My firmness and strength gives me ground that is sure,

For the light of the Child is gentle and pure.

All things become bathed with his healing, gold light

When I look at the world with his love in my sight.

Watch the gnomes split and crumble the stuff of the earth,

While the light, airy sylphs bring a green world to birth.

With great joy I am learning to give what they need,

For I bring them the light, and they're grateful indeed!

Dear GHSS Families,

Healing Hut It was wonderful to have staff and families gather on Sunday to meet with Noongar Elder, Eugene Eades and GHSS teacher, Bruce Anthony to discuss the construction of a Healing Hut at Golden Hill Steiner School.

The Healing Hut will provide a bush classroom space, complete with yarning circle, for use by our school community.  We are ever so grateful to have Bruce Anthony leading this iniative with the support of Uncle Eugene and the rangers at Nowanup.  GHSS families will have the opportunity to be involved in this reconciliation project, by assisting with the construction of the shelter, scheduled to take place over the course of this term. 

Family Participation Hours We really appreciate the help that parents provide as part of our family participation program.  These hours are in lieu of the annual $200 charge.  We do pass the responsibility of informing the school of hours completed to parents, in order to maintain up-to-date records.  The simplest way to record your hours is via the yellow tile on our Schoolzine app.  Alternatively, call the school office to report your hours for recording.  You must complete the required number of hours to avoid any charges and the final date for ensuring your recorded hours are up to date is Friday, December 2nd 2022.

Please get in touch with your Class Carer if you have Family Participation Hours to complete and would like to know how you are able to best assist or see the message below from Neal about gardening.

Healthy Schools Sick children are unable to learn well and get the rest and recuperation they need in a classroom environment.  Please ensure sick children remain home.  This also assists with preventing the spread to their classmates and teachers.  Parents should also ensure that emergency contacts are up to date.

If your child has COVID-19 symptoms, they should stay home and be tested.  Please continue to notify the school if your child tests positive for COVID-19 or if they are a household close contact.  For more information on testing and isolation requirements, go to the HealthyWA website.

To support the strategy to keep school communities COVID-19 safe, each child will receive an allocation of 20 RATs.  As soon we take delivery of our allocation, we will let parents know how they will be distributed.  Families yet to collect their first allocation will be able to collect them at the same time.

Use a RAT to test your child for COVID-19 if they have symptoms or are a household close contact.  If your child is a close contact, they are permitted to attend school, as long as they receive a negative daily RAT result, remain asymptomatic, and wear a mask (Year 7 and above).

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

Jacqui Hollingworth

Principal

With the wintery weather well upon us, we can think of nothing better than a warm soup to nourish tummies and add a lovely smell to the house whilst it's cooking!  As such we would love to share with you a recipe from the book - The Waldorf School Book of Soups.

Chickpea, Tomato and Pasta Soup

10 cups chicken stock

2 x cans chickpeas (rinsed well)

1 x 800g can diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 - 1.5 cups short pasta

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

6-8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

In a large soup pot, heat the chicken stock to a boil; reduce heat, and add chickpeas and rosemary sprigs.  Let simmer.

In another soup pot, heat the olive oil, then add the garlic.  Saute until golden.  Add tomatoes (with juice).  Let simmer (ten minutes or so) until flavours blend, and add to the chicken stock; let simmer for 20 minutes to half an hour with lid on.  Remove rosemary sprigs; using a slotted spoon, remove half the chickpeas; puree in a food processor (or blender) with some of the soup liquid.  Return the puree to the soup to thicken it.  Mix in well.  Let simmer.

Cook the pasta in water, or chicken stock (preferable) if you have extra on hand, for 3 minutes less than the recommended time on the package, until just al dente.

Add pasta to soup.  Stir well, and serve in large bowls with grated parmesan (or romano) on the side.

Serves 8-10

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

What is Unity? Unity helps people work and live together peacefully.  When you practice unity, you feel connected to everyone and everything.  Unity brings harmony, like the music made by the different instruments in an orchestra.  Unity comes when we value each person.  The joy of one is the joy of all.  The hurt of one is the hurt of all.  The honor of one is the honor of all.

Why Practice it? Without unity, differences scare people and drive them apart.  Without unity, each person stands alone.  When we come together in unity, we cooperate.  We work together to accomplish more than any one of us could by ourselves.  We feel a sense of unity with all living things, and do our part to care for the earth.

How do you practice it? When you practice unity, you look at your prejudices and are willing to let them go.  Unity doesn't mean being the same.  Just as every leaf on a tree has a unique design, each person on this earth is someone special.  When you practice unity, you see the specialness in each person, not as a reason to fight or be scared, but as a gift.  Working in unity with others gets things done efficiently.  Unity is solving conflict peacefully by listening and finding solutions.

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

• Treat all people as members of one human family.
• See the gifts in differences.
• Refuse to join in when others express prejudice.
• Solve conflict through listening and finding solutions.
• Care for the earth and all living things.
• Act like a peacemaker wherever you go.

"When we learn to come together, we are whole."  Anne Cameron

This year Golden Hill Steiner is taking part in the Great Book Swap, to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.  We are collecting books in good condition that can be sold to the school and wider communities for a gold coin donation.  The funds raised will be used by the Indigenous Literacy Fund to provide and create culturally appropriate books for remote indigenous communities.  This year ILF aims to raise $150,000 to gift 15,000 culturally relevant books to kids and families in remote Communities across Australia.

Golden Hill Steiner's Great Book Swap will begin during Book Week, with sales to the school community after our assembly on Friday 26th August and continuing after school, from 3-4pm.  We will also sell books to the wider community on that Sunday 28th August, during the Kwoorabup Market time. 

If you have books to donate, we will gladly collect them from next Monday, please drop them in at Peppermint Cottage.  If any parents are able to help with the sorting and selling of books, please let Melanie (Class 2 teacher) know.  There will be a lot to organise prior to the sale and plenty of support required on both that Friday and Sunday.  Details of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation are attached.

“The stars are watching, when for his birth 

A little child comes down to earth 

Angels do help him, both day and night 

To fill his heart with love and light 

Six burning candles, we did prepare 

To shine upon your birthday fair” 

We love to celebrate birthdays in Karri Kindergarten.  The story table is prepared with silk cloths, and a silver tray containing a tall candle in the centre, with the appropriate number of tealights nestled among flowers ready to receive our special guests.  The birthday child’s parents are invited to join us for the beginning of the day.  The birthday boy or girl rings the bell to bring everyone inside.  The song above, played on the lyre, brings the class inside and once they are settled, I dress the birthday child in a silken cape and star-adorned crown and lead them and their parents inside.  

The candle is lit and a story told which gives an imaginative picture of the child’s journey into being.  The birthday child then walks across the “rainbow bridge” to their waiting parents.  As candles are lit, one by one, the parents offer little snippets of their child’s life so far... it is interesting to hear about our friend’s early years.  A gift stitched by the kindergarten staff is given and we sing the song again.  Then the birthday child snuffs the candles. 

After we’ve said goodbye to the parents, it’s time to move to the tables where the children help to bake the birthday cake and draw a picture for the birthday book.  Our Karri Kindergarten Apple Cake is a favourite and requires lots of willing hands to chop the apples, sift the flour and beat the eggs.  We make two cakes so there is enough for two slices each plus a piece to send home for the birthday child’s family.  

At morning tea the birthday child lights their special candle, and after our water and fruit the cake comes out.  The candles are lit, one by one as we sing a song and then the traditional “Happy Birthday” is sung and the candles are blown out, the cake is cut and a wish is made.  The birthday child then serves the cake to the other children. 

At the end of the day, a basket containing the birthday book, drawn by the class, flowers from the garden, some cake and the candle goes home with the birthday child... thank you for letting us share in your special day! 

Warm wishes, 

Denise 

It has become a habit of sorts to measure the growth of our Blackbutt seedlings (about a good thumb height at the time of writing) compared to the growth of our bodies and for some, their winter locks.  

We have begun this term with addition (the quality of growth) and subtraction (the quality of giving away).  Through the tasks of everyday – cooking, building, preparing for a party, harvesting and eating we are learning from one another as we find different counting strategies. 

The see-saw and our braided skipping ropes are helping us compare weights once we have tested them against our strength.  To further practice the rhythm of counting in 3’s we are making friendship bracelets, which have become affectionately known as “our jellyfish”.

Karmin/Carmine red can now be seen on our walls, as we have painted a red seed first expanding out from a base of rosa red and second, sitting upon the cool ground of prussian blue and golden yellow.

Many thanks to Chris Robins for your time, patience and guidance in the lyre workshop last weekend and in the weekends to follow.  It is a real pleasure to see the parents together, fashioning a thing of beauty for their child, out of love.

To end with a riddle: “Which is the bow that has no arrow?”

Solution: see Class 1

Hint: be sure to ask for 3 guesses.

Our first main lesson this term is Stories of Saints and Heroes.  I have to admit I've felt somewhat challenged with the teaching of the saints stories, as Christian stories dominate our culture and can bring about strong reactions.  I've found a happy understanding of why these stories are told and have chosen a selection of stories encompassing saints and heroes across many cultures and religions, including Saint Francis, Saint George and the Dragon, Santa Lucia, Sadako and the Thousand Cranes, Vincent Lingiari and Finn MacCool. 

These Saints and Heroes stories are told to celebrate the virtues they teach.  They feel more like fairy tales than historical biographies.  Throughout the years of Steiner education, we tell stories from many different cultures and religions.  The individuals in this main lesson represent archetypes that have a timeless quality, remembered and celebrated for representing our highest ideals in human nature. 

Around age 8, children are changing, not just physically but in how they relate to the world around them.  Seven year olds in Class 1 often just want to please the adults in their lives.  By Class 2 at age 8, they often begin to enjoy a bit of mischief!  The Animal Fables we told last term mirror that mischievous element, with one-sided stories of moral qualities such as greed, cunning and envy.  Legends of saints and heroes balance that out by giving the children examples of people who did good deeds, by bring harmony to one-sidedness and by finding strength in love and compassion in order to serve fellow humans.

In other Class 2 news, we are connecting with some of the local wildlife - mostly snails!  The children have been finding, studying and finding out more about snails - do you know that snails lay eggs?!  This week stay tuned for some snail races.

What a great start to the term sharing our Homes and Shelters Projects!  All who came to our open classroom display were suitably impressed.  The children had the opportunity to share with the class how they went about making their models and why they chose the shelter they did.  It was really lovely to see how proud the children were of their efforts and also how proud and supportive they were of each other.

Since then we have been busy with our play practise learning the songs, dances and lines for ‘Joseph the Dreamer’.  We are incorporating our learning from our Ancient Hebrew Main Lessons earlier in the year to prepare costumes, props and sets to tell the ages old tale of Joseph - family loyalties and rivalry, despair and hope, and forgiveness are some of the themes.

In our Health and Wellbeing lessons each week we have been learning how we can all feel many different ways on different days.  Sometimes its hard to know how our friends might be feeling and how we can help them.  By looking at facial expression and seeing how they are acting we can find clues to help us respond in the best way.  The Zones of Regulation social and emotional health program helps children identify the feelings of themselves and others.  Children can then try to remember a time they felt a similar way and by this empathy can develop.  Specific strategies to help us when we are not feeling so great can also help us to help our friends.  There are plenty of opportunities each day to put our learning into practise!

Japanese Minka - Komodo Stilt House - Inuit Igloo

Floating Reed Island Peru - Eco-Friendly House - Irish Farmhouse

Inuit Igloo - Mexican Adobe Pueblo - Malay Hut - Noongar Mia Mia

North American Tipi - New Mexico Adobe Pueblo - Russian Wood House

North American Tipi - Italian Stone Trullo - African Mud Hut - Thai Bamboo House

Term Three has seen Class Four head straight into Spirituality of the Dreaming with Renee, as well as Twilight of the Gods in the final studies of Norse mythology with Ashley.  We have been looking at Indigenous stories from the south-west of WA, as well of some of the cultural practices of First Nations people in Arnhem Land.  Class Four have been learning poetry from Whadjuk country, as well as looking at the work of the late Gaagudju Elder and traditional custodian of Kakadu, Bill Neidjie.  Thanks so much to Shelley who has been covering this content for Renee who has been away on Professional Development.

Class Four is also very proud to announce that our seasonal poems and creative work have won second place in the Scribblers Golden Pen competition on the theme of ‘Everyday Magic’, earning us a $100 book voucher!  Read the students’ winning entries here:

Everyday Magic – the wonders of life

by Mischa

When I go to the river on a hot summer’s day, I watch the swans swimming on the soft, flowing river, they glide across the water with their little baby swans.  I can see the dad trying to protect them from other animals.

I see some white-tailed black cockatoos in the soft blast of the wind saying each others’ names, swans calling for their babies that are on the water with their dads.

Bunuru

by Lyndle

The blue sky surrounding the world

Bees buzzing around the flowers

The heat surrounding me like hands

The trees waiting for some water

Waiting! and waiting!

Bunuru

by Jack

The noisy flapping of the bronze wing pigeons

Cormorants sleeping with their head under their wing

Blossoms of red flowering gums

March flies and mosquitoes biting me

Karda wandering across the gravel road.

Bunuru

by Maple

Bee getting honey from the flowers

Sound of the beautiful honeyeaters

Blossoms and the flowers that smell so sweet

Dry earth beneath our feet

Wind blowing past as I run and ride

White-tailed cockatoos soaring in the sky.

In our final Norse Mythology main lesson with Ashley we have been immersed in the epic stories of the Völsunga Saga.  A late 13th century Norse tale that charts the origin, rise and tragic decline of the Volsung clan, including the heroic adventures of Sigurd the Dragonslayer!  These tales are woven into our play about the cursed ring that was their downfall.  Beware!  This tragedy is not a tale for the faint-hearted.  Our noble Class Fours have already begun to prepare to take the fight directly to this huge play.  Shields have been polished, swords sharpened and lines learned to within an inch of their lives as the final battle approaches.

We are both looking forward to the adventures ahead this term!

Warmly,

Renee and Ashley

Class Five sprang into Term Three, with much vigour and commitment to their Greek Olympic quest.  The Greek Olympic event will be held at the end of this term.  We will travel up to Perth to convene with six other Class Fives from Steiner Schools around WA.  The Steiner curriculum focuses on Ancient Greek mythology and history during year five, and this event provides an immersive experience, which combines physical challenges with a cultural celebration of the Greek gods and the virtues that they stood for.  The students will all be amalgamated with students from other schools into ‘City Groups’, representing the ancient cities of Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes.  The emphasis is on teamwork, skills building, and improving our personal best.

The wonderful thing about the Greek Olympics is that it weaves together elements of sportsmanship with reverence and spirituality, evoking the strength, speed, and wisdom of the gods, and also with history and culture.  The students are learning poetry, song, and dance, which will be performed at the opening ceremony and will wear costumes on the day.  The carnival will include a mini ‘Marathon’ and a pentathlon of field and track events, including javelin, discus, long jump, wrestling and sprints.  The students are learning the stories of the Titans and the Gods of Olympus that they will be invoking at the games.  Athena for wisdom, Hermes for speed and Zeus for strength.  The students are to be heartily commended for their hard work, dedication, and collaborative efforts so far.

It has been wonderful to welcome back the Class 6 children after our winter break and to welcome our newest class member, Tamihana. 

Over the holidays we have had growth spurts, broken voices and it appears their somewhat graceful movements have been replaced by a clumsy and crude manifestation of limbs and a few swaggers with baseball caps emiting absolutely no shade.

Rudolf Steiner once wrote that ‘their long arms hang awkwardly in sleeves which are too short” Obviously this was before oversized hoodies became a fashion statement.  Steiner also noted that, “manners and facial expressions change to be more parallel with the physical phenomenon which awakens within each child.  A more independent attitude toward his or her environment and the judgment of parents and teachers becomes more critical”.

It is worth noting that they may appear a little ‘ruckus’, but it has been warming to watch this tight knit group welcome new students, assist students from main stream schools to embrace change and colour, assist one of our students who is currently on crutches, embrace our new Main Lesson and plead with me to sit and read our class novel, our most favourite part of the day.  Although challenging they are indeed quite magnificent.

Class 6 are studying Geology in their current Main Lesson and have been appreciating the wonders of the earth by finding out about how our local landscape was formed hundreds of millions of years ago.

We are experiencing a Science shift this term with Geology as our current Main Lesson and Sam bringing Physics on a Friday morning each week for the semester.  The children will be learning how to write up scientific experiments and how to display information by using graphs and charts.  This week we graphed our birth dates looking at line, bar and column graphs and used our geometry and mathematical skills to display our sport choice data.

In Art we have had a step back to our block crayons to complete a guided drawing only using a blue, red, and yellow block crayon.  It was wonderful to note their growth in drawing.

Robyn x

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.

DENTAL HEALTH WEEK 1-7 AUGUST 2022

Don’t forget to ‘LOVE YOUR TEETH’

1. Brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
2. Clean between your teeth daily using floss or interdental brushes.
3. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet and limit frequent snacking and added sugar intake.
4. Visit the dentist regularly for check-ups and preventative care.

Dental Therapy Centres provide free dental examinations, oral care advice, preventative, restorative and emergency treatment for children from Pre-primary to Year 11.

Unfortunately the Dental Van will remain closed for the rest of Term 3 due to staffing shortages.  If you have an urgent dental emergency please call Spencer Park Dental Therapy Centre on 9841 3967.  The Van will be re-opening in Mount Barker Community College Term 4.

Appointment letters will be sent to your home address, if you have moved in the last few years please send an email to MTBARKERMOBILE@health.wa.gov.au or call the van in Term 4 on 0437 486 143.  If you no longer intend to use the service please let us know as soon as possible as your valuable appointment could be taken up by someone else.

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!