Principal's Address
When I look out into the world, I see
Such wondrous beauty bursting forth in each direction.
When in my heart I look, I feel in me
How Nature's beauty here must find its true reflection.
For when my heart expands and grows aright,
When, on the wings of beauty, to the farthest realms of space I'm taken,
Then is my own self lost within the light,
In quiet joy at last within the arms of God to waken.
Dear GHSS Families,
Final Week musings...Thank you to the families that joined us for our Birak Festival on Friday. What a lovely way to round out the year with the gathering of the children and families to sing and share fellowship at the end of a trying year.
Sol's memorial on Monday was a truly moving gathering. Sincere gratitiude to all those who played a part in drawing the memorial together. To Kristi McMullan for the connection with Michael Alvares of Kite Kinetics; to Tamala Ridge, Kit Bewley and Jim Underwood for connecting in with the school and family; to all the staff and parents and the children who joined together and demonstrated all that is special about being a part of the rituals and rhythms of a Steiner community. For those requesting a copy of Tamela's moving reading, it is reprinted below.
2022 Staffing Changes We have some staff taking the opportunity to begin next year on Long Servie Leave. To our Gardening teacher, Neal Collins; Education Assistant, Sophia Sharpe; Cleaner, Theresa Beecroft - we wish you all the best on your term of Long Service Leave and hope that you get the chance to enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
Kristi McMullan is also taking leave from her position at Golden Hill Steiner School. We wish her the best of luck in her pursuits with Earth Parenting and hope we will be able to welcome her back in the not too distant future. Her amazing talents in Bush Kindy and Bush School and her commitment to educating us all on environmental awareness, connection to nature and sustainability will be sadly missed.
Thank you to Katja Lamb who resigned from the position of Gardener earlier this term. We thank her for her time here in the grounds and for holding the gardening group for many years, and we wish her all the very best in pursuing that most important job of all as a mama to 4 beautiful, growing humans!
We are also welcoming new staff to our school next year. Marnie Armstrong an Education Assistant in Karri Kindergarten; Sarah Moriarty as the Class 1 teacher; Lydia Kenyon as the Class 5 teacher; Matthew Bracknell as our gardener. We look forward to having these people join our GHSS family.
We are currently awaiting confirmation on an addtional EA and our Gardening teacher position, so that announcement will need to wait until the new year. We are also currently advertising for a school cleaner, 0.74FTE (28 hours a week). So if you know of anyone interested, please let me know.
Busy Bee Saturday, January 29th, the weekend ahead of school starting, from 9am - 12pm, we shall hold a Busy Bee. This is an opportunity for families to gather and give our school a spruce up ahead of the school term starting - and it is a great way to reconnect with school friends and families, while making a head start on your parenting hours for 2022.
Steiner School Community Meeting The families, staff and board of Golden Hill Steiner School are invited to a meeting on December 21st at 11am on the school oval. Unfortunately the hall will be unavailable as the floors will have just been polished and cannot be walked on. If there is space for the number who gather, we will convene in the staffroom.
In advance of the meeting, I do wish to make clear that the school also agrees with the 3 numbered points on the second page of the letter.
With respect to the 2 questions asked -
* We are following Steiner's guidance
* As a Steiner school we do follow Steiner's anthroposophical indications and the core principles of Steiner Education which I have also attached.
Happy Holidays!
Jacqui Hollingworth
Principal