Leaving Your Mark on Country (detail), 2016, Libby Harward, painting and multimedia installation. National Museum of Australia


​What an incredible time to be teaching! As a primary school student I learnt about a 'peaceful' colonisation of Australia. Now it is a bittersweet experience to be teaching a much more truthful version of the events that transpired between 1770 and 2021. 

Our journey has taken us from a somewhat incomprehensible understanding of more than 60,000 years of life and culture belonging to the First Nations People, to the Doctrine of Discovery that empowered terra nullius and an invasion, through policies of 'protection', assimilation, social activism, self-determination and recognition.   
We have looked at these times through the lenses of relationships and land. We attempted to look at both sides of the story.

Artist Ziggy Ramo asks us as Australians:
Gather 'round, people, and I'll tell you a story
Two hundred years of history that's falsified
British invaders that we remember as heroes
Are you ready to tell the other side?

Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody spelt it out for us when they said:
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege cannot move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law.

And both sing: From little things big things grow.

The children have especially enjoyed learning the story about the Wave Hill Station walk-off. A tale that not too many Australians know well enough. Please feel free to look into it a bit deeper.
​
Nick Vuorinen
Class 5

It has been an active term for our students, beginning with the annual cross country carnival for Classes 4 to 6. Their enthusiasm and sportsmanship were contagious, as was their determination, with even the fastest running more than 12 minutes without pause, and house captains coming up with some creative chants and cheerleading routines in support. 

​Students from Classes 7 to 10 were busy practising their volleyball skills in preparation for the carnival with Cape Byron Steiner school on May 21 and 28 - a great mix of competition and social interaction, which the students really enjoyed. This is something we would like to continue with other local schools and sports.

Sport elective Year 9 and 10 students have been surfing this block lesson - a magical time to be out in the surf. Students had some experienced staff sharing their skills and knowledge and were amazed at how much detail is involved in having a safe and enjoyable surfing session. Watch this space for more news on the High School surfing program.

Students from Class 3 to 6 are currently enjoying gymnastics and circus classes with Spaghetti Circus as part of the Australian Sporting Schools program.

Thank you to the supporting staff from all areas of the school that contribute to these fabulous and fun events for our students.

Magnum Brotto
PE Teacher

ShearTheatrix and the Year 11 Drama students are deep in rehearsals for their production of TWO - a bittersweet comic drama by Jim Cartwright, which will be performed in the Shearwater Hall June 16 to 18.

Traditionally set in an English pub owned by a savagely bickering husband and wife, the play is a study of relationships, where human beings must navigate the landscape of their own belief systems and experiences and those of others. The play explores this in a way that is both moving and humourous, through a series of vignettes featuring 13 characters, over one night in a pub.

Set in the the 1970s, in the Universal Pub, our production of TWO explores relationships that mirror our own experiences, or those of our friends and family. Through this witnessing we welcome insight as well as compassion for ourselves and others.
 
Come and grab a (non-alcoholic) drink or snack at the bar and enjoy Ross Nobel and Friends' pub tunes amidst the antics of our wonderful cast of characters. Don't forget to pull out your 1970s threads for a night to remember.

Doors (and bar) open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Show runs for two hours with an interval. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students (with a special price for Shearwater Year 11 students of $5). Not recommended for Primary students. 
​
Click here to book. Bookings open Friday June 4 at 5pm.​

April Galetti
Drama Teacher

 
The theme for this year’s National Reconciliation Week is ‘More than a word. Reconciliation takes action’. Reconciliation relies on all of us to take action and work together with love and respect. We all have a part to play in this journey. Get involved in as many ways as you can, not just this week but always.
 
Last week, we took 24 members of the Kinship Group, from the Primary and High School, on an excursion to participate in a Reconciliation Week community event, held at the Chris Cunningham Park in Tweed Heads. 
 
It was a privilege to spend time with these students outside school and the classroom environment and to watch them interact with each other and the wider community. There were games and activities, including yoga in local language, information stalls, a BBQ, live music performances and even some stingray searching on the shore. We picnicked in the sun, talked about important things like what reconciliation means to us and laughed and had fun together.
 
We’d like to give a special shout out to Kyah Lotersztain and Kate Constantine for joining us and helping to make it such a great day.
 
In gratitude,
Djuaan, Jane B and Anna D

Last week our Class 7 Japanese students performed two engaging Japanese stories: Warashibe Choja (The Straw Head Master) and Kasa Jizo (The Child God). Katsuko and the students created a truly Japanese aesthetic in the elegant presentation of these two profound Japanese fables about selflessness and taking care of each other. The students spoke beautifully in Japanese as two performers translated the text for the audience.

​Complete with exquisite kimono and sadō (tea ceremony), the production provided the students an opportunity to engage deeply with traditional Japanese culture and history through storytelling.

April Galetti
Drama Teacher

It is buzzing with activity here at Playgroup. We are in the process of finishing our clay work - a different modality to explore with our senses. Some children needed some time to get used to the sticky, soft wetness and others went straight to work exploring. A great big thank you to Ben for putting all our little pieces into the kiln to be fired. We are all full of anticipation to see the end product after the glazing.

Some parents have started knitting slipper socks to keep little feet warm. It is a wonderful activity to do, particularly together with some friends, drinking tea and sharing life’s experiences.

We have been painting and printing some treasures from our garden onto wet paper; autumn leaves, grasses, flowers… all different kinds and shapes, to be made into winter lanterns to light the long nights ahead. 

We welcomed a new baby at Playgroup this term. Her first day out was with us at Rosewood Cottage, sharing so much joy and love.

Our guinea pigs are well loved, but sadly we need to find a new home for Lovely Wilder who has outgrown his cage. He will need some company, of the guinea pig or bunny kind. If you are interested please come and see me at Playgroup.
 
As winter arrived this week, we reflected on the wisdom of Rudolf Steiner who reminds us that our own consciousness is intensified in winter, when our thinking life becomes intensely active. It is especially in the activity of thinking that our ego manifests itself and, at these times, we must strive to remain conscious and free from despair and loss of hope - to remember the light in the darkness.
 
With warmth and light,
Playgroup Coordinator
Carina Halliday