Perth Waldorf SchoolHigh School Newsletter

Welcome!Greetings to Parents and students of the High School and welcome to the new High School Newsletter. This newsletter has been edited and compiled by Annabelle Kellenberger who has taken up extra administrative duties in her role as High School Coordinator of Administration to support the needs of our growing High School. While a portion of her time remains as Biology and IT teacher and Class 11 Guardian, Annabelle will assist to ensure the smooth functioning of the High School. Thanks for your good work in presenting this newsletter Annabelle. We hope to have 2 newsletters per term to help parents feel connected with the many and varied activities that contribute to the wonderful education of our students.

We extend a special welcome to those parents and students new to our school. In Class 8 Dillon Beaman has joined us, in Class 9 Idaani Ariyaratyne is new and in Class 10 we also welcome Jericho Featherstone. I wish the students and their families a rewarding time with us making many good friends as they learn about themselves and the world.

In this newsletter you will meet our new staff, Claire Williamson, Amanda Mead, Brad Favas and Renae Fassom. Please take the opportunity, where you can, to make them also feel welcome as they join us in presenting our enlivening and nourishing curriculum to the students.

As the school year begins we can take a moment to celebrate the success of last years’ graduates. Of the 16 students to apply for places at universities, all of them have been accepted! A wide variety of courses are to be undertaken such as Law and Criminology at Murdoch, Design at U.W.A, Marine Biology at E.C.U., Architecture at Curtin and Environmental Science at Murdoch. It’s important to note that our education is not focussed on any particular Tertiary stream but it is comforting to know that students from PWS have the capability to access any course they wish when they leave at the end of Class 12.

Delays and bureaucracy has marked our building progress. Despite this we have had a great start to the year. We are managing very well with careful timetabling of classes. Even the setback of the recent Fire emergency had an upside. It was a delight to see some of the High School students carrying trays of cups of water and providing mist sprays to cool the little children in Early Childhood classes as we all waited in the Hall for it to pass. It is impressive to see the display of resilience and support in so many students.

As we finish the first Main Lesson Block there is much to look forward to, the Class 11 Walpole Wilderness experience in week 5, the Class 9 Play in week 7 and the Class 12 Ball at the end of Term.

Wishing you all a great year in the PWS High School.

Mark PhillipsHigh School Coordinator Curriculum

Welcome To Our New Staff!

Claire WilliamsonClaire has been teaching in numerous schools in Perth and Queensland and has recently been Vocal Director for Annie at Iona Presentation College. She has taught early childhood through to adults in a variety of education systems. She is also a professional musician and feels passionate about sharing music with others. She is really excited about bringing singing into the high school and is looking forward to increasing performances in the school and in the broader community.Claire will also be running the Parent Choir on a Wednesday morning and a students choir on Tuesdays after school.

Amanda MeadI grew up in a tiny wheatbelt town and went on to do my final four years of high school in Geraldton. I studied Art at TAFE before taking on the Bachelor of Education at ECU. I’ve been teaching English and Drama for 16 years. In that time I’ve worked at Katanning SHS, Kelmscott SHS, St Stephen’s School (Duncraig) and Bunbury SHS. I also devote some weekends to respite foster care.I’m thankful for all the lovely staff and students who have made me feel welcome and I look forward to meeting parents and other community members of PWS.

Brad FavasMy name is Brad Favas, and I am currently in my fifth year of teaching. In 2011, I completed my Teaching degree ie Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Science majoring in Physical Education and Health. Previously, I worked in a range of financial and recreational fields, finally realising that teaching Physical Education and Health to school students is what I was always meant to do! I am very excited about being in a new environment and teaching High School Students again, having spent the last few years at Primary schools.I am married and very lucky to have two daughters. Time outside of teaching is with family and keeping active. I am passionate about sport and used to play cricket competitively. Finally I am a participant in the Art = Life course and along with working at Perth Waldorf I look forward to what is ahead.

Renae FassomRenae has been involved in the school for many years as a parent and has also worked in our school Canteen.This year Renae will be working in the High School as the Class 11 and PE Assistant, as well as joining Penny and Sue in the Community Support Team.

Main Lesson FeatureMain Lessons play a very important role in the education of students at our school. Below is an overview of the Class 8 Geometry Main lesson currently being taught to 8A by John Bluntschli.Students in classes 8, 9 and 10 will always complete 2 maths main lessons, one of which is based in Geometry.

Class 8 Geometry The Platonic Solids

Term 1 Main LessonsClass 8A: Geometry - Platonic Solids, Physics - Air and Water, Biology - Muscles and Bones

Class 8B: Physics - Air and Water, Geometry - Platonic Solids, Biology - Muscles and Bones

Class 9A: Maths - Choice and Chance, Drama, English Novel Study - To Kill a Mockingbird

Class 9B: English Novel Study - To Kill a Mockingbird, Drama, Maths - Choice and Chance

Class 10: English - Poetry, History, Art History

Class 11: Chemistry - The Atom, Geography - Deep Ecology, English - Hamlet

Class 12: Architecture, Organic Chemistry, Modern History

The Class 8 students have entered a new realm in this Geometry main lesson, the high school and Plato’s academy where beauty of form through exact thought is revered. The students enter the academy by passing under the sign with the words of Plato: Let no one unversed in Geometry enter here. And so it is they grow

into the Geometry of Class 8.

The 5 platonic solids are discovered through careful construction of regular polygons of which they are familiar. But now they combine them and raise the tesselated net to create their own regular solid. Through detailed exploration of each solid, the students discover beautiful hidden relationships within and amongst each solid. What a picture this can create in their soul at this moment when they

are starting a new journey with others.

Student ExchangesWhen students are in Class 10 we encourage them to go on an exchange to another country. This involves finding a partner in a different Steiner school and forming a connection with them. Then each student gets to live and go to school with the other for a term.Last year we welcomed 7 exchange student to our school from Germany, Austria and France. This year we have students completing exchanges with students in Israel, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, France and Italy. Below is a short article written by Avalon about her exchange to Germany last year, which was originally published in the Pabulum. We look forward to hearing about the new exchange experiences as the year progresses.

In April last year, I travelled to Freiburg in Germany to do an exchange. I was so excited to be travelling all by myself, and to be meeting a new family, and living in a whole new country for 3 months. Although I freaked out a bit once I arrived at my first stop in Singapore, I soon realised that I was about to have one of the biggest, most incredible adventures of my whole life.

Once I arrived in Basel Airport, I was greeted by Hannah and her family. They were so kind to me, and became my family too. The language was a challenge at first, but over time it improved and I was able to understand most things!

Freiburg is such a beautiful city, and surrounded by big forests and mountains. We explored the city on my second day. We ate ice creams in the sun, and I was introduced to two of Hannah’s closest friends. Everyone was so welcoming, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all! My first day at school was a bit nerve racking, but once I got there, I had nothing to worry about. Everyone was so sweet to me, and I felt like I was part of the class almost instantly. The school was huge! There were so many kids! They had double streamed classes from class 1! The school smelled the same as our school too, I didn’t realise that our school smelled until i got there! I think every Steiner school smells the same! It made me feel even more at home.

While I was in Germany, I was able to go with my class to Russia for three weeks on a class trip. We flew to Moscow, and slept in the Steiner School there for three nights. We saw all of the amazing buildings there, and explored the surrounding city. On our final day there, at midnight we all hopped on the Transiberian Express and prepared ourselves for the four day and four night trip that we were about to embark on. During our

time on the train, the class became so much closer, and I really got to know everyone a whole lot better. We played cards, sang songs, and chatted for hours.

Our final destination was Irkutsk, in Siberia. We crossed over the Siberian border in the train, and finally came to our last stop. We were met at the train station by host families from the steiner school who would be looking after us for 2 weeks. Me and Hannah stayed together in a family. It was so exciting! We discovered that Russian people like to stay up very late, and eat a lot of meat…even for breakfast!

In our first week in Irkutsk, we went for a hike in the siberian mountains. It was amazing. There was so much snow. We all stayed in a little hut by a river, which was also great bonding time for everyone. We learnt about Russian and siberian culture, and tried a lot of very strange food!

I still can’t believe that I’ve actually been to Russia. It was amazing!

When we got back to germany, I only had about 3 weeks left. By this point, I never ever wanted to leave. I had met some of the most special people, and me and Hannah became like sisters. I had a whole other life there!

We made the most of my last few weeks by planning lots of fun things to do, spending lots of time with the class, and even walking up part of a mountain for a goodbye party! I experienced so many new things and I had so many wonderful adventures. My ex-change was definitely the highlight of my year, if not of my whole life so far!

My exchange was so incredible, and I couldn’t have asked for a better time away. I really did have the time of my life. If you have the chance to do an exchange in your high school years, definitely do it! You’ll meet so many lifelong friends and hopefully have some very exciting adventures.

It is a tradition in the High School to have a Beach Day during Term 1.This is a day where the whole High School journeys down to the beach to take part in games and activities in the morning. Students are arranged into teams of mixed year groups. They then rotate around the various activities such as Capture the Flag, Beach Volleyball and Sand Sculptures. This day provides an opportunity for students to some together in a friendly, social environment and introduces our new Class 8’s to students from other year groups.

Pending approval from the City of Fremantle, we expect this years Beach Day to take place on Thursday the 31st of March at South Beach.

High School Beach Day

Class of 2015In 2015 we celebrated along with our Class 12 students as they graduated from High School.Many of them have already come back to the school for a visit as they decide where they would like to go for the next part of their journey.Of our 18 graduates, 16 chose to apply for University, and all 16 have been accepted. Many of them are choos-ing to have a Gap year before commencing their studies, and we wish them all the best for their futures.Some of the courses that students are choosing to pursue include;

Law, Criminology and Justice at ECUArchitecture at UWA

Marine Science and Politics at UWAPsychology at Curtin

Architecture at Curtin,Business at Notre Dame

Design at UWADesign at CurtinScience at CurtinScience at UWA

Marine Biology at ECUPhotography and Illustration at Curtin

Criminology at Murdoch

Important Project dates for 2016The Class of 2016 has started working on their Independent Research Projects. This work carries on through-out the year, and is done in addition to their Main Lessons and Practice Lessons.Important deadlines for this years class include:

Written Component: 1000 Word Draft Essay Due Wednesday 30th MarchFinal Essay / Report Due Monday25th July

Practical Component:Due Thursday 22nd September

Journal Component:Due Friday 4th November

Project presentations:We currently have 25 students in Class 12, our biggest year so far. Due to the large numbers, our Project presentations will be spread over four days, with presentations taking place during the day as well as in the evening on all of these days.

Monday 24th October Thursday 27th OctoberTuesday 25th October Friday 28th October

The Beaux StratagemClass 9 Play

Our Class 9 students began rehearsals for their Class Play: ‘The Beaux Stratagem’ this week. With 44 students, 3 casts and only a 4-week main lesson to prepare, there is much to do!

Swashbuckling fun from start to finish, this vibrant new adaptation of Farquhar’s classic restora-tion comedy from the masterful minds of Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig is full of dazzling wordplay, swooning damsels-in-distress and dashing sword-fight rescues.

In a village in the English countryside, Will Boniface and his daughter Cherry keep an inn for travellers that also doubles as a hideout for highwayman (robbers). Two poor young gentlemen from London, arrive at the inn with a plan to marry wealthy women. They make a deal that whoever marries a rich woman will share half his fortune with the other. It all works out wonderfully well, although not before many a diverting mo-ment involving such matters as highway robbery, mistaken identify, romance, sword play—and lively com-ment on the nature and destiny of the genders, separate and together. A wonderful play which offers some fantastic roles and opportunities for both males and females.

Class 9 students will be called upon to put forward their best efforts as they collaborate with their fellows in many ways: rehearsing, creating costumes, designing and building sets, acquiring props, and managing the myriad aspects of staging. Inevitably, the work the students undertake in the performing arts area of the curriculum helps to build the feeling of community within a class through the highly interactive tasks of theater production.

We really hope that you will be able to join us for what promises to be entertaining and vibrant performances of ‘The Beaux Stratagem’ on:

Wednesday 16 March @ 12:45pm & 6:30pmThursday 17 March @ 9am & 6:30pmFriday 18 March @12:45pm & 6:30pm

Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

3

15th Feb 16th Feb 17th Feb 18th Feb

Lunchtime Meditation with Sue

19th Feb

4

22nd Feb 23rd February

C11 Parent Night - Raphael Room

6:30pm

C10 Parent Night - Durer Room 7pm

24th February

C11 Seakayaking Excursion

25th February

Lunchtime Meditation with Sue

26th February

5

29th February

C8 Parent NightGalileo Room

6:30pm

1st March

High School Choir

2nd March

Class 9 Parent Night

3rd March

Lunchtime Meditation with Sue

4th March

HS Pupil Free Day

6

7th March

Labour Day Public Holiday

8th March

C9 E + GSculptures by the Sea

Excursion

High School Choir

9th March 10th March

Lunchtime Meditation with Sue

11th March

7

14th March 15th March

High School Choir

16th March

C9 Play 12:45 pm and 6:30 pm

17th March

C9 Play - 9am and 6:30pm

Lunchtime Meditation with Sue

18th March

C9 Play - 12:45pm and 6:30pm

8

21st March 22nd March

High School Choir

23rd March

C11 Excursion to RPH

24th March

Lunchtime Meditation with Sue

25th March

Good Friday

9

28th March

Easter Monday

29th March

High School Choir

30th March

C12 - 1000 word Draft Due

31st March

HS Beach Day

1st April

10

4th April 5th April

High School Choir

6th April 7th April

Lunchtime Meditation with Sue

8th April

11/12 Ball at AQWA

Class 11 Walpole Expedit ion

Term 1 Calendar