No: 38 7 December 2018

THE Friday FLIER

KOTAHITANGA

Waikato Waldorf School, Kindergartens and Playcircle

Dear Waikato Waldorf Community

It was my absolute pleasure to participate in the ‘Green Gold Enviroschools Celebration Day’. We were joined

by a number of dignitaries from the Waikato District Council, the Local Council,

members of the National Enviroschools Team from Toimata Foundation, and

Regional Coordinator and Enviroschools Facilitators. We were also joined by

people closely connected with our Enviroschools Journey.

I was so proud of our students, teachers

and community. Our grounds and pro-

jects looked inspirational and a big thank

you must go out to everyone who helped

to tidy up, mow the grass and showcase

our school. It was wonderful to see so many people acknowledging the

amazing work the school has done. It has only taken the school 5 years

to move from Bronze to Green Gold status showing the firm foundations

we were built on and our Special Character. We are hoping that there

will also be an article next month in ‘Organic NZ’ focusing on our journey

to organic status.

Well, we have just one week to go and we still have some wonderful events to look forward to:

On Tuesday, weather permitting, Classes 1 – 3 will have their Water Play Afternoon.

On Wednesday we are looking forward to our “Leavers Celebration” at 11.10am in the hall, followed by a shared lunch for students in Classes 7 & 8.

On Thursday we have “Moving Day” when all the classes shift to their new classrooms for 2019.

On Friday some of us will be attending the “Rose Festival’ for the six year olds at kindergarten followed by our “End of Year Assembly” at 11.10am, where each class will contribute an item to show the rest of the school.

School will close to students at 2.00pm on Friday 14th December so please remember to come and pick

up an hour earlier than normal.

Ngā mihi Sue

The End of Year Reports will be handed out next week. Students in Class 7 and 8 will be handed

theirs on Tuesday 11th December as their last day of term is on Wednesday 12th December after the

“Leavers Celebration”. Reports for students in Classes 1 – 6 will be available for parents to collect

from the class teachers on Thursday 13th December.

UPCOMING EVENTS

12 December Leavers Celebration

13 December Class moving day

14 December End of Year Assembly 11.10am

14 December Final Day of School—finishes 2pm

TERM DATES 2019

Term 1 31 January 2019 (Cl. 2 - 9) to 12 April 2019

1 February 2019 (Class 1) to 12 April 2019

6 February 2019 Waitangi Day School closed

1 April 2019 Teacher Only Day School closed

Term 2 29 April 2019 to 4 July 2019

31 May 2019 Teacher Only Day School closed

3 June 2019 Queen's Birthday School closed

Term 3 22 July 2019 to 26 September 2019

Term 4 14 October 2019 to 13 December 2019

28 October 2019 Labour Day School closed

STATIONERY 2019

There are still items that need to be purchased through the school which are of a specialist nature and are required as

part of our special character. You will need to order these from the school as usual at the beginning of term (see top sec-

tion of stationery list). The rest of the stationery can be purchased through any stationery supplier or online before the

start of term.

www.myschool.co.nz/waikatowaldorf

A paper copy of the stationery list will be sent home with your child’s report and will also be emailed to you directly from

the class teachers. It is important that all the children come prepared for school on the first day of term with the items on

the general stationery list and a completed order for our special character items.

We will be putting in another order for t-shirts early next term if you missed the last ordering date.

LOST PROPERTY

We have accumulated lots of clothing again in our LOST PROPERTY bin. Please check in front of the disabled toilet

(beside Community Room) if there are any of your child’s belongings.

We will donate them to the charity at the end of this term.

PLEDGE FORM 2019

The Pledge Pack for next year has been posted out last week. Please return your Pledge Form to the office promptly. If

you have not received a pack please let Monika know. Thank you.

Class One Play: The Nativity

This year Class One performed The Nativity as their class play. They managed to learn the play in

just three weeks, and learnt many valuable life lessons in the process: They cooperated beautifully

with each other; they discovered what it meant to assist their class friends with memorising and re-

membering their lines; and helped each other to be ready for entrances and exits. The class took on

the challenge of learning Once in Royal David’s City on the recorder, which is quite complicated for

Class One. The children also learnt seven Christmas carols, and sang like angels in their lovely pure

voices. Class One gave two sterling performances on Tuesday this week, and I am really proud of

them. Well done, Class One!

Elizabeth Swanepoel

CLASSROOM CORNER

During Term 4 WWS had two teams participate in the Netball Summer League at Minogue Park. The Wal-

dorf Stars (Candela, Jorja, Lily, Kauri, George, Bo, Emily, Ella, Tahlia, Ella-Maria and Emily) played in the

Year 6 grade, while The Waldorf Shakers (Stella, Caoilinn, Valentine, Mackenzie, Mia, Emily, Selsia, Ziwen,

Milan, and Gabrielle) played in the Year 4/5 grade. There were some challenging games initially, but as the

weeks progressed, so did their skills and in the last couple of games the players showed their talent. There

is definite potential for our 2019 winter teams! A huge thank you to all the parents and students that were

involved in supporting our players. Particularly Sally, Char, Kat, Natalie and Rene – without whose coaching

and umpiring skills we wouldn’t have had any teams.

For the final Health corner for 2018 I came across this article by Sanya Pelini a mother and writer of the site Motherly

it has been adapted for our newsletter – Sanya is a wise woman!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Joyful New Year

Maree

1 | Childhood isn’t meant to be a race

Steiner once said “Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves

are this book. We should not learn to teach out of any book other than the one lying open before us and consisting of

the children themselves”.

Children do not all develop in the same way, nor do they develop at the same rhythm. Waldorf education teaches us

to be attentive to the needs of each individual child and to stop expecting our kids to be what they’re not.

2 | Become a storyteller

It is said that Einstein once said “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to

be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” Waldorf education shares this view.

Rudolf Steiner believed that storytelling was a gift, and storytelling has remained a central feature of Waldorf educa-

tion. Stories help children to connect, they teach them new words, and they take them to places they’ve never been.

Waldorf education emphasizes the importance of telling stories rather than reading stories. Storytelling builds a child’s

imagination.

Making up stories can be difficult but it gets easier with time. You can also tell simple stories you remember from your

childhood. Going through the story before you tell it will make the storytelling experience more fulfilling for both you

and your child. Young children like to listen to the same story several times so they’ll be happy with the same story

repeated for a while.

3 | Connect with nature every day

Children thrive on physical activity. Playing outside also spurs their creativity. Connecting with nature means teaching

our children to be more attentive to the world around them. It means teaching them to take the time to smell the flow-

ers and observe the different things and people in their environment. Nature also has a calming effect on children.

Opportunities to connect with nature abound: smell flowers, pick flowers, collect pebbles, take pictures of insects, pick

leaves, paint or draw still life objects, play with sticks, build forts, dig, play with sand, scavenger hunts, etc.

4 | Teach your kids to play

Waldorf education is based on the principle that the simplest toys foster the greatest creativity. Steiner emphasized

the need for the most natural toys and argued that toys should provide children with sensory experiences. He believed

that when toys are simple and open-ended, they spark children’s creativity because children can then use their imagi-

nation to create other objects.

If you happen to come across a swarm of bees, we would be very happy to re-home them in our

Biodynamic (spray free) garden.

Call anytime for bee rescue

Steven 021 127 4804

Maree 021 150 9433

Waldorf education favours simple and eco-friendly toys to which everyone has access: pinecones, shells, acorns, yarn,

silk rags and handkerchiefs, sticks and branches, wooden blocks, acorns, stones, cardboard etc.

5 | Establish routines

In Waldorf education, each morning begins with “circle time”. Circle time is a special moment during which children come

together to sing, recite verses, do movement exercises, and do finger plays based on specific themes (for example sea-

sons).

There are many benefits to establishing routines. The authors of the book “Simplicity Parenting” (incidentally, one of the

authors is a Waldorf educator) are convinced that rituals and routines give children a sense of security and provide them

with roots. They believe that establishing routines can simplify parenting and make parenting a more fulfilling experience.

6 | Make room for art

Art is an important aspect of Waldorf education.

Making room for art means providing our children with unstructured moments in which they can practice creative play. It

is in these moments that they develop their creativity.

Steiner believed that fewer and simpler toys helped children develop greater creativity. He also believed that organized

spaces (toys arranged tidily in baskets or shelves rather than in piles) played an important role in child development. The

importance of organized spaces is an aspect shared by Montessori schools.

This quote by Rudolf Steiner pretty well sums up his philosophy: “Our highest endeavour must be to develop free human

beings who are able, of themselves, to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of

truth, and a feeling of responsibility – these three forces are the very nerve of education.”

Maree Smith RN

Anthroposophical RN 021 150 9433

85 Barrington Drive, Huntington, Hamilton Ph: 07 855 8710 email: office@waikatowaldorf.school.nz website: www.waikatowaldorf.school.nz www.facebook.com/WaikatoWaldorf School

These notices are published as a service to the school community. Publication is at the discretion of the Editor, and does not

necessarily reflect the opinion of the Faculty.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Journey Through the Past ...

2009 Principal, Alan Wagstaff composes our beautiful

school song “Waikato People”

Skipathon on the newly sealed Netball Court - June 2010

Mud hut built by senior classes 2010-2012

Babysitter available: Year 11 RSH student (ex-WWS) available for babysitting children 3 years

and older. $ 15 per hour.

Please contact Rebecca Swanepoel on 021 084 75730.

LOST

Pearl bracelet– lost somewhere at school on Wednesday. Please hand in to office. Thank you.

Enjoy some relaxed creative days before Christmas.

2 day workshops

18th & 19th December - Junior Class

Printing and Christmas fun

20th & 21st December - Senior Class

Printing workshop

Print your own fabric bag and t-shirt (bring along a t-shirt, tea towel or

other fabric items. Fabric bag provided.

$45 per day 9am to 3pm

Held at Waikato Waldorf School, 85 Barrington Drive, Hamilton

Text Lisa Lye to register 021 0633 559

Peanut butter fudge CHEWY BROWN SUGAR FUDGE SPIKED WITH PEANUT CHUNKS

GLUTEN-FREE - VEGETARIAN MAKES 40-50 PIECES

COOKS IN 30 MINUTES PLUS COOLING

DIFFICULTY - NOT TOO TRICKY

Ingredients

110 g unsalted butter

150 g soft dark brown sugar

200 g soft light brown sugar

125 ml milk

150 g icing sugar

225 g quality crunchy peanut butter

Method

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat, then stir in the soft dark brown sugar, soft light brown sugar and milk.

Carefully bring to a hard, rolling boil (the sugar will be scalding), then cook for 2 minutes. Take off the heat, stir in the crunchy peanut butter. Beat in the icing sugar until smooth,

adding extra milk if needed. Press into a lined 20cm x 20cm tin, leave to cool, then chill for 2 to 3 hours to set. Cut into 2–3cm squares to serve.

www.jamieoliver.com