NEWSLETTER - wp.rainbowridge.nsw.edu.auwp.rainbowridge.nsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/...  · Web view(Vegan and gluten free) $5 and any IUO’s. ... Bothmer Gymnastics plays

NEWSLETTERTerm 1 Week 2 , 13th FEB 2018 _____________

279 Lillian Rock Rd, Lillian Rock, NSW 2480 ph: (02) 6689 7033 email: [email protected] web: www.rainbowridge.nsw.edu.au

A healthy human life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection,

and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.

THE NEW CLASS 1 ROOM

This Week 2 Wed 14th Feb : TUCKSHOP, $5 and plenty of morning teaWed 14th Feb : Sunsparkle Playgroup, 9.15-11.30am

Next Week 3 Tue 20th Feb: Class 4/5 parent teacher meeting, childcare available

Wed 21st Feb : Tuckshop. $5 and plenty of morning teaWed 21tst Feb : Sunsparkle Playgroup, 9.15-11.30amWed 21st Feb: Class 2 parent teacher meeting, childcare available

Thu 22th Feb : Primary School assembly, all welcome

Monday TERM DATESTuesdays Term

1’185th Feb’18 6th April’18

Wednesdays

Term 2’18

30th Apr’18 29th June’18

Thursdays Term 3’18

23rd Jul’18 21th Sep’ 18

Friday Ensemble Term 4’18

15th Oct’18 14th Dec’18

TUCKSHOP MENU: PESTO PASTA, BROCCOLI&TOMATOES & FRUIT

SALAD &YOGHURT (Vegan and gluten free) $5 and any IUO’s

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BOARD of DIRECTORS NEWSThe first meeting for this year is today Tuesday the 13th of December at 5pm. If you are interested in attending a BOD meeting with the idea of becoming a BOD member please contact Anja in the office to make arrangements. Our current BOD members are Noah Nielsen (chair person), Paul O’Reilly (treasurer), Abby Nguyen (secretary), Ben Robinson, Rebecca Ryall and Anja Hunold. Marga and Richard attend meetings as ex-officios.

ALL SCHOOL NEWSYesterday the whole primary school had the honour of welcoming Aunty Nelly and her local relatives to the school. Nelly is an Anangu Elder from Uluru who is passionate about living a new way forward promoting harmony amongst all peoples, regardless of skin colour. It was an incredibly beautiful morning of sharing culture, song, story and art. We are very lucky and all the children and adults present felt the auspiciousness of the occasion.We sang a song learned some words like thank you in Pitjantjatjara the word is palya and in Bunjalung it is Buggelbeh. Palya can also mean how are you, is it all good and goodbye.

Lishia described the difference between the gluggy clay soil of the North Coast and she then poured some of the fine red sand from Aunty Nelly’s country on the ground. As she did Aunty Nelly’s eyes gleamed. We heard of the class 5/6 trip to the dessert gallery where they first met Aunty and they bought an artwork, which later they discovered was painted by Nelly. When she turned to look at the work she laughed a deep laugh. We were all mesmerized and then in the quietness she told her dreaming story of the rainbow serpent.We finished the morning with some painting of a gathering using some of the motifs we were shown.Palya Aunt Nelly we wish you a safe travel back to country and the connecting of the song line from the desert to the coast.

Much Wise old Nelly,

Holder of the dreamingMistress of songsMaster of paint

Protector of storiesGuardian to us all

(Poem by Kian class 8)Much to the excitement of class 2, they spotted a koala in their new playground area yesterday.

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In week three, Thursday morning at 9.20am we have a school assembly, all are welcome.

EDUC ATIONAL ADMINISTRATOR Dear School communityWe welcome all families, old and new students to the 2018 School year. For the growing numbers of students, the school has planned a new building which is at the beginning of construction. During the holidays lots of work was done in different areas to create separate spaces for new classes. We welcome Pairoj as our new class 1 teacher. In Kindy we have now the possibility to separate into two Kindy groups depending on the number of children. Katrina and Lauren are the teachers being supported by 3 assistants, Elenya, Robyn and Leanne. Jane is the class 2 teacher, Theo class 3, Simone continues with her combined class, now 4/5 and our Middle School, classes 6/7/8 have as guardians and specialist teachers Lishia and Mark covering English, History/Geography, Science and Math, with other specialist teachers to enrich their curriculum. These are Michelle for horticulture, Simone for visual arts, Camilla for music, Xixia for Chinese, Mark teaching Technology, Catherine Textiles and Lishia continues Bothmer Gymnastics.The office staff is a continuum of Anja as senior staff at the front desk, covering lots of other areas, Rose assisting in many areas including entrances into the school’s new data system and Laurel dealing with finances. Richard is appointed by the Board as Business Administrator and Marga endorsed by College and Board as Educational Administrator.We have a music faculty led by Camilla, teaching violin and 6/7/8 music, Kael teaching class 3 violin and the Primary classes music and Helen teaching Cello.Catherine continues to take good care of the library. If you are new to the school, please see her to become a borrower. Catherine also teaches craft in all classes.Xixia will continue Chinese classes and Lishia will continue Bothmer Gymnastic lessons in classes starting in class 3.Autumn, fighting our Dragon and the Community SpiritEven though we are going through another heat wave autumn is on its way with misty mornings and ripening fruits and vegetables and a variety of grasses forming seed heads.An imaginative picture of autumn is presented with Michael fighting the dragon. This is a time when we all might face our own dragon. There are forces in the world that are challenging us and as individuals and as a community we need our strength and courage to be truthful, look at ourselves, transform anything unwanted and hurtful actions towards others, have compassion and hope that we come through any traumas helping each other and standing strong as a community.Our intentions are overcoming the darkness and creating healing; giving way to the light!A short guide to arranging and reporting student absences.School attendance is compulsory, and the school is asking parents for the commitment of having enrolled their child/ren to strive to 100% attendance to support the academical, as well as social and emotional growth of the children and the class. We have term dates for the year, so please plan your holidays accordingly.

1. If your child is sick, please call the office in the morning.2. Any absence needs to be reported and recorded in the class role book. We have

mandatory reporting to the government about absences. When you call, office staff will ask you for the reason of the absence of your child.

3. If an absence is unexplained or unacceptable (like days off for going shopping or having birthday celebrations at a theme park out of school etc) they will be marked as unauthorized.

4. If you have reasons for extended leave you need to apply for it. Call the office and make an appointment with me.

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Unauthorized leave means the school does not take any responsibility for the student’s learning. It becomes the parent’s responsibility and extended unauthorized leave might lead to disenrollment and/or report to the government.

I’d like to encourage you to contact me for any educational questions and wellbeing concerns of your child/ren.I wish everybody a great start for learning in the new school year.Marga Helms, Educational Administrator

KINDYDear Kindy families, welcome to a new year. It was quite a task to set up the new spaces, but they are looking beautiful and working well. All the children have settled in well and are already involving themselves purposefully in play. We are singing songs about the sea, making napkin holders for our eating table and felting pillows for rest time. The downstairs sandpit area is a hive of activity with water flowing, sand structures being built everywhere and the most wonderful cakes coming from the sandpit oven. Thank you so much to Maria for taking on the Kindy washing this term. There are a few things to remember to help our days flow smoothly.Please make sure the children bring at least one change of clothes to school.Please remember to provide a hat for your child to keep at school.Please remember that clothing must include sleeves, straps and sleeveless item do not provide enough sun protection.We will have a Kindy parent meeting in week 5 to meet each other again and discuss important aspects of the Kindy program and why we do what we do. Please do not hesitate to contact myself or Lauren via the office if you have any questions. Thank you for supporting your children to have a wonderful start to the year.Warm regards from Katrina, on behalf of the Kindy Team.

CLASS 1 NEWSSawasdee everyone,My name is Pairoj, am from Siam, then lived in New Zealand, where I did my Steiner teacher training and taught. I just moved to Lillian Rock/Nimbin two weeks ago. I enjoy living in this rural area with the natural surroundings and our small school community’s slow pace. I am totally new in the area.This year I take on the teaching position as a Class 1 teacher at Rainbow Ridge School for Steiner Education and there are ten students in my class.

Often, I ponder the question “who are these children?” “How did we come to meet each other at this particular time?” This fundamental question is very much alive in my consciousness. In Class 1, we start the day with a warm greeting followed by our morning verse -“The sun with loving light…..” which is well suited to the child’s consciousness at this age. Seven-year-old children have a strong eagerness to move about physically; therefore, Morning Circle activities are designed to meet these needs. Meaningful movements support the children’s co-ordination in both the gross and fine motor skills while at the same time enhancing their spatial awareness and individual learning. The Class 1 children are learning to live in a healthy routine and habit at school. As a Class 1 teacher, I would make sure that the students would have plenty of opportunities to play creatively, both outside and inside the classroom. In the long run, this will be a healthy social

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skill in the future of children’s life. My aim is to keep them happy and healthy in their learning at school.Class 1 has started exploring their first Main Lesson Block called “Form Drawing” for two weeks, followed by English Main Lesson for three weeks, Maths for three weeks and preparing for the Autumn Festival in the last week of term 1. Working cooperatively together is being a crucial theme in the classroom. Children are learning to share and help each other. The participation of parents will definitely play a big part in the teaching and learning process in order to support the healthy class through their primary and middle school years. The generous support of the class parents will also be very important in creating a sense of community in the classroom and school.

Warm regards, Pairoj

CLASS 2 NEWSHow wonderful to see all the children again! Everyone has grown, and they are ready to get back into learning, drawing, playing and running! We have entered the animal fables. And last week we heard lots of fox stories. The children get a feeling of the quality of the fox. As this is an English Main lesson, we are playing with the letters and finding common sounds made by two letters…. in so many words. We find these words with a ‘Simon says phonics game’ which the children are really enjoying playing, by either finding the letter or sounding the letter.It is so lovely to have the new class 1 next door, we have been enjoying sharing the playground and baking on Thursday…. Thank you so very much Jason for supplying dough on such a last-minute request.I am looking forwards to seeing you all at the class meeting on 21st of February. Please email me any questions you might have so I can speak directly to your queries, and I promise not to rant this year :0.Lastly please make sure your child has enough food. We do not have a kitchen upstairs and supplies are limited, so it is much better for your child if they have ample from home.Many thanks, Jane

Class 2 letter form drawing with their feet.

CLASS 3 NEWSDear class 3 parents and families,

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Class three returned to school focused and ready for school. It was pleasing to me to see how well they are able to hold themselves in the classroom and their other classes. Much is new for class three this year with a new classroom, desks, chairs, classes, teachers and routine.Their new desks are individual desks which lift up and they have their books, lyras and crayons close at hand. Thank you to Patrick, Shane and Aaron, for their hard work over the holidays creating these. The children’s new chairs are a little bigger to accommodate their growing sizes.Last Tuesday we had our first gardening lesson, and the children took to their new tasks with enthusiasm. We are preparing the garden for planting so there was much weeding and raking. Some children were also involved in shovelling compost into the wheelbarrow. It was a delight to observe their industry. Please ensure your child has closed in shoes appropriate for the gardening lessons each Tuesday. Michelle will be leading the gardening classes. Michelle takes the gardening classes for all classes from year three up and is called upon as a relief teacher as most of you will remember from her taking our class a few times last year.Also Bothmer classes started this week with Lishia who is the combined teacher with Mark for class 6,7,8. Bothmer Gymnastics was developed in accordance with the indications given by Steiner’s perspective of the Human Being and Child Development, focusing on the physical development and ‘will’ forces in the growing child. Bothmer Gymnastics plays a crucial role in the curriculum and is complimented by handwork, games, drama, class plays and all other lessons that utilize movement to augment the learning process. Lishia has been specifically trained in Bothmer Gym and it is wonderful to have her involved with our class this year.On Thursday each week the children will have a library class with Catherine, who is our Librarian and Craft Teacher. Library lessons are incorporated as part of the reading program for class three. Last week I began assessing the children’s reading level. This task should be finished by next week and they should be ready to begin borrowing books and will hopefully all have their special library bags ready too that they began working on towards the end of last year. The children enjoyed the experience of entering the library for the first time and listened well to their orientation of this new space.I informed you by email before school started that violin and cello lessons will begin in week two but there has been a minor setback and so Camilla, the school’s music coordinator, informed me and the children on Friday that we will actually start in week three. The children are eager, and this will bring greater momentum by them into their first lesson in week three. Cello lessons will be on Tuesdays and violin on Thursdays so please be expecting your child’s respective instrument coming home on those days in week three.Our current Main Lesson is English, and we are exploring the ancient Hebrew Stories. These stories are very important for the class three child as they are full of archetypal challenges that speak to and meet the child of this age level. Please be aware that these stories are not delivered from a religious perspective and other than the stories themselves meeting the children at their age of development, they provide an important education from both a literary and historical perspective. The style of writing can be seen in the writing of such masters as Shakespeare and they present the culture of ancient times. In this Main Lesson we will move through the creation story; Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; Noah and the Ark; and Abraham.In our Main Lessons this year we are writing more, increasing our phonic awareness and grammatical skills. Our drawings will involve more depiction of the stories and as the children’s drawing ability is increasing they will be guided to depict story characters with more gesture and detail. I have already observed a growth and readiness for this from the end of last year. Sonja and I both commented on the quality of the children’s drawings and writing this week. For those who are new Sonja is my assistant and joins the class for Main Lessons on the mornings of Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sonja also will continue to assist Catherine during Craft, which is now on Thursday afternoons.We of course start each day with Morning Circle and class three have new verses, songs and movement activities to ready themselves for the day. You may have already heard songs such as “Canoe song” and “Bells” which, excitingly this year have begun to sing in rounds. They have already begun creating and hearing the magical harmonies that resound from this type of singing. You may have also heard the funny “Button Factory” which activates left/right

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brain coordination. Have your child to show you, it’s tricky but fun. In week three, Thursday morning at 9.20am we have a school assembly, all are welcome and class three will be performing.While we had a very good week overall, I wish you to know that come Friday most of the children were very tired and it was difficult to get through our work with the quality of the preceding days. This was expressed to me by teachers in other classes too and I urge you to ensure your child has adequate sleep during the week and re-establish these good routines that often get disrupted during the holidays.Finally, and I apologise for this lengthy article, but there was much to say, I am requesting anyone who has completed their swimming bronze medallion and is interested in being involved in the school’s swimming program to please contact me by email.Blessings, Theo

CLASS 4/5 NEWSWelcome to the new year at school. I was so grateful and excited to see all the children back at school after such a long break. Everyone has grown.The class has grown too. We welcome a class 5 boy Sirocco. Sirocco is another one of our growing number of children travelling to school from Lismore.I heard one parent say in the set-up week that everything has changed…that’s how the beginning of the year felt at school. Possibly because the new admin building work has begun and there is a building site at the school’s entrance, or because…everything has changed.Our year is about looking backwards to the past and forwards, to the future.We started by making an INTENTION for the class for the future. You can see what we came up with at our Class Meeting. We have started the strings program for the term. I sent out a list with violin and cello individual lesson days. Friday is the class 4/5 ensemble. Please help your child to form healthy habits around remembering instruments for lessons and ensemble as well as regular home practice. The most positive feedback I heard from violin and cello teachers was regarding healthy home habits regarding practice.We now welcome Helen as the cello teacher this year. School Lunches and the Dress CodeJust a quick reminder to please abide by the school’s dress code. I tell the children to have a special drawer or a part of their cupboard with plain, coloured T –shirts and pants/skirts set aside for their weekend and afterschool clothes. Shorts need to be as long as the tip of the middle finger when arms are extended. This keeps the start of our day simple. Also, when lunchboxes just contain fresh fruits and homemade slices/ savory biscuits for morning tea there is less desire from other children to share food. We are so grateful to have the tuckshop again. Tuckshop is on Wednesday. If you did not receive the email last week regarding the tuckshop menu please contact the office to get on the mail out list.Library is also on Wednesday. Please remind your child to return their readers and books in their library bag.The Human Being and the Animal KingdomIn our Main Lesson we have heard and discovered many things about a cuttlefish and brown and grey seals. Steiner described the different animals in terms of their comparison to the human being and I have to say it is a wonderful way to understand more about ourselves. Both class 4 and 5 are writing their own sentences and class 5 are doing all their own spelling corrections from the dictionary. The children are also doing an in-class project. The work about the chosen animal is all hand written and drawn by the children. Time has been set aside to do their projects in their project book. The children can knit, carve or make a model of their animal at home. We will have a look at all the work at the beginning of the week in week 4.

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Days to remember:Wednesday -library bagWednesday - $5 for tuckshop if your child wants to have tuckshopWednesday/Thursday - Bothmer - no skirts Friday – Class 4/5 ensemble, all instruments to come to schoolThe class meeting is on Tuesday 20th February at 3.30pm in our new classroom (upstairs and to the left of our past classroom).Please join us for an afternoon of discourse and sharing about your child’s education. Let’s enjoy our time together.If you are unable to attend, please let the office know ahead of the meeting day and I will get back to you.Much love Simone

CLASS 6/7/ 8 NEWSDear Parents and Families,It is wonderful to be back together again! This year sees quite a few changes to our Class 6/7/8 cohort. Firstly, the new wall through our movement room downstairs has made a new classroom for Mark and a locker room for the children. We are trialling a more ‘high school’ approach to their desks and belongings and so far it seems to be working well, with great enthusiasm from the class. We warmly welcome 4 new children and their families; Hilde in Class 6, Manu, Arusha, and Indi in Class 7.

Thank you to all those who worked hard over the holiday break to have the school so ready and looking so beautiful. Term 1 will be a time of transition as so many new spaces are being created and old ones changing. Please be patient and considerate of one another when driving in and out of the school, especially at bus times.Mark is currently taking the Class 7/8 students for a Main Lesson in Mathematics called Maths in the Real World and it is aimed at arming them with skills and knowledge of Percentages and decimals, Bank accounts, Foreign exchange and Trade and Business. Lishia has the class 6's for an English Main Lesson on the fall of Rome and the rise of Christianity and Islam.

Outside of this time, Mark is taking the class 6 and class 7/8 for Mathematics, and for Technology. This term the students will be making three legged stools I would like to thank Reuben King and Super Forest Plantations for their generosity in sourcing, cutting and delivering some slabs and rounds for the students to work on. Lishia is taking English and Bothmer and Michelle has the students for gardening.We have been very impressed with the way the students have come back this year with real positivity and how quickly and easily they have slipped into their new class structures and how new students have been so readily and wonderfully welcomed.We will keep this fairly brief here as Mark, Michelle and Lishia will be meeting with you all this afternoon for our Class Meeting. If you really cannot make it, please make contact asap so that another time later in the week may be arranged.Thanks for your continued support, Mark, Lishia and Michelle

CRAFT NEWSClass One children have already started to make their chair cushion covers, embroidering their names onto the cloth. Class Two children have started a needle book to keep their pins and needles safe. Class Three children are finishing their library bags. Last week they decorated a cloth bag to use for music. Class Four and Five children are making just a few more crocheted granny squares to contribute to a beautiful blanket which will be raffled this year for class fundraising. 

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Class Five and Six children have launched into a mosaic lesson, starting with a paper mosaic portrait. Class Eight students have been commissioned to refurbish the bench outside the library. They have come up with some great ideas and how they will tackle the project. Happy Crafting , Catherine 

LIBRARY NEWSAll classes 3-8 will be visiting the library each week. Please check the library timetable and help your children by reminding them to bring their library books and bags to school on the day their class visits the library. Class 3 children had their first library visit last week. They are very excited to be able to borrow books and to use the library when it is open at morning tea and lunch. The children are working hard to get their library bags finished in craft lessons, so they can start to borrow books. The library is open for parents on Tuesday and Thursday mornings 9-11. We have a wonderful collection of parenting books and books on Anthroposophy as well as picture books for your younger children. Happy Reading, Catherine 

LIBRARY TIMTABLE TERM 1 2018Times Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

8.30 – 10.30 Closed Open Closed Open Closed

10.30 – 11.00 Closed Open Open Open Closed

11.00 – 11.40 Closed Open for Morning Tea

Open for Morning Tea

Open for Morning Tea

Closed

11.40 – 12.20 ClosedCello Lessons

ClosedCello Lessons

Class 4&5 in Library Class 3 in Library ClosedCello Lessons

12.20 – 1.00 ClosedCello Lessons

ClosedCello Lessons

Class 6,7&8 in Library Open ClosedCello Lessons

1.00 – 1.40 ClosedCello Lessons

Open for Lunch

Open for Lunch

Open for Lunch

ClosedCello Lessons

1.40 – 3.00 ClosedCello Lessons

ClosedCello Lessons

Closed Closed ClosedCello Lessons

3.00 – 3.30 Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed

3.30 – 4.00 Closed Open Closed Open Closed

MUSIC NEWS Hi all and welcome back,Lots of changes are occurring within the Music Department and as the dust start to settle we will find our new rhythm.To keep it short, year 4 and up all have ensemble on Fridays and will need their instruments and books. A new practise set up at home could refresh children’s enthusiasm for practise, i.e. a new place, stand or time.Thank you for supporting our music programBest Wishes, Camilla

COMMUNITY NOTICES 

My name is Gareth and together with my partner Bronte we teach the after-school circus workshops and kinder gym.We will be starting up the circus class again starting from next Tues 13th Feb, there will be a kids class @3.30-4.30pm and Kinder Gym is 10-11am on Wednesdays- Cost is $15 per child.  The venue is Barkers Vale school hall.

The classes will teach skills in acrobatics, aerials, and juggling and are a great way for kids to keep fit and healthy in a supportive non-competitive atmosphere. We are both professional coaches with over 40 years combined experience teaching and performing circus all over the world.

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 Gareth Bjaaland The Pitts Family Circus 02 66897029 or 0406 611 331

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The Six subsidiary exercise meeting.These six basic exercises help to develop and purify thinking, feeling and willing. They can support a meditation practice, or be used as a regular practice on their own.We gather once a month to explain the exercise that is to be practiced. We exchange experiences and support one another to maintain one’s own practice.The discussion will be supplemented by reading from the publication "Sex education and the spirit" by Lisa Romero.Copies of Lisa Romero's books are available at the meeting.The next meeting will be held at 1370 Keerrong rd,The Channon this Wednesday 14th February from 7.30-9.00 pm.Coming from the Channon village, turn left into 1370 and drive 400m, then turn left again at the fork. Continue travelling up until you reach the house and park.Everyone is welcome to attend.If you need more information, please call Darren on 0428649657

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The Rainbow Ridge Adventure bus is for sale. NISSAN CIVILLIAN 1988 MODEL, 193,000KM. GARAGED, LOOKED AFTER AND REGULARLY SERVICED, REGO 21/10/18. BIT OF RUST AND WEAR AND TEAR. $8000 ONO. Please talk to Anja or Patrick.

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