In spring's sunlit hour

My heart like a flower

Unfolds with great power.

And out into the joyful world

My feelings-forces are unfurled.

All things I love - fire, water, air,

The stones, the stars, the mighty sun,

Plants, creatures, people everywhere

For God is in them, every one.

Dear GHSS Families,

FREE Parent Workshop Friday November 3rd and you are invited!  Spread the word - this is one for everyone.  Whilst sympathetic to Steiner principles, this workshop is a Brain-based, holistic approach to well-being and learning.  This event will take place in the school hall from 9-12.  Please register by following the link in the flyer below! 

Spring Fair To herald the end to Spring, our Golden Hill Spring Fair will take place on Saturday, November 18th.  Thanks to fabulous Laura and Kate and their merry band of helpers, online rosters are up for parents to commit their time to and I know class carers are busy coordinating their class activities.  Please take the time to let our fabulous organisers know what you are committing to as many hands make light work.  I am so looking forward to celebrating our wonderful school with you on the day!

Swimming Lessons will be on in Week 7.  Forms will be sent home this week and are to be completed and returned to school by Week 5 so that that swimming teachers can create classes according to the level your child is going for.  If you are uncertain of their level, teachers will assess their ability at the first lesson. 

As this forms part of the PE program, all students from Class 1-7 are expected to take part.  Those students not swimming will still attend the pool each day.

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 Courage? Courage is personal bravery in the face of fear.  It is doing what needs to be done even when it is really hard or scary.  Courage is going ahead even when you feel like giving up.  Courage is needed in trying new things.  It is admitting mistakes and then doing the right thing.  Courage is the strength in your heart.

Why Practice it? Without courage, people would only do what is easy.  No one would try new things.  Everyone would do what everyone else is doing, to avoid standing out - even if they knew it was wrong.  Fear would be in charge.  With courage, you can face any situation.  Courage helps you to do great things.

How do you practice it? Courage helps you to do the right thing.  When you feel afraid, name the fear and then let it go.  Then do what you really want to do.  Admit mistakes and learn from them.  Keep trying.  Stand up for what you know is right even if all your friends are doing something wrong.  Ask for help when you need it.  Let courage fill your heart.

Signs of Success Congratulations!  You are practicing Courage when you...

• Do what is right for you even when it is hard or scary.
• Find strength in your heart even when you are afraid.
• Are willing to try new things.
• Admit mistakes and learn from them.
• Make amends when you do something wrong.
• Ask for help.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."  Anais Nin

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."  Helen Keller

The Nowanup Camp held over the weekend just gone was a great success by all reports!  Here are some photos of the fun being had, more details and photos to follow....

Please enjoy the following soup recipe from the book - The Waldorf School Book of Soups.

Vegetable Soup

2 Litres good broth or water

1/2 cup barley or rice

3.5 Tbsps butter

1 cup zucchini, shredded

3 onions, chopped

1/4 head cabbage, shredded

4 medium carrots

1 cup parsley and/or chives

3 celery stalks

2-4 potatoes, chopped

4 cups tomato juice

1 cup corn

1/4 cup green beans

salt and pepper

Bring broth to a boil.  Add barley and cook until done (about 1/2 hour).  Add salt and pepper.

Saute onions in 3.5 Tbsps butter for about 5 minutes.  Add carrots, celery, and potatoes.  Saute another 5 to 10 minutes and add to soup.

Then add corn, green beans, zucchini and cabbage.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer until vegetables are done.  Add tomato juice and parsley.

Serves 8-10

Play Based Learning's Importance

On the surface of children's games, you see the interaction and playfulness of their gestures.  What you don't always understand are those innate drives and compulsions fuelling that play.  That insistent mechanism to engage with, process and understand the world around them.

Play is a child's best work.  It lays down the fundamental, experiential groundwork of what it is to be human.  It does this on many levels.  Physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually and intellectually, play enriches and extends all of these capacities.  It also takes up a space where time and consciousness can move as a collective force.

Now that may seem a strange statement but think back to those times as a child where you participated socially in a group and the play became seamless and the need for words disappeared and the play could continue over days.  An easy comfortableness descends and purposeful engagement arises.  A meditative balm for the soul.  This is the kind of play we want young children to experience.  Not play dominated by commercial programs marketed to take hostage of children's imagination, creativity and play.

I see over and over again the negative impacts of popularised tv shows and movies.  It very effectively takes over a child's play and then there is little deviation or appropriation from the child.  Characters from films are fixed, impersonal and often so abstracted from the genuine warmth of real human interactions that a child cannot understand or process so then plays this fixed game ad nauseum.  There is little personal growth and development in this.

What small children need is time and space to be bored, to experience challenges and adversity and work to overcome them.  Play is the best form of growth and development for children.  We need to protect this form of play.  Our world is increasingly busy and so hurried that most of us are so disconnected from ourselves that maybe we don't see the negative effects screens and technology are having on our children.

Let's support each other in an act of defiance where we disengage from technology, become more present and create many opportunities for self-directed play-based growth for our children.

Children at around the age of nine naturally feel a shift towards independence - a growing sense that one day they will live on their own in this world.  Class 3 love to work.  Their self esteem has grown through accomplishment and the mastery of wonderful challenges.  They have investigated what it means to have a respectful relationship with the earth.  We have engaged in a number of activities related to biodynamic agriculture and learnt about the interconnectedness of plants, animals, and the environment, seeking to create a balanced and sustainable ecosystem.

Preparation 500: Digging up horns filled with lactating cow manure that we buried six months ago.

This year, Junior Landcare is celebrating 25 years of opening children’s hearts and hands to landcare.  To help celebrate they have teamed up with Junior Landcare ambassador, Costa Georgiadis for a special letter writing campaign that is calling on children to share what they love most about the environment and the steps they are taking to protect it.  By submitting our letters, we have a chance at winning a school visit from Costa.

Class 3 have also recently completed a main lesson block on Currency and Money.  The tale of Stone Soup sparked discussions about giving, trading, bartering, and exchange in cultures worldwide, providing insights into the evolution of the money we use today.  As a culmination of the block, the children created an in class “shop” and held a popcorn and lemonade stall at lunch time.  They made over $200.

Our school calendar can be found here - 

GHSS Calendar

For more info and to RSVP click here https://events.humanitix.com/river-ride

Please see below for details of GHSS parent Sara Riches Art Exhibition.

Registrations are now open for a new national ‘Learn to Ride’ program called AusBike for Term 4.  The fun cycling program is being hosted by local cycling club - Denmark Mountain Bike Club.

The program has been designed for 5-12 year olds who are just getting started in their cycling journey.  They will learn how to ride safely, with confidence under the guidance of an AusCycling accredited coach.

The Term 4 program is offered on Thursday afternoons and will commence on October 26.  The cost of the program is $90 which is for the whole 6 week program and to be paid for upfront at the beginning of the program.

Here is the link to the registration page where you can find more information.

Primary school

Enrolments are now open for VacSwim swimming lessons during the summer school holidays.  VacSwim offers fun lessons at beach or pool locations.  They are a great school holiday activity and they teach valuable safety skills to help keep your child safe in the water.

Enrol at education.wa.edu.au/vacswim

Secondary school

If your child has turned 14 years old, or will be turning 14 years in the same calendar year of the course, you can enrol them in VacSwim so they can get their Bronze Medallion during the summer school holidays.  They’ll learn advanced survival, rescue and resuscitation skills to help keep them and others safe in the water.

Enrol now at education.wa.edu.au/vacswim