FRIDAY FLYER - Michael Park School · 6/8/2018  · For urgent messages please continue ... hild minding for little ones and Kindi kids. Mornings till noon and from 2pm-6pm after

COMING EVENTS

8-10 June World Vision Famine

Wednesday 13 June Meet & Greet Principal Terry Storer

Friday 15 June Class 4 Lunch Bar

Friday 15 June School Lantern Festival

Tuesday 19 June Sports & Team Photos

Tuesday 19 June High School Parent Meeting

Wednesday 20 June Open Day

FRIDAY FLYER 8 June 2018

Newsletter 20

MEET OUR NEW PRINCIPAL

13 June, 7pm in the Eurythmy Room

On Wednesday 13th June we will have a whole school meeting for

the community to come and meet Terry Storer in an informal

setting and begin the process of getting to know him. We look

forward to seeing you there.

AN UPDATE FROM THE RSST

Many thanks to all those who attended the whole school

community meeting on Wednesday night, it was a great turnout

and useful discussion. This year within the school there have been

some unexpected changes, which bring challenges and

opportunities. It has lead to many conversations, reflection and

work at the RSST. We consider this a healthy part of the school life

to reflect, question and then move forward with purpose.

As part of our reflections we would like to acknowledge the

passion and commitment to Steiner education, which is evident in

all areas of the school. This is heartening for us to know, as we

work hard to support the Special Character of the school, in

conjunction with the College of Teachers, Board of Trustees and

Senior Management Team and staff. We have learnt from your

messages that it is important we continue to communicate about

the work that goes on to support the Special Character.

Along with our monthly Friday Flyer articles, we also thought it

would be beneficial to write a document to help explain how the

RSST supports Steiner education at Michael Park School. We hope

that this information will be useful to addressing some of the

concerns about the integrity of Steiner education at MPS. We

would like to give a gentle reminder that the individuals who

donate their time to the Board and RSST do so on a voluntary basis

and thus we appreciate your patience while we bring together

resources to answer questions regarding the Special Character. In

the meantime, some information is also available in the parent

handbook, which is available on the school website:

www.michaelpark.school.nz/about-us/resources/parent-handbook

The school vision developed in 2012 spoke of three sides to a

strong and healthy school - Living Waldorf pedagogy, Vibrant

community and Financial resilience. The Living Waldorf pedagogy

speaks to the way that Steiner education is brought into life in the

school, through action and discussion. Details about how this is

living in the school can be found on the school website under

Charter and Vision, and shows the goals for 2018. Please see the

link for more details:

http://www.michaelpark.school.nz/media/resources/general/MPS

-Charter-Vision-2018.pdf

We start our meetings with the motto of the social ethic:

The healthy social life is found

When in the mirror of each human soul

The whole community finds its reflection,

And when in the community

The virtue of each one is living. – Rudolf Steiner

This helps remind us that we are all doing the best that we can at

the present time, that we are all at different stages of a journey

with Steiner education and that through discussion, reflection and

work we can grow as a community.

A special farewell to Miles Purchase who has now stood down

from the RSST after serving for three years. We thank him for all

his hard work; he brought his experience and knowledge to the

property group, and we valued his clear and candid insights, with a

sense of humour that helped us all in our work.

We advertised in the11th May Friday Flyer for a new volunteer and

we are specifically looking for someone with Early Childhood

Education experience to support this governance role on the Trust.

In total we have two current vacancies on the RSST. We are looking

for people who have skills and enthusiasm, and we also take into

consideration the balance of the Trust as a whole. For instance,

having a range of parents from different areas of the school. Those

interested are invited to discuss this further with the Chair, and

then to attend a RSST meeting, and finally applicants are voted

onto the Trust by the existing members. We have had four

expressions of interest, and if anyone else is interested please

email Dana before the 14th June [email protected]

He waka eke noa

A canoe which we are all in with no exception (We are all in this

together)

Thanks, The RSST

Melanie, Rochana, Nadine, Suzanne, Craig and Mary

PROBLEM WITH PHONE SYSTEM

As you know we have been having ongoing issues with our phones

not working and at this stage the phones are still down. Please note

that this is an outside issue, not the school phone system. We

appreciated that it is very frustrating for all of us.

Chorus technicians have been working on the fault and we hope to

have this issue resolved soon. For urgent messages please continue

to email [email protected]

Please use School Links for absentees or email reception.

LANTERN FESTIVAL DINNER

Class 8 families invite you to a enjoy a fabulous warming dinner

before the Lantern Festival on Friday 15th June.

Bring your family early and bring along some cash to purchase a

selection of yummy, warming food including curry, soup, burgers &

sausages on the BBQ, apple crumble with custard, etc.

GIFT OF HOPE CHARITY TEAM

40 hour Famine 8-10 June - THIS WEEKEND!

A huge thanks to those students who are standing for the children of Sudan this weekend

In taking the 40 hour challenge giving up something they love and raising funds for the Refugee Crisis in Sudan

A shout out to Class 5 Market last Friday they made a incredible $657 for the Famine

Please support our students as they take up their challenges

You can go to our page:

https://my.worldvision.org.nz/d/ss/iIVM6o/michael-park-school

Just $10 Can give Five children School Supplies !

Come on Michael Park School lets stand with the children of Sudan

Thank you for your support

The Gift of Hope Charity Team

LANTERN FESTIVAL

Friday 15th June

We look forward to seeing many of you next week at our Lower

School Lantern Festival, Friday 15 June. We would like to have the

children of classes 1-7 back at school by 5:30 at the latest. A bell will

ring at 5:45 to tell the children to return to their classrooms.

Class 8 will be running the lunchbar, giving you an opportunity to

support their camp fundraising efforts as well as to enjoy some

yummy and nutritious food.

Just a reminder that you are responsible for your children on the

night once the singing has finished and the grotto walk

begins. Please ensure that your children stay with you at all times.

Please also remember our healthy eating policy by not having

marshmallows at the braziers, damper would be a nice alternative

COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

Ex Tauranga Steiner Student wanting Room / Board in the

Ellerslie, Mt Eden, Mt Roskill or Mt Albert areas from middle

July to 10th Dec. Please contact Rebekah 027 902 1758.

Child minding for little ones and Kindi kids. Mornings till noon

and from 2pm-6pm after kindi. If you’re in need of some

support, time off or after kindi care call or txt Nina on

021 208 6206. We are right by the school and have a big

outside area for playing.

Class 3 mama looking for a 2brm home near school for me

and my daughter... and a small dog. Contact Belinda 022 386

3167 or [email protected].

Violin lessons for beginners and advanced. Txt or call Nina on

021 208 6206.

The Flash Bang Science Club Winter Holiday Workshop -

Liquid Density & Lava Lamps (7yrs-12yrs). Open for bookings

now and filling fast! Explore liquid density and chemical

reactions as we make our own bubbling lava lamp! Ellerslie

10th July, Pakuranga 11th July & Pukekohe 12th July. For

more information and bookings please check out

www.flashbangscienceclub.co.nz

The “Give a kid a blanket” campaign begins on 1st July for this

winter. We are collecting warm things for children and

families in Auckland who need them. If you have any

(preloved or new) blankets, sleeping bags, sleep sacks,

bedding, Pyjamas, hats or socks that you would like to donate

please get in contact. 021 0815 5023. Rachel (Jacaranda

Mum). Many thanks!

Contact the editor [email protected]

Guideline 150 characters please. Deadline Thursday lunchtime.

HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

The High School Combined Parent Meeting

We regret to say that Sue Simpson, due to personal circumstances,

cannot present to our parents on the 19th of June. However, we are

pleased to say that our very own Jane Patterson will be speaking

about the ideals of Steiner education on that date. Our invitation to

all interested parents, from kindergarten to high school, still stands;

so if you wish to hear Jane then you are most welcome to join us.

Parents with High School students can, therefore, attend Jane’s

presentation on the 19th of June for the combined part of the

Combined Parent Meeting and then go their respective class

meetings for Classes 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Jane’s presentation will be given in the Eurythmy room at 7:00 p.m.

We do ask our guests to remove their shoes before entering the

Eurythmy room to respect that space. We hope to see many of you

there.

Warm regards

Adam Driver, High School Deputy Principal

GIRL EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE

Female students are invited to The Girl Empowerment Conference

2018. This event is organised by students at Macleans College, and is

hosted at Macleans College on Saturday 16 June 2018.

“This is an opportunity to encourage young females who are

interested in business, feminism, and politics to chase their dreams,

promote women’s rights, as well as provide a platform for young

women to discover their talent.

We hope to inspire young females to be future change makers by

providing them with the opportunities to design their own business

in a real-life scenario and present it to a panel of leading

businessmen [sic!] and entrepreneur judges.”

Female high school students (class 9 + ) are invited to register

themselves at this website: www.tgecnz.com

*Please note that this is not a Michael Park School organised or

supervised trip. Parents and caregivers, not Michael Park School,

would be responsible for making any supervisory and health and

safety arrangements with Macleans College.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SURVEY

Do not miss the opportunity of contributing to potentially the

biggest education change in our times...

The Ministry of Education survey closes on Thursday 22 June and

our voices should be loud and clear amongst the respondents –

children, parents, teacher, whanau - everybody

Go to www.conversation.education.govt.nz to access the survey.

BIG BIODYNAMIC AUTUMN DAY

CELEBRATING MIDWINTER – THE SPIRAL

FESTIVAL

Monday 25th June

For many years in the school we have celebrated midwinter with a

Spiral festival, where, in a darkened room with a spiral made out of

green branches, students walk into the centre and light their

individual candles. The room begins in darkness, and by the end is

filled with light, and the story material used, appropriate to the age

of the students in the room, is about an individual striving to reach

the light in some way or another.

For about 18 months the College has been studying the celebration

of festivals from a range of viewpoints, asking questions about

whether what we are doing at present meets the needs of our

modern students in Aotearoa. About six years ago, the High School

began a new Matariki festival for after midwinter which includes the

flying of flags and is a favourite of many of our students. Now we are

ready to try out something a little different for Midwinter as well.

This year there will still be traditional Spiral festivals for all the

primary students. However, high school students will be given a

choice; they can either continue with the inside Spiral festival,

joining the primary school classes as has been done in the past, or

they can be part of a new festival which will happen at exactly the

same time and which will take place outside (or in the gym if the

weather is really against us).

During this outside Midwinter festival, we will take inspiration

from the Maori celestial compass that guided Polynesian

navigators on their immense journeys, told them when the right

time to plant their crops was, and showed them the direction of

their lives. We will construct a temporary Atea a Rangi (celestial

compass) on the soccer field, moving within it on our own

journeys, and together creating an immense new form of spiral

that the rest of the school can visit when they leave their rooms.

Afterwards, we will review what we have created and experienced,

and see whether this is truly a way forward for our school into the

future of festival celebration.

We look forward to sharing the outcome of this with you all!

Jane Patterson for the College.

Do you enjoy working with wood? Do you want to get involved in our community in a practical way?

If so, come along to the Wood Group and help us make things to sell to raise money for the school at the Summer Fair.

We meet in the woodwork room (above the tennis courts) each Monday from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

All parents are welcome (we are not allowed children, sorry) and no experience is necessary.

For more information contact Doug Cross

021 455 831

[email protected]