Gumnut Bulletin 7, 2024
Education Manager
Dear Leaning Tree community
Children have settled into the last term of the year with ease. One of the benefits of Steiner Education is that it has the capacity to build resilience in children. With the strong rhythms and routines of our days, terms and years, children are comforted when they know what is coming. The rhythms of nature are instilled in the children from their early days in Playgroup and Kindy where the seasons are followed closely, through nature crafts, songs and stories. Festivals and events that happen within the rhythm, like a good fairy tale, communicate to the children that no matter what the circumstances, that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and all will be as it should. Stress has the potential to fall away when we provide an environment that is dependable, reliable and rhythmic and let’s not forget joyous.
Rudolf Steiner quoted that to be a great teacher we must focus not only on what we do but who we are. Children have the ability to see through us, to see our inner pictures, so it is important we approach our craft with joy and pure intentions. Our recent professional development day at the end of Term 3 saw the teaching staff delve into a Steiner supported approach to Restorative Practice. This was presented by myself, as I recently completed a 4-day facilitators course on the Sunshine Coast in July. Restorative practice can bring relational peace within the school and community. These are not isolated interventions or tools that are used for wrongdoing. Restorative practice is inextricably linked to all interactions that occur throughout the school day. It is not a program, but a lens, a disposition and pedagogical approach that is in harmony with Steiner’s educational indications of developing a sense of responsibility, ethical awareness and empathy in our school community. Restorative practice is strongly supported by professionals such as Ross Greene and Bruce Perry. Based on their research of brain development. I urge you to look them up and the work they have done in this area. It is with excitement that we at Leaning Tree Steiner School move towards becoming a restorative school that will engage our parents and students in this gradual process.
With gratitude
Lisa Scamporlino
Acting Education Manager
Business Manager
Hello Families
I’m reaching out with an update on the progress of our Bariya playground.
While we’ve encountered some setbacks, particularly with materials and limited staffing resources, we’re finally moving forward again! The good news is that Guy will be returning to work this week (congratulations to the Currey-Sullivan family!), allowing our team to put in a dedicated effort toward completing the remaining tasks. Currently, the shade sails and the flying fox still need to be installed and we’re working diligently to ensure these features are safely in place. Although there’s been some delay, we’re optimistic that the playground may be ready for use before the end of term, providing our students with an exciting new space to enjoy!
We have recently installed new parking signage in both the kiss-and-drop and main car park areas. This signage is intended to improve traffic flow during busy times and most importantly, to enhance student safety. To keep things running smoothly, please remember to move forward in designated areas and keep the driveway clear to allow buses to pick up students without delay. We’re also exploring additional options to help reduce congestion during peak times. We kindly ask that everyone follow the signage or any directions provided by staff during drop-off and pick-up to help us maintain a safe, calm and organised environment for everyone.
Thank you for your continued patience and support.
Warm regards,
Lisa Thackray
Community Manager
Dear Families,
As we move into the heart of the last school term of the year, it is my pleasure to share highlights from the past few weeks and exciting events on the horizon.
This term, we are focused on the virtues of commitment, forgiveness, service and joyfulness. These values are woven into our everyday interactions and together we are fostering an environment where each student learns the importance of commitment to their personal and academic growth, the grace of forgiveness, the gift of service and the uplifting power of joyfulness.
We are delighted to welcome new students to the Seabreeze, Jilinbiri, and Prospect Rooms, who have been warmly received and have already begun forming new friendships. Upcoming, we are excited to host our Orientation Day for incoming students and Stepping Stone Day for current students on Wednesday, 27th November. New students and their families will have the chance to meet their teachers, make new friends, and experience the warmth of our school community. At the same time, current students will step up to their next classroom for the morning, experiencing a preview of their upcoming year. We shall send out details about this soon!
Recently, the school was abuzz as students put on their brightest smiles for school photos. These moments captured will serve as a timeless reminder of each child’s journey this year. Our gratitude goes to the teachers and staff who worked behind the scenes to make the day run smoothly.
Finally, we are excited to announce the launch of our annual Community Christmas Choir! Students from Years 3 to 9 will join together to spread festive cheer on Thursday 14th November and take their joyful voices to several aged care facilities, where they’ll share the season's warmth with residents. Thank you to Richard for being our music maestro and facilitating this excursion.
Warm regards,
Ally
P.S. Save the date for the EOY Christmas Gathering, see the invitation below!
Starflower Kindergarten/Pre-primary
-Term 4 Blessing-
“Earth who brings to us our food,
Sun who makes it ripe and good,
Dearest Earth and dearest Sun,
Joy and Love for all you have done”
Dear Starflower families,
Gratitude is a part of every day in Starflower. We are grateful for the tasty food prepared for our morning tea by Nina, especially her yummy berry muffins! We are grateful for the abundant vegetables which we harvest to cook and enjoy. We are grateful for the trays of mulberries donated by the Dwyer and Nelson families which we have made into marvelously, messy mulberry jam! We have been very busy bees!
We are always grateful for the care and attention the Starflower Kindergarten children receive from our wonderful gardener Brad, and his efforts in keeping our play equipment safe, and our water hand pump working, so that the children can enjoy the magic of mud and waterways. Brad’s latest innovation is the large float ball which children are working at with determination to master the lift and leg cross needed to stay aboard the float for a bouncy ride.
We are grateful for the chance to get to know Charlotte, who has delighted the children with some creative seasonal activities linked to her puppet play of ‘The Little Red Hen’ throughout her practicum. Grinding wheat was hard work, but the children persevered to turn it into flour.
We are grateful for nature’s gifts and the chance to work with persistence and strength. We have spent afternoons sanding and sawing our Tapping Sticks. These sticks are challenging the Preppy children as they measure, saw and then take up the task of sanding them smooth, which builds their patience muscle as we aim to make the sticks ‘as smooth as silk’.
We are grateful for the arrival of some of the Starflower Little Ones who are waiting patiently to play with their preppy friends! We can’t wait till they are all here and can come out to play! Preppy parents, please let me know if you need any help with materials or finishing off your child’s Little One.
Finally, we are grateful to be able to enter our nature classroom once a week at Glenfield's beach, where we feel the sun warming our spirits and the water cooling our toes as we dig, scrape, build, splash and fossick for treasures, to adorn our sand creations.
Grateful Spring Blessings to you all,
Kathy, Nina and Charlotte (3rd Year ECE Prac Student)
Sunflower Room Class 1
Dear families,
The Sunflowers have had a flying start to the final term. They have been very busy and as confident and capable as a worker bee. Our classroom has been a buzz of activity. Sunflowers were excited to meet Beekeeper Tom from Coastal Nectar during a Bee Incursion in Week 2. We explored fascinating facts about honeybees and native bees. We discovered the lifecycle of a honeybee and why bees are so important to our environment and food systems. We got hands-on when we made beeswax candles for the upcoming festive season. The candles smelt heavenly. Sunflowers have also been adding to their bee-friendly garden. Amongst the tall sunflowers are native purple hibiscus and most recently calendula and marigold flowers. We have also been measuring our tall sunflowers and have found out that the tallest sunflower is 13 pop sticks tall so far!
During our main lesson on World Folktales, we uncovered many stories featuring birds and bees from Japan. We have also made Japanese-inspired paper fans for fun. Sunflowers loved listening to the story "The Crane's Gratitude" and the "Tongue Cut Sparrow". The story of “Dreaming Bees” delighted them when they realised that ‘dreams can come true’ and that bees are indeed lucky. Most recently Sunflowers have been extra resourceful and have also made bees out of tin cans and simple recycled materials.
The Sunflowers have heard two folktales from China - the stories of "Ma Liang and the Magic Paintbrush" and "Ye Xian". The ninth-century story of “Ye Xian” or “Yeh-Shen” is quite similar to the European Cinderella story. It is a rags-to-riches story of a gentle and hardworking orphan girl who befriends a magical fish. The cruel stepmother kills and cooks the fish, but Yeh-Shen saves the magical bones which help her dress beautifully for a festival. When she loses her slipper after leaving abruptly, the king finds her and falls in love with her. The tales speak about the transformation of love, the overcoming of evil, courage, taking responsibility for one’s own deeds, and the search for one’s own higher self. Sunflowers are showing increasing confidence and courage as we head closer to summer. Our next challenge will be playing festive tunes on our recorders in preparation for our end-of-year concert. I can’t wait to see to the Sunflowers flourish and shine on stage.
Warmest regards,
Sincerely Susan
Jilinbiri Room Class 2
Dear families,
In our main lesson, we have been diving into the life of Saint Francis and exploring his saintly deeds. The children have shown great enthusiasm as they learn about his compassion for animals and his dedication to helping others. As we wrap up this lesson, we are excited to announce that we will soon begin our next main lesson titled "Magic Numbers." This will provide an engaging opportunity for students to delve into the wonders of mathematics!
Our reading program continues to flourish as we practice daily with Leisl and Anne-Marie. We are seeing significant improvements, and the students are becoming more confident in their reading skills.
In maths, we are focusing on skip counting and examining the relationship between multiplication and division. The children are enjoying these concepts and are developing a solid understanding through various hands-on activities.
In our class garden, we have been incredibly productive! The students have worked hard to harvest our produce and have even cooked delicious meals using it. Recently, we prepared our garden beds with manure and planted watermelon, zucchini, and cucumber. Everyone is eagerly anticipating watching these plants grow!
Additionally, we have been learning fascinating facts about Australian native animals and practicing drawing them independently. The creativity and artistic skills displayed by the students have been impressive!
Thank you for your continued support at home. We look forward to sharing more of our adventures and learning experiences with you!
Warm regards,
Leisl Forsyth & Ann-Marie Widdison
Seabreeze Room Class 3
Dear families,
What an exciting month we have had! The Class 3 children recently harvested our crop of wheat from the garden, and the children have been busy getting the grains out, preparing to make pizzas with our very own wheat flour — Yum! We also enjoyed a magical day at Drummonds Beach for a beach clean-up. The weather was perfect, and the children took great pride in making the beach sparkle again.
In class, we’ve been diving into the rich world of Celtic myths and legends from Ireland and Scotland. The kids have been working hard to make sure their handwriting is beautifully joined, and they’re making excellent progress! They’ve also been having a blast in drama with Penny, and now we're excited to continue our craft projects with Chris.
There’s such a positive energy in our room, and the children are really showing all the wonderful virtues that create a harmonious space to learn and grow together. To top it all off, our class garden is blooming with the most beautiful flowers, giving us a lovely view every day. We’re looking forward to even more fun and learning in the coming weeks!
As Rudolf Steiner is attributed to have said, ‘Receive the children in reverence, educate them in love, and send them forth in freedom.’
Tara & Claire
Rivergum Room Class 4/5
Dear families,
Our recent Coastal Cleanup at Drummond Cove was both fun and enlightening! Students found a variety of debris, including a broken plastic cray pot that sparked discussions on marine conservation (and how we carry it back to the meeting point). We divided our cleanup efforts into two sessions, covering both the north and south sections of the beach. After a morning of sun, sand and debris, everyone was ready for a well-deserved lunch back at school.
Back at school, we’ve been giving attention to our Garden Beds. The students pitched in to remove winter weeds and old plants, added fertilizer, (all natural and organic thanks to horses), and prepared the beds for spring and summer growth. We’d love for students to bring in some summer flowers to add colour to our garden. A huge thank you to Brad for updating and extending the reticulation system—it’ll make a world of difference as the days grow warmer!
Another highlight has been our Coastal Nectar Bee Incursion, where students had the chance to explore the fascinating world of bees. The visit sparked a lot of excitement and interest in beekeeping, and it seems we have quite a few budding apiarists in Rivergum! Who knew that Australia has Teddy Bear bees!
In Math, we’re exploring problem-solving strategies like Japanese Division and Lattice Multiplication, helping students gain a deeper understanding of multiplication and division.
Congratulations to the Year 4 students who received their Pen Licences at Gathering in Week 3, this is such a milestone in their education journey.
As we move through the last term of 2024, it’s wonderful to see the students working so well together and giving their best in each area of study. Their hard work and positive energy have truly made the start of this term shine.
Kelly
Lighthouse Room Class 5/6
The warmer weather is here! We watch plants in our garden go to seed and look forward to saving seeds to plant again next year. We have carrots, spring onions, everlastings, lettuces and peas ripening. We were quite happy to not find much rubbish on our section of the beach on our whole school clean up day. We did find lots of ocean treasures though, leaving them all where we found them.
We started the term doing “Business Math” and students created a simple business plan. They have now started running these businesses. This week, one student sold muffins and cookies while another sold custom pens. We have had a steep learning curve in writing our inventories, working out costs, projected profits and counting money (and recounting money). Thank you to all the families who supported our endeavours by sending in money for your child to spend! We will have different businesses running each week.
Students are reading, “Boy Overboard” by Morris Gleitzman in their silent reading time, with the aim of reading 5 chapters a week as a minimum. Some students are already finished! It is a beautiful story or overcoming hardships while maintaining a positive outlook and much more.
We learnt about Alexander the Great, considering if he was a tyrant or a great leader. We decided he was a bit of both. We have now moved on to Rome, where we have heard the Aeneid and the story of Romulus and Remus. The foundation of Rome as a city, a kingdom and its period of 7 kings has been covered and we know move on to the Republic of Rome.
Lisa Keeffe
Voyager Room Class 7
Hi Voyager families,
Well, what a whirlwind start to Term 4 for the Voyagers!
After a new Main Lesson started in Week 1 and a fantastic camp was had in Perth during Week 2, a much-needed slower week met the Voyagers across Week 3.
This week, we are continuing our Main Lesson topic of: Wish, Wonder & Surprise, which features creative writing as an art form. So far, Voyagers have written poetry and essays, looked at developing suspense in narratives, and even tried their hands at writing stand-up comedy material!
Next week, the Voyagers are diving into Mechanics, Galvanic Electricity as a Main Lesson, with a range of activities and ideas to be explored in this exciting Science topic.
________________________________________________________________
VOYAGER CAMP 2024
Well, what an unforgettable experience we had in Perth! This year’s camp was specifically designed for the Voyagers and was packed with adventure, learning, and enjoyment for all.
We explored the great outdoors around the Swan Valley and during a ferry trip to Perth Zoo, challenged ourselves in the high-ropes and leap-of-faith activities; all while strengthening lasting friendships through experiences such as going out for dinner and visiting some of our Western Australian aquatic friends at AQWA.
The camp also gave opportunities for the students to develop important life skills like teamwork, problem-solving, organisation and leadership. It was rewarding to see the growth of each student over the course of the week!
All in all, it was a wonderful experience, thanks largely to the wonderful Voyager students and very capable supervisors in Jasmah and Kodi, whom we would all like to thank!
Warm regards,
David
Prospect Room Class 8/9
Dear families,
At the beginning of this semester, we immersed ourselves in our Shakespearean performance practice, culminating in our performance at the Queens Park Theatre. A heartfelt thank you to Andrew and his crew for their generosity on the day! We also extend our gratitude to Paul for his sound assistance, and to Christine and Jasmah, for their support backstage.
The play, FROM SHAKESPEARE WITH LOVE, is a comedy by Jonathan Dorf. The story centers on four characters from Shakespeare’s works who are stuck waiting for a delayed flight to London. When Romeo reveals his intention to take revenge on Shakespeare for the course of his life by challenging him to a duel, it falls to the others—Titania, Viola, and Antipholus—to persuade him that Shakespeare truly believes in love. As they reminisce about scenes from their own stories, the question arises: will it all end happily, or is Romeo on a path to further tragedy?
The students should be very proud of their performance; they all memorized their lines and gave their best effort! Thank you, Prospects!
Anita and Jasmah
Design & Technology
Dear families,
Prospect Class
One half of the Prospects class has been busy upcycling op shop clothing, having previously completed their pentatonic flutes. The roles from last term have been reversed, with the other half now crafting their flutes from local bamboo. These two projects have had the students completely engrossed, resulting in some great instruments and upcycled items being created.
Voyager Class
The Voyager class completed some amazing cars last term. This term, they are making gumball machines, which require a large degree of creativity and a fair bit of elbow grease.
Lighthouse Class
This term, the Lighthouse class is creating a children’s toy. The rolling ducks project requires learning new skills, including laminating, using a coping saw, filing, sanding, drilling, and painting. I am looking forward to seeing some of these make their way to the school gift shop.
