​Here in the centre of the rainbow region, Shearwater recognises and celebrates IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia) on 17 May.  It is a day for showing support for all people to live safely without fear of abuse or violence based on their sex, sexuality or gender expression. IDAHOBIT celebrates LGBTIQIA+ people globally and raises awareness for the work still needed to combat discrimination.

Despite the progress that has been made in the LGBTQIA+ movement, stigma and discrimination are unfortunately still prevalent. This is also true in Australia, where two in three LGBTQIA+ youth experience abuse due to their identity and 35 per cent of LGBTQIA+ Australians have experienced verbal abuse in the past 12 months.

At Shearwater, we will be celebrating the diversity of our community across all areas of our School, through age-appropriate activities, and seeking to raise awareness around how to be better allies.

In Kindergarten, we will be celebrating the rainbow in acknowledgment of all the many different people who live in our wonderful world. The children will be asked to dress in rainbow colours and will do a rainbow craft activity, as well as joining in with the Primary School to watch the Class 6 play. The play explores inclusion and diversity through a story set in our native bush where birds of all colours belong, until King Kookaburra creates an exclusive club for brown, white and black birds, forcing Rosella, King Parrot and Lorikeet to hide their colours in order to join their friends.  

Meanwhile, in the High School, there will be face painting and music at lunch time. Students will be encouraged to dress in their rainbow colours.

​A show of support from allies is so important for our LGBTQIA+ community – calling out inappropriate comments or ‘jokes’, understanding that not everyone will be included by binary forms, and encouraging a range of different perspectives during discussions. Small gestures like this can have a huge impact and we want to model for our students how they can stand proudly as allies. If you feel that you would like to contribute in some way to this day, please call the Office – we would welcome your contributions.

Image source: doclakshmi

Last week we welcomed Dr Lakshmi Prasanna into the Primary School and Early Childhood. Lakshmi visited Classes 1 and 2 and then met with the teachers and learning support assistants. Lakshmi's feedback and insights are always of great benefit to the teachers and this year Lakshmi said she was truly moved by the beauty in each classroom and how well each class was held. Her advice was to have 'fun' with the curriculum.

The theme for Lakshmi's visit this year was Warmth and in her parent talk she spoke about bringing warmth to children through regular rhythms and routines, through healthy food, through genuine interest and unconditional positive regard and through the metabolic limb system. Lakshmi mentioned the importance of maintaining movement and doing, as well as routines, even when we have strong feelings. This is one way adults can model a healthy lifestyle to children.

Trained as a paediatrician, Lakshmi is passionate about child health and nutrition for parenting, and is an advocate for sensitive children. She is a popular speaker for international conferences and also consults to Steiner schools providing teacher training and support for children and families. Lakshmi has been visiting our school for many years and we look forward to her next visit.

Cathy Jones
Primary School Coordinator

​The autumn colours have arrived at Little Shearwater, and our seasonal table reminds us of the harvest time and the essence of the season. The Star Daisies have noticed the changes in nature and are enjoying the joys of autumn. The children are experiencing changes in the colours, the length of their days, and, most notably, cooler air in the morning. We hold space for this natural wonder and awe provided to us by Mother Nature and nurture the children’s senses through our walks, outdoor and indoor play, cooking, and gardening.

During the day, the children hear stories and sing songs about autumn. They enthusiastically join in with the songs, movements, and gestures. The gestures used in our morning circle relate to the sensory world and follow the imagery, rhythm and music that flow through the story, nurturing the life forces responsible for building the physical body in the early years.

In Term 2, the children are more settled and used to the Preschool rhythm, joyfully engaging in our Preschool activities. New friendships are developing, and some are being strengthened.

On these beautiful autumn days, outdoor play has been very special. The children are enjoying sand play and sailing on our boat. In our sandpit, we can see cakes, castles, sand balls, roads, tunnels, and very deep holes. They are busy digging in the mud area, climbing the mango tree and the mulberry tree, sharing a swing in the hammock, enjoying the swings, and cooking delicious dishes in the cubby house. Hot chocolates, soups, cupcakes, and milkshakes are very popular. They are also harvesting chokos, which we cooked and tasted at our lunchtime in week 2.

Each week, the children help us prepare their own morning teas. Crunchy buns and apple crumble are their favourites, as well as making birthday cakes for our celebrations and chopping juicy fruits. They are encouraged to help with daily tasks such as setting up the table, wiping the tables, and washing their plates and bowls after morning tea. The Star Daisies have been helpful in the garden, watering the veggies, planting seeds and bulbs, and caring for the soil and plants. These are all wonderful learning experiences that strengthen the children's will and build their thinking capacity.

The indoor play has also been delightful, with cosy cubbies being a regular feature of play, as well as caring for the dolls and playing with blocks and story props.

Last week, we went on a walk to the Farm and met Farmer Spike, who was harvesting honey! The children loved tasting the delicious gift given by the bees.

We are blessed to be part of such a special school, with so much to do and see.
In Rudolf Steiner’s words: To educate the whole child, his heart and his will must be reached as well as the mind.
 
Fernanda de Falco
Star Daisies Preschool Group

Class 5J has an exciting term ahead with Main Lessons in Australian history, maths and botany. In our Australian Settlement Main Lesson, students are developing an appreciation and understanding of Australia's rich cultural identity. The focus is on storytelling, understanding timelines, art and geographical awareness, which will assist students in connecting with their emotional and imaginative sides, allowing them to empathise with different perspectives and cultures. This will aid in their social and emotional development, as well as their ability to understand and appreciate diversity. The class is also working on individual projects that they will present, based on their own interests.
 
In our World of Mathematics Main Lesson, the aim is to encourage a love for mathematics and an appreciation of its practical applications in everyday life. The combination of theory and practical application will help students develop their problem-solving skills and analytical thinking. This will aid in their cognitive development, as well as their ability to think critically and logically.
 
Lastly, through our Botany Main Lesson, 5J will develop an understanding of the importance of plants in their lives and the environment. The focus on hands-on experiences will help students connect with nature and develop a sense of wonder and appreciation for the natural world. This will aid in their physical and emotional development, as well as their ability to observe and appreciate the beauty and complexity of the world around them.
 
In addition to these Main Lessons, the children are engaged in a variety of learning experiences throughout the week, that aid in a child's holistic development. Playing a musical instrument helps to develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and auditory processing. It also promotes a sense of rhythm and musicality. Engaging in sports/games aids in physical development, coordination, and teamwork skills. It also promotes sportsmanship, resilience, and a healthy lifestyle.

Creative story writing encourages imagination, creativity, and self-expression. It helps children develop their communication and language skills, as well as their ability to empathise and understand different perspectives. Procedural text, on the other hand, teaches children the importance of clear and concise communication. It helps them develop their logical thinking, problem-solving, and organisational skills. Overall, these activities will provide a well-rounded educational experience that nurtures the physical, emotional, cognitive, and artistic development of our wonderful Class 5 students.

As always, we encourage the children to embrace our School values of creativity, community, and compassion. We believe that by embodying these values, our students will develop the skills and attitudes necessary to make positive contributions to the world around them. We certainly look forward to a wonderful term of learning, growth and community.

Jacqui Doran
Class 5 Teacher

In the spirit of community service and supporting our community at Shearwater, Year 9 students have volunteered to read to our Class 1s. We had so many keen big kids that we will be doing weekly rotations to share the wonders of reading and story sharing with the little ones. 
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This is a wonderful opportunity to connect the bridge between High School and Primary School and there was a tangible feeling of success and happiness when the Year 9s returned after the first session.

​Following our class camp to Minjerribah, Year 8 finished Term 1 with a unit called On Country, exploring connection to place. We studied Sister Heart, a book of prose by Sally Morgan that delves into the experiences of the stolen generation and other texts that look at the indigenous experience from a more contemporary perspective. Students were asked to share a story or a poem about their own connection to place. Here are two of them. 
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Year 11 Biology students planned and conducted an investigation that further developed their knowledge and understanding of enzyme activity. The investigation involved developing a question and hypothesis, which students will test. They examined the effect of either temperature, substrate concentration or pH on the activity of enzymes. The class have honed their lab skills and have earned lab coat status. Well done!

This year's group of Year 10 divers has seen both amazing and challenging conditions. The groups are doing amazingly well under the circumstances and we have a 75 per cent completion rate so far. We have been in the Tweed River and in the ocean at Julian Rocks for the courses, and students have applied themselves in a dynamic and enthusiastic way that will enabled them to continue their underwater adventures long into the future.

Students who have not completed the course will be participating in a turtle specialty snorkelling course, making scientific observations of Byron Bay’s endangered loggerhead turtles. The student’s contribution will be added to the global data collection to aid in the protection of this species.

Rhys Edwards

This year we began an integrated STEM unit with Year 10, following on from the Sydney University STEM Academy training that six of our High School staff attended last year. In Term 1, the students had five introductory classes, which focused on fun, problem-solving challenges using STEM principles. In Term 2, they have returned to a block of STEM that is running concurrently with the SCUBA program. This block is focused on the idea of the sustainable village but with the design of vertical gardens as a focal point.

As the students are coming and going at different times during the block, we have designed three workshops that they can work on independently when they are at School and that all add to the development of a vertical garden of their own design. The first workshop is actually designing a vertical garden, the second is a coding workshop using Arduino technology and block coding to control systems, and the third is an investigation into the operation and construction of two types of water pumps. The project has been enthusiastically received by the students even though they need to self-direct through much of it. We are very much looking forward to seeing the completion of some of their fantastic designs.

Gerard Braithwaite for the STEM Team

Our lunchtime chess club with Chess Coordinator John Parsons is the place to be in the High School on Fridays, when students from Years 8 to 12 take on each other, John or other staff members in friendly battle. Last week, John and Deirdre took a team of Class 9 students to St Joseph’s College Banora Point for an interschool competition. Although not victorious on the day, the students, Elijah Johnson, Oliver Frederikson, Romeo Naar and Flynn Brain enjoyed the experience. Chess on Fridays will continue in Term 2 and all students are welcome.

Lindel Gass
High School Teaching and Learning Coordinator

Above image from Shearwater Site Day 2023

The Shearwater Star Canoe group acknowledges that we are living and working, learning and growing on unceded Bundjalung Land. We pay our deep respects to elders past, present and those to come.

Hello from the Shearwater Star Canoe group. Star Canoe is a group of school staff, Board members and parents of First Nations students. We meet regularly, working together to assist the School Executive and the College to provide opportunities for First Nations students to access, and flourish within, our holistic education setting at Shearwater. 

​We aim to embed practices into the School fabric that will develop respectful and meaningful relationships with First Nations Peoples in our community and beyond.
Our key focus areas are:

• Developing and deepening cultural connections between School and community,
• Continuing to support kinship amongst First Nations students and families,
• Providing further opportunities for staff to participate in professional learning and cultural training.

This year, we are working on Shearwater’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). We warmly welcome participation and insights from the families of First Nations students and the broader community. If you would like to join our group, come to a meeting, contribute in any way or find out more, please email us at hellostarcanoe@shearwater.nsw.edu.au.

Celebrating the seasons provides children with a sense of place in the world, in harmony with the rhythms of nature, and provides an opportunity for community connection and warmth. Our Primary School Autumn Festival was a special celebration to mark the autumn equinox, the balancing point between the final days of summer and the more inward, reflective mood of the coming winter. The festival featured song, dance and a special autumn story performed by the Primary School teachers. ​Autumn is also a time of harvest and we thank parents for sharing their abundance, as witnessed by the overflowing harvest baskets!

As we approach the end of Term 1, many of us may feel like we’ve settled into the new school year and are ready to get more involved in our beautiful School community, forming unexpected new friendships and enriching existing ones. 

We are always on the lookout for community members with professional skills, knowledge and experience, who can help us oversee and guide the operations of our School. For example, experience, knowledge or skills in Waldorf/Steiner education, school management, law, planning, financial and business management, human resources and industrial relations management, building and project management, fundraising, marketing, communications and/or PR all provide valuable perspectives for the Board. 

Our need for such contributions can be short or long term. If you have knowledge, experience or skills that you may be valuable to our school Board, after reading the Q&As below, email us here to express your interest.
​ 
What does the School Board do?
​What does it take to become a Board member?
How do you become a Board member?

Here in Hummingbee Kindy, the children have been settling into our Kindy rhythms and participating enthusiastically in our drawing, craft, painting and baking activities. It has been a delight to watch the warm connections being made among the children as they engage deeply in creative play together.
 
This term, in our Kindy garden, the children have been busy harvesting Madagascar beans (the children counted over 100!), sunflower seeds, star fruits, native mulberries, midyim berries, and making delicious lemongrass, mint and lemon myrtle tea to share.
 
Summer has been holding on with some very hot days, but the Kindy children have been delighting in finding secret signs that Lady Autumn is here: dew drops glistening on spiders' webs and grass, mist hanging low in the valley under Grandmother Koonyum, mushrooms popping up all around, and the starry star fruits ripening in our kindy garden.
 
Now that autumn is here, we are busy with our preparations for our Kindy Autumn Festival at the end of term; practicing our songs and dances, preparing food and making decorations. The Autumn Festival is also known as the Harvest Festival and it is a time to celebrate the bounty of Mother Earth with gratitude and reverence. Our Kindy festivals are joyous celebrations that lift the children out of the everyday and into the mystery and magic of the seasonal rhythms and the natural world around us.

Kara Mallory
Kindergarten Teacher

The Miwing children have begun Class 2 with the expected gusto and exuberance one would expect from a child in their eighth year. We have certainly left behind the dreaminess of Class 1 and its cosy garden corner, and have exploded into our new expansive playground with swings!
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We have steadily moved through the first three Main Lessons for Class 2. We put our lower case letters to work in sentences inspired by several Aesop's Fables. Narrative is still the most significant manner in which pictorial imagery can be presented to and received by the Class 2 child. Fables brought in this way deliver the stern morals and consequences they hold, gently and with depth. Academically - our work with these fables, alongside First Nations Australian and Jakarta tales, will continue throughout the year in middle/practice sessions to further develop our lower case letters and gain an understanding of writing conventions. 

Our second Main Lesson on mathematical place value saw us visit Farmer Equals' farm and use his magic counter to count up his large harvests. The basic concept of place value in mathematics is paramount. It is the foundation of every maths concept from primary to algebra level maths and is essential for a complete mathematical understanding.

In our class, Farmer Equals used his pockets for units, sacks for groups of ten, baskets for 10 sacks and, finally, a horse and cart for 10 baskets. Using story and pictorial representation allows the children to understand the abstract concept in a way that is more natural and developmentally appropriate for them. The trick is moving to numerals as the only representation - this will take time and lots of practice.

Lastly, the children have delighted in a Science Main Lesson on the water cycle with Ari. This follows the story of a water drop and its adventures.

Also, this year the children have begun a Japanese cultural immersion with Katsuko. Katsuko brings songs, games in japanese and creative activities which celebrate Japanese art and culture. The children are always very excited on Katsuko day! The class continues its wonderful work under the guidance of Kira in eurythmy as we work with mirroring our movements through form drawing. 

So you can see, we have had a robust start to Class 2, and look forward to all our adventures ahead throughout the year!

Lisa Hylan
Class 2 Miwing Teacher

One of the highlights of Term 1 every year at our School is Shearwater Live, our annual High School music showcase. This year's event was a vibrant and varied celebration of student talent, from classical piano through 60s pop to contemporary blues and hard rock, featuring individual and group performances, including our High School strings collective Rhapsody. It is wonderful to see our Primary School Strings Program bear fruit in the High School, with the incredible musicality and confidence of these students.  

Teachers and music students worked hard in the initial six weeks of the term to achieve a highly competent and very enjoyable evening. Congratulations to all who took part, including Year 9 students Zai and Tage, for their work on lights and sound, and Year 11 students Eli and Nina for the photographs above.

Ross Nobel 
High School Music