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Freshwater Creek Steiner School
Apr 29
Issue 11
FROM THE FACILITATOR
Dear Parents and Community members,
Last Friday, Teaching staff met for a
professional development and planning day.
In the morning we examined our National
Steiner Curriculum Framework (SEA
Curriculum) and considered the relation
between the AUSVELS (State) curriculum
and ours. We strive for clarity in all that we
do and in this work we gained new insights to
help our practical work, in the process. In
the middle of the day we watched the
introduction of Werner Hertzog’s inspired
documentary, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”; on the 30,000 year old perfectly preserved
cave paintings found some 20 years ago. We
worked on the development of aesthetic
understanding through charcoal “life
drawing” and then on coloured crayon “mass
drawing.” In the afternoon, we developed our
ideas on the teaching of reading and the use
of our wonderful new library. You will notice
that there are many fine new collections for
reading groups. It was a replenishing day for
staff and helping us to realise the value of
our unique and high quality educational
philosophy.
On Friday the 28th of August, FWCSS
teachers will have a valuable opportunity to
attend the annual Victorian Regional Steiner
Conference, which is being held at Mansfield
Steiner School.
Unfortunately, this
commitment has necessitated a change to
the planned Term 3 Curriculum Day from
24th July to 28th August. We hope to avoid
any unnecessary inconvenience to our school
families by giving a lengthy notice period of
this change.
I wish to thank all the parents who helped
with Open Day; - setting up, hosting visitors
and who participated in some way to ensure a
warm welcome to all. It is always a full day
and taking the school tours is always an
adventure.
I will be absent from school for Thursday
and Friday, attending a national Steiner
schools conference that will also span the
weekend. Warmest Regards, Joseph
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066
2015 Upcoming Events to Diary
Wed Apr 29 Open Day 9.30-1pm
Talk
11.45am-12.45pm
Fri May 01
Chai Café (Class 5/6)
Tue May 5
Class 2 Meeting
Wed May 6
Class 3 Meeting
Parent’s Choir
TBA
Music, classes 3-6
Thursdays
(Please bring instruments)
Assemblies
All welcome
(Wetlands room)
2:15pm Wetlands room
Thu May 7
School Council Meeting
Mon May 18 Report Writing Day
(No school)
Thu May 21
Emergency Drill 2.15pm
Sat 23/Sun 24 School Community Working Bee
Wed May 27 Annual General Meeting
6.30pm Wetlands Room
Fri Jun 5
Chai Café (Class 2)
Mon Jun 8
Queen’s Birthday Holiday
Thur Jun 18
Winter Festival— EC
Fridays 9-9.30am
Craft Circle
Fridays 9.30-2.30
(Honey House)
Teachers’ Meetings
Tuesdays 3.30-5pm
Wednesdays 8 - 8.30am
Thursdays 3.30-4.30pm
(please note that teachers are unavailable for
parent discussions during these times)
Working Bees 4hrs—Sat or Sun as advised
May 23/24
Sept 5/6
Oct 10/11
Nov 28/29
Council Meeting
Fri Jun 19
Winter Festival—Class 1-6
Last day of term (full day)
Mon Jul 13
First day of Term 3
Tue Jul 14
Prep Class Meeting
Sat 18/Sun 19 School Community Working Bee
Mon Jul 20– Parent/Teacher Interviews
Fri Jul 24
*These dates are subject to change at short notice.
Please continue to check your newsletter or the school website : www.fwcss.com.au/news
for the most current dates.
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066
FROM THE TEACHERS
bearing. It is a daring exercise the requires
a good measure of courage and
awareness. We begin the series with the
'small' and move to
the 'large'
waterfall.
Awake!
Awake!
it tells
us. Watch your elbows, No flinching, No
ducking, No cowardice!
Eurythmy
Students have been doing wonderful work in
eurythmy across the grades. To start the
term, and the year, the copper rods are
brought into the lesson, the primary aim
being to correct any waywardness in the
child's posture. Waywardness often has an
internal or subtle body origin, which presents
itself in the physical body, and rod work is
the best means of correction.
Why do we slouch, why can’t we hold
ourselves upright, why do we cross our legs
and arms? In eurythmy, we learn a number
of different exercises with the rods to help
overcome any of these tendencies.
The
'seven-fold' exercise works on one’s physical
left/right balance and straightness. The
'twelve-fold' exercise works on our life
forces that bring warmth and health. The
'eight-fold', or 'spiral', works on the astral
forces and helps to bring a flowing harmony
and connection between the physical and
spiritual.
We do exercises with wrists, with the
fingertips for dexterity, with the whole
body in the 'salamander' exercise to bring
liquidity and flexibility, and an assortment of
rod jumping movements. The all-time
favourite, 'eurythmy hopscotch' brings the
children into their feet, with jumping/
hopping rhythms and every now and then a
twist jump. The exercises with our feet
have a correlation with brain development,
stimulating the senses, and increasing
intelligence and cleverness in the child. I
have added a quote from Rudolf Steiner
below in which he refers to the connection in
particular to maths and geometry and how
eurythmy can help.
Rod throwing for the higher grades is the
exercise that promotes trust and a healthy
relationship between the children. Each
member of the class stands as an equal,
integral part of the whole and the 'we are
one' principle reigns supreme.
The 'waterfall', for grades four and higher,
works on the spinal column and upright
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066
How did Rudolf Steiner describe the
connection between eurythmy and other
subjects? On page 97, in his lecture series,
'Discussions with Teachers', Aug 29, 1919,
he says:
“What I said applied to arithmetic because
what lies at the root of arithmetic is
consciously willed movement, the sense of
movement. When you bring the sense of
movement into activity in this way you will
quicken a child's arithmetical powers. You
bring something up out of the subconscious
which in such a child is not willing to be
brought up. Speaking generally, if a child is
bad at both arithmetic and geometry this
should be remedied by exercises in
movement. You will be able to do a great deal
for a child's progress in geometry with
varied and inventive eurythmy exercises, and
rod exercises also.”
Kinder and Prep continue their eurythmic
‘song and dance’ with joy, farm tales, and full
-hearted healthy movement. The ‘Curve of
Cassini’ form is being learnt by all the
younger classes, and is a picture of the
process of differentiation and ‘individuation’.
It is a process seen in nature and in our
human development.
Class 1 has begun a story 'Hattie the Hen' in
which we become hens, geese, pigs, sheep,
horses, cows and eventually a fox. This story
is based on the principle of expansion and
contraction, which furthers intelligence.
Class 2 have mastered walking the
battlement form (not an easy task) and are
learning the gestures to the prayer of St
Francis of Assisi. They are learning a verse
by Steiner in German and starting to
recognise some German words.
Class 3 are working on weaving, the dexterity
jump, and 'flying angels' which is a sideskipping exercise involving numbered
partners. 'Smile at your partner' was a very
enjoyable aspect last week! Eurythmy iceskating is the latest challenge.
Class 4 have started learning the basics of
sword fighting in the 'giant's battle', are
mastering the double battlement exercise
'the walls of Asgard'. They are able to
recognise and reproduce all the gestures of
the alphabet by themselves. The 'merry
measure', which involves a complicated,
synchronised form and skipping backwards
through a narrow passage is also being
practiced.
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066
recipient’s email account is ‘over quota’. You
can avoid school emails being redirected to
your junkmail folder by adding “SchoolPRO
<school@fwcss.com.au>“ to your address
book. If we become aware that a parent has
not received an email, we will always attempt
to deliver the message to you via alternative
means.
Class 5 and Class 6 are learning one of the
hardest exercises we do, called the kiebitz
jump. It is an exercise for the onset of
puberty. In this exercise they are permitted
to give themselves bruises, the nature of the
knee into knee kick being such that it really
only works when a certain amount of force is
summoned. Class 5 have learnt the gestures
to the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma,
delta etc) and Class 6 are enjoying a poem
about a goat which they perform entirely
with their legs!
Bumpy Road
Those ‘speed holes’ in our road have
persistently reappeared, despite a trial of a
new road substrate. They are particularly
deep near the entrance to The Farmers
Place. We apologise for the bumpy ride and
ask for your patience while we wait for the
road to be graded. Remember, sticking to
the speed limit of 40km or below along
McIntyres Rd not only keeps our children
safer and your car cleaner, but will also
protect the road surface.
As detailed as this list seems, it is just a
small fraction of what we cover in class. We
look forward to more adventures in the
coming months!
FROM PARENTS & FRIENDS
Warm greetings to you all, Marian
FROM ADMIN
School Emails
The Teachers and Admin of the school often
use email as a timely way of communicating
with the school community (being able to
send a letter to 220 individuals at one time,
without using printers or paper has its
advantages!) —usually this works a treat,
however no system is fail-safe, and a few
people have reported recently that they have
not received an email that was sent from the
Office. This may be because the emails are
being redirected to a junkmail folder or the
Chai Café—THIS Friday
Dear Community
Class 5/6 will be hosting chai cafe on Friday.
Please come and join us for a cuppa and a
piece of something yummy 2.30pm 4.00pmish.
Yummy baked donations always very welcome.
Please go easy on the sugar and no synthetic
food colouring please. Thanks, Mayan
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066
COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD
Hearts and Hands Workshop
Run with love and respect by Lisa Jenkins
from Jester Moon
Saturday 16th of May, 9am-3pm
FWCSS Wetlands Room, BYO lunch
A day of self discovery, self care and
intuition development. We will be exploring
these areas through sharing, craft, words
and wisdom, ending the day with a Give Away
Ceremony. Although there will be a format
created for the day I can't guarantee it will
be followed. I will be guided by spirit to
provide what is needed for the group on the
day. Therefore I am unable to provide a
strict rundown of the day. I completely trust
in the Universe to add or take what is
required.
$95 per person. A $20 non refundable
deposit is required to secure your place.
Bookings are essential and places are
limited.
For more information please feel free to
contact Lisa Jenkins on 0428510032 or
email jestarmoon@gmail.com
Spiritual Readings
Sunday 17th of May in the FWCSS Wetlands
Room, 1/2 hour of Spiritual Readings by Lisa
Jenkins. $40 each, limited spaces,
Bookings Essential:
Ph/sms Lisa 0428510032 or email
jestarmoon@gmail.com
House for short term rent
We will be going away for 10 weeks from
June 18th - August 27th and would like to
rent out our house. If you know anyone who
is doing a reno, or visiting and is looking for a
fully furnished, 3 bedroom house in
Breamlea, please give them my number.
Gabby (Yannick and Barnaby, yr 6)
0422 733 484
House for Rent
3bdrm plus sun room (could be 4th bdrm)
Newly renovated. Tank water, lots of space,
fruit trees, garage & back shed. Huge
kitchen with lots of cupboards. New fire
place & lots of firewood. On property in
Moriac neighbouring house to Kylie, Yahje
(class 4) & Charlie Bodhi (class 1). We have
ducks & chickens & an orchard that could be
expanded. Would love a community minded
family to move in. Chemical free living (septic
system, so no chemical cleaners/soap
products can be used) as all water recycled
into the garden.
More information is
available from Enzina or Chris at Barry Plant
real estate in Torquay.
Holiday house for rent
Holiday house for rent in Marengo (near
Apollo Bay). Sleeps 7 comfortably. Visit
Stayz.com.au/171042 for photos, availability
and rates or speak to Vanessa Ritchie (ph
0434 832 953, email vcomo@mac.com).
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066
Morning walks...
Seeking companion for walks and/or (gentle)
jogs along the beach on convenient mornings
after drop-off please phone Dim on 5267
2987
For Sale
Skoda Octavia Wagon 2012
31,000 kms 12 months rego
Selling as superfluous to our needs
Price negotiable
Kelli 52290823 /0410 007 990
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066
Warmly invites you to their
Wednesday 27th May
At 6.30pm
In
The Wetlands Room
52 McIntyres Rd Freshwater Creek
All welcome!
52 McIntyres Road, Freshwater Creek VIC 3216 – Ph (03) 5264 5077 – Fax (03) 5264 5066