the word. Together, we are weaving the fabric of community. We are imagining and bringing forth with courage and light a community where inspiration, intuition, compassion and love are evidenced in the way we hold ourselves and each and every member.

Please find the link below.

https://gofund.me/2768e67e

With much love and gratitude,

Vanessa Fountain

Rose Kindergarten Teacher

From Administration

NEW NOTICEBOARD

Have you noticed our new noticeboard? With funds kindly donated by WCSSCA, WCSS alumni parent and craftsman extraordinaire, Julian has created a beautiful, bespoke all weather noticeboard. This has been designed so that parents can easily access timely information in one place. Any suggestions from our parent body regarding what to include are welcomed. Thank you Julian and WCSSCA!

School photo day has changed to Monday, 18 September 2023

If you are interested in having family photos please contact Reception no later than Thursday, 14 September 2023.

FEES SCHEDULE

Below please find our school fees for 2024. We have put great thought into keeping fee increases to a minimum in these economic times. As our most important asset, we are prioritising increasing our teachers’ salaries in next year’s budget to try to match those offered to Government school teachers. Although inflation is currently at 5% , we have been able to keep our fee increase for 2024 to only 3%, despite the rising cost of almost everything. We thank you for your support.

WCSS_Fees_Schedule_2024.pdf

LOST PROPERTY

It's that time of term again! We have many quality unclaimed items, from clothing to containers, that will be donated to charity if not collected by the end of term. Please have a look outside the Staff Room and in Lost Property. Thank you.

KISS N DRIVE

A reminder for families utilising Kiss 'n' Drive and/or parking on Mayfair Street to please follow the rules as signposted. City of Stirling Rangers monitor the area on an ad hoc basis issuing fines as required. In order to ensure the safety of students, WCSS staff and volunteers monitor the Kiss 'n' Drive zone and we appreciate your respectful, courteous cooperation at all times to everyone in our community.

Blackboard Beauty

Family Commitment Hours Opportunities

This newsletter section includes special Family Commitment Hours projects but there are many other ways to help out and claim hours including joining the WCSSCA Committee, gardening, volunteering at Golden Threads or the Library, monitoring Kiss 'n' Drive, baking for various events and attending talks on Steiner education. Voluntering at school provides many benefits beyond FCH.

BAKERS REQUIRED

Our annual Primary School Walkathon is happening on Thursday September 14 from 1.00pm - 2.00pm and WCSSCA are calling out for bakers. We require enough Anzac biscuits for each child so we need lots of bakers! Gluten free and vegan options are warmly welcomed and please don't forget to include an ingredient list. Biscuits to be left in the Staff Room by Thursday morning.

TAKE HOME CRAFT KITS

Craft kits are now available from Sarah at Playgroup for you to complete at home. With these pre-organised kits you can sew felted animals for the Craft Group to sell at our school fair. This is a great work from home project! Contact Sarah 0458 299 614.

AT HOME MENDING FOR KINDY

If you are looking for some ways to contribute with school community hours, we have a few jobs to offer: sewing turtles, repairing toys (wooden toys and sewing dolls and animals), material preparation (winding wool, cutting paper corners, cutting cardboard). If you are interested, please let us know and we will guide you. Your help is much appreciated. ~ Julia Noronha (Sunflower and Rainbow Teacher)

KAMBARANG FAIR PLANNING

Planning is underway for this year's Kambarang Fair & Open Day. This is the biggest event on the school calendar and there are many ways to help. Each class (except Class 2) will be asked for at least 2 activity coordinators in communications coming soon. There are so many other jobs, big and small, leading up to and on the day, so look out for ways you can contribute. Consider being on the Fair Committee and help plan the event! E: wcssca@wcss.wa.edu.au

WEEDING

Would you like to beautify our school grounds and earn some Family Commitment Hours? The Winter rains have fed the weeds and we welcome some help in this area! Speak with Chris in the garden if you can help out even for 30 minutes after drop off or before pick up.

FOOD HANDLING COURSE

All volunteers working with food (including the Kambarang Fair) must complete a food handling course as recommended by the City of Stirling. There are two free online courses to choose from (listed below) and you may claim one hour of Family Commitment for completing either course.

I'm Alert Food Safety Course

FoodSafe Course Information incl. free discount code

Early Childhood

Gumnut Kindy

Where does the sun hide in winter? In the oranges!

Gumnut Kindergarten 4 children made beeswax oranges whilst they listened to a story about little George who goes on a journey to find where the sun hides in winter. After much fruitless searching it begins to rain and he seeks shelter under a tree in his backyard. When water trickles down his back he looks up to see where the water is dripping from and sees lots of, what look like to him, little golden orange suns above him. Excitedly he tells his mother of his find and together they pick a basketful of the oranges to juice and share with his friends!

Janet Happe

Gumnut Kindergarten Teacher

Primary News

This year's Michaelmas Festival will be held on Thursday September 21. The festival will begin at 10.30am on the stage with Class 5 performing St George and the Dragon. The image of St George taming the dragon represents our inner strength and courage. At our Michaelmas Festival teams made up of students from all different year groups work together and encourage each other to find their inner courage. After the Class 5 performance we will move to the back oval from 11.00am - 1.00pm. We warmly welcome all parents to bring a picnic blanket and lunch and cheer the children on. Please ensure students have water bottles and hats. Students may leave after the festival ends with their teacher's permission. School officially ends at 2.15pm and this is the last day of Term 3.

For those wanting to know a little more about this festival check out our blog:

What is the Michaelmas Festival?

Class 1

In Class 1 we celebrate the beauty of nature and its connection with our developing sense of self. Our curriculum incorporates nature stories and activities, with a special focus on the natural cycles and seasons. Recently, we learned about the six Noongar seasons through song and painting. Following from this lesson we were fortunate enough to contribute to the creation of a Bush Tucker garden. This garden is a true treasure, filled with bush tucker plants like river mint, native thyme, redback ginger, raspberry jam wattle, chocolate lily, and more. With the support of the Tucker Bush Perth gardening team and our parents, we planted these amazing plants and learned about their importance and use. Through this project, we have gained a deeper understanding of the significance of these plants to the Indigenous communities, as well as the broader ecological impact of preserving and cultivating native species. We are incredibly grateful to the City of Stirling for sponsoring this project and supporting our efforts to create a vibrant, thriving garden that will benefit the entire school community. We invite everyone to join us in this ongoing endeavour and to witness the beauty and wonder of the natural world firsthand.

Kasia Rymarczyk

Class 1/Keyen Teacher

Class 2 students have been exploring mood and lighting to create a Shadow Puppetry theatre! Using paper and found natural objects students have been making their own puppets and collage backgrounds. Students have loved exploring this creative form of storytelling. We are now taking these elements deeper into creative writing activities based on these imaginative characters and created scenes.

Mel and Stu

Class 2/Koodjal

Class 3

Class 3 children have wholeheartedly taken on the role of being stewards of the land, gently tending our flower and vegetable gardens, and delighting in their new growth. We were blessed with a grant with which we bought kangaroo paws, fruit trees and more flowers and we are now itching to get into more planting. The Class 3 curriculum inspires us to practical activities; cooking a weekly lunch with our own vegies from the garden and making the cutest bird houses from recycled wood. We revived our weaving skills learnt in the kindergarten, and now we’re onto sewing dragons in readiness for our Michelmas Festival. Working with our hands and fingers fills our hearts and connects us to the beautiful world around us.

Donna Shaw

Class 3/Dambart Teacher

Class 4

History of Writing

The Science and Art of handwriting brings the students an experience of connection to the activity of writing as an expression of inner orientation and stylistics. Just as they have gained confidence in Class 3, in their ability to build a home and to farm the land, they now, through practical experience, come to a connection to the art of written communication.

The history focus begins with a mythological connection which addresses the human consciousness that underpins representation of thought. It then moves to the development of the history of writing. We also learn the art of fluent handwriting and calligraphy, which builds an ability for calm focus and inner, as well as outer, balance and harmony of form.

As our History of Writing Main Lesson comes to an end, Class 4 have received their much-anticipated fountain pens! This is cause for much celebration as we can now use a pen to write with. Following our deep dive into the various forms of writing throughout history and around the world we have also been exploring the art of calligraphy, the sacred texts and manuscripts that were handwritten in the middle ages, along with the exciting world of illuminated letters. We made our own ink and feather quill and have learnt about the first printing press, morse code and have invented our own secret writing codes, one of which we used in our Father's Day cards.

Aimee Waller

Class 4/Koodjal Koodjal Teacher

Class 5

Class 5 was extremely fortunate to enjoy a Book Week literacy incursion from the We are Here! Foundation. We studied an autobiographical story written by the late Dorrith Sim, one of ten thousand Jewish children rescued from Germany by the Kindertransport charity before World War Two broke out. Dorrith’s inspiring story, “In my Pocket,” described her experience as a seven year old travelling to her adoptive family in Scotland, the inclusivity and belonging extended to her by strangers, and the strategies she used to learn the English language where she would store each new word in a “pocket” in her memory.
After discussing the story and illustrations, the children designed and painted their own pockets containing those things most precious to each of them. They then wrote reflective thank you cards for the organisers, Jill and Eli Rabinowitz. Please enjoy a glimpse into the children’s insights from their thank you reflections:

“I learned that you can find light even in the darkest of places.” - Liam

“I think what people can learn is simple but beautiful: people who haven’t been through it can learn to support others, while people who have been through it can let it out and relate to others.” - Nalina

“One of the ways you can learn is that you have to be respectful of people because of their history and backgrounds, they might be carrying sadness about it.” - Matilda

“I think that Dorrith felt like children should know what is happening in the world, and I agree.” - Harriet

“The story tells people that kindness from strangers can really save a life…Dorrith used her “pocket” to store precious memories while focusing on the present.” - Norah

“I think it’s important for people to learn about how refugees might be feeling and how they can help.” - Austin

“Nothing is impossible if I try! I think the story started out sad, but had a happy ending. I love happy endings!” - Eduarda

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Jill, Eli, and the We are Here! Foundation for providing such an engaging, thought-provoking and heart-warming incursion for the children. Yishar Koach!

Elaine Meyer

Maar/Class 5 Teacher

Class 6 Assembly Leaders

Music

West Coast Steiner String Orchestra Performance this weekend

The West Coast Steiner School String Orchestra is excited to be performing this weekend, Saturday September 9, at the ABODA Junior Orchestra Festival at Churchlands Senior High School in the Concert Hall. We are scheduled to play at 3.10pm, last in a session that starts at 1.50pm. There are four schools performing before us in the session but audience members can enter or exit the Concert Hall in between performances.

All are welcome to come along and watch the performance. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door and cost is $7 for adults and $5 for children.

Cristina Filgueira

Strings Specialist

Woodwork

Class 5 have been learning how to safely use hand saws to cut branches of wood and Shinto rasps to shape mallets. These mallets will be used by the students until Class 12. The first woodwork project of the mallet will be used on the last school woodwork project completed.

Yolanda Millar

Woodwork Specialist

Handwork

A lovely Class 2 rainbow ball. The rainbow ball is 10 colours knitted in both garter stitch and stocking stitch panels. This project allows the clever knitters to develop their skills; counting rows, choosing the correct stitch at the right time and making confident colour choices.

Class 2 just love knitting; here we have a rainbow ball and a sheep wearing a scarf!

Class 3 are completing more and more crochet projects - granny squares, wristbands and a lovely gift.

WCSS Community Association

Dear Community,

Preparations are well underway for our annual Kambarang Fair and Open Day on October 28. We are so excited about this wonderful, fun event where we have the chance to share our beautiful school with our family, friends and the wider community! This year we want to create more of a groovy festival vibe, so we are looking for musicians who are interested in busking at the fair. If you know anyone or are a musician yourself please contact WCSSCA: wcssca@wcss.wa.edu.au

Cotton or wool yarn is needed for craft activities that will be run at the fair, please bring any you can spare to Reception. We are also asking for plant donations for the plant stall to be brought in closer to fair day, but now is the time to start separating and potting up cuttings.

WCSSCA’s purpose is always to build a strong, caring, connected school community. We are very pleased to see this vision breathed into life in the form of a Community Sharing Shelf. The shelf is located at the heart of the hub and is an open space for sharing books, clothes, food, or anything else you would like to pass on. There will also be an anonymous request box for those in need of something particular. These requests will be listed for anyone who may be able to assist. Anything that is not taken will be donated to mindful avenues. All are welcome to give and receive.

With kindness in community,

Rachael

(Class 1 Parent)

MARKET DAY ROSTER

September 12: Class 1

September 19: Class 4