THE MESSENGER
Term 4 Week 6 Thursday 20 November 2024
To form this house takes care, skill and art; Where is the Sun? It dwells within my heart..
Dear School Community,
Last Saturday, staff and families gathered to celebrate our Year 12 Graduation.
Having completed their final exams the week before, this celebration was preceded by a re-journey through the school.
The year 12’s visited each class, beginning at Kinder where the younger students offered an activity, song, or reflection about that particular year level. This re-journey culminated in an assembly where the year 12’s passed through the same archway as when they were welcomed into the ‘big school’ from prep in 2013. This was the whole school’s chance to congratulate the students on completing the IB, their education at Mansfield Steiner School, and to show our appreciation
and recognition for the admirable young adults they have become
For the Graduation Evening, parents of the Year 12’s carefully decorated the Melliodora Hall. Meghan Knapp prepared a beautiful meal. Speeches and songs were planned and rehearsed by students, parents, and staff. The Year 11 students worked throughout the evening delivering meals, clearing tables, and providing musical performances. This night was much more than a celebration of academic achievement, although we are certainly proud of the students’ efforts in this area. It is a celebration of relationships, growth, and community support as we navigate the journey from childhood to adulthood. There was a genuine mutual appreciation between staff, students, and families for the time we spent together and a sense of gratitude for being part of the journey.
We are extremely proud of the people our Year 12s are becoming, and for the school, these students more than justify the trajectory we are on. In his speech, Angus reflected on developing a deep appreciation that he had internalised two key
messages that had accompanied him throughout his time at the school, the importance of kindness and hard work (music to a principal’s ears!).
It is with happy sadness that we send them off into the world and look forward to hearing about the adventure that will be their lives.
GRAPEVINE
MORNING STAR Sandi Valerio
In our final 3 weeks of Kinder the Morning Star children have an exciting time ahead. Preparations for the Christmas festival include sewing nature bags for next year, clay modelling candle holders for our Christmas lanterns, and decorating Christmas candles. We will begin our Festival circle this week, the Echidnas will practice with Prep and the Honeybees will learn a simple circle of songs to sing at their very own Christmas festival on their last day of Kinder. We have some gardening to finish, planting Sunflowers ready for next year’s Kinder children and planting of cotton seeds. We are wondering if they will grow in Mansfield? Our tomatoes are growing well, and our peas are ready to harvest to make room for some cucumbers. The end of the year is fast approaching, and the children are becoming excited as they look over the garden fence and say hi to their now familiar Prep teacher for next year, Jack.
ROSA MUNDI Jack Finegan
Spring is coming to an end; flowers blossoms are falling and making way for delicious fruit to form in preparation for the new year. The children have sensed this change and have begun their own preparations for the new year. Some choosing craft time outside or using their whole bodies to dig out our new riverbed and build bridges to cross. They are spending as much time with the beautiful Rosa Mundi Garden as they can before they enter the big school. Coming into the last few weeks of Prep we are Swimming and having a full transition day with our new teacher Sam! We are all very excited for the changes to come.
Glenn Hood
CLASS 1 Liz Morrell
It is hard to believe that Class 1 have commenced the final Main Lesson for the year titled Local Surroundings – the world of nature. We began with a walk to the Mansfield Wetlands where the class walked along the old railway track while observing the plant, animal and bird life. A highlight of the day was spotting 2 tawny frogmouths situated a little way off the track. An impromptu tour through the old train carriages sparked interesting conversations about the artefacts displayed. We heard today how Wira the possum observed canoes being made from the bark of the trees, heated into shape with holes filled with sap and resin to create an amazing watercraft, used for fishing, hunting, transport and communication. Over the week the class will hear stories of the birdlife which abound in the Wetlands. Reading and recorder are our 2 favourite class activities!!
CLASS 2 Amy Burns
Class 2 have been busy working on a special gardening project: a Yarning Circle that will sit where the old Gnomy Hut lived for many years. Children have carted many wheelbarrows of compost from the Rosa Mundi chooks and even more from the mountain of mulch that has arrived behind our classroom to ready the soil and create the curved form of the garden. With support of a Junior Landcare grant, natives will be planted surrounding the circle to create a place for the school community to come together and connect with Country and our local environment. Our Spring Walks have begun, with an adventure to Gooram Falls that included rock hopping, splashing and balancing that will be hard to beat in the eyes of the Class 2s! This week we are heading up to the top of The Paps to see the world we are so familiar with from above.
CLASS 3 Ariel Stava
Class 3 have had a massive week putting together a calendar with 12 seasonal paintings that they have worked on since early winter. They have used their knowledge of the days of the week and months of the year to count and number each carefully ruled calendar page. They have checked on their wheat in the garden to see if it is ready for harvest and discovered that there is a good portion of rye grass that will need to be separated from their intended crop. This week they planted another ancient grain - the corn patch to be enjoyed in many lunches next year. The cycles of the seasons have been acknowledged in that now we are in the Indigenous Kubin season of Buath Gurra: grass flowering season. One student joked it should be named hay fever season. As we approached the end of term we hope to be busy with a little more building. Thank you to all of our families for another fine year supporting your children in their learning journey.
CLASS 4 Lou Pullar
Class 4 have picked up where they left off with their local area Main Lesson from Term 2 and started mapping their route from home to school. Thinking from an eagle eye view and considering where the sun comes up in the morning at their house, they have drawn the lanes and roads they take to school, adding those key landmarks and natural features that they see every day. We will take a walk to the Mansfield Historical Museum, a tour of the local cemetery and go on an overnight camp out at Merrijig as part of our local explorations. Thanks you to the Speirs family, Fran and our parent helpers for helping make these excursions happen.
CLASS 5 Clare Bennetts
Class 5 had a fantastic day at the Greek Olympics in Castlemaine on Friday. They donned their togas and joined in with four other Steiner Schools from across the state to participate in five events. Many medals were won but most importantly there was a great sense of camaraderie and an opportunity to meet other Class 5s. This week the class is down at Davon’s Flat camping and walking along the Howqua. We are drawing native flowers, visiting huts and enjoying the beautiful mountains that make up our local area.
CLASS 6 Jacinta Walker
The Class 6’s arrived home on Friday afternoon from their wonderful Music Tour. We had a great three days, playing music, visiting the NGV, making new friends with the Ballarat Steiner School students, visiting the Ballarat Observatory and basically enjoying our last camp all together. We introduced Danielle to the delights of bubble tea, made friends with the workmen, played rock, paper, scissors with the lady in the car next to us while held up in a Melbourne traffic jam, and sang along to Sweet Caroline (along with other golden oldies and some great newies) on the way home. A stop for hot chips at Yea topped off a very lovely time together. It has been a privilege to teach these students for the last six years and I know that Seamus is going to enjoy the class next year. Many thanks to Agnes for coming with us on camp and for always putting up her hand when there is something to be done for the class. And also to Danielle for taking on our orchestra this term and her unfailing calm and sense on camp..
YEAR 7 Nicholas Koschitzke
Off the back of their surf camp to Phillip Island, Year 7 have dived into the world of poetry, writing and emotions in this Main Lesson. They have thought about the impact of wishes and whether or not they might even come true, putting this theory into action themselves by writing a series of wishes to be opened only when they finish school. Students also challenged their ability to put words on the page, responding to a variety of prompts each day. In all, it’s been a wonderful series of creativity and thoughtfulness.
YEAR 8 Dion Hall
Students will explore the science of physics, exploring how simple tools can redirect, extend, magnify, speed up, or spread out an applied force through the creation of their own carved wooden walking sticks. Along the way they will explore and categorise forces as contact and non-contact, conduct experiments with magnets and compasses and research Galvani’s early experiments with static electricity to understand that nerves conduct electricity.
YEAR 9 Bella MacMunn with Suze McKay
17 days is a long time. A long time to be away from home, from friends, family, sports. A long time to spend with your teacher and three 20-somethings you barely know. A lot of paddling and peddling and eating wraps every day. A lot of setting up and packing up and setting up again. A lot of Dutch and Uno. Lots of laughs, tears, swims, bruises with no obvious cause. Lots of new friends, and stronger relationships with friends you already had. Lots of inside jokes and little bits of banter. Lots of challenges that, when you overcome them, make you a better person. This group went from a bunch of random 15 and 16 year olds, to a homogenous group of young adults who could almost run the trip without us by the end. I am so proud of the growth each and every one of them showed throughout the last few weeks, and I feel privileged to have witnessed such an important time in their lives. These kids have done an amazing job and I can’t wait to hear about the adventures they embark on from here.
YEAR 10 Seamus Kavanagh
It is a busy end of the year for the Year 10 students. It is full of looking forwards and taking stock of the moment. Having completed the exam week, sharing space and time with the Year 11s, they have shifted focus towards the work experience program. Working around the state on all manner of jobs, from dentistry to plane fabrication. Upon their return, they will be spending more time in the Badjii, the IB room, working closer with the Year 11s in preparation for next year.
ESPANOL Vanya Foers
Prep to class six have had a busy semester enthusiastically learning many words, phrases and songs in Spanish! Last week Classes 3-6 learnt about the festive Latin American celebration ‘El dia de los muertos’ (‘The day of the dead’) – a day honouring loved ones. The children traced and drew some detailed ‘calaveras’ into their workbooks and coloured them brightly. They learnt that this festival originated in Mexico and is distinct from Halloween as it is not a scary or spooky event but rather a beautiful celebration of loved ones who have passed.
MUSIC Celeste Cleason
Last week, Class 6 went on a music tour to Ballarat Steiner School. On the way, they took in a concert at St Paul’s Cathedral. They spent the day working with the Ballarat students, sharing in orchestra rehearsals before doing a combined performance for the Ballarat school community. Returning home, they played at a nursing home and created an eclectic playlist to sing all the way home on the bus. Thank you to Jacinta, Danielle and Agnes for supporting the students on their final primary school music adventure. Our two final performances for the year are fast approaching and students are busy rehearsing to prepare. Information regarding the performances is attached on the back of the messenger and on Sentral and all are welcome to attend.
WEEK 8 – SECONDARY ENSEMBLE NIGHT -
28 November @ Mansfield Golf Club featuring Year 7/8 & Year 9/10 ensembles,& Bands : Petrichor & Deceptive Biscuit Tin
WEEK 9 – STRINGS & CHORAL CONCERT
TUE DECEMBER 3 @ St Mary’s Church Hall featuring Primary & Senior Choirs, JPO, MSPO, MSCO & Snowgum Strings.
MUSIC EVENTS
Secondary Ensemble Night @ the Golf Club
featuring Year 7/8 & Year 9/10
Ensembles
B ANDS
Petrichor & Deceptive Biscuit Tin
Mansfield Golf Club
Thursday 28 November, 7pm Dinner bookings available from 5:30pm TO BOOK PH: 5775 2628
STRINGS & CHORAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT
St Mary’s Church Hall
Tuesday 3rd December,6:30pm
FEATURING JPO, MSPO, MSCO, Snowgum Strings, Primary Choir & the Senior Vocal Ensemble
YEAR 12 GRADUATION DINNER - Leith Pierce
Graduation night, surrounded by the beautiful decorations that were gathered from Kinder or parents’ gardens and sustained by Megan Knapp’s delicious food, was a wonderful celebration of the happenings and connections involved in the Year 12s’ school journeys. Songs spoke to the love, joy and moving nostalgia felt around these experiences, and hopefulness for the possibilities to come. The students’ heart-warming appreciation shown in each of their speeches for the efforts of those many that contributed to their lives here, was clear testimony of the strong relationships and deep respect for learning about the world, others and themselves that has been fostered by the whole school community.
IB YEAR 11 - Willow Matthews
With the departure of the year 12 students, the school is slowly beginning its shift towards the new year. For myself and the Year 11s, this opens the door for us to assume leadership positions around the school. Students can liaise with staff members who oversee their chosen area of interest and assess what kind of position they can create and fill. For myself, this means assisting the school with communications, where I will continue with newsletter contributions and assisting in the coordination of, and managing some student contributions for the weekly assembly. My fellow classmates have also been busy finding their own areas of interest, with Ella for example taking an active role in communicating with the Mansfield Youth Centre and assisting in the coordination of extracurricular musical events. Molly will be taking up a role in the orchestral endeavours in the school and Oscar will be assisting staff in the drama program.
