Dear Families and Friends of Golden Hill Steiner School,

Term Three is filling fast with our next date for your diary fast approaching - School Photo Day! After feedback we received last year, the school has managed to secure the services of an alternative school photo company, MSP Photography.  Given the delays created by COVID-19 earlier in the year we have been lucky enough to secure their last available date of Friday August 28th - 3 Fridays from now!  Further details will be with you shortly.

Playgroup is back on again on Thursdays, in Silverbirch with Sophia.  Sessions are $12 per family for casual attendance or $90 if you enrol for the 10 week term.  We are gathering quite a crowd and will explore the option of a second playgroup day if numbers continue to grow.

Kylie's Nature's Nest shop is back up and running with new goodies arriving in store all the time.  It is a great place to gather on a Friday morning after assembly and perhaps we can look at re-establishing our Friday afternoon tradition of a treat after school and catch up for families?  By rostering each class once a term to bake some goodies and man a stall on the verandah of Peppermint Cottage on a fortnightly rotation we could have some fun and fundraise at the same time, with money going to P&F's Kitchen Garden Classroom project!  What does everyone think?

The P&F meeting would be a great place to discuss this further and their meeting is scheduled for Tuesday August 18th from 1.30pm - 2.50pm.  We will also be discussing thoughts on the Spring Fair with the dates coinciding with the new date for the Garage Sale Trail - opportunity to run a Spring Clean Fair perhaps?  All families are welcome to come along and share ideas and tasks and to welcome our new P&F members and committee reps, Heath and Via.

Class 2 and Class 5/6 are performing plays this term.  Check out the term planner and add the dates to your own calendars as you don't want to miss these events.  You can access our School Calendar by tapping the tile of the same name on the home page of the app or if you are looking at the newsletter on your laptop or PC then your are able to view the School Calendar by clicking on the link in the menu at the top of the page.

Spring Festival will take place at the end of term on Thursday, September 24th.  School wiill end at 1pm on that day to allow staff to travel to Perth for Steiner Schools Day on Friday where staff from Steiner schools across WA will engage in Professional Learning activities together.  Friday, September 25th will be a pupil free day.

Warmest regards,

Jacqui Hamblin

Principal

We're privileged to share time together in Nature, in the presence of wild and free elements.  The children are learning through the multi-dimensional experience of these forces. 

The children have worked with fire tending, water movement, following the course of the river through the seasons.  They have had Elders visit them, with yarning by the fire.  The children have weaved, learnt some knots, created potions and just plain had lots of fun.

“Rainbow, lovely glow

Put some colours in my hand

Together we make a fairy land”

Each week our ‘wet-on-wet watercolour painting’ experience begins as the children sit at the tables, with their damp paper on a board in front of them, and we sing the song above together.  This year painting day is Thursday, enabling most of the group to paint together, while those waiting model with beeswax until it’s their turn to paint.

A verse is spoken, to remind the children how to clean their brushes, first in one jar of water, then the other;

“Dive into my deep, dark well, swim around, swim so well

Dive into my crystal pond, now I may paint with my magic silver wand”

The children listen to a simple story as the teacher begins to gently paint, modelling the use of the brush, cleaning it in the water jars before selecting another colour.  Once the story is told, the assistant gives each child their brush, and they begin painting too.

The colours are introduced slowly during the course of the year, allowing the children to experience the purity and special qualities of each one, beginning with yellow in the warmer months, moving to red, then a combination of the two to create orange.  In winter blue is introduced, then red added again so the children can discover purple.  Later the children experience blue and yellow creating green, before all three primary colours are used together.  Only the three primary colours are offered in kindergarten, allowing the children to discover the secondary colours for themselves.  How wonderful to discover that when red and yellow dance together, they create orange!

The mobility of the water on a damp page enables the children to experience the purity of moving colours, unhampered by the restrictions of form.  Children are asked to paint without speaking to each other so they can “hear what the colours want to say”; to be fully immersed in the experience, and just enjoy the movement of the colours on the paper, without any pressure to “produce” a picture or form.

Watercolours also allow the children to experience light radiating through the colour (rather than light reflected from colour as they would with opaque tempera paints).  Stockmar watercolour paints are used, they are made from natural pigments, and are a high-quality art material, along with the paper and brushes we utilise.  This provides for a truly artistic experience for the children.

Once the whole page has been transformed into colour, the painting boards are placed into the drying rack, and the children help to put away the paints, brushes and jars.  At the end of each term the children receive their paintings carefully rolled up, which might later be put to use in crafts or wrapping gifts.

It was wonderful to catch up with everyone at the parent teacher interviews to start the term. 

The children have brought all of their joy and enthusiasm back to school after the holidays and our classroom feels like a warm, colourful and bright place to spend these wintery days.

Special thanks to Kristi who has our hand washing water all warmed up on the verandah each morning!

We have begun Term 3 with a Form Drawing main lesson.  The children have enjoyed exploring continuous ‘ribbon forms’ and vertical symmetry ‘mirror forms’ using a variety of materials.

We experimented with forms in many ways such as using our bodies, walking along chalk patterns on the basketball court, and creating forms out of beads, gems, ribbon sticks, chalk boards and wool.

Working with form in such a wholistic way has also assisted us in our handwriting.  Through handwriting, songs and games we are consolidating lower case letters and learning that each letter has the special job of making a sound. 

We are all great knitters and have taken home our own knitted pot mits to keep by the fire or stove.  Now we are watching our pile of knitted squares grow as we collect enough to make a class blanket.

Our recorder skills are growing and we have been working on ‘It’s raining, It’s pouring’ which has been very apt lately! 

At this time of year we especially appreciate starting the day with Rudolf Steiner’s verse which begins ‘The sun with loving light makes bright for me each day….’

With bright and warm wishes from Class One.

Lisa

Norse Mythology and the 9 -10 Year Old

Traditionally in Class 3 the children cross the 9-year-old threshold, also known as the Rubicon.  The Old Testament stories support the child as they begin to question you as a parent and me as a teacher.  “How do you know this?"  "Are you sure this is right?"  The invisible strings that the children have followed me around with in Class 1 and 2 seem to lapse, the words I spoke in Class 1 and 2 were swallowed up and taken up as Gospel, now I need to have back up!

Times change in Class 3…  Children become more critical, they question you continuously, and even when you answer they are not always happy with your response.  The threshold is not severe, but there is more distance, not only to the parents and teacher, but also to everyone else in the child’s life.

The continuous and underlying theme of the Old Testament is a similar estrangement, but it appears between people and God.  Through the Old Testament stories the children are buoyed in what can be a challenging time for children, parents and teachers.

Currently we have a mixed 3-4 class in 2020 and a little extra planning is required to meet the needs of the cohort.  Their previous teacher Jan first introduced the children in Class 3, to the Stories of Creation at the end of Class 2.  In Semester One of this year the Class 3 children studied the Old Testament stories of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark and Joseph.

This semester as a class 3-4 we have begun the Norse Mythology main lesson together.

Why do we teach Norse Mythology?

As a teacher I usually research why we teach a certain main lesson when we do.  I like to fully understand its importance and I feel I need to have a response should a parent ask.  Oddly I don’t get many, which instills me to reflect on me as a parent, as I have had 3 children educated through the Steiner Curriculum.  I think as a parent you live and breathe what your child is doing, where they are at, what they need and how their current curriculum supports them.  When I look back at my own children and Norse Mythology, I recall it being what they needed, they were ready for it, they were capable to delve deep and recall the wonderful stories of the Northern mysteries… and they loved it!!!!!  I didn’t need to ask questions.

Steiner recommended Norse Myths for the Class 4 (9-10 year old) children.  The mythologies bring drama, humour, and high literary quality – all of which give them universal appeal.

Why are they so appealing…?

The children are touched deeply between light and darkness, extremes of cold and heat, which threaten Asgard, the preserve of the good and the beautiful.  Over all hangs the question; will it survive?  Will Ragnarok, the last battle, cause the eventual destruction of the home of the gods?  Despite Odin’s wisdom, Thor’s strength, Loki’s inventive schemes, Tyr’s bravery, Idunn’s apples and all the ruses and alliances, which protect Asgard, uncertainty underlies each drama.

The Norse mythologies bring brutal and barbaric behavior, love and romance, trust and loyalty, and Loki brings uncertainty and surprise to every outcome.

We have spent the last 3 weeks studying Norse Myths and will again in week 7 to 10 of this term.  Over the next 3 weeks Class 4 will be focusing on their second fractions main lesson and Class 3 will begin their process and strategies numeracy main lesson.  I'm sure the Norse Myths will still be a topic of discussion and look out for the many god and goddesses and perhaps a few strange animals as we will be having a dress up day in Week 7 to begin our second Norse Myths main lesson!!

Below is some of the wonderful class work produced by the Class 3-4 children during their first Norse Mythology main lesson.

Robyn

X

After a wonderful three-week winter break, Class 5/6 have begun the term, full swing!  The children have learnt all about Ancient Rome, from its founding, through the Republic, into the Empire and the Fall of Rome.  Many discussions and debates have taken place regarding the decisions and actions of the Romans and whether or not better choices could have been made.

To complement the Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome main lessons, the children have also started rehearsing their plays – Prometheus the Fire-Bringer and The Haunted House.  They will be performing on Wednesday night, Week 6.

Class 6 have started their Business Math main lesson where they will advance their mathematical skills to effectively run a simple business.

Class 6 have also been assisting Class 5 in Olympic training in preparation for the annual Greek Olympic tournament in Perth at the end of term; an event not to be missed!

Our next P&F Stash Coffee & a Slice morning will be on Friday 14th August from 8.30am till 10.30am.  It is also Class 2's Play "The Enchanter's Daughter", so pop in for a cuppa and a guilt free slice before the main performance.  

Pen will be whipping up a Chocolate Caramel Muesli Bar Slice.  $5 for cake and cuppa deal or $3 for one or other.  All money raised goes towards Neal's Outdoor Classroom.

After many a discussion about what suits everyone for P&F meetings there appears to be more people that can meet during the day, rather than after school or evening.  We are aiming for the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 1.30pm, room to be confirmed.  Class Carers are encouraged to come to meetings or find a class rep for the meeting.  The next meeting is on Tuesday 18th August at 1.30pm.

Please Note:  We need every P&F member to be a financial member.  Please bring the minimum of 50c to the meeting so we can fulfil our requirements as an Incorporated Association. 

Agenda items so far are:

• Sign in:
  Heath Gillett as Treasurer
  Via Stidwell as Secretary
• Treasurer Report - including update on P&F Bank Account
• Change to GHSS Spring Fair to Spring 'Clean' Fair - Date Change to Saturday 21st November
• Neal's Outdoor Classroom Progress
• GHSS Canteen Idea
• Friday Afternoon Tea P&F Stall at Peppermint Cottage
• Potential Future Events

Please send any additional agenda items to Penny at goodiesfarm@outlook.com before Friday 14th August.

Look forward to seeing you there and P&F becoming an important support to the GHSS Community. 

Please Note: Talk Is Fully Reserved but there are still spaces on the Sunday Workshop.

See ticketlink for more information.

Dental Therapy Mobile provides free dental examinations, oral care advice, preventative, restorative and emergency treatment for children from Pre-Primary to Year 11.  The clinic is staffed by Michelle (Dental Therapist), Wajid (Dental Therapist), Lorna (Dental Assistant) and Kayleen (Dental Assistant).

The Dental Therapy Mobile will be located at Denmark Primary School as of Monday 10^th of August until further notice.  We will be open from 8.45am until 3.15pm.  Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to attend the clinic, especially for the first appointment where we need to discuss a dental treatment plan for your child.

Enrolment forms will soon be issued to your child if he/she has recently changed schools or enrolled in Pre-Primary.  Please make sure these forms are returned ASAP if you wish to use our service.

Parents are reminded to contact the Mobile to update your details if they have moved in recent years.  Failing to update details will mean your child will miss out.  If you no longer intend to use our service please let us know as soon as possible.  You can call us on 0437 486 143, drop in or send us an email to DenmarkMobile@dental.health.wa.gov.au.

If you are a High Schooler who is new to the area and wish to use our Dental Service please contact us on 0437 486 143.

To keep your child’s teeth healthy during this important stage of growth we recommend brushing twice daily using adult strength toothpaste providing children are spitting it out.  Teeth should be brushed for a minimum of two minutes and children are encouraged NOT to rinse after brushing.

We hope to see you all in here soon.

From the Mobile Dental Staff