Connected With Nature

OUR BUILDINGS AND PLAYGROUNDS

Our site contains environmentally sensitive buildings, designed to nestle in to the environment and harmonise with the bushland setting. Our natural playgrounds encircle ‘the Knoll’ a sandstone hill which provides shade and shelter for the classrooms below.

DHARUG LAND

It is upon the ancestral lands of the Dharug people that the Blue Mountains Steiner School is built.

“Today we stand in footsteps millennia old. May we acknowledge the traditional owners whose cultures and customs have nurtured, and continue to nurture, this land, since men and women awoke from the great dream. We honour the presence of these ancestors who reside in the imagination of this land and whose irrepressible spirituality flows through all creation.”
– Jonathan Hill

Our school has regular Indigenous Culture days where representatives from the local indigenous community are invited to attend and collaborate with the community to present performances and workshops. Lessons relating to indigenous culture are taught across all stages and we host regular workshops and conduct bushwalks where we explore aspects of indigenous culture in the local area.

THE OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

Our program begins in Kindergarten with each year building from previous learning experiences. When the child reaches Stage 3 the program becomes more challenging, with longer trips connected to the curriculum content, and developing resilience, problem solving and leadership skills. The Stage 3 outdoor education experiences prepare the students for the transition to high school. The benefits of the program for the children include; improved self- awareness, better understanding of others, increased insight, expansion of life experience, independence and developing the ability to problem solve and innovate.

Our program emphasises the importance of our connection with nature, as the children experience hands on, experiential learning and accrue practical knowledge. Our ultimate goal is to become custodians of the Earth/ relating to the earth as a place of healing.

CAMPS / OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after the night and spring after the winter! – Rachel Carson

Our World Heritage backyard is the ideal environment to teach our sequentially designed and developmentally aligned Outdoor Education program.

The outdoor education program at BMSS is interdisciplinary and aims to assist students experience the many interrelationships in the natural world. Our program examines ecological, sociological and cultural concepts to assist the children to make informed choices relating to experiencing and caring for the natural world. Outdoor Education is ‘about’, ‘for’ and ‘in’ the out-of-doors and is a continual holistic educational experience.

BMSS outdoor experiences include getting to know the Blue Mountains World Heritage National Park through canyoning, canoeing, bushwalking, adventure caving and camping. We also explore coastal environments through beach camping, snorkelling, coastal geological walks and surfing. These experiences contribute significantly to our peer relations and are fundamental to the BMSS educational experience. Leadership skills are integrated into our outdoor education program with a particular focus on self-management and team support strategies.

Through outdoor education, students grow into their own capabilities and gain a sense of themselves in relation to their community. They are able to experience and reflect on their personal strengths, build resilience and experience improved emotional health and wellbeing.