Alumni News
Grace O’Keeffe graduated Cape Byron Steiner in 2013 and after having studied European Law at Maastricht University in the Netherlands for three years has just graduated with a Bachelor of Law. Congratulations Grace!
Archive for month: November, 2018
Mullum Music Fest 2018
It was great to see so many of the CBRSS community members both past and present performing at the recent Mullum Music Festival.
From the Principal
Hello everyone,
Today marked the end of HSC exams in the school. I am so proud of the way our senior class students have conducted themselves in this, their final year of schooling with us. I would also like to express my gratitude to students, teachers and members of our school community who have shown such consideration to these students; moving quietly through the school whilst exams were in progress. Whilst it can feel a little disruptive to the school, it is so supportive to our Year 12 students for them to be able to sit the exams in the school environment.
In the High School this term, we have welcomed Andrew Keiseweter, our new Mathematics teacher and Head of our Maths Department. Andrew will also take up the role of Class Guardian, alongside Rachel Holt, for Year 7 next year. Andrew brings with him a wealth of experience (I am also told he is a mighty-fine basketball coach).
In the Primary School, we welcomed Susan Gould, our new Eurythmy teacher. Susan is currently working with Class 1 and 2 students and this will extend across the Primary School next year. Susan is a very skilled and experienced Eurythmy teacher as well as being a trained educator. Susan is also offering Eurythmy classes for parents and teachers. It really is wonderful to have Eurythmy back in our school!
As I am writing this, there are some very excited Class 2 students, about to have their very first ‘camp’ experience with a sleepover at the school. They will build on this experience over the coming years as they engage with our comprehensive camps program which culminates in the Kakadu experience in Year 11. Camps are such an important part of their education experience. On camps they learn new social skills, develop independence, problem solve in real life situations, experience varied landscapes and cultures, learn just how much they are capable and immerse themselves fully in the awe of our natural landscape. Tonight is just the beginning for our Class Two children!
We are heading towards the very busy downhill run to the end of the year now. This means there is a lot happening around the school and many people juggling multiple tasks. It is important in this busy, sometimes frazzled time, that we all stop every now and again, take a deep breath and remember that everything we do is done with the wonderful children and young people who are entrusted to us at the very centre. What a privilege to have such a role to play in the life of a child!
Peace
Nerrida
Drivers – Please Care for the Safety of Everyone
We have recently had a number of ‘near misses’ on the road down to our school and in our car park. In particular, we have noticed people driving too fast down the hill (the speed limit is 40 kph) and also people leaving the car park not giving way to cars coming down the hill (there have been two accidents here and frequent near misses).
The responsibility for safety in our school community rests with us all, please slow down, take care and be considerate of others.
Friendly reminder re School Fees due
Term 4 school fees are due today, Friday 9th of November 2018. Thank you, to everyone, who has already paid.
If you haven’t paid for Term 4 yet please address this promptly.
Please remember to include your parent code when paying fees so we can identify you.
Thanks, from the Finance team
CBRSS Centennial Ball 2019 – can you help us plan?
We have now set a date on which to hold our Centennial Ball next year, this will be Saturday 25th May. As mentioned in the last Bulletin, planning is now underway to have a wonderful Ball – celebrating 100 years of Steiner Education in Australia! If you would like to join our little planning group, please do let us know. We are currently at the exciting ideas and possibilities stage of planning and would love some additional input.
Important re RCM
Please submit your green RCM forms to Reception before Friday 14th December at 3.00pm.
Credit is applied at the end of the term.
Please note it is your responsibility to keep track of the hours you have done throughout the year.
For further information please refer to the RCM policy and procedure which can be found here.
The next RCM day is on Wednesday 14th of November 9am-11am.
New Community Business noticeboard
In addition to our online Community Noticeboard, we have recently launched our new online Business Noticeboard. Business notices are for past and present members of the School community to promote their products and services. You can check it out by following this link.
You can also find this via the ‘Our School’ tab of the website under the ‘Our Community” heading.
If you have a Community or Business Notice that you would like to add to this board, please follow this link to send your notice.
Please consider supporting our community by utilising community members products and services.
CBRSS Community Christmas Market
The Festive Season is almost upon us and the Christmas Market will be extra special this year. Please mark your calendar now and bring the whole family along to enjoy an afternoon of celebration, giving and community. Our market will begin at 1.30 with musical performances from primary and high school students. Stay on for class stalls, local artisans and craft activities on the school green. *Children can craft a precious gift (such as felt ball necklaces, pinecone decorations and dyed Japanese paper). *Print your own wrapping paper and gift tags (or purchase pre-made rolls). *Select beautiful locally made gifts for the whole family plus a sweet selection of hand-crafted treasures just for the kids. *Enjoy some bubbly fun with showman Shep Huntly (AKA Dr Hubble) *Browse the latest beautiful books from local bookshop The Book Room. *A variety of nourishing refreshments will be on offer. Enjoy cool drinks, chai, and delicious food including wood-fired pizza (GF & VG options) and a sausage sizzle. Bring a picnic blanket and enjoy an easy, early dinner in the Summer twilight.
Please note this celebration is for CBRSS families only.
In the spirit of the season, each year CBRSS families generously donate gifts for our Giving Tree. This year the gifts will go to children living with their mother in local refuges after family violence. Please include a tag describing the gift so it can be best matched with a child. If you purchase a gift for the Giving Tree during the Market, we’ll wrap it for you.
Let’s come together to celebrate Summer, Christmas, Hanukkah and another wonderful year in our school community.
Would you like to hold a stall at the school’s Christmas Market?
School families are encouraged to apply to run a stall at the market. If you make craft or food or anything that would fit well at the market, please pick up an application form from the office. We’d love lots of locally home-made or -grown craft, produce and food, so that school families have a chance to browse for Christmas gifts, enjoy a snack and join in a relaxing end-of-year school community event.
School classes are also invited to propose a stall. 100% of funds raised by class stalls go to the class. Other non-class stalls give 10% of takings to the P&F. If you would like to apply for a stall, please pick up an application form at the office and return it by 15 November (the sooner the better, though).
Any questions, please contact Sarah on sarah@sarah-armstrong.com
Check out Mercurius for Steiner Christmas gifts
With Christmas just around the corner are you looking for quality art and craft supplies or a Steiner inspired gift or toy?
A beautiful array of quality art and craft supplies, as well as Steiner based toys and lovely gifts, are available online at Mercurius http://www.mercurius.com.au/
Enter the promotional code: FRIENDCBRSS and 15% of the sale will also go towards P&F fundraising!
MERCURIUS AUSTRALIA
Nurturing the Senses | Fostering Creativity | Nourishing Imagination
Our vision is to support healthy development for children and all ages through education, art and play. We partner with socially and environmentally conscious businesses to offer products of aesthetic beauty, outstanding craftsmanship, quality and durability.
Learn to Skate and support One Girl charity
As well as being in year 12 here at Byron Steiner, I also have the joy of being an ambassador for Australian nonprofit, One Girl. This organisation provides girls in Sierra Leone and Uganda with everything they need to complete their high school education. Including: scholarships; uniforms; schoolbooks; lunch; tutoring and much more.
As part of my fundraising efforts, I have organised a learn to skate day for children aged 7-10 with Byron Bay Skateboard School.
Participants are encouraged to wear a dress in support of #doitinadress.
Limited places. So please contact Lily on 0490 105 468 to secure your child’s place.
Lily Harrison
Celebrating Advent
Advent starts this year on Sunday 2nd December and is celebrated for the four Sundays leading up to Christmas until Sunday 23rd December. Advent is frequently celebrated by people of every religious background, every faith, every spiritual path as part of the festivals of the cycle of the year.
In the Southern hemisphere, Christmas falls near the Summer Solstice when the light is at its strongest and we celebrate the triumph of light at its greatest point in the yearly cycle. As the year draws to an end we increasingly spend time outside enjoying “the sun in the heavens”. With the long warm days, intense light and balmy nights we are drawn out into the elements rather than into “the sun in our hearts”.
It can be challenging to develop a sense of inwardness, patience and contemplation when the Spirit of the Earth is on its outward breath. To balance this we can consciously choose to “receive the light” and celebrate what is both universally human and universally spiritual. Celebrating Advent can provide an opportunity for some quiet ‘breathing in’ during this outwardly busy time of year and help your children to practice preparation, reverence and patience through the ritual of counting the weeks and days to the special celebratory event. The lighting of candles each week also reflects our own ‘Divine Light’ and helps to bring us a little inward contemplation.
Traditionally Steiner schools and families celebrate Advent by looking each week at the natural kingdoms on Earth: minerals the first week, plants the second week, animals the third week and humans the fourth week ( see verses below).
Here are some ideas that you might like to include in your own advent celebrations:
An Advent verse
‘The gift of the light we thankfully take, But not shall it be alone for our sake, The more we give light, the one to the other, It shines and it spreads, growing still further; Until every spark by friends set aflame, Until every heart, the joy to proclaim; In the depths of our souls, A shining sun glows.’
Advent Wreath – on a special table made with greenery and seasonal flowers, four advent candles to light each consecutive Sunday of Advent.
Advent Garden-assembled and added to each Sunday of Advent with the four kingdoms celebrated each week try adding tiny crushed shells (collected from the beach) in a spiral pattern for the spiral on which Mary and Joseph figures walk.
Advent Crib-a nativity scene of the four kingdoms, adding a different one each of the Sundays- Crystal Kingdom, plant kingdom, animal and human kingdoms.
Advent calendars are available from Rudolf Steiner Bookstore by following this link
Verses for the 4 weeks of Advent
Week 1: Crystal Kingdom
The crystal kingdom comes first and is honoured by decorating the wreath or garden with crystals, seashells, stones or little bones you may find.
Week 2: Plant Kingdom
In the second week the plant kingdom is honoured by adding little dried flowers, seeds and pine cones and greenery.
Week 3: Animal Kingdom
The animal kingdom, in the third week, is honoured by adding little wooden animals or beeswax creatures the children make.
Week 4: Humankind
The fourth week sees us honouring humankind by adding a little felted or beeswax child and figures.
Additional Reading:
Our library also has some handouts on making an advent wreath, nature table etc.
Possible stories include The Star Money from the Brothers Grimm, (and if you have the book “Rose Windows”, there is a lovely idea for a window transparency in there); craft ideas in The Children’s Year and Families, Festivals and Food. Other stories include the ones from “The Light In the Lantern: Stories for Advent” from Wynstones Press; Advent Sunday Stories, Collette Leenman; Mary’s Little Donkey, Gunhild Sehlin; Advent and Christmas Stories, Estelle Bryer and Janni Nicol.
Surgery Students “Losing Dexterity to Stitch Patients”
A professor of surgery says students have spent so much time in front of screens and so little time using their hands that they have lost the dexterity for stitching or sewing up patients.
Roger Kneebone, professor of surgical education at Imperial College, London, says young people have so little experience of craft skills that they struggle with anything practical.
“It is important and an increasingly urgent issue,” says Prof Kneebone, who warns medical students might have high academic grades but cannot cut or sew.
“It is a concern of mine and my scientific colleagues that whereas in the past you could make the assumption that students would leave school able to do certain practical things – cutting things out, making things – that is no longer the case,” says Prof Kneebone………
“Creativity is not just for artists. Subjects like design and technology, music, art and drama are vitally important for children to develop imagination and resourcefulness, resilience, problem-solving, team-working and technical skills,” says Mr Hunt.
“These are the skills which will enable young people to navigate the changing workplace of the future and stay ahead of the robots, not exam grades.”
Read the full article here
Why Waldorf (Steiner) Students Knit
Knitting has been gathering a lot of attention lately by crafters and scientists alike. It turns out knitting and handwork provides a host of brain and wellbeing benefits to people of all ages. For students, in particular, knitting provides an essential learning medium.
A child who is knitting a hat or a toy kitten sees their will transformed into art. They see their focused, detailed work turn into something beautiful and purpose filled. They experience how the conceptual becomes concrete.
This is why Waldorf education founder, Rudolf Steiner, lectured on the importance of handwork for students just under 100 years ago.
Read the full article here
Practical Spiritual life
Seek the truly practical life, but seek it in such a way that it does not blind you to the spirit working in it. Seek the spirit, but seek it not out of spiritual greed, but so that you may apply it in the genuinely practical life. – Rudolf Steiner
Class 3 News
Class 3 very excitedly heading off on their camp last week.
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UNE Science Workshops for High School
Some scientists from the University of New England visited our school on Friday 2nd of November and ran four different sessions with students from the High School. Students conducted a series of interactive activities allowing them to explore various concepts within science.
Year 9 NZ Camp
Year 9 camp certainly lived up to everything it was anticipated to be. It was a tough misty mountain adventure. As a class, we circumnavigated the mountain Ruapehu, which became famous after its appearance as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings. Students carried all their own food and tents for five days. We travelled through 65 km of varied landscape, crossing crystal clear rivers, cable bridges and steep Lahar scree slopes, to ancient arctic beech woodland. The weather was amazingly cold at times but mostly there was just gorgeous sunshine. Thanks so much for all the parent support which enabled us to take year 9 on such a wild adventure. Thanks to Stu and the Administration Team for organising everything. Thanks to all the students who persevered through some tough times to complete an amazing journey.
James Hagger – Year 9 Guardian
CBRSS Year 11 Music
Mid year, Sharon Shostak approached me to source some original music for the film she was working on (details below).
She provided us with some key emotive words to work with to create instrumental music for the film.
We rehearsed some ideas, Matt Gulliford set up a recording environment and they went for it! Sharon conducted them at times, it was a great experience for us all.
Thank you to Sharon for the opportunity, the music was used for the film and we are very excited to see it. Thank you to Matt for making it all possible.
Tom Whitaker
About the Film
The Mullumbimby area and Byron Shire in the 70s-80s was a seeding ground for the birth of a multitude of alternative practices and ideals that have taken root throughout society today, via the phenomenal convergence of a new settlement by the so-called hippies.
This second documentary in the culture series, and third film commissioned by the Brunswick Valley Historical Society, documents the birth and development of environmental and social awareness, that pushed those early new settlers to achieve world-first successes in important environment protections that are now taken for granted.
Part two – Activism and Politics features those seminal battles: the spraying of poisons, the Federal dam proposal, the lobbying for the right to share land, the Terania blockade, the birth of alternative publications, the marijuana raids that became a civil rights issue, and how the alternative ethos slowly took over Council, are all amazing stories told by those who were there, and delivered in Sharon Shostak’s usual informative and entertaining style, rich with rare archival photos and film.
Music: Broadfoot, Year 11 Cape Byron Steiner students, KitnKaboodle Prods
