Gumnut Bulletin 5, 2023
Education Manager
Dear Leaning Tree families,
Our Family Fun Day is set for the 1st of September and is followed by the Lighthouse Class’s school camp at Charles Darwin Reserve.
Our Year 5 students are off to Perth Waldorf School for the Greek Olympics in week 9 and have been busy studying Greek history and learning the skills needed to participate in the games.
Please, keep the Learning Journey afternoon in your diary. Tuesday the 19th of September is the opportunity to come to visit the classrooms and see the awesome work of your children.
The staff will be attending the annual Steiner Schools’ Day on the last day of term. This year the Steiner Schools from around the state are gathering at the Silver Tree School in Parkerville.
I again look forward to working with you this term.
Yours,
Mike
Community Manager
Dear families,
This term we have welcomed seven new students across the classes; K, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8...whew! We are so happy to have new families join our school from near and far.
Have you seen the LTSS advertisement on GWN7? Mike was lying in the dentist's chair last week when he was pleasantly surprised by some familiar faces on the television. We were then visited by the GWN7 executives who toured the school and offered to film at upcoming events for local news content, very exciting!
This Saturday, the school has a student work display at the 73rd Annual Chapman Valley Show; please do check it out if you visit the show.
School photos are scheduled for Tuesday 12th September for:
- Kindergarten,
- Pre-primary and
- Classes 1 - 5.
Wednesday 13th September for:
- Classes 6 - 9.
Your child may wear their favourite uniform colour (PP - 6) or appropriate free dress (K, 7, 8, 9). Make sure that they double-brush their hair and shine their teeth too ;) Order forms need to be returned by Monday 18th September.
Kind regards,
Ally
Sunflower Room Year 1
Sunflower News
This term the Sunflower students have been delving into Nature Stories. We have heard a variety of tales about the cold, wintry weather we have been experiencing. The wind, the rain and the magic found in the rainbows that appear after the storm has passed. The Sunflowers are now captivated by the adventures of Joe, Beth, Frannie and Curious Connie as they explore the enchanted woods and characters within ‘The Folk of the Faraway Tree’, by Enid Blyton.
Bringing it closer to home, we all ventured out for a fantastic day walking and singing along the riverbanks of the beautiful Chapman River last Friday. The Sunflower children may be short in stature, but they were not short on energy and walked approximately 8km carrying their own bags, food and water. I was so very proud of their positive attitudes and enthusiasm to explore and not give up! These achievements become very important yardsticks in the development of our children. The next time your little person is struggling with something, you now can say “You walked 8km without grumbling, you’ve got this!”.
This week we completed our 100 board and celebrated being a Class 1 Sunflower for 100 days. We made flower crowns and wrote 100 in the centre and used 100s and 1000s to decorate our very own biscuit for a teddy bears picnic. The teddies were all very excited but well-behaved. The sun shone and was a sign that the cold winter will soon pass and make way for the Springtime.
Warm regards
Jayne and Peta
Jilinbiri Room Years 2 & 3
Jilinbiri News
Beautiful butterflies flying gracefully in the wind.
Clear water flowing peacefully in the winding river.
Happy children laughing loudly under the shade of the trees.
These are some of the descriptive sentences that the Jilinbiri children wrote on our return from our day at the river. Last Friday we had our whole school day out at the Chapman River. We were all so relieved that the weather was perfect, and those little Year 2 legs did some serious walking! It was so lovely to be in nature, listening to birds, tracking animal prints, squishing in mud and breathing in the fresh clean air. It is easy to see why this is one of the most anticipated annual events on the school calendar.
This term in our ‘Farming’ main lesson, the children have been enjoying listening to stories from our class novel, ‘The Children of Willow Farm’. Blyton paints an idyllic picture of farm life, where the animals are part of the family. Last term we planted barley, wheat, lupins and oats in our class garden, and they are thriving after the recent rains. We can not wait to harvest the crop, grind the grain and turn the flour into delicious treats.
In art, the children have been learning how to use the block crayons to blend colours and have created wonderful pictures of a sailing boat on the sea.
This term has flown by so quickly. It has been enjoyable watching the children on their individual journeys as they progress through the curriculum.
Tara & Claire
Warm wishes,
Tara & Claire
Rivergum Room Years 4 & 5
Dear Families,
Impression de Voyage
The sea was sapphire coloured, and the sky
Burned like a heated opal through air,
We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair
For the blue lands that to the eastward lie.
By Oscar Wilde
The Rivergums returned well-rested, relaxed and refreshed ready for Term 3. With the worst of the windy winter behind us, we embraced the warmer weather and spent more time outdoors in the sunshine. Our favourite and fondly named River Walk took place in Week 3 in the Chapman River Regional Park. It was a cold and crisp morning that invigorated our imagination and sense of wonder. Before we embarked on our river loop track, we took a minute's silence to pay respect to Yamatji Land. We made sure that one class representative held some sand from the bank of the river to let the Waugal (a snake or rainbow serpent in Aboriginal Dreamtime), know of our presence. This ritual is a show of respect and care for Country and the cultural landscape in which we walk together. It was a wonderful day to spend by the local and beloved waterway. We crossed the river this year and ventured onto the North side of the track along a flower walk that will be full of blossoms come Spring.
Greek Myths and Ancient Greece was the first main lesson of the term, and we leaned into the words ‘act godly, true, and just’. In the first fortnight we uncovered ten major gods and goddesses and four famous myths: 'Prometheus and Pandora', 'Jason and the Golden Fleece', 'Hercules 12 Labours', and 'Theseus and Minotaur'. In the following fortnight, we explored aspects of 'Life as an Ancient Greek' such as food, homes, farming, arts and crafts and education. We focused on four more myths from Ancient Greece, 'King Midas', 'Demeter and Persephone', 'Medusa and the Gorgan' and 'An Apple for Aphrodite'. For our final week in Ancient Greece, we moved from myth into controversy and colossal conflict which is best depicted by the example of the Wooden Horse of Troy. Rivergums will remember the fact that the Greeks feared death and said: “Better a slave on earth than a King in the Underworld”. We will briefly look at the battle, weapons, deceit and destruction of Troy.
Men rise and fall like the winter wheat, but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hector and of Achilles.” Odysseus
With Warm regards,
Sincerely,
Susan
Lighthouse Room Year 6
This term I have been working with the Lighthouse students on a Tuesday.
For Business Maths, we have been learning about the ins and outs of running your own business. As part of this, the students have been working towards creating their own businesses and will hold a stall day to sell their products later in the term.
Lighthouse students have completed market research to decide on the best products to suit their customers, have created a budget plan and will need to do all the mathematics involved to see whether they turn a profit or loss. Hopefully, we make a profit! And if so, this will be split between a small class reward and a donation towards a charity.
Our stalls have a variety of items ranging from food such as; pancakes, jelly and custard, smoothies, baked goods, lolly bags and home-made lemonade, and other items such as; hair braiding, loom bands, pre-loved toys and teddies, pre-loved books and boardgames. Products will range between 0.50c -$5.
Hope you are all enjoying this warm weather,
Claire
Prospect Room Years 8 & 9
This term is all about problem-solving and presenting!
In the Prospect class, we are working on our Individual Project, where the students are looking at an issue and finding solutions on a wide range of topics. We have deforestation being picked to pieces, horse breeding tips, diet and well-being plans, motocross tracks, aircraft engineering, ecology in shoe manufacturing and many more. The class will create a model of their solution, collate their research and work into an easy-to-read document and then present it to the class as a speech.
In Australian History, we have revised colonisation and Federation, ready to look at the role of Parliament by debating a proposed Bill in a mock Parliamentary debate. The room will transform into the House of Representatives and the elected Prime Minister will introduce a bill to the group and a vote will take place to determine if it is ready for the Senate to vote upon it. This debate is in preparation for writing a persuasive essay.
Finally, we will look at Shakespeare and perform our class play at the end of the term... Phew! It is going to be fun getting the class up and ready with games that will test the students' comfort zones.
The photographs are of the class working as a whole to problem solve getting across the stream for those who did not want to get their feet wet - AKA Penny and Paul. Paul and I enjoyed watching the class band together to solve the issue. I was heartened that they all remained respectful of each other and the surroundings.
Please note: no trees, animals or bushes were hurt during this task.
The main leaders were Kayla and Harrison, the muscles were Adrian and Bailey H, and the support crew was the rest of the class. The main challenge: how to get Penny across dry from head to toe and not hurt her already sore back?
Mission Accomplished! Within 15 minutes, the bridge was built and I was carefully escorted across the river to dry land without so much as a hint of a hiccup. Fabulous work everyone!
Penny
Handcraft
Handcraft serves many purposes, not just the ones that we physically see. Yes, the children create beautiful items that are useful that is for certain. It is the work that we cannot see that is most important. The child’s inner development is evolving with their journey through the handcraft curriculum.
The children form relationships. Relationships with colour as they carefully choose their next ball of wool or thread. Relationships with their peers, the handcraft teacher as we chat and support each other. Relationships with their tools, whether it be their knitting needles, fingers, crochet hook or sewing needle. They experience movement and cognitive interactions as one hand talks to the other. These actions supportive to other areas of a child’s development.
Children experience a sense of pride and achievement as they complete their projects. Learning new skills. They experience beauty as they admire the colours. They feel comforted as they smooth down the wool.
Sunflowers Class 1 are finishing their French knitted and sewn beanies, with some already started on their wooden candle holders. Lots of sanding, chatting, sanding, chatting and much more sanding!
Jilinbiri Class 2 are well on their way to knitting their recorder cases. Here they can choose the colour they start with, but need to follow the colour spectrum until they finish.
Jilinbiri Class 3 are knitting their purl gnomes, how impressed I am with their skills! We have one finished gnome and their next project will be their felted pencil rolls.
Rivergum Class 4 has a myriad of projects happening suited to development. There are some weaving treasure bags being finished. Purl and knit gnomes are being made.
Rivergum Class 5 has some purl gnomes and fingerless gloves being finished. Some children have moved on to designing their 4-way symmetrical cross stitch, which is very stunning…and tricky!
Lighthouse Class 6 students are busy working on their crochet slippers, with a few early finishers working on granny square designs.
We are looking forward to candle dipping from scratch coming this way.
Winter Blessings
Lisa and Helen
Parents & Friends Action Team
Bring $5 to school for a super duper lunch deal this Friday 1st September during Family Fun Day!
Feast upon a scone, green apple, lemonade and sausage sizzle or burger lunch.
Community Noticeboard
The Leaning Tree Steiner School Governing Body would like to invite new members to join the governance team. Full induction and training are provided to help guide in the areas of governance and strategic planning.
If you are interested or would like to learn more about volunteering in a leadership capacity, please contact Wendy Watters at chair@leaningtree.wa.edu.au
