School Newsletter Term 2 Week 2
Kaya WCSS Community
Kaya WCSS Community
Our term has started very well with children returning excited and happy to meet old friends again and make some new ones. We are enjoying playing and learning outside in the cooler weather at last and cubby making and playing table tennis on our new outdoor table are very popular pursuits.
I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter to find out a little more about what is happening in classes and what is planned for this term, and I encourage you to participate in the life of our school as much as possible. Please continue to reach out to us and share in your child’s learning.
To our families currently celebrating Passover, we wish you Chag Pesach Sameach. I hope it is a happy time. Happy New Year also to our Buddhist families celebrating Theravada New Year and Happy Pascha to our families who will mark Orthodox Easter next week.
This is my final term at school before I commence my retirement. Recruitment is almost completed for a new Principal and an announcement will be made soon. As usual, my door is almost always open to you if there is anything you wish to chat about or feel welcome to come and join Vanessa and I with a cuppa at a Yarning Circle in The Hub on Wednesdays from 8.45 am, held most weeks of every term.
May your week be lived with warmth of heart.
Jenny Dougan
School Administrator/Principal
Now Autumn, like a lusty king,
Strides through the fields - awake, aware.
From summer sleep we've watched him bring
This crisp coolness to the air.
And fruit, well-ripened on the tree,
To me it whispers, round and sweet:
"Be firm. Be strong. Then it shall be
That you'll bear fruit for gods to eat!"
In the Light of a Child, Michael Hedley Burton
From Administration
PARENT MIXER - COMMUNITY EVENT - SAVE THE DATE
As part of our Strategic Plan, and focus on community belonging and connection, we are delighted to annouce our 2024 Parent and Staff Mixer will be held at the Rose and Crown, Guildford on June 14 from 7.00pm.
Please save the date and note that RSVP is required due to limited spaces and catering.
Light nibbles provided, buy your own drinks. Parent only event. RSVP below.
We have some rare spaces available in our highly popular Playgroup. We offer one trial session so enquire today or share the good news with friends. 9440 1771 / enrolments@wcss.wa.edu.au
Shining a Light On...
In order to ensure our policies and procedures are highly visible to parents/carers, we highlight a policy or important procedure in each newsletter. If you are interested in a specific policy check the Key Info Tab on the school website or email Reception to receive a copy.
All WCSS policies are reviewed periodically and updated and/or amended guided by compliance and best practice and ratified by the School Council.
In this edition we are pleased to launch the first of our "WCSS Gems" addressing attendance.
Click the link to check it out!
Family Commitment 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.
SOUP DAY
WCSSCA are looking for a Soup Day Coordinator and volunteers for Soup Day. Soup days will be on Wednesdays each week commencing on June 5. Volunteers will be needed for food preparation, serving and cleaning up. This is a wonderful way to support the nourishment of our precious children during the cold winter months, and Family Commitment Hours are claimable. Please contact Maria on 0423 678 254 if you can help.
KISS AND DRIVE
Volunteers are always needed to ensure Kiss 'n' Drive runs smoothly. Slots are available Monday-Friday 8.15am-8.45am and 2.55-3.25pm (Thursdays 2.05pm-2.35pm due to early finish). See Reception for more information.
PARENT EDUCATION
We have several opportunities this term to fulfil commitment hours through Parent Education. The Steiner Parent Education Initative is offering three courses per term to enrich parent understanding and knowledge of Steiner education. For more information on The Steiner Parent Education Initative and Term 2 courses read Vanessa's article in this newsletter.
Early Childhood
The beginning of this fortnight was marked by our regular Busy Bee event, held each Saturday before school starts. It was wonderful to see so many of you, after the holiday break, at the Busy Bee. I had the opportunity to work alongside a parent and children in taking care of our compost. Throughout the process, I learned a great deal about composting. Shell had much to teach me, and together we shared both pleasant and unpleasant moments! It was fortunate that we tackled it together. Moving forward, our plan is to closely monitor and schedule our compost bins so that we can soon produce nutrient-rich compost for our garden.
I also had the joy of observing other parents working on the kindy gardens. Some tended to our plants and soil, while others prepared the space for the new term. In the Rose area, there was a flurry of activity as they levelled the sandpit and mulch. Your effort, time and commitment are deeply valued by all of us. A big thank you for your presence and hard work.
The children are now actively involved in continuing the care for the projects you initiated. They water our new garden bed, plants, and flowers; help spread manure in the garden; contribute food scraps and brown material to the compost bin, and enjoy some relaxing time on the new hammock. Observing the adults around them engaged in meaningful work is truly inspiring for them. We are fortunate to have so many exemplary adults surrounding our little ones, nurturing their innate ability to imitate. This exposure feeds their imagination, supports essential cognitive, motor, communication, and social skills, gives them purpose, and inspires them to imitate positive traits, fostering a sense of inner discipline.
I would like to briefly share more about the importance of imitation in the early years.
Children are naturally imitative beings, and everything they do at this early stage is done without reflection or consideration. A child's imitation involves a dual process: they receive through the senses and then grasp and imitate with their will, which is an activity of the will and thus cannot be taught, as it is highly individual. Adults being mindful of their actions is the greatest gift we can give our children, as they will serve as their role models, their objects of imitation:
“When we as grown-ups make the effort to be good “examples” of human beings, we will have the effect of awakening impulses in the child through our activities. For we cannot teach a child to imitate. This is a matter of the will and must be grasped by the child’s own will. We can be aware of our own behaviour: how we go about our work in the home and garden, how we speak with other people, how we care for others, how we arrange and care for our environment. The child takes everything deeply into his own bodily formative processes. Without being able to discriminate between meaningful and foolish behaviour, he brings to his own activity what he sees in us as his representatives of life.” (Jaffke, F., The Developing Child: The First Seven Years, WECAN 2004)
I wish us all a beautiful Term 2!
Julia Noronha
Sunflower and Rainbow Teacher
EARLY CHILDHOOD WINTER MAKURU FESTIVAL
Sunflower, Gungurra and Rose families are warmly invited to join us for our Early Childhood Winter Makuru Festival
When: Tuesday June 18, 2024
Where: The Primary School, in front of the stage
Time: 5.15pm sharp to conclude at 6.40pm. Please be on time!
More detailed information will be emailed wihtin the week so keep an eye on your inbox or request a hard copy from Reception.
Primary News
Class 2 Koodjal is thoroughly enjoying Aesop's Fables Main Lesson, which features imaginative and often humorous short stories that provide insight into the flaws of human nature. These amusing fables offer children imaginative tales of animals misbehaving and facing the consequences of their unwise actions. The children are encouraged to interpret each fable in their own way, promoting freedom in moral life and fostering self-direction. They particularly enjoy drawing, painting, and re-enacting these beloved fables. We have started creating movable elements in the Main Lesson books, which has made them even more magical.
The children's foundational literacy skills continue to grow, including letter-sound correspondence, sentence writing, word families, phonic patterns, and reading. They are encouraged to read their own work daily and have developed a strong work ethic towards learning.
Kasia Rymarczyk
Class 2 Keyen Teacher
Class 3 Dambart
Class 3 is a rich time of inner development for children with a focus on practical subjects such as farming, gardening, and building. The Class 3 Steiner Curriculum Framework supports children during the Nine Year Old Change by introducing rules and structure such as grammar, music notation, measurements and time. The Time Main Lesson involves much experiential learning including the construction of a sundial.
Class 4 Koodjal Koodjal
Class 4 have begun the term with a science Main Lesson, The Human Being and the Animal, looking at the animal kingdom as a reflection of the human being. Each animal is specialised in a unique way and has a dominant soul quality which has been such fun to explore and relate back to ourselves.
"The child must first gain some kind of feeling for the fact that the whole earth is inhabited by what is comprised in man, though in a dismembered state; that the animal world is the entirety of what is human but dismembered into its separate constituents." Rudolf Steiner
We began with the "head" animals, looking at the octopus, the cuttlefish, the oyster and the snail and discovered the ways in which they use camouflage to adapt to different situations. This led us into discussion about how we also adapt and change ourselves depending on who we are relating with and where we are. The octopus can change itself in less than a second, and it has been very interesting listening to the insight and discussions in the class as we realise how quickly we as humans do the same.
Donna Shaw
Class 4 Koodjal Koodjal Teacher
Class 5 Maar
Handwork
The Handwork curriculum in Class 5 is very exciting. Although knitting is not a new skill for the students, we are learning lots of new skills and techniques, and knitting items the students can wear.
The most exciting part for the students is dyeing their own wool ready for their major project - knitting a beanie or socks on four needles. Class 5 enjoyed choosing a variety of colours to personalise their wool before they start knitting.
Class 2 Buddies
Class 5 also enjoy spending time with their buddies in Class 2. We have organised a number of little projects to share our skills with them including chatter boxes, letter writing and art. This term we made pop stick puppets of fable characters to support our buddies with their Fables Main Lesson. After making the puppets the Class 2 buddies retold the fable story.
Aimee Waller
Class 5 Maar Teacher
Class 6 Maar Keyen continued our Astronomy Main Lesson with an exploration of the planets.
Some of the highlights include recreating the Milky Way spiral using copper foil, receiving mission letters for a visit to Venus from NASA (shhhh! Top secret!), considering the pros and cons of invading planet Earth from an alien’s perspective, discovering how to track the moon, racing each other in a quiz about Mars, working in teams to compile a class poem about Jupiter, and sending NASA our professional evaluation of the viability of a human mission to Saturn.
We have been lucky to work with chalk pastels, learning some specialist skills from artist, Cris McClelland to create some beautiful galactic artwork. We hope you enjoy our art and poetry!
Elaine Meyer
Class 6 Maar Keyen Teacher
When you go to Jupiter, you'll be boiled alive!
If you’re boiled alive, you will not survive!
Counting from the sun, it is planet #5,
All the other planets combined can't compete with its size.
Its neighbours, Mars and Saturn, 1/2 million km away
Look tiny next to Jupiter, there in the Milky Way.
Jupiter is covered in swirling toxic clouds.
Swirls and stripes of orange moving all around.
The Great Red Spot, a giant wild storm larger than Earth, 300 years ago was born.
Jupiter has rings, far too faint to see,
I guess those rings were just not meant to be.
When a coronal mass injection bursts from the sun
It flies towards the planets. Magnetism makes it come.
Particles clash with gasses to give off coloured light.
Jupiter’s auroras are 100 times more bright!
You may be thinking that Jupiter is cold,
But it is not! It’s boiling hot! Has been since days of old.
Beneath it's thick atmosphere, a giant ball of gas,
Hydrogen and helium make up it's soupy mass.
Compared to planet Earth, it spins twice as fast.
10 hours is how long a Jupiter day lasts!
Jupiter's a planet with moons 95,
Discovered 400 years ago when Gallileo was alive.
In the Jovian system, the 2nd biggest is Callisto,
Followed by Europa, Ganymede and Io.
These moons are so large, each and every one,
They would be considered planets if they orbited our sun!
By Class 6
Handwork
Education Assistant, Claudia models not just a life of learning but also acts of service. Claudia has been relishing learning new handwork skills, and put them to use by knitting a recorder bag for Class 2 Teacher, Kasia.
Class 2 - lots of happy knitters finishing projects such as chickens and bunnies.
Class 3 have been working very hard and are finishing projects. Here we have a lovely chicken and fabulous doll.
Class 5 students are very happy to complete their lovely Bluebirds.
The first sewing project for Class 6 students is the pincushion. Beautiful and functional, the project allows the students to learn new skills they will use when making their doll, as well look after their pins and needles while they work on their major project.
Woodwork
This very imaginative and unique Class 6 project can become something from every letter of the alphabet!
Sustainability
Sustainability Committee
Are you that person in your family rinsing out milk bottles and removing the lid for recycling? Do you sigh in exasperation when there is recyclable material in your red bin?
We need you on our Sustainability Committee!
We will meet once or twice a term and aim to:
- Promote recycling in the school
- Monitor the recycling bins and divert it to the appropriate recycling location
- Involvement in the Kambarang Fair & Open Day in Term 4 to promote an aspect of sustainability.
- Continue the process of becoming a WasteSorted school.
Please get in touch with Vanessa at curriculum@wcss.wa.edu.au or come and have a chat at Wednesday morning’s Yarning Circle.
WCSS Community Association
Dear School Community,
The West Coast Steiner School Community Association (pronounced Whiska) warmly welcomes all families back for Term 2.
Craft Group continues each Thursday at 12:35pm at the Hub. This term we are making adorable weighted cats. Come along and enjoy a relaxing afternoon of craft guided by the lovely Sarah; such an enjoyable way to accumulate Family Commitment Hours.
There will be a lantern making workshop in preparation for the Winter Festival. The lantern workshop will be on Wednesday June 12 after drop off at the Hub. Save the date and come along to make beautiful star wax paper lanterns.
We are looking for a Soup Day Coordinator and volunteers. Soup Days will be on Wednesdays each week commencing on June 5. Volunteers will be needed for food preparation, serving and cleaning up. This is a wonderful way to support the nourishment of our precious children during the cold winter months, and Family Commitment Hours are claimable. Please contact Maria on 0423 678 254 if you can help.
WCSSCA recently purchased an all-weather table tennis table for the school and it has arrived! It is situated at the back of the school. It is lovely to see the children delighted in playing it.
With kindness in community,
Rachael (Class 2 parent)
MARKET DAY ROSTER
April 30: Class 5
May 07: Class 3
May 14: Class 4
May 21: Class 2
May 28: Class 1
June 04: Class 6
June 11: Class 5
Parent Education
“There is a place, where you can always go,
Come with me,
Where it’s alright, to let our feelings show.
Come with me
What a pleasant journey, it isn’t very far
We can go together, stay right where you are.
And now it’s time to start,
It’s right here in your heart.”
From the song, ‘There is a Place’.
by Wild Roses
When I remember back to my foundation studies in Anthroposophy and Waldorf Teacher Training, it was a time of wonder, of excitement, of questions and a deep knowing and awakening. Suddenly everything I felt, everything I thought to be true, but didn’t know why, made sense. Perfect sense. I felt like I had returned home. Not to a place, not to a time, but I had come home to myself, to my heart. I can still remember the lectures, the transformative artistic and soulful experiences that lit the way.
Over 20 years later I have the joy of seeing many of those same teachers I sat before, craftsmen and women of the soul, offering those same pearls of wisdom to our parent and teaching community here at West Coast Steiner School.
To achieve this, we have partnered with ‘The Steiner Parent Education Initiative’. Our school and Steiner schools across Australia are paying for their communities to be able to join these leading practitioners in Steiner Education. And you can join from the comfort of your home, and at a time that suits you as our guest.
Although these windows into Steiner education are live on a certain date and time, this doesn’t always work out with the time difference for us here in WA. So, we have arranged, that if you book for the courses, you will receive the recording to listen to at time that suits you, but you must book before the day of the course.
There are four complementary evenings we would like to offer to our community this term.
The first is ‘The Human Journey Reflected in Art: from Ancient Egypt to Vincent Van Gogh’, Session 1 of this 4-part series Ancient Egypt (Enduring wisdom) and Ancient Greece (Beauty, movement, and balance). And what an amazing journey it is. Antony McLeod is a talented artist, teacher, colleague, and friend with a passion for Steiner Education. It was Antony who, as I attempted to draw my first blackboard for Class 1, poked his head into my classroom and said, ‘do you need any help?’ I rubbed my stick figures from the board and this beautiful soul set my on my journey.
Our second offering is from my eldest daughter’s teacher and one of my teacher trainers, Bernadette White. Bernadette is a wonderful teacher and adult educator who teaches in the Eastern States and New Zealand. She is passionate about the arts and particularly literature.
‘STORIES OF HOPE AND TRANSFORMATION From Class 1 Fairy Tales to Parzival in year 11’ will give you an overview of the stories we tell in Steiner Education and why. The Journey culminates with my favourite story and the story at the heart of Steiner Education, Parzival. If you love story, this night is for you.
Our third offering is part two of Antony’s journey The Human Journey Reflected in Art: from Ancient Egypt to Vincent Van Gogh’. Here, we will journey through the art of Ancient Rome (Earthly Power) and The Middle Ages (Devotion and Community).
Our fourth evening is with Simplicity Parenting Coach, Mary Heard – Screens, Taking them out of the ‘too hard’ basket. We hope that everyone in the school will make time to view this talk and the simple, yet power guidance offered by Simplicity Parenting. Simplicity Parenting is a guide written by an experienced Waldorf Teacher, Kim John Payne, M.ED.,
This term we are very pleased to be able to bring you a fifth offering. This is through Rafael’s Rooms. Autumn leaves, Winter quiet and staying well. Supporting our Respiratory and Immune Systems: From an Anthroposophic Health perspective.
‘Dr Narelle Savage, Anthroposophic General Health Practitioner, will speak on supporting our respiratory and immune systems, and understanding the phenomena of warmth towards wellness. Participants will as well be guided through some practical home care compresses, wraps and restorative care practises for keeping our family’s inner landscape robust and whole through practical home care mantles with Lyn Clifton, Community Health Social Worker’. For this evening only, there is a charge of roughly $20 as they are guest speakers to the program.
So, as you can see, it is a rich and fabulous term we have planned for you. To book, (and I recommend you book for all, now, before ‘life happens’), go to the link at the bottom of each poster. Follow the prompts. When your booking is complete choose the calendar option of your choice at the top of your booking confirmation. Here you can change the time from AEST to AWST and set your reminder. You can then choose to watch live or receive the recording link.
I urge you to book your tickets, join a group of friends or just set aside time when it is quiet, make a cuppa, pop on your pyjamas, and come on a journey. A journey through the Steiner curriculum and much more. We look forward to bringing you more wonderful speakers every term – please join us.
With love,
Vanessa Fountain
Parent Education Team
Community News
For more information on the above workshops contact:
Kate Andrews
Founder | Lead Facilitator | Creative Mentor
Nature bonded wellbeing
@wildcreative.aus
www.wildcreativeaustralia.com
Parent Business Directory
Welcome to the section where we share information on WCSS family owned businesses. If you are an enrolled WCSS family, run a business and would like to promote this to our school community please send your details (a few sentences describing your business, contact details and a logo or image) to marketing@wcss.wa.edu.au
I discovered craniosacral therapy after the birth of my second child. After a difficult entrance into the world, my son and I were in need of a safe and calm space for our nervous systems to balance. BCST is a soft therapy with no pressure, manipulation or force. Craniosacral gave us that space so our bodies could realign and heal. I just fell in love with this gentle therapy and decided to become a practitioner. I am passionate in assisting women and children on their journey toward a wholesome life.
With Love
Virginie Barker - WCSS Parent
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
Karrinyup Wellness Center
168 Karrinyup Rd
6018 Karrinyup WA
08 93413020
vi.craniosacraltherapy@gmail.com
To learn more visit www.vicraniosacraltherapy.com.au
Cheesebuddy is an Australian made Brazilian cheese bread which is gluten free, versatile, delicious... and owned and operated by a WCSS family! Cheesebuddy’s products are available at Woolworths, Costco, IGA, Farmer Jack’s and others. Or chat with Yuri - M:0402730490
Coming Events
APRIL
Tuesday 30: Market Day (Cl 5)
MAY
Tuesday 07: Class 4 Zoo Excursion. Market Day (Cl 3)
Thursday 09: Choir Assembly 8.45am, all welcome
Friday 10: Class 2 Lyre Ceremony 9.00am, Rainbow Kindy Mother's Day Afternoon Tea 2.30pm
Save the Date: Parent Mixer - June 14, 7.00pm at The Rose and Crown
For further Term Dates check the school website calendar
WEEKLY
Winter Festival Song Practise: Mondays after dropp off at the Hub
Market Day: Tuesdays 3.05pm
Craft Group: Thursdays 12.45pm at The Hub
Parent Study Group: Thursdays 9.00am at The Hub or Library
Yarning Circle: Wednesdays 8.40am at The Hub
WA Anthroposophical Study Group: Mondays 7.30pm in the Staff Room
Golden Threads
Monday-Friday 8.00am-10.30am
Mon, Weds, Fri 2.30pm-3.30pm
Thursday 1.30pm - 3.00pm
