Principal's Address
Now Autumn, like a lusty king,
Strides through the fields - awake, aware.
From Summer sleep we've watched him bring
This crispy 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!"
Dear GHSS Families,
Bush kindy and bush school are much-loved programs at Golden Hill, and I had the recent pleasure of accompanying Class 3 children down to the bush one afternoon last week. How very fortunate are we to have our very own forest and creek at Golden Hill?
Perhaps part of what sets Steiner schools apart from other similar nature-based schools is the Steiner emphasis on reverence. Developing a connection with the natural world is not simply about feeling confident in the elements, or ‘claiming and taming’, but fostering a sense of reverence for all the wonders and beauty the natural world offers. This sense of custodianship is brought alive through the Noongar story of ‘The Carers of Everything’, which Bruce often weaves through his bush kindy program.
Bush school sessions often begin with the children finding their own ‘sit spot’, and observing the environment around them for a time. What is the wind doing? What can you hear? What has changed since last time you were sitting here?
How tricky it is (equally so for us adults!) to observe mindfully, in silence and stillness. Yet, developing the focus and clarity of mind needed for this is of great importance in our increasingly fast-paced and chaotic world.
After some sharing time, the children are ready to let their imaginations run wild, taking their cue from the natural world around them. Last week, we took the chance to wander up the dry creek bed. Upon rounding the bend, someone yelled out: "Look! A playground!"
I looked up, only to find a mass of sticks and fallen logs strewn across the creek bed.
'What playground?' I wondered. But soon enough, the children were busy balancing on the logs, swinging from limbs, climbing atop a mass of sticks, thoroughly enjoying their new ‘playground’.
Watching the children play, taking their cues from the environment and letting their imaginations run wild, I was reminded of a Tim Winton passage I read recently from the book Island Home:
“Being short and powerless, kids see the world low down and close up. On hands and knees, on their bellies, they feel it with an immediacy we can scarcely recall as adults. Remember all that wandering and dithering as you crossed that same ground again and again? It wouldn’t have seemed so at the time but with all that apparent aimless mooching you were weaving a tapestry of arcane lore- where the chewy gum bulges out from the tree, where the yellow sand makes a warm pad to lie on beneath the rattling banksias- that didn’t just make the world more comprehensible, but rendered it intimate, even sacred.
As a kid, I certainly didn’t know what I was up to. But I had a feel for the blossom time of the wattle, the up-close leafiness of lichen. I knew the pong of kelp and seagrass signified the arrival of the afternoon breeze. When the southerly really got going it rattled the pods of the wild lupins and corrugated the surface of the swamp. So much it absorbed unconsciously.
And now when I think of the sense memory of bindies and double-gees underfoot, and all those stubbed toes and sand-scorched soles, the splinters in the meat of the thumb, the ticks in the back of the neck and the shrivelling sting of sunburn, I grant these sensations the status of knowledge. “
Winton goes on to state that we are all too keen to disown the wisdom of the body, mistaking our loss of receptivity for maturity. Often when I come across passages like this, I shake my head in wonder at how closely all of this aligns with Steiner pedagogy. A key goal of Steiner education is providing experiences in nature that build self-confidence, resilience and an appreciation of the natural world. Building strength in a wide range of natural settings reminds our students how we are Human by Nature.
Rudolf Steiner also stated that the primary function of education is to exercise the students' faculties of thinking, feeling and willing. These basic human qualities manifest in civilization as the 'eternal verities' of truth, beauty and goodness. In Steiner education, the second seven years (7-14 years old) is associated with beauty. At this time, the child’s imagination and feeling life takes centre stage. While Steiner teachers seek to instill reverence and respect for nature and the environment during this time, children are not overburdened with the weight of numerous environmental issues and concerns. In the words of David Sobel, “What's important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it, before being asked to heal its wounds.”
Bruce gave a wonderful parent talk last term on much of the ethos of GHSS bush kindy, and this term we also have several exciting parent education and info sessions on offer. These include a creative parenting workshop by renowned author and Steiner educator Lou Harvey-Zahra (April 30th), a talk on the importance of festivals and plays (May 17th), and a winter watercolour painting session with Fran (May 31st). Please contact the office if you wish to book in for any of these.
Thank you once again to all who helped make last term’s Autumn festival a wonderful day. Although I couldn’t be there myself due to family illness, I am greatly looking forward to our Winter Festival. This is always a magical occasion and this year will be held on Thursday, 20th June. Between now and then, there are lots of happenings to look forward to – Class 5 Botany excursion, Class 3/4 farming excursion, and of course the Class 7/8 play. Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
Eliza Allan
Principal