Gumnut Bulletin 3, 2024
- Education Manager
- Community Manager
- Enrichment Coordinator
- Starflower Kindergarten/Pre-primary
- Sunflower Room Class 1
- Jilinbiri Room Class 2
- Seabreeze Room Class 3
- Rivergum Room Class 4/5
- Lighthouse Room Class 5/6
- Voyager Room Class 7
- Prospect Room Class 8/9
- Handcraft
- Music and Design & Technology
- Noticeboard
Education Manager
Hello Everybody
We all await the rain that is so badly needed. There is a lot happening for us over the next few weeks. I had the fortune to watch the Jilinbiri class play this morning; what a lovely performance. Congratulations to Leisl on writing the play that interwove the class themes into the presentation. We are proud to be teaching the children the need to protect our natural resources, to prevent littering and to recycle whenever possible.
I had great pleasure in announcing that we have appointed the Student Wellbeing Officer this week. Thanks to funding accessed through the National Student Wellbeing Program, we have appointed Ms Diana (Dee) Juskov to the position. Dee will work each Friday with an aim to support the children in their social and emotional growth. Dee comes to us with a Bachelor of Science in Youth Work and a Graduate Diploma in Youth Mental Health. Dee began her role today and will work each Friday.
The school was also fortunate enough to receive some funding through the Federal Government’s Student Wellbeing Boost. We have used this money to provide the junior students with the opportunity to visit the Greenough Wildlife Park in a few weeks’ time, and for the Year 4-9 students to have a session at the Aquarena. This funding was also used to provide the FREE YOGA classes after school on Fridays. Please, feel free to join these lessons for a bit of relaxing downtime.
The Prospect Class has begun its preparation for their Trekking Challenge this week by walking to Drummond Cove and back. The students have the goal of trekking along the beach from Drummonds to Coronation Beach later in the year. What a fabulous challenge that will also include some environmental aspects.
This coming Monday and Tuesday the Managers and the Governing Body will be working with Ms Virginia Moller on the school’s strategic plan. Virginia is the immediate past CEO of Steiner Education Australia. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with her to secure the future planning of the school.
Plans are already under way in preparation for the upcoming Winter Solstice Festival which will be held on Thursday the 20th of June. Please, keep the date free, this is a really lovely experience.
Bush play will begin on Monday the 13th May. Please, be reminded that the students need enclosed shoes and long pants to take part in bush play.
Yours
Mike
Community Manager
Dear Families,
Throughout the past weeks, our school has been bustling with activity, fostering a nurturing environment where children flourish not only academically but also spiritually and creatively. From our lively classrooms to the peaceful outdoor spaces, each corner of our little big school echoes with the joy of learning and discovery. We have a number of new (and old!) families who have joined the school which also adds to the harmony.
At the recent ANZAC remembrance service, our class 9 leaders represented LTSS and paid tribute by laying a wreath they had crafted themselves. Teaching students about the ANZAC spirit not only honours the sacrifices of past generations but also equips them with valuable knowledge, values, and skills essential for active citizenship and participation in a diverse and interconnected world.
Thank you to everyone who completed the strategic planning survey. We are now evaluating the data and will soon begin to formulate the new LTSS strategic plan which will help guide the school's development, growth and success, while also providing a framework for accountability, collaboration, and adaptability.
We hosted a beautiful storytelling workshop onsite with visiting guests from Perth Waldorf School and Rudolf Steiner College. Storytelling is vital as a human endeavour as it weaves the fabric of human experience, preserving culture, transmitting knowledge, and connecting individuals through the power of narrative. We felt very privileged to be a part of this experience.
A HUGE thank you to those families who have volunteered to man the gates at the upcoming Mullewa Muster! We are grateful for your time and the opportunity to give back to the wider community.
Free Friday Coffee Cart is happening on the music room deck during our usual Friday Gathering. Please bring your keep cups and help yourself ♥
Finally, this afternoon the courier arrived with a special delivery - a sample of the coffee cup with the artwork from a Leaning Tree student that Nexus Airlines are using for their inflight service. Please see Lenya's award-winning design below!
📅 Upcoming Community Events and Reminders 📌
- We are thrilled to announce an exciting weekly lunch service brought to you by Mumma Duha's Kitchen. Use the link emailed to you each week to order by MONDAY for WEDNESDAY delivery.
- P&F Meeting: 29th May @ 3.15 pm at school.
- Public Holiday: Monday 3rd June.
- Early Childhood Winter Festival: 12th June.
- Winter Solstice 20th June.
- Pupil Free Week: 24th June - 28th June.
- School Holidays: 29th June -14th July
- Live school calendar here: https://leaningtree.schoolzineplus.com/calendar/1
Enjoy catching up with all the school news!
Kind regards,
Ally
Enrichment Coordinator
Professional Development
Professional development (PD), is something that is taken very seriously at Leaning Tree Steiner School. We are committed to every revolving cycle of learning, assimilation, delivery and then reflection of best practices.
Each year a portion of our teachers attend in person to weeklong intensives on delivering Steiner Education and self-development at various locations around Australia. This January we had some teachers in Newcastle, in July we have some attending the Vital Years week long conference in Hobart.
During our weekly College of Teacher meetings, we discuss and study portions of text relating to Steiner’s indications on Anthroposophy (the study of the human being) and education, we also immerse ourselves in each other's artistic practice and share our knowledge. This may be sewing, painting, morning circles, blackboard art, music, meditation etc. Rudolf Steiner gave clear indications that in order for teachers to inspire children and share their artistic impulse, they in turn must immerse themselves in ongoing artistic activity.
On our pupil free days, we take the opportunity to view lectures in regards to storytelling, the 12 senses, child development and curriculum delivery.
In order for our pupil free week to happen in the middle of the year, our teachers are committed to a week of professional development throughout the year unless they attend an intensive.
In recent years, we attend as a whole school to the Western Australian Steiner Schools Day held at different Steiner schools in the Perth region. This gives us the opportunity to form relationships with others teaching the same years or specialist subjects. It is a balance of head (lectures), heart (sharing) and hands (artistic activity).
This year alone our teachers have experienced, Mandatory reporting, Restorative practice, Morning circle, 12 senses, early childhood Pikler work and story telling, and it is only May! As well as our ongoing reading of Steiners indications and sustainable workshop hosting. In the future we have the Arts through the curriculum (4 part series) coming up, more storytelling throughout the years and our own in house pupil free day at the end of September.
We were lucky enough to have our colleges from Perth visit this Sunday and share with our Early years professionals and also our parents. All of us and our Kindergarten and Class 1 children got to experience a wonderous silhouette story of Bilby Moon, a children’s favourite.
Autumn Blessings…
Lisa Scamporlino
Starflower Kindergarten/Pre-primary
“For the golden corn and the apples on the trees,
For the golden butter and the honey from the bees,
For the fruits and nuts and berries, we gather on the way,
We bless your loving kindness Earth,
And thank you every day !”
Dear Starflower families,
Lady Autumn has been tiptoeing around our garden since our return to school after the Easter holidays, and we wish she would hurry up and send Sister Rain in to freshen everything up. Even without much magical rain, we are off to a flying start, with busy Starflower children helping to prepare our Kindergarten Garden beds for the coming rains.
Firstly, we began by weeding the beds, including tackling the enormous sunflower plants which have blessed us with an abundance of golden flowers all through the summer. The biggest sunflowers needed us to work together to dig out the roots while our friends pulled...and pulled...and pulled... until up they came! What a huge effort from the Kinders and the Preppies!
Our worm farm was also looking a little tired and in need of a makeover, so the children set to work to hunt through the castings very carefully, to find as many worms as possible before digging both the castings and worm juice into the garden beds and then using their shovels to turn over the soil.
After that hard work it was time to make a new home for the worms we had found as well as some very healthy worms who moved in from the Maisey household ...A big thankyou to Beau and his family for boosting our worm population. The worms seem very happy in their comfy new bedroom!
This week will also see some vegetable seedlings planted, so be sure to check in and see how they are growing when you are dropping your child off each morning.
We are very excited to have gone on some bushwalks last week to the Bush Kindy block and this Thursday will be our very first Bush Kindy morning for the Preppies and Gumnuts. We can’t wait! Please remember children need to wear closed in shoes or boots for bush kindy days!
Autumn blessings,
Kathy and Helen
Sunflower Room Class 1
"As we fly, as we fly, on the wings of light
Through billowy cloud and breezes might
The birds with their winging all follow our way
To greet with their singing the light and the day"
By Sophie Hudson
The Sunflowers have been in full flight this term. The strong Geraldton wind often blows them through the door, and it is a delight to see their faces bright each morning. We have heard light raindrops on our roof, seen plenty of dragonflies of late and a few fluttering butterflies so far. We recently explored our Golden Sounds that come from on high in the first fortnight. Sunflowers made angel-cakes, paper plate angels and learnt the all-important eurythmy gestures for the vowels.
For Earth Day on the 22nd of April, we decided to recycle all our scraps of paper into seed balls. We had lots of fun ripping, soaking, stirring, squeezing, and shaping the paper balls almost all morning. Now Sunflowers can add some colour and grow some rainbow chard in their gardens. In the afternoon we looked at a globe of the Earth and made our own wet-on-dry painting of our precious Earth (please see below).
The Sunflowers have been just as busy as worker bees sorting all the coloured plastic lids from our Recycling Hub in the afternoons. We call this time 'Terracycle Tuesday' - it's a terrific team building activity with tangible results. Some clever Sunflowers can even count how many plastic lids we have sorted and stored well into the 100's!
With our most recent Main Lesson we have been delving deep into the World of Numbers. Soon we will be having our Counting Bags on our table and magic gems, learning different counting combinations. Children learn about the 'quality of numbers' in a variety of ways through stories, images and hands-on activities that touch the heart.
For learning the value of number 8, children were given the choice of drawing an octopus or a spider if it did indeed have eight legs. Sunflowers were also told the story of 'Mother Spider" and their eyes lit up with excitement when they recognised the famous tale. Suddenly they realised; they had been told the story in the past. It's always wonderful to revisit a special story.
Until next time,
Warm Autumn Wishes,
Susan
Jilinbiri Room Class 2
Dear parents,
It has been a very productive start to the term for the Jilinbiri class. The students have been busy playing their recorders, learning poems and memorising lines for their class play "The Bush Buddies Save the Day". We can’t wait for you to see it!
They have also been continuing to cook delicious vegan-friendly food in the kitchen and learning valuable measurement skills during the process.
In addition, the students have been immersed in their main lesson on the local surroundings through exploration of our beautiful environment. They have also been engaged in hands-on activities such as planting seeds and getting the garden beds ready for planting.
Overall, the Jilinbiri class has been working hard and making the most of their learning opportunities. Keep up the great work!
Warm regards,
Leisl and Ann-Marie
Seabreeze Room Class 3
Greetings from Class 3!
We hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the refreshing onset of May.
In Class Three, the children have embarked on an exciting journey of exploration, expanding their horizons beyond the familiar. We've been delving into the world of trades, structures, and shelters, igniting the children's curiosity about the broader environment.
The students have been diligently sketching detailed plans and gathering natural materials from around the school in preparation for constructing their chosen shelters in the coming weeks. Witnessing their dedication and focus on this project has been truly inspiring. The children's creativity and attention to detail are remarkable!
In our gardening unit, the students have eagerly planted seeds in our kitchen garden and have been nurturing them with care each day. Last week, they took the next step by creating their own mini gardens within the classroom. Each student had the exciting opportunity to select from a variety of seeds including carrots, spinach, chard, saltbush, snow peas, or lettuce. The anticipation for these seeds to germinate is palpable among the class.
We look forward to sharing more updates as our projects unfold and our young explorers continue to grow and thrive in their learning journey.
Warm regards,
Tara & Claire
Rivergum Room Class 4/5
Dear Families
In our Main Lessons this Term, students have been learning about the fascinating worlds of Ancient Civilizations, focusing on India and Persia. Through their Main Lesson Books, they are exploring the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of these ancient societies.
Form Drawing has been incorporated into their Main Lesson, adding a creative dimension to their learning journey. Students are not only mastering intricate patterns but also developing perspective in their drawings. They've also been practising watercolour painting techniques, adding vibrant colours and depth to their artistic expressions.
But that's not all they've been up to! In Math, students have been mastering the use of compass directions and map grid points, honing their navigation skills and understanding of spatial concepts.
In the realm of music, recorder skills are being strengthened with a focus on mastering the notes E, F, and low D. It's wonderful to see their musical confidence develop as they progress.
Outside the classroom in morning fitness, traditional fitness games have been making a comeback. We have been enjoying line chasey, tag chasey, skipping, jump rope, and elastics, not only for the fun but also for the health benefits and the sense of camaraderie they bring.
In addition to their academic and artistic endeavours, students have been actively participating in the school's recycling efforts. They all pitched in to wash and sort the recyclable containers, getting everything ready to be packed up and shipped off for the Terracycle Australia program, which the school community supports. There was water and suds everywhere, but everything is now clean, checked, and ready to go. We've filled one tea-chest packing box, and another is half full. That's a positive start to our recycling effort, and it's great to see the students taking such proactive steps towards sustainability.
Recently, we had an exciting excursion to the Queen’s Theatre to watch the performance of 'One Who Plants', which left us inspired and eager to delve into our upcoming Botany topic.
From
Kelly, Helen and Molly.
Lighthouse Room Class 5/6
Dear Families,
There was so much happening in the last few weeks of last term, I feel I need to start there. From our class play at the Michaelmas Festival, creating our final “Soul Circles” with visiting artist Lynda Howitt to our final day of nurturing; with foot washing (service to others), self-care and Easter crafts. We turned our pumpkin harvest from earlier into soup, along with frittata and homemade bread to serve the Rivergum class.
Summer has finally gone! We celebrate the cooler days with more time outside, running cross country, preparing the garden beds for planting and nature walks around the school grounds. We weeded out lots of weeds, including sneaky pademelons, dug in the fertiliser (poo) and put in our veggie seedlings. I look forward to watching them grow!
We have commenced our Physics Main Lesson where we are learning about sound and light. We focus on experiences and observations of phenomena through our senses. In math practice, we have turned from whole numbers to fractions, which can be tricky to master.
We have had lots of birthdays in the month of April. I enjoy seeing photos and hearing stories from families about each child’s life journey so far. Year 6s are working with unity on our geometric fire routine, which we look forward to sharing at our Winter Solstice Festival.
Warmest regards,
Lisa Keeffe
Voyager Room Class 7
Dear Voyager families,
It’s been a wonderful start to Term 2 – with the Voyagers jumping straight into the Middle Ages with our Main Lesson focus reflecting all things medieval. The legend of King Arthur, the creepy plague doctor, as well as recreating village life in miniature form have been some of the lesson experiences that the students have been drawn into.
As the weather cools, the Voyagers will be experiencing some Middle Ages ‘peasant’ life – in creating a beautiful crop space outside of our classroom. This will provide our class with many agricultural opportunities moving into the cooler, kinder months ahead.
Next in our main lesson sequence, we dive headfirst into the captivating Renaissance period as we explore art through sculpture and architecture as well as look at the emergence of innovation and technology during this time in early modern human history.
I look forward to the continued positive energy and outcomes in the vibrant Voyager class!
Warm regards,
David
Prospect Room Class 8/9
Dear Families,
The students have been focused on finishing their mini projects this last couple of weeks with very creative project box-making and lots of research.
Below are some examples of the boxes that will be displayed to the school community. By week 5, the students will have made the box and information, created an art piece and quiz and have made a speech to the class.
Some of the design and technology has been great, with students sewing cushions and making toys. Below are some pictures of the students working and finished products.
As part of our leadership around the school, students run the gathering on Fridays, assisting in the junior oval at lunch times and helping in the office, answering phones and doing office jobs. Thank you to Nevaeh and Ella this week!
Another exciting leadership challenge is our hiking challenge. We will be walking from Drummonds Cove to Coronation Beach in Term 3. In preparation, we will be working hard to achieve this walking challenge by doing small walks around and out of the school in Term 2.
Thank you for your continued support!
Kind regards,
Anita
Handcraft
Hello everyone,
Now that Autumn has finally come we can look forward to turning inwardly and note what needs to be attended to. This can be done whilst in the activity of working with our hands. It stimulates our thinking and we make many repetitive connections that can bring comfort to our soul life. The finished product, a representative of the process that was experienced and now the feelings of joy and pride as we admire it.
As you ponder what your Autumn projects in the home will be the children at school are well into theirs with unbounded enthusiasm!
The Sunflower children in Class 1 have grasped the skill of French Knitting . They are all well on their way French knitting, with the promise of a beanie for the winter festival. Fine motor and cognitive capacities are stretched as they slip into repetition, but oh the excitement at changing to a new colour!
Jilinbiri children in Class 2 are completing their knitted bunnies and starting their knitted recorder cases. After learning the beginning skills of knitting they embark on the bigger project of a recorder case that allows their skills to be consolidated whilst feasting on colour.
Seabreeze children in Class 3 have completed their felted pencil rolls and are beginning their purl-knitted gnomes. This is tricky as we learn a new stitch that has to be alternated every row to achieve the desired effect. We are also learning to cast on, changing colours independently and reading a written pattern.
In the Rivergum room, we have Class 4 children learning to crochet after their beautiful embroidered doilies. This is a very tricky task, but after 4 sessions they are starting to get into the rhythm. This is a real ‘will’ task as the children expect to master the skill straight away, but this is not always the case so they have to dig deep internally to find the ‘will’ to continue. Class 5 in Rivergum have started on their cross-stitch with 4-way symmetry, a difficult task for the mind.
In the Lighthouse room Class 5 are working on their Fair Isle Finger knitted gloves and will extend to cross-stitch eventually. This is another very complex task that requires, colour, pattern and stitch changes constantly. Class 6 children are working away so well at their crochet slippers, that there will be many ready for the colder months that are hopefully around the corner.
Our hands have completed our task with patience,
We have done our work with care,
Our fingers have worked as friends together,
And we have our friendship shared.
Autumn Blessings
Lisa and Helen
Music and Design & Technology
Design and Technology
I
In Sewing we have completed pillows and moved on to embroidery. The Lighthouse class is still working diligently on their work aprons.
In Music we are gearing up for winter solstice. The children love the winter solstice songs and no doubt you will be hearing them at home. We have also started winter solstice singing practice for parents. It is held in the music room every Thursday after the first bell. Come and brush up on the songs and join your children singing at this school tradition.
Paul Frick
Noticeboard
