Unto myself I must be true

And when my tasks I rightly do,

Then God, from my own will, the world with light is filling.

Though sometimes I feel weak and small,

I'm linked with love unto the All.

And I grow stronger when to do God's work I'm willing.

Dear GHSS Families,

Our Makuru Festival is fast approaching and calls for assistance from families have been sent forth through Class Carers to ensure the success of the Festival.  For those who have missed the oportunity to get some parent hours ticked off, here is your chance.  We will gratefully accept greenery, flowers and citrus to decorate our Winter Spiral; classes will be coordinating the soups and bread to share together; each class has a task to carry out in the preparation and tidy up of our event also.  As always, many hands make light work and this is a fabulous opportunity to gather together as a school community.

We have new families that have joined us since the last Makuru Festival so I have included a run of the evening and description of the expectations for all further below in the newsletter and include the description below for all as reminder of what this festival is all about.

A time of reflection.  At its core this festival is a celebration of light.  Many people are familiar with physical light representing the light of consciousness or the light of love in the world.  Here, we offer everyone the chance to enter into a reflective space, bathed in beautiful sounds and sights, to focus at this time of relative darkness in outer nature on our own inner light.  This is a festival of reverence and quiet, and we will leave the grounds in quiet reflection at the end of the evening.  Families may wish to continue this mood by candlelight in their own homes for the duration of the evening.

Turning towards the light.  The Winter Spiral allows for a rekindling of our inner light during a time of darkness; where we experience the longest night and the shortest day of the year.  It is the balance point within the year, for slowing down and taking time for introspection.  This time then becomes the turning point, as the days start to lengthen again and we walk from the darkest time back into the light, moving with nature towards spring and summer.

The Spiral reminds us of the fact that although there are dark times, we are not alone, and if we reach inward to our inner resources we will meet the changes ahead with renewed strength and resilience.

A reminder that Friday June 24th is the last day of Term 2 for our school as we head into our three week mid-year break. 

Kind regards,

Jacqui Hollingworth

Principal

Each newsletter we will be sharing a virtue that will be the focus in our school over the following three weeks.  

What is Friendliness? Friendliness is being a friend.  It is taking an interest in other people.  It is going out of your way to make others feel welcome or to make a stranger feel at home.  When you are friendly, you happily share your belongings, time, ideas, and feelings.  You share the good times and the bad times together.  Friendliness is the best cure for loneliness.

Why Practice it? Friendliness keeps you and others from feeling lonely or left out.  It helps people feel that they belong.  When something good or bad happens, it feels good to share it with a friend.  Friendships don't just happen - they are made by people who are willing to be themselves with each other.

How do you practice it? Friendliness begins with liking yourself and believing you have something to share with others.  Be kind to people you don't know.  You can be friendly just by walking down the hall, looking into people's faces, and smiling.  They will probably smile back.  Show your friends you are glad to see them, by asking how their day is going and sharing your news with them.

Signs of Success Congratulations!  Your are practicing Friendliness when you...

• Like yourself and realise you have a lot to offer.
• Smile and greet someone you don't know.
• Get to know someone and let them get to know you.
• Show an interest in others.
• Show caring when a friend needs you.
• Are friendly to people who look and act different.

"To be a friend, remember that we are human magnets; that like attracts like and that as we give we get."  Wilfred Peterson

WA Health have provided free Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) for each student and these have now been delivered to GHSS. 

These free RATs will support our students to continue to attend school for face-to-face learning and will minimise disruption to their schooling.  You will be able to test your child at home if they are feeling unwell.  You can also use these RATs if your child is a close contact to enable them to test daily and continue to attend school, as long as they receive a negative result and remain asymptomatic. 

Each student has 20 Rapid Antigen Tests for pick up allocated to them.  Please would you come into the administration office to collect your child’s supply as soon as possible, if you have not done so already.  We are not able to send these tests home with students in their school bags (students aged Karri Kinder to Class 2) but should you wish for another adult to pick up your child’s allocation this can be arranged.  Please bring a bag with you for collection as each test is individually packaged.

If your child becomes symptomatic they should stay home and be tested for COVID-19.  You should notify the school if your child tests positive for COVID-19.  Refer to healthywa.wa.gov.au for information on close contact definition, testing and isolation requirements.

Thank you for your continued efforts in keeping our school COVID-19 safe.

We've had some lovely sunny Wednesday mornings recently at Playgroup, celebrating the change in season and welcoming new and old playgroup members. 

Playgroup children have been enjoying the stunning maple tree in its autumn glory and using it's leaves to play in, make leaf rubbings with and leafy autumn crowns.  They are enjoying the rhythm of making bread each playgroup day and sharing songs in our morning circle.  Recently, we have shaken cream in a jar to watch it magically transform into lovely yellow butter to have with our spelt bread rolls.  Yum!

We've started singing some Makuru/Winter songs in preparation for the Early Childhood Makuru - Winter Festival coming up on the 16^th June. 

The days are getting shorter, day by day

The nights are getting longer, night by night

Light winter, light

Light the way for us.

Some of the most magical moments at Bush Kindy and Bush School are the unexpected encounters with creatures of the forest, animals, plants or fungi that we are unaware even live in that environment.  The children have a brief opportunity to observe and interact with the creature in its natural setting, which can be quite different to coming across it in our domestic environments.

An example of this happened last Friday.  Clare unfolded a tarpaulin as we were having our Morning Circle, only for a small Huntsman Spider to drop to the ground.  After a couple of attempts to pick it up, it scurried away across the ground in search of a safe haven.  Then Clare discovered a much larger, rather magnificent, Mother Huntsman Spider, also hiding in the creases of the tarpaulin.  It dropped to the ground, and there was much pretend screaming and general excitement as it stood still, presumably trying to work out its next move.  I was able to scoop the Mother Huntsman on to a piece of bark and place her safely on the trunk of a nearby tree.

After everyone settled down and we were able to finish our morning circle, the children had the opportunity to observe the Magnificent Mother Huntsman Spider, at first rather cautiously and then, for the braver ones, up real close.  Please enjoy these images of that magical encounter.

Class 1 has returned to our English alphabet: diving for Pearls, sighting Rosella’s, finding the W amongst the florets of Wheat and sailing aboard a magic Yacht.  Our practice includes moving the form, modelling with playdough, painting with water on the board, as well as, making use of rope, brooms, shells, pebbles, gumnuts and our own limbs, while some love to write with their toes.

This term we have started a “have-a-go” writing session.  Inspired by the late Kenneth Koch we are working on a Class Collaboration poem.  There are two simple rules to give it form: each line is to begin with “I wish…” and Class 1 is free to make their wishes as wild as they like.  Here is a small taste:

I wish I had a house made of grass and gold.

I wish I could mix every colour in the world.

I wish my skin was blue so I can hide in water.

I wish I went bull riding on a black bull with giant horns.

Form Drawing continues to evolve

In other news, our recorder bags are taking shape on the loom and needle (thanks to the help of Erika), as are our lantern preparations.  We have also deepened our story work with the shadow puppetry of “Iron John”.

It has been a challenging start to Term 2 with lots of illness and people away.  Last week we had most people returned and it felt like we were settling back into our rhythm again, which has been wonderful.  As our Fables main lesson was interrupted by our bumpy start to term, we are keeping it alive by retelling the animal fables using shadow puppets.  Some Class 2 children are interested in performing their shadow puppet fable, so stay tuned for more! 

We have had pet visits in Class 2, timed to coincide with our Animal Fables main lesson.  Last week we met Benedict's cat Mandy who is nearly 170 years old in cat years!  Mandy was very calm and quiet and we had to keep our voices soft so as not to startle her.  The week before we met Charlie's dog Pickles, a much younger soul and a very energetic kelpie who was keen for lots of action and excitement!  The children really love our pet mornings and we love fostering these home/school connections.

Class 2 children have been enjoying practicing our recorder songs.  We've been inspired by children in our class who practice karate out of school, to organize our recorder songs into levels of challenge.  We have established six "Recorder Karate" belt levels for songs requiring more complex notes and levels of mastery.  This has been a great motivator as well as supporting the life-long lesson of regular practice being how we improve.  Have you heard that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in something?!  That's a lot of practice. 

Speaking of practice, in handwork the children have been finishing their 7-coloured rainbow balls to master their pearl stitch.  As they finish their rainbow balls they are moving on to begin their gnomes.  A very exciting Class 2 project!

Last week we started our Place Value mathematics main lesson.  The children had the challenge of counting all of our maths gems.  This required sorting them into groups of 10s and 100s to finally get to our total of 1341 gems.  The children worked really well together throughout this challenge.  We will be continuing to work on place value over the coming weeks with lots of hands on counting and number work.

It has been wonderful to receive our long awaited new desks in Class 3!

They make doing our desk work extra special as we continue to improve our cursive writing and working from the blackboard. 

By going back to the beginning of our main lesson book regularly and reading through everything we have done from the title page on, we see the purpose of our neat and legible writing and aesthetic laying out and presentation of the subject material.   

We also get to revisit the concepts and familiarise ourselves with vocabulary.  Another bonus is revising the topic for those who have been absent.  And we have certainly had a lot of comings and goings this term with almost all of us having our 7 days of isolation.

Away from our desks, our Measurement Main Lesson is very hands on with lots of practical measurement using body parts and the creativity of using found objects to measure with inside and out in the playground.

We are becoming familiar with the way the digit, hand, inch, span, cubit and fathom (among other intriguing units of measurement) came into being. 

It is great to think laterally and work out how we can measure the world around us without running to the tape measure and ruler, before we explore the practicality and necessity of why standardised units of measurement came into being.  This main lesson includes linear measurement as well as weight and capacity, with additional main lessons during the year exploring the measurement of time and money. 

Let my life be measured not in years and days,

But by the length of my endeavours,

the weight of my deeds,

the capacity of my love

and the value of my service to others.

Measuring, chopping, grating and stirring have been keeping us busy too as we prepare for our Class 3 sleepover.  As I write this, we are all busy planning and preparing for our night at school at the end of the week.  Teamwork, pitching in, helping out and working together are some of the highlights of getting organised.  I’m sure it will be an adventure for all of us!

Now our second voyage across the expanse of Norse mythology has come to a successful conclusion.  The stories from ‘The Witches Heart’ beguiled us as the mischievous god Loki found more trouble than he was looking for and humans learned the lessons of excessive greed and hubris.  We deepened our study of the Old Norse language and its mysterious runes as well as making our own wooden set of Viking Chess (Kubb).  Our shields are taking shape and swords are being readied for the third and final foray into the Northlands that will culminate in our class play next term.

This week we begin our maths main lesson on fractions, which is, (arguably), even more exciting than Vikings!  Those apples won’t stand a chance as we use our swashbuckling sword technique to carefully cut them into equal parts.  It is likely that parents and carers will be obliged to consume more cakes and pizzas at home in order to fully support their child’s learning!

Term Two has also seen Class Four begin their Human and Animal Studies.  In the last week, Class Four have been looking at animal specialisation and human innovation.  For example, some owls have the capacity to turn their heads 270 degrees, while humans have learned to use mirrors (in cars etc.) to expand their field of vision.  We have also been reflecting on the human capacity for thinking, feeling and willing.  Class Four have been looking at the way in which our distinctiveness as humans gifts us an enormous amount of power, and the way in which that power comes with responsibility.  We have been building on our abilities to use this responsibility well in literacy, learning how to write persuasive texts to advocate for both the human and more-than-human world.  Class Four have also been using Edward de Bono’s ‘Six Thinking Hats’ to think through different perspectives on complex issues.

It has been moving over the past few weeks to witness how far Class Four have come in their growth as active citizens in our school.  This has been particularly evident during daily fitness and class games, where care for each other has begun to consistently eclipse the students’ desire to compete.  This shift is a great credit to the children’s genuine ability to think deeply and self-reflect, and has been a great privilege to witness each day!

May all of our community stay well and warm!

Renee and Ashley

Class Five have been enjoying exploring our beautiful school grounds looking for samples to observe, draw and describe for their Botany Main Lesson.  In particular, the season has blessed us with many marvellous mushroom-spotting opportunities.

We concluded our study of the living world with the creation of odes of gratitude to the Earth Mother, Gaea.  This leads us neatly onto our next Main Lesson, Ancient Greek Mythology.  In the coming weeks we will discover how, out of the primordial chaos, Gaea birthed the skies, mountains, oceans, and all the spirits of the waterways, plants and trees.

As the mythical stories unfold, adventure and high drama will ensue.  As the Olympian gods seize power from the Titans, the stage will be set for learning about the Ancient Olympic Games, held in the honour of Zeus.  Next term, we will learn more about Ancient Greece; the hero stories, the first philosophers, the politics and the wars, and the truce that was made across borders to allow for travellers to attend the Olympic games, every four years.  We will also be in training for our own Greek Olympics experience, an amazing event held at the Perth Waldorf School each year.

The 26th Elleker Running Festival is hosted by the Albany Athletics Club and will be held on Sunday 5th June starting and ending at the Elleker hall. 

Registrations are now open: https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?E=46733

There will be five events: 

* 1km Kids Dash (ages 6-9 years)

* 2km Kids Dash (ages 10-16 years)

* 10km Walk (ages 13 years and over)

* 10km Run (ages 13 years and over)

* 21.1km Half Marathon (ages 17 years and over)

All profits from the 1km and 2km Kids Dash will be donated to Albany Little Athletics. 

Please know that as a school we are always open to feedback should you wish to provide it.  We are constantly striving to refine our processes and make improvements where necessary.

Feel free to contact us via phone (9848 1811), email - office@goldenhill.wa.edu.au or principal@goldenhill.wa.edu.au) or come in and make an appointment to speak with someone.

Positive feedback especially welcome!