School Newsletter Term 3 Week 4
Kaya WCSS Community
Welcome to Djilba, the Noongar growing season (season of conception) which runs from August - September. Djilba heralds the explosion of the flowering season and is a time to look for the yellow and cream flowers starting to bloom. It is a transitional time of the year, with some very cold and clear days combining with warmer, rainy, windy days, mixing with the occasional sunny day too. And some days, you get a bit of everything!
Despite the very chilly weather, school has remained a vibrant, warm, and welcoming place. Parents are enjoying their enrichment painting sessions with Donna and have produced some very beautiful works of art, displayed outside Class 2. Our weekly Yarning Circle every Tuesday from 8.45am at the Hub is growing in popularity, partly due to the delicious cakes that the lovely Maria is providing. Please do drop in and have a chat with the school leadership team. We love to hear about your suggestions and are very happy to answer any questions you may have.
Class 5 entertained us today with our first play of the year and we very much enjoyed their humorous version of the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. It is wonderful to see how much the children have grown in confidence from the previous year and there were some excellent performances. We are looking forward to plays by Classes 4 and 6 this term.
Tonight, we look forward to welcoming you to our Curriculum Journey. We have over 50 parents attending which is a fantastic turnout. I am sure you will enjoy the night and will come away richer in your knowledge of our fascinating Steiner curriculum. It’s not too late to register if you would still like to attend.
May your week be lived with warmth of heart,
Jenny Dougan
SA/Principal
My light is pressed by darkness round;
It is not easy to stay upright, strong and sound!
The Dragon, lurking, would devour
My shining radiance with his power.
But I, remembering how on winter’s Holy Night,
In darkness shone the Midnight Sun that is the world’s true Light,
Need have no fear of dragons wild
For I am led by the Holy Child.
In the Light of the Child, Michael Hedley Burton
Carolin's Farewell
On Thursday 18 August the children are going to farewell our longstanding German teacher, Carolin, by singing to her under the picnic tree at 2:00pm. Parents and friends are very welcome to come and join in wishing Carolin all the best on her new adventure.
Our Class Teachers have been working to deliver a really informative and inspiring Curriculum Journey Evening tonight, Thursday August 11. Please come along and share the journey with us.
Schoolzine
Have you dowloaded the app yet? Just follow the instructions below and use the passcode 1995.
From Administration
MSP - School Photos
School Photos will be taken on Tuesday 13 September by MSP.
MSP uses an online ordering system. In the coming weeks your child will bring home an envelope which is an online ordering instruction slip with a unique student shoot key.
When you receive the ordering slip log on to www.msp.com.au and follow the prompts to place your order.
If you lose your shoot key, WCSS Reception will have a copy to quote back to you.
Online orders must be received by Sunday 25 September 2022.
Any orders received after this date will incur a $30.00 archive fee.
Extra envelopes are available at school Reception should you wish to order and/or pay via cash.
The Information Sheet below has further details and Reception is happy to help with any questions.
FAMILY COMMITMENT HOURS AVAILABLE
If you can help out with fence painting around the school this term please contact Audrey. E: financeofficer@wcss.wa.edu.au
There are also often sewing and craft jobs required in the kindergartens, (please talk with your Kindy Teacher), general gardening (See Chris) and preparation is starting for our Kambarang Fair (email WCSSCA).
A fundraising Sausage Sizzle will be held on Sunday October 16 and volunteers are required. Sign up here if you can donate an hour or two!
NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL
A courtesy reminder that one full terms' notice is required for the withdrawal of a student (Kindy 4-Class 6). Please keep this in mind if you are not returning to WCSS in 2023. The notice period allows teachers to support the exiting student and class cohort, and provides time to offer the place to another family ensuring the finanical viability of our school
Sustainability
Please remember to pop any unwanted clothing items in the bin at the front of the staff car park (or drop to Reception if preferrred). All items are recycled with nothing going to landfill. Donations also raise money for our school!
Early Childhood
Last week in Playgroup we made the butter to put on our bread for morning tea. By simply taking it in turns to shake the jar of cream soon we had golden butter! It was so wonderful for the children (and the parents) to see this magical transformation brought about by working together.
Sarah Jordan
Bina Baby Group and Playgroup Coordinator
Everyone is invited to attend our 2023 Steiner Kindergarten Information Session held by Sunflower Teacher, Sandy Price. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the Steiner approach in the Early Childhood Years. Please spread the word to family and friends and share the Steiner secret!
Primary News
BOOK WEEK 2022
Our annual Book Week celebration will be held on Wednesday 25 August. This year's theme is Dreaming with eyes open.
Students are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite book character. Start planning now and don't forget to bring the book with you!
Class 1 Literacy Main Lesson: The Writing Race!
In Class 2 Mathematics we have been building on the strengths of Class 1, continuing to memorise multiplication tables, and learning to master the four operations; adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.
We practise times tables with movement and clapping with partners, and the strong rhythms and the physical experience of body contact are helping the children master and remember them. The tables are recited not only forward, but also backward which was something that Rudolf Steiner placed great emphasis on. When we do things backwards, our memory is strengthened, so backward movement is a strong part of many things that the children do, especially in the early classes.
The new material for this year is place value and the class are learning to read numbers into the thousands.
To introduce Place Value, we got a huge bag of stones which we counted before placing them in our garden. Every time we got to ten, the stones were put into a basket. Every time we got 10 baskets, the baskets went into a bowl of 100. Working with real things, holding them, feeling the difference in weight, and looking at them, the children got the physical and tactile experience which was then converted into writing it down using the 1’s column, the 10’s column, and the 100’s. It was easy to see how a number like 762 had 7 bowls in the hundreds column, 6 baskets in the 10’s column and 2 stones left in the 1’s column. It’s important that big numbers are not abstract and it has been a joy to witness the children embracing this new concept.
Donna Shaw
Koodjal Teacher
Class 3 have been buzzing with excitement with the much-anticipated Strings Ensemble. Students have just began learning a string instrument this term, choosing from violin, viola and cello. We have learnt to play the open strings on our instruments and are practising hard at home and at school. We played in beautiful harmony on Wednesday playing our open strings in a lovely melody. The sound of a stringed instrument has a strong connection to the heart and brings emotions to the surface. The introduction of the stringed instruments coincides with the nine-year-old change keeping a connection to the life of feeling as the child's feeling realm is expanding and as they seek emotional expression.
Aimee Waller
Dambart Teacher
Class 4 enjoying the artistic elements of our History of Writing Main Lesson. After completion of this main lesson students will receive their "pen licence" and first fountain pen.
Holly Peterson
Koodjal Koodjal Teacher
Music News
Dear Parents,
The WCSS Orchestra will perform at the ABODA Orchestra Festival on 11 September at Churchlands High School. I have chosen to enter our orchestra into the festival so that the students have the chance to perform on a professional stage, with very good acoustics. They have been working hard on their pieces and are starting to sound excellent. You will be able to have a taster of this performance at our Strings Assembly in our Performance Room on Thursday 25 August at 8:45am.
What: ABODA Junior Orchestra Festival
Where: Churchlands Senior High School Concert Hall
Date: Sunday 11 September
Time: Students need to be there by 1.35 pm to get ready to perform at 2.05 pm.
The Orchestra Festival is a wonderful opportunity for our students to show you all the hard work they have done in learning their instruments in a positive and supportive environment. Parents, friends, and family members are welcome to view the performance in the audience. There will be adjudicators present who will write comments for me to read and I will share with the students any positive feedback that they give. As the event is on a Sunday, you will need to bring your children there yourself. The event will not take place at West Coast Steiner School. It is at Churchlands Senior High School. Details such as parking, audience costs and further information can be found below.
Cristina Filgueira
Strings Specialist
Handwork
Class 2 completed projects - a mouse, rainbow ball and knitted doll.
Class 3- students are crocheting pencil cases and they not only look fantastic but they are functional. In Handwork students make items of beauty and purpose. Using skills to make something useful and enduring provides confidence, self-efficacy and meaning. The next project is a crochet beanie - look out for them in the playground!
The first completed Class 5 beanie. Students dye their own individual skein of wool and then knit a beanie or socks on four knitting needles.
Woodwork Projects
Class 6 have been working on their stools, spoons, bowls and free choice projects. Bowls and spoons have been created using a gouge and Shinto rasp to create convex and concave shapes. Students learn to safely use hand tools that work with the direction of wood grain. Feeling, forms a big part of the student's journey to create beautiful functional pieces.
WCSS Community Association
Dear Community,
Soup Days are now finished for 2022. A huge thank you to Shelia for coordinating and to everyone who helped out. Please email any feedback to WCSSCA.
Market Days continue to run smoothly with our baking roster and weekly volunteers. Please see below for your classes turn this term.
Our biggest event of the year, the Kambarang Fair and Open Day is on October 29 and we are looking for people to help with planning this beloved day (especially the catering component). Craft kits are available if you can help sew items to sell at the Fair - please see Sarah Jordan. This can be done at home and FCH are claimable.
Sponsorship forms will soon be sent home for the Primary School Walkathon and helpers will be needed on the day (Sept 7). We also require parent helpers for the Michael Festival on September 21.
In community,
WCSSCA Committee
E: wcssca@wcss.wa.edu.au
Market Day Baking Roster
Class 2 - 16th August
Class 1 - 23 August
Class 3 - 30th August
Class 5 - 6th September
Class 3 - 13th September
Class 5 - 20th September
Contact your class carer to help out.
Community News
WCSS Alumni - Paige Powell
Class 12 Projects
I’m Paige and for my Year 12 project I’m looking at storytelling anthropology and the psychology surrounding how and why we tell stories. I wanted to pick a topic that I knew I could never be tired of - from myths and legends to modern novels and television, I have a lot to keep me interested.
It is safe to say that I’ve grown up surrounded by stories. First, puppet shows and storybooks in kindy, then stories were told all throughout school. I found my love for reading when I was eight, which I have retained and I know will continue throughout my life. The truth is, everyone is surrounded by stories, always.
I want to know why. Why do we value stories so much? This led me to look into traditional stories from age old cultures, many of which are still told today. Not only has each individual grown up with stories but humanity has. So, for my question, I am asking:
‘Storytelling anthropology, why do communities and cultures share stories and what do these stories from the past do for us now?’
Through my thinking and research, I have realised that stories aren’t just some other world of events and characters but they are an extension of the human psyche. Stories, myths, legends, and novels are a reflection of the human mind. Beyond the tropes and general escapism, stories have recurring patterns and archetypes. The most common is the ‘monster’ that the protagonist must defeat during the story. We see similarities with our own ’monsters’ or darkness in this way. ‘The monster is a man’s existential problem which must be solved again and again.’
Often, stories are lessons about morals and learning through mistakes. Cultures teach morals, ethics and cultural beliefs/practices through stories and this nurtures collective understanding in the group. I was excited to find that there has actually been a bit of research and theorising done on stories and the collective conscious/ unconscious. One of these psychologists being Carl Jung.
For my practical, I am focusing on the idea of sharing stories. I am going to use Seekers Place for an event night of storytelling. I want to give people a chance to come and seek out stories. Earlier this year, I attended a story telling coarse run by my lovely mentor, Melissa. We looked into what happens between the teller and the listener and finished by telling a story we learnt to a group. I also may set up a book swap in the high school for students to find new books while replacing it with another for someone else to find.
From my project I would like to highlight the prevalence of stories, because although it is the things that are tangible that keep us alive, we can’t live without stories.
Paige
YARNING CIRCLE is on EVERY Tuesday (excepting August 16) in Term 3. Stop by the Hub at 8.45am for a cuppa and chat with Principal, Jenny Dougan and Deputy Principal, Vanessa Beesley. A delicious morning tea will be provided and this week's topic is what would you like to know about Steiner education and/or our school? We are interested in what our community would like to learn more about and encourage you to put ideas, feedback and questions forward! Guest speakers will be arranged if we have the demand.
Try our Staff and Parent Choir which meets every Monday 3.10pm-3.50pm.
Coming Events
AUGUST
Thursday 11: Curriculum Journey 6.30pm
Tuesday 16: School Tour 9.15am
Tuesday 23: Steiner Kindergarten Info Session 9.00am
Wednesday 24: Book Week Celebration
Thursday 25: Strings Assembly 8.45am
SAVE THE DATE: ABODA Junior Orchestra Festival, September 11, 2.05pm
WEEKLY
Staff and Parent Choir
Mondays 3.10pm
Yarning Circle
Tuesday 8.45am
Parent Enrichment Workshops
Tuesdays 2.15pm
Market Days
Tuesday 3.05pm
Golden Threads
Monday-Friday 8.00am-10.30am
Mon, Weds, Fri 2.00pm-3.30pm
Thursday 1.30pm - 3.00pm
Craft Group
Tuesdays 1.00pm at The Hub
WA Anthroposophical Study Group
Mondays 7.30pm in the Staff Room