Keep up-to-date with your child’s learning with these short weekly updates from their teachers. Click on the buttons below to go straight to your child’s class, or find out what others are up to!
Preschool
Wattle Room
I wanted to say a big thank you to the families that could pop into our Meet and Greet session after school on Thursday. I felt proud to be part of such a strong team and enjoyed listening to the staff members introduce themselves and say a little bit about what they like to do, or how they were connected to the broader community. I was finally able to meet with some parents and put faces to names, and it was refreshing to not be in such a rush, and to be able to have a conversation.
There has been a hive of activity in the preschool sandpit this past week. Across the week, it has seen treasure maps and crystal collecting, as well as a sand kitchen serving up some tasty sand cakes and maybe even a sandwich or two (get it?).
The children diligently helped to rake in some new sand on Monday and tended to the grass roots that keep snaking their way back in again! It really has been a labour of love, but we enjoy caring for our playground.
We will be sending home an updated copy of our Parent Handbook in the next week or so, for your convenience and future reference. It gives you more information about the Preschool, the rhythm of our week and some of the underlying Steiner philosophy that underpins our program. We would love to hear your feedback.
Lesley and the Preschool Team
Boronia Room
The Boronia children have begun to settle in beautifully to their new space in the Boronia Room, alongside the Kindy children. We have focused on the very simple to begin with; putting hats away in our hat pockets, making sure that our shoes are ‘best friends’ so that we do not lose them, and packing our bags at the end of the day. Our morning circle, Summertime Ocean Circle, is a fun series of songs, movements, and spoken verse. Craft has also been an exceptionally enjoyable time for the children. We have been making shapes with beeswax, baking bread, painting, and an assortment of other engaging experiences, including making our own bubble wands! We are so excited to be enjoying Summertime and looking forward to the upcoming changes as Autumn approaches. Some of the children have already started collecting colourful leaves as they change colour and fall to the ground.
Blessings,
Jasmine.
Kindergarten/Boronia Room
Warimi (Hello) Midigaa (friend)
The Kindergarten children enjoyed a very full and busy week. The children had their first Dharug Dhalang, (language lesson) with Amy Brownlee on Tuesday, which was a lot of fun. We danced and sang, “Budyari Nhaady’unya” (Good to see you). Hopefully, we will be able to share some of this work with you by the end of the term.
The “school of fish” mobile is finished, and each individual full time Kindergarten child is represented by their own beautiful sparkling string of beads and hand-crafted fish. It is a very loved and proud first project for the year.
The energetic and enthusiastic children have already progressed onto their next major craft project, sewing a Sea Turtle. All the children have started finger knitting and everyone has chosen their colours for their turtles and blanket stitching has begun in earnest.
Our activities continued with the first gardening session with Annie Cohen on Wednesday. The children worked with Annie to plant a beautiful Red Maple tree down near the friendship climbing frame and an Orange Hibiscus bush in the circle garden. With the remaining minutes before inside story time, the children went to visit and pat the chickens under Annie’s supervision and gentle guidance.
Let me know if you are attending the Parent/Teacher Night in Week 5, Thursday 27th February at 6pm to 7pm. Come along, to learn more about your child’s day at school, ask your burning questions and meet the other parents in your child’s class group. See you there!
Enjoy a restful weekend,
Francine
Class 1/2
What an adventure Week Three has been! We huddled and played through a stormy Monday, grateful for Pete’s inside PE lesson and juggling skills, and so pleased for a sunny remainder of the week to stretch our legs and get back to climbing trees.
We have come to the end of our first Main Lesson of the year, exploring nature and the children’s form drawings are a delight. Our sun, river and sunset paintings are proudly being displayed. We have seen these stories come to life in children’s play through spirals, fairy crowns, shelters, and pretend campfires.
The children are working to strengthen their hands and their craft whether it be weaving, sewing, or knitting is progressing steadily.
It was a treat to see Amy on Tuesday for our new weekly Dharug language lesson and Jess on Wednesday for Italian. How lucky we are to be exposed to so much in the rhythm of our week.
Enjoy a restful weekend,
Kath and Class 1/2 Assistants
Class 3/4
What a dramatic and fast-paced week it has been with melting hot days, torrential rain (walan), thunderstorms (manga manga), visiting camera crews and some new additions to the timetable!
On Friday, netball started and will continue most of the term. The children enjoyed learning the skills, practicing their pivoting, throwing, shooting hoops, and trying their best. We look forward to expanding our athletic abilities over the coming weeks.
Every week Annie has been introducing us to a new plant and explaining some permaculture understandings before we work in the garden. Last Wednesday was the nasturtium and over the past few days, we went on to explore the colours, movement, and forms of the nasturtium in watercolour paintings and pencil drawings in Visual arts. Together the works are spectacular. Art works are so often like that as a class. They all work together to become an installation more than a sum of its parts. A lovely representation of how we can flourish together. Drop in and enjoy them next time you get a chance.
On Tuesday Jess had the children as I had a day of Art Therapy course work. I have another next Tuesday, then no more for 19 weeks! The children continued exploring time, drawing shadows, and watching them move with the sun and crafting poems about thunder after Monday’s tempest.
Dharug lessons with Amy also started on Tuesday. We use Dharug daily in Class 3/4 however, this is a more focused time based on the work of local elder Jasmine Seymour.
Minh has been taking children Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, in small groups to work on maths skills. He has a calm, positive, grounding manner and the children love to be chosen to work with him. They have been working on number sense, doubling, halving, and using packs of cards to keep it fun.
Looking forward to the week ahead.
Jeneva and Meredith
Class 5/6
As I write this, we are on our way to camp at Ganguddy. The sky is clearing, and the class are happily chattering as we ride on the bus. I will send news about the camp next week…!
This week we have been getting into the physical feeling of our daily routines. We begin with a vocal chant which warms our voices and bodies for singing, moving, and getting aligned with ourselves for the day.
Spelling and quick maths follow and then into our Main Lesson. We have heard stories of hermits in forests sacrificing their material possessions for a life of sacred meditation, clouds being locked inside mountains for forty long years, and how the Trimurti godhead of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are important gods revered by many in Ancient and contemporary India.
Lee has been amazing at supporting the class both individually with literacy and with general organisation. Minh has been bringing richness to mathematical exploration, and we have been working on fractions as whole class.
We began geometry this week and everyone received their ‘sacred’ compass. We are learning how to use them responsibly and skilfully… and drawing… it’s all about the circle!
Have a lovely weekend!
From Julie and Lee
