Shearwater, the Mullumbimby Steiner School
Ph (02) 6684 3223
349 Left Bank Road, Mullumbimby, NSW 2482
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Looking on the sunny side

9/4/2020

 
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Is having humans in lock-down doing great things for our environment? While we may be struggling to adjust to our new lifestyles, perhaps this is just what our struggling planet needs. At the end of 2019, tensions across the world rose as did temperatures and sea levels, while the reality of global warming started to hit home. A young Greta Thunberg called on global leaders to take action and protesters took to the streets. But our cries for the planet seemed to fall on deaf ears. Then along came COVID-19, forcing us all to make the changes that climate activists had been crying out for for decades. Planes were grounded, cars stayed put in garages, unnecessary travel has become illegal and factories have ground to a halt. So what’s the upside in all of this for the planet?

On a positive note, since the pandemic has changed the way we are living, the environment is flourishing, the water is clearer and the skyies are bluer. The shutdown of factories in the Chinese city of Hubei has increased the percentage of good quality air days by more than 20 per cent compared to the same time last year. It’s not only Hubei, in major Chinese cities between January and February, the visible cloud of toxic gas hanging over industrial power houses has almost disappeared. Hong Kong's air quality has improved with the shut down of the city. Transport makes up 23 per cent of the world's global carbon emissions but due to travel being cancelled, flights are now at a minimum and car traffic in some parts of the world is scarce. This has reduced carbon emissions significantly.

The effect of the world going into lock down has been extraordinary for the environment. In India, along the coast of Odisha, over 475,000 endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles have come to shore to lay their eggs for the first time in seven years. Although Italy may be experiencing a huge human toll, canals are full of fish and sea animals along with crystal clear water, the likes of which hasn't been seen in living memory. In Wuhan, China the skies are clearer than ever and some people are seeing the stars for the first time. Animals have been seen in places they are never normally seen and others spotted roaming around in deserted towns. It isn't all bad news with COVID-19.

While it’s important to not play down the seriousness of the crisis on human life and the extraordinary impact this pandemic will have on societies and economies around the world, there is a silver lining on these dark clouds. Let’s make it a challenge to maintain as many of the positive impacts for the planet that we can, once the world goes back to “normal”.

Indigo Goss
Year 12

Year 11 Drama

9/4/2020

 
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​Year 11 Drama has been rehearsing The Woman in the Window by Alma De Groen. The play is about freedom of speech and is set in Russia in the 1950s and Australia in the year 2300. We will be using Year 10 student Charlie Pierre's design talents in vision-mapping and lighting to bring the play to life. But for now, we are staying open about how and when it will be performed.

Working on Zoom has been a great way to get into the meaning of the play and the intentions of the characters, without having to focus on the staging and the students are having a great time trying out their Russian accents. I am really enjoying the process of working with the students in this way and we are all finding it rewarding in a challenging time. 

April Galetti
High School Drama Teacher

Year 11 English Studies

9/4/2020

 
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Like Ducks to Water

The Year 11 English Studies class have taken to online learning like ducks to water. This term, we focused on a job-ready unit called Achieving Through English - English and the Workplace. 

Students learn about workplace communication, safety, discrimination and fair trading, and talk to people about their experience in the workforce. They focus on their passions and areas of interest, and research options in those fields. The first part of the assessment task involves creating a resume, writing a cover letter and participating in a mock interview for a job of their choosing. 

The second part of the task allows students to look deeper into the realities of leaving home; how to apply for a house and how much it costs, as well as exploring ways to establish rules and resolve conflict in a share house. 

This week, students submitted their work, did their interviews and were able to present their 'Moving Out' PowerPoint in pairs, all utilising a new online platform none of us were familiar with just weeks ago. As a teacher, it was incredibly reassuring. I've been very impressed with the students' versatility and optimism in these unusual times. A wonderful demonstration that they are ready for the future before them. 

Sarah Ndiaye
High School English Teacher

Isn't she Grand?

8/4/2020

 
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After the School received a very generous donation to enable us to purchase a grand piano, Music Teacher Ross Nobel and I immediately and fortuitously found an amazing Petrof grand piano online at the Theme and Variations piano store in Sydney. We knew straight away that this fabulous instrument was the one. It is quite large - much larger than a baby grand but smaller than a concert grand piano. 

The move happened very fast, and the Petrof is snugly stored away in its new home in the School Hall, while it settles down after its trip from Sydney. What a gift to our piano and music students, choirs, eurythmists, and the whole community, who will have many opportunities to enjoy it in the years ahead.

Ken Naughton

Class 7

8/4/2020

 
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Together, we have all had an unusual start to 2020. For Class 7, this is an especially important time as it is the beginning of the end of our seven-year cycle. The theme of growth, regeneration and connection seems especially poignant. 
 
7S started our year with great excitement, looking forward to meeting the High School teachers and enjoying more opportunities to mix with the other Class 7.
 
Our English biographies lesson provided us a chance to share, remember and write about the fun of early childhood, the wonderful camps experienced in the Primary School years and also to dream towards the future, through exploring the lives of those that inspire us.
 
Both Class 7s worked hard to contribute to positive climate action during our Bush Regeneration lesson, planting 1800 native trees in the wetland area, west of the Kindergarten and Preschool.  

The 2020 Shearwater tree planting project, organised and facilitated by our wonderful gardener, Nadia de Souza Pietramale, extended the wildlife corridor planted by previous Class 7s to almost 1.5 kilometres. The project was made possible with incredible community support including the following donations: 1000 trees from Reforest Now (who also came in with four augers and dug all the holes for the project!); 230 plants from Burringbar Rainforest Nursery; six trucks of mulch from Rainforest 4 Foundation, and a grant from the NSW Government’s Biodiversity Conservation Trust that bought another 250 trees and fertiliser; with additional support from the Mullumbimby Rural Cooperative. 
 
When it became clear that our learning experience would take a distinctly different delivery style, we set about creating packs of material with educational content as well as our unique Shearwater hands-on practical work. Hence a Grow your own seedlings project was born (see student images above, at bottom).
 
I would like to finish on our afternoon verse, as we do each day in Class 7, as it also seems particularly apt at this time.

Steadfast I stand in the world
With certainty, I tread the path of light
Love I cherish in the core of my being
Hope I carry into every deed
Confidence I impress upon my thinking
These five lead me to my goals
These five give me life

Sonia Davidian
Class 7 Teacher

Hummingbee Kindergarten

7/4/2020

 
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Our Sunny Sunflowers were standing tall and bright in our Kindy garden to wave the children goodbye as they embarked on their at-home learning journey. But while our Kindy gardens are having a lovely autumn rest, the children have been busy little bees in their own homes.
 
It has been heart-warming to see so many photos of the children doing their Kindy work, and hearing stories of the wonderful family activities that are taking place.
 
Our Kindy stories have been focusing on pumpkins and harvesting the bounties of Mother Earth, noticing the changes in the colours of the leaves as they begin to fall from the trees, and the bright colours of Rainbow Glow as she shines across the sky after a dark and stormy day: Rainbow Glow shines oh so bright, she fills our hearts with love; A warm glow shines within us all when a rainbow shines above.
 
We have suggested that families create their own autumn celebration at home over the holiday weekend, and are looking forward to seeing some photos of family fun! Here are some ideas that Kindy teacher Jane Michaelis suggested in her ‘Autumn Reflections’ message that was sent to our families this week:
 
It is important to note that with young children, the preparation for the celebration is as important as the celebration itself.
  • Find a good spot to make a seasonal table with your children, and keep it alive with new treasures found and added after daily walks in nature (or play in the backyard).
  • Let your children help prepare a special meal with fruits and vegetables that are in season: pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin scones or muffins, apple crumble, apple cake, hot cross buns, corn on the cob, corn fritters, homemade bread etc.
  • Decorate the family dining table with a special cloth and autumn leaves, flowers in season and seed pods.
  • Light a candle and say a verse or sing a song before sharing your special family meal.
  • Share seasonal stories, sing, dance, make music or play some games together as a family.
  • Go on a seed pod/autumn leaf treasure hunt and make a family mandala out of the collection, or spend the afternoon getting creative and making things out of your treasures. You could sew together autumn leaves for a necklace, make seed pod boats to float, make autumn crowns for the whole family out of vines woven with leaves.
  • Last but not least, don’t forget to go out before bedtime and look up at the stars. In autumn time they shine more brightly.
 
Look up, look up, look up to the stars
They shine very high
Their light with love
and if you’re very lucky
And if you’re very quiet
you might see a falling star…. a falling star tonight!
 
Kara Mallory
Hummingbee Kindy Teacher
​

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