School Newsletter Term 3 Week 8

Kaya WCSS Community

It is with great pride that I am pleased to announce that the West Coast Steiner School Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has once again been endorsed by Reconciliation Australia. A RAP is a formal commitment to reconciliation that documents the way that a school will strengthen relationships, respect, and opportunities within the classroom and community. I am grateful to the staff members who worked on developing the plan and at our recent Professional Learning, all staff looked at the commitments they could make towards meeting our RAP objectives over the next twelve months.  Listening to their conversations on how they would bring this to the children, I was given cause to reflect on a recent article from Steiner Education CEO, Andrew Hill, in relation to diverse ways of knowing that we champion in Steiner schools. I share that article with you in the Steiner Spotlight section of this newsletter and encourage you to read it.

I was delighted to see the number of dads who joined us last week for kite making and flying and a morning tea to share, ahead of Father’s Day on Sunday.  Dads play such an important role in the lives of children. Children look to their fathers to provide a feeling of security; emotional and physical. Children want to make their dads proud, and we know that an involved dad promotes inner growth and strength. In fact, studies show that when fathers are affectionate and supportive and get involved in the lives of their children, it greatly impacts upon the cognitive and social development of the child and instils an overall sense of well-being and self confidence.  Thank you to all our dads, step-dads and father figures for the work they do. We hope you enjoyed the day as much as you looked like you were! Thank you to Class Teachers, Donna, Kasia and Jayne, for making this fabulous event happen.

Congratulations to our orchestra, and their teacher Cristina, on a fabulous performance at this week's assembly. There are numerous benefits to learning a musical instrument – healthy brain development, perseverance, mathematical ability and improved stress management. There is also the joy of being a part of an ensemble or orchestra, where you work alongside like-minded musicians and learn to bring life to a piece of music. And to then perform that to an audience, spreading the emotion evoked from that piece - there are not enough words to express the soul-filling experience for all involved. Thank you to our musicians for sharing their gift.

As the end of term draws near, we look forward to our Walkathon and Early Childhood Spring Festivals as well as the Michaelmas Festival. The staff are also excited to be hosting their colleagues from across WA on the last Friday of term. Could families please sign up to the rosters outside classes to prepare some delicious morsels for the morning tea? This will count towards Family Commitment Hours and will be greatly appreciated.

With warmth,

Jacqui Hollingworth

School Administrator/Principal

Administration Matters

~ School Photo Day is Monday September 9 ~

Important things to know

Every student will have their photo taken, whether they are purchasing photos or not.

You should have received an online ordering instruction slip and unique student shootkey.

Log on to www.msp.com.au and follow the prompts to place your order.

If you lose your shootkey see Reception.

The expiry date for online ordering is Monday September 16. Any orders received after this date will incur a $30.00 fee.

Spare order envelopes ar available at Reception for cash payments.

Family Photo Ordering is not available online. Family envelopes can be obtained from Reception and must be handed to the photographers, with payment enclosed, on photo day. Family photos are taken first thing in the morning, prior to school commencing.

Did you miss out on our beautiful, collectible, limited run Stars and Suns tea towels? Not only are they excellent quality, organic tea towels but this is a fundraiser for our school. Luckily, we have a few left-over tea towels which will be sold at Reception on a first come first served basis. Get yours today!

Steiner Spotlight

Ways of Knowing and De-Colonising the Curriculum

“You Steiner people are the Aboriginals of the Universe.” ~ Burnum Burnum (First Nations Elder, decd)

The journey from the imagination of Class 1 to the clear thinking of high school chemistry is a huge one, yet it’s one that our students traverse as they grow up. The journey is a gradual progressive change in “ways of knowing” the world.

The current debate about de-colonising the curriculum is also about honouring different “ways of knowing”. While this debate has an obvious focus on curriculum content of European origin, the underlying issue is a more nuanced concern about the dominance given in the curriculum to the European “way of knowing” since the Enlightenment.

This way of knowing through abstract intellectual reasoning has brought us the magnificent gifts of science, engineering and law that we all enjoy today, but it comes at a price. This way of knowing can be dry and barren in its one-sided materialism and emptiness of soul, and with AI, threatens our very human-ness. It’s the way of knowing which has built the modern world, and official education systems project this view on to children.

I have long thought that our current adult world “colonises” childhood: like colonial powers invading and usurping the natural world of First Nations people, the adult world has invaded the natural world of childhood with early intellectual learning and the too early demands of standardised testing. So much of our education systems have perpetuated this “colonisation” of the child’s experience by forcing adult ways of knowing on the child and in the process denying the validity of the child’s different way of knowing the world.

Yet if we could only trust the natural stages of child development, we could have these gifts, and honour childhood as well.

Steiner schools champion our first ways of knowing. The young child knows the world through imitation and play, through a concrete experience that is embedded in the physical and can be filled with sensitivity and wonder. Through all the activities of our early childhood settings such as stories, nature play and nature tables, the child can know the world around them with a subjective, inner sense of unity.

There is a vast gap between this embedded experience and the abstract reasoning of adults which looks at the world as an external object.

This is the way of knowing that starts to form naturally when the high school student learns to know the world by thinking using abstract reason, through cause and effect, and by analysing how one thing causes something else.

The bridge between these two is yet another way of knowing in the primary school when the child understands through inner images, stories and art in general. As Pablo Picasso put it perfectly, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when we grow up.” During this primary school time we can know the world as a series of pictures and stories before we know it as a series of separate elements that can be understood intellectually.

We grow into the adult way of knowing gradually through these two earlier stages of firstly play and imitation, and then the artistic imagination. We grow into our heads, as it were, through our limbs and then our feeling imaginations. Current understandings of brain growth suggest stages in growth that move from the back of the brain to the front. The pre-frontal cortex which controls executive function and reason develops fully only later in adolescence.

The very appropriate push to de-colonise the curriculum could start with understanding these earlier ways of knowing. As defenders of childhood, Steiner schools have suffered from this adult colonising and as practitioners, we have a lot to offer this debate.

The late and great First Nations elder Burnum Burnum became involved with the Steiner movement in the 1990s: he recognised the continuities with his own way of knowing and acknowledged the link in his 1990’s statement that could serve as a foundational motto for our de-colonising reflections:

“You Steiner people are the Aboriginals of the Universe.”

Andrew Hill
CEO
Steiner Education Australia

Parent Education

Lou Harvey-Zahra is a Waldorf Teacher with 25 years experience, a best selling parenting author and international presenter. Lou has facilitated various sessions for WCSS staff and several of her books are available at Golden Threads. Lou is passionate about assisting both parents and teachers to enhance the lives of children and has several online courses coming up. For more information on topics, costs and times click the link below.

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.

Early Childhood

Clever Fingers, Clever Minds

As we near the end of Term 3 and approach the final term in kindergarten for our six-year-olds we have been working on our last major project of the year - the stick weaving project. Earlier this term we finished the finger knitted beanies that now proudly adorn so many little one’s heads.

Throughout the kindergarten years we have actively worked on projects that involve perseverance, will and resilience; the stick weaving project is no different.

The kindergarten ‘bag’ is produced by joining two pieces of fabric together that have been woven on five sticks. It is a fine motor activity that requires presence, concentration and perseverance.

Research has shown that those children with appropriately developed fine motor skills in early childhood are expected to obtain a better academic achievement during the first years of primary education than those with delays or impairments in their fine motor skills. My experience is that it is even more important to those students with delays or impairments. Extra support may be required to do extra practice at home, but for those who have someone sit with them, to encourage them to stay the distance of the project – the benefits are profound. Not only do they develop those neural pathways but the unique set of skills and abilities that they bring are more accessible and their capacity and potential are freed.

 At a recent talk that I gave to a group of 15 lead teachers in an AISWA Early Childhood study of Agency in Childhood, a participant asked how we addressed literacy and numeracy in early childhood. I could have explained the immersion that children experience in quality rhymes, poetry, story, phonemic recognition, puppet shows etc. I could have spoken about the real-life skills that teach fundamental measurement skills, grouping, 1:1 correspondence, pattern recognition and more but instead I said, “through the fingers”. “Through their busy fingers”. There was silence and then the convenor of the group said, “and you are right, that is what the research is telling us”. To garden, to draw, to work with beeswax, to finger knit, to build; this is the foundation of creating the dexterity and the neural pathways that are needed in preparation for the work of primary school.

No doubt in years to come research will also confirm what we already know about the importance of the will development in the early years, of the feeling in the primary years and the culmination of all that has gone before in preparation of an intellect that is well versed in the journey of humans thus far. An intellect that holds with courage and purpose, the reflection of all humanity within it. An intellect that is warmed and heart lead. An intellect that does not think in the way that has come before, but is flexible, perceptive, warm, curious and has the will to follow through.

The work that we do in early childhood is crucial in preparing the children for their next stage of development. The handwork program offers so much. Yes, the work is real work, but more than that, it is building the will, the character, the heart and the capacity to think in a way that allows the possibility of humanity at its best.

Vanessa Fountain

Rose Kindergarten Teacher

Primary News

Class 2 Koodjal

Class 2 has been joyfully immersed in rehearsals for their class play, The King of Ireland's Son. As costumes and props gradually come to life, the children are rising to the challenge, embodying the characters with enthusiasm and dedication. This process is deeply aligned with the Steiner curriculum, where drama and storytelling nourish the imagination and support the development of empathy, cooperation, and confidence. Through this play, the children are not only engaging with the rich narrative but also experiencing the deeper lessons of community, creativity, and personal growth.

We're excited to announce that we have scheduled three performances:

Wednesday, September 11 at 11:10am for Classes 1 and 4

Thursday, September 12 at 8:40am for all other classes, staff members, and the broader school community

and Friday, September 13 at 8.45am for parents and other family members.

Please feel free to attend any performance that suits your schedule. These dates are just a guide, and everyone is welcome to attend any of the performances. Please be on time and put your phones away.

Kasia Rymarcyzk

Class 2 Koodjal Teacher

Class 3 Dambart

Class 3 have been learning about the famous figures on our Australian notes. The students discover more about them as they create an artwork design of their chosen note.

Mel Lenzi 

Class 3 Dambart Wednesday Teacher

Class 4 Koodjal Koodjal

Class 4 has just had their first experience with pastel chalk drawing, and it was truly delightful to see the smiles and the pride the children took in their work.

Chalk pastels offer a journey into creativity, where every stroke unlocks endless possibilities. Each time you pick up a pastel stick, if you pause and listen, you can almost hear it whispering to you. It murmurs as it glides across your drawing paper and softly speaks as you blend it in with its neighbours. The allure of that whisper will inspire us to keep learning and practicing, eager to hear more of its call, I’m sure.

Donna Shaw

Class 4 Koodjal Koodjal Teacher

Class 5 Maar

With our Greek Olympic event at Perth Waldorf School looming, Class 5 are busy with last-minute preparations before the big event. On Tuesday we set off, catching a Transperth bus, to the Northern Districts Gymnasium in Balcatta, where we jumped, flipped, bounced, balanced, stretched and ran using all the elite gymnastic equipment and learning new skills with Coach Poppy and Coach Olivia. We worked up a sweat trying new skills and worked on our fitness and teamwork skills. Fun was had by all! Next week will be our last 4 days of preparation and we will be walking to Des Penman Reserve to work on all our athletic skills for The Big Day on Friday September 13.

Aimee Waller

Class 5 Maar Teacher

Class 6 Maar Keyen 

Last week, Class 6 were thrilled to finally share the fruits of many months of effort, in the form of our class play, "Flight of the Wild Geese: The Fenian Escape from Fremantle Prison." It was extremely exciting to perform for audiences within the student community, as well as Silver Tree Steiner School, our parents and families, and the wider community including some from the Irish community of Perth who are involved in the annual Catalpa Festival.

This was the first time I have written a play on my own and the idea of doing so was daunting, but having the support and enthusiasm of the students of Class 6 who contributed verses and songs, as well as many friends and colleagues who assisted in making this wild venture possible, made the process so enjoyable. Special thanks to:

Patricia Crook: Irish language, music and history incursions; prop/costume support; mentoring; tech support. 

Cristina Filgueira: Strings Teacher.

Tim McCabe: Noongar Language Teacher.

Sergey Volotovskaya: Yidaki (didgeridoo) Coach.

Sarah Boyle: prop/costume support.

Martin Lazarus: boat, lighting.

David Hammond: puppet show frame, literacy extension. 

Ian Burthem: cannon and set support.

Samith Pich: Fremantle prison backdrop.

Sumeeta Frank, Melissa King and Sarah Jordan: magpie suits.

Class 6 Parents: lines coaching

Joy and Mike Lefroy: Fenian incursion

Peter FitzSimons: author, The Catalpa Rescue: the gripping story of the most dramatic and successful prison break in Australian History.

Elaine Meyer

Class 6 Maar Keyen Teacher

Music

Class 4 have been working on a number of different skills in their lessons and Class Ensembles. In their lessons the students are learning a new technique, called slurs. Slurring notes together means that more than one note can be on the same bow, creating a smooth sound.

In Class Ensemble, Class 4 students spend a lot of time singing and playing their instruments. Songs are learned from sheet music as well as by ear. A good example is the piece that the Class performed at the Strings Assembly. Boil em Cabbage is a traditional folk song from America. The students first learned to sing the words and then were given the sheet music with the basic melody. The song is often performed as a fiddle tune and to honour the aural tradition of fiddle music I taught the harmony part to the students by ear. We also worked on some rhythmic and melodic variations which grew ever more complex and difficult, all worked out by ear. Students who needed an extra challenge were given an ornamented version of the melody. Finally, to work out how we were going to perform the song at the assembly we workshopped the piece as a class and came up with ideas for the structure. It was the students’ idea to start the performance by playing the harmony in unison. I have taught this piece to other classes before, but I like that it stays fresh and new, as each class takes on the challenge of making the piece their own.

The Choir at WCSS is made up of the students in Classes 4 to 6. Every Wednesday the classes get together under my guidance and sing. I choose a variety of songs from different genres and cultural backgrounds. Some pieces are learned quickly, and some take more time to master. Our most recent Choir Assembly showcased three songs that required more time to learn. All three songs were beautiful and sounded complete, but we actually are still doing more work on them. The first song we sang is our current warm-up. It is called Lean forward, lean backward and is a fun song that includes many actions for the students to do as they are singing. It is surprisingly complex, and it took a while to settle into a steady beat and make it work as a two-part round. The next step is to try it as a three-part round, which will be even more fun! Singing in a round while doing actions is a real challenge for some of the students.

The second song we sang is called The Parting Glass. This is a beautiful Irish song. So far, we have learned the first verse and worked on adding a rhythmic ostinato. The students performed this well in the assembly, singing beautifully while keeping the ostinato going. We will learn the remaining verses and might even learn some of the words in the original Irish!

Our last song is our most ambitious one. It is a choral arrangement of the traditional Polynesian song Tongo. So far, we have learned the first part of the song, which starts in unison and then splits into a two-part call and response. We have done some work on the next sections, which include percussion and more complex two-part harmony. Now that we have mastered and performed, we will keep working on the rest of the song.

We will be performing all three songs in their final form at the Kambarang Fair on October 26 so save the date and invite family and friends!

Upcoming Performances:

ABODA Orchestra Festival: Sunday September 8, 8.30am at Churchlands Senior High School.

Handwork

Woodwork

Indonesian

Gungurra Kindergarten Teacher and Class 1 parent, Ciby and her family took the time on a recent holiday to visit our sister school in Bali.  They delivered some much appreciated library supplies and beautiful handmade books from Class 4.

Sustainability

WCSS joined the Terracycle Recycling program this year for typically hard to recycle waste. The five recycling programs selected are -  oral care products; cling wrap and zip lock bags; writing instruments; dishwashing and air care; and skin care packaging. A big thank you to the families who collected their recycling at home and carried it to our Recycling Hub in front of the Rose Kindy classroom. We joyfully shipped off our very first box as part of the Colgate Oral Care Free Recycling Program, diverting 1.5kg of oral care rubbish from going to landfill. Great beginnings!

TERRACYCLE

Print our Terracycle recycling poster and hang it on your fridge at home.

SORTING THROUGH WASTE

A Class 4 student has colour coded bin lids at home to make sorting through waste easy. What bin system do you have at home?

In other news in sustainability, you may have noticed a new addition next to the Handwork Room – a rainwater tank funded by a Living Green School Fund Grant won by Class 2 Teacher, Kasia.

At the Kambarang Fair the Sustainability Circle will have a stall as usual.  Look out for Bokashi Bucket demonstrations and craft for children – making recycling containers for use at home.

If you would like to see more of what we are doing come along to our next meeting, first day back next term (Tuesday October 8) at 8:45am in the Hub.  We look forward to seeing you!

WCSS Sustainability Circle

Alumni Focus

Class 12 Projects ~ Angelina Aung Than

WCSS Class of 2018

Hi, my name is Angie and for my Year 12 project I am looking into the role of language in human perception. I’ve always had an appreciation for diverse cultures and languages, which became heightened in Year 11 due to my high school exchange to Tokyo, Japan.

At the beginning of my Project journey, I knew I wanted to do something about cultural diversity. I had many initial ideas yet didn’t know which direction to take. I wanted to perhaps look into the cultural diversity in Australia, yet it would be a bit of a touchy and difficult subject considering Australia’s history. One TED talk changed everything. I watched Lera Boroditsky’s TED talk titled “How language shapes the way we think” and I was immediately hooked on the idea. I found it very informative and interesting as I had not known that language directly shapes human thinking.

Not long afterwards, I formulated my question, “How do languages shape thought, and how can this bring people together?”

I wanted an aspect of my question to relate back to community. Looking into the history and development of the theory that language shapes thought, I found the hypothesis of ‘Linguistic Relativity’, formulated by Benjamin Lee Whorf and Edward Sapir. Previously, I had had no idea that this idea had been created into a hypothesis in the early 1920s, and this fascinated me. The idea became widely known in the world of linguistics and was even taught to students in the late 90s. There were different strengths to the hypothesis. ‘Linguistic Relativity’ is simply the hypothesis that language does in some way affect human thinking. ‘Linguistic Determinism’ is the strongest form. What it suggests is that language is the sole factor in human thought. In the late 90s, this was discarded as a hypothesis, as there’s more factors that shape human thought. ‘Linguistic Relativity’ still lives on as relevant in linguistics. Many parts of Linguistic Relativity are still being looked into, and there are many factors we probably don’t even know about yet. There’s limited research on the topic, so it was difficult to find relevant articles on the subject.

Starting my research for my essay, I did not know any terms that corresponded with my topic. Basically, I was naive about how large the topic was. I was lost on Google Scholar, unsure about what to search for to find relevant articles. It took time, and many, many open tabs to learn what to search for. Soon, I was overwhelmed. It was valuable essay writing time that I had lost learning about my own topic. I was on a serious time crunch to finish my essay by the deadline.

After much trial and error, I formed my thesis; “A person's native language significantly influences their thinking, and this can be largely attributed to factors of temporal processing, spatial orientation and grammatical gender.”

The main struggle for me was figuring out how to narrow down my research to key aspects of Linguistic Relativity. There are so many aspects of language that play a role in human perception, and I couldn’t make up my mind on which I wanted to focus on in my essay. There was also the challenge of grouping the certain factors together, and the problem of separating language from culture. With much help from the project supervisors Natalie and Sharon, and from my supervisor Briellen, I managed to concise a thesis I was mostly happy with.

Currently, I am working on the practical component of the project. What I want to achieve with my practical, is to show to English speakers that language does impact how people communicate, behave and think. For my practical component, I am creating comic strips, which express what I have gained from 3 interviews. I have interviewed three translators/interpreters from Australia, all with diverse backgrounds and cultures. The comics will show scenarios that show the differences between languages with thought and speech.

An example I like to use to explain the kind of scenarios I will be drawing is the comparison between English and Mandarin Chinese when asking for something. In English, we often ask for things in a polite way; “May I please have...?” However, the direct translation of this in Chinese is the same as, in English; “I want...” A Mandarin speaker learning English will often learn to ask for something using “I want...” In English, the phrase sounds quite rude and confronting. Yet, this is simply how Mandarin Chinese speakers ask for something in their language. This transition can be quite difficult and foreign for a Chinese English learner. This is one example of a scenario that I can illustrate and bring to the community as a comic, to heighten the awareness of the struggles in translation for a bilingual person. It also depicts culture shock, and cultural diversity.

WCSS Community Association

Dear School Community,

Hello and joyful wishes from the West Coast Steiner Community Association. As spring arrives and the weather begins to warm up there are some exciting events to bring us outdoors to enjoy the sunshine together…

Walkathon

The Walkathon will be held on Thursday September 12 from 1:25pm-2:15pm. Walkathon sponsorship forms have been sent home with your child to get as many sponsors as possible. All money raised will go towards purchasing new equipment for the school. If you have lost your form more are available at Reception. All are welcome to come and cheer the children on. Volunteers are needed on the day from 12:30pm to help cut and serve refreshing fruit to all the happy, thirsty participants! To volunteer please contact Rachael on 0403 900 601. Family Commitment Hours are claimable.

Kambarang Fair

Our Kambarang Fair is around the corner. If you or someone you know would be interested in having a stall please contact Rachael at rachaelmcilduff@hotmail.com for more information. Spaces are limited and stalls must support the school's values and ethos.

Hub Volunteer Jobs - Handyperson

Helpers needed! The Hub requires urgent handywork completed to begin serving food. If you have a passion for tools, coffee, and would love to help the school while tallying up some Family Commitment Hours, please contact Maria 0423 678 254.

Craft Group

Craft Group is held each Thursday at 12:30pm at the Hub or the Cottage. This term we are sewing felt animals for the Kambarang Fair. If you can’t make it but would still like to help, there are sewing packs available to take home from Sarah at Playgroup. A lovely way to claim Family Commitment Hours.

With kindness in community,

Rachael (Class 2 parent)

wcssca@wcss.wa.edu.au

Community News

News items listed in our Community Noticeboard are not school endorsed but are included here for the information and benefit of our wider community. We welcome submissions to appear in this section of our newsletter and inclusion is at the discretion of WCSS. 

This workshop will bring some BALANCE, CLARITY AND SUPPORT to a really muddy and complicated area of parenting, all in the name of connecting you and your kids.

WHAT TO EXPECT 
* A framework to ASSESS YOUR CHILD'S READINESS for their technology requests.

* A suggested list of NON NEGOTIABLE BOUNDARIES to safeguard them as they grow.

* STRATEGIES to establish TECH AGREEMENTS with those under 13.

* CONVERSATION STARTERS re Snapchat, Tiktok and Instagram where kids are most active.

* DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCE PACK to remember all the nuggets of wisdom

THIS IS A ONE OFF FACE TO FACE WITH ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S MOST CUTTING EDGE TWEEN EDUCATORS. 

Empower yourselves as parents! Don't miss out!

Michelle is author of the acclaimed The Resilience Journal and Tweens what kids need NOW before the teen years.

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

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) is a soft therapy with no pressure, manipulation or force. Virginie will use light touch while bringing a safe space to calm your nervous system which will bring the whole system into a state of balance. In that state, healing and change will take place in your body. BCST is like a big hug to the nervous system. It can help with releasing emotional or physical restrictions throughout the body, stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, aches and pain, improve sleep, energy, wellbeing and so much more.

With love

Virginie Barker - WCSS Parent
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
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

Yol Creative

Run by our very own Woodwork Specialist, Yolanda Millar, Yol Creative provides creative workshops for anyone who would like to explore their artistic side. These workshops are great for team building activities, get togethers, birthdays or just if you owuld like to learn some skills and have creative fun!

                                                              Explore the Facebook Page for more info.

Author - Nicole Watts

WCSS parent and author, Nicole Watts has a Bachelor of Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts. She has been on both sides of the mental health divide, having worked on projects in the mental health sector and having a history of depression and anxiety herself. She spent fifteen years in the public service in a statistical role, writing around her work commitments. Nicole has published a book called Little Bundle of Sorrow, a collection of womens' stories of postnatal depression. You can find out more at her website https://nicolewatts.ampbk.com/ . Copies of the book can be ordered from Amazon or from the publisher, Austin McCauley.

Coming Events

September

Friday 06: Rainbow Kindy Family Afternoon Tea 2.30pm

Monday 09: MSP School Photo Day

Tuesday 10: Photographer visiting school

Thursday 12: School Tour 9.15am, Primary School Walkathon 1.25pm

Friday 13: Class 2 Play, Class 5 Greek Olympics at PWS, WCSSCA Committee Meeting

Wednesday 18: Djilba Spring Festival for Sunflower, Rose and Gungurra Kindergartens

Thursday 19: Michaelmas Festival (Primary), Gumnut Kindy Spring Festival, last day of Term 3

Friday 20: All Steiner Schools Staff Day at WCSS

For further Term Dates check the school website calendar

WEEKLY

Soup Day: Wednesdays July 17 - August 21

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