Green Meadow Waldorf School helps students, families unplug

adminMax — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:17:06 +0000

CHESTNUT RIDGE — Romy Crone’s daughter, Madigan, used to fidget while watching television and complain about being bored. When the Chestnut Ridge family decided to go “screen-free,” however, the 8-year-old quickly found an alternative outlet for her pent-up energy. “Now she wakes up in the morning and races outside,” Crone said. “It’s been a year since we’ve turned it off, so to speak. We noticed an immediate difference … like this transformative quality in the children.” Crone and her husband adopted the lifestyle last spring after enrolling Madigan and their 4-year-old son, Hendrix, in the village’s Green Meadow Waldorf School. The independent school — one of 300 Waldorf schools in the U.S. that uses a curriculum based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner — limits the use of technology and media for children younger than 11 and encourages families to do the same at home. In conjunction with National Screen-Free Week April 30 to May 6, Green Meadow staff and parents will hold a kickoff event Saturday and invite the public to “unplug” with them. The free event, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the school’s main campus, will feature music, games, crafts, sports, food, a nature walk, a kids’ cooking class and more. Information to help families turn off the tube and get kids engaged in physical, creative and interactive activities will be available. “Our desire was really to open it up to the public and give people ways to get inspired with really concrete ideas about how to get through the week without screens,” said Vicki Larson, the school’s director of communications and marketing. “There’s tons of things to do without sitting at a computer or playing video games or watching television.” At the Green Meadow school of about 340 students in nursery through grade 12, children don’t encounter Smart Boards or computers in their classrooms until middle school, when technology is gradually introduced for research and learning. The school’s philosophy isn’t meant to promote a negative or prohibitive mindset around media, Larson said. Instead, it’s about gradually introducing media when children “have the intellectual capacity to use” it, she said. “These are powerful technologies … but they also have addictive and destructive qualities,” she said, adding they can incite cyber-bullying and lead to health issues like obesity and diabetes. In a technology-saturated world, forfeiting iPads, electronic games and other devices for an entire week can be a difficult endeavor for families who aren’t already accustomed to the screen-free lifestyle, Larson said. Screen-Free Week is an informal chance for people to unplug to any extent they find it beneficial. “We recognize that it’s not necessarily (a lifestyle) for other people, so they can go as slow as they want,” she said. Going “screen-free,” she said, could be as simple as committing to a weekly family dinner where everyone turns off their smartphones and the TV.

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40 Year Max Stibbe Waldorf School. 1972 – 2012

adminMax — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:20:49 +0000

Max Stibbe Waldorf School celebrated their 40th anniversary during the week of 10 – 23 March. On the 19th of March the children and teachers gathered to hear the story of the school and to view some photos of the early days of the school when it was founded in the Brooklyn scout in 1972. The school was housed on a smallholding in Kameeldrift during 1974 – 1976 and moved to its permanent location in 1977 on the beautiful Rosemary Hill farm. The children were also shown an exhibition of old and new photos which illustrate the farm before development and now, with more that 30 000 trees and school and hostel buildings to house all the school activities. Mr. Huibert Franken and his loyal team of farmers, gardeners and builders developed all the buildings and gardens. The crowning of the beautiful gardens is the maze with the pavilion in the centre, where social function can take place. On Tuesday 20 March the children went on a “big walk” on the well laid out cycling trails, which have opened up on the beautiful Rosemary Hill Farm to hundreds of cyclists during week-ends and holidays. The day ended with each class being treated with a picnic under the trees. On 21 March there was a Cello concert for parents and friends, and on 22 March the children sat in awe, listening to the magical sounds of 12 cellists in the hall. On 22 March the children did a coin laying on the a 40 years banner to raise funds for garden furniture for the school. On Friday 23 March, the nursery school performed a short play about a brave little hare for their parents On Saturday 7 April, ex-students gathered for an unforgettable evening of joyful encounters with old friends, a lovely meal and socializing around the fire until late, sharing memories.

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A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute – New York Times

adminMax — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:45:56 +0000

LOS ALTOS, Calif. — The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard. But the school’s chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home. Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise. But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: computers and schools don’t mix. This is the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, one of around 160 Waldorf schools in the country that subscribe to a teaching philosophy focused on physical activity and learning through creative, hands-on tasks. Those who endorse this approach say computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans. The Waldorf method is nearly a century old, but its foothold here among the digerati puts into sharp relief an intensifying debate about the role of computers in education. “I fundamentally reject the notion you need technology aids in grammar school,” said Alan Eagle, 50, whose daughter, Andie, is one of the 196 children at the Waldorf elementary school; his son William, 13, is at the nearby middle school. “The idea that an app on an iPad can better teach my kids to read or do arithmetic, that’s ridiculous.” Mr. Eagle knows a bit about technology. He holds a computer science degree from Dartmouth and works in executive communications at Google, where he has written speeches for the chairman, Eric E. Schmidt. He uses an iPad and a smartphone. But he says his daughter, a fifth grader, “doesn’t know how to use Google,” and his son is just learning. (Starting in eighth grade, the school endorses the limited use of gadgets.) Three-quarters of the students here have parents with a strong high-tech connection. Mr. Eagle, like other parents, sees no contradiction. Technology, he says, has its time and place: “If I worked at Miramax and made good, artsy, rated R movies, I wouldn’t want my kids to see them until they were 17.” While other schools in the region brag about their wired classrooms, the Waldorf school embraces a simple, retro look — blackboards with colorful chalk, bookshelves with encyclopedias, wooden desks filled with workbooks and No. 2 pencils. On a recent Tuesday, Andie Eagle and her fifth-grade classmates refreshed their knitting skills, crisscrossing wooden needles around balls of yarn, making fabric swatches. It’s an activity the school says helps develop problem-solving, patterning, math skills and coordination. The long-term goal: make socks. Down the hall, a teacher drilled third-graders on multiplication by asking them to pretend to turn their bodies into lightning bolts. She asked them a math problem — four times five — and, in unison, they shouted “20” and zapped their fingers at the number on the blackboard. A roomful of human calculators. In second grade, students standing in a circle learned language skills by repeating verses after the teacher, while simultaneously playing catch with bean bags. It’s an exercise aimed at synchronizing body and brain. Here, as in other classes, the day can start with a recitation or verse about God that reflects a nondenominational emphasis on the divine. Andie’s teacher, Cathy Waheed, who is a former computer engineer, tries to make learning both irresistible and highly tactile. Last year she taught fractions by having the children cut up food — apples, quesadillas, cake — into quarters, halves and sixteenths. “For three weeks, we ate our way through fractions,” she said. “When I made enough fractional pieces of cake to feed everyone, do you think I had their attention?” Some education experts say that the push to equip classrooms with computers is unwarranted because studies do not clearly show that this leads to better test scores or other measurable gains. Is learning through cake fractions and knitting any better? The Waldorf advocates make it tough to compare, partly because as private schools they administer no standardized tests in elementary grades. And they would be the first to admit that their early-grade students may not score well on such tests because, they say, they don’t drill them on a standardized math and reading curriculum. When asked for evidence of the schools’ effectiveness, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America points to research by an affiliated group showing that 94 percent of students graduating from Waldorf high schools in the United States between 1994 and 2004 attended college, with many heading to prestigious institutions like Oberlin, Berkeley and Vassar. Of course, that figure may not be surprising, given that these are students from families that value education highly enough to seek out a selective private school, and usually have the means to pay for it. And it is difficult to separate the effects of the low-tech instructional methods from other factors. For example, parents of students at the Los Altos school say it attracts great teachers who go through extensive training in the Waldorf approach, creating a strong sense of mission that can be lacking in other schools. Absent clear evidence, the debate comes down to subjectivity, parental choice and a difference of opinion over a single world: engagement. Advocates for equipping schools with technology say computers can hold students’ attention and, in fact, that young people who have been weaned on electronic devices will not tune in without them. Ann Flynn, director of education technology for the National School Boards Association, which represents school boards nationwide, said computers were essential. “If schools have access to the tools and can afford them, but are not using the tools, they are cheating our children,” Ms. Flynn said. Paul Thomas, a former teacher and an associate professor of education at Furman University, who has [...]

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Max Stibbe Matters – August 2010

adminMax — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:30:20 +0000

HELLO – GOODBYE Hello Debby My Name is Deborah Spall. I have lived in Pretoria my whole life and attended Pretoria Technical High, before studying Psychology and Education at Unisa. During my studies I heard about Waldorf Education, and knew some friends who had enrolled their children in the Village Waldorf School in Irene, but it was only after spending a day at Max Stibbe that I fell in love with the way the children are taught and decided that I needed to teach at a Waldorf School. I have had an upbringing full of varied crafts, and outdoor activities such as hiking and camping that I feel will help me bring a respect for nature to my teaching. To teach in such surroundings can only add inspiration to all that we do, reaffirming our belief in goodness. Even though I know the children of class 1 are sad to see Natalie leave, they have embraced me with such love. I know that I am privileged to join them on their journey towards independent and creative adulthood, and look forward to watch their seedlings as they are now, bloom into beautiful flowers. Goodbye Tarryn It is now my time to go on a journey, just as all the wonderful characters did in our stories in grade one. I would like to thank all the staff members for their wonderful love and support. I have learnt a great deal from everyone and I will always carry the wise words close to my heart. I have not only become a better teacher, but also a better person. To all my wonderful parents: thank you for your friendship and support. Class 3 you are my guardian angels I will love you all forever, and always have you in my heart. I will think of you and hope you will reach for the stars in all you do. Love Tarryn Goodbye Althea When I arrived in class one at Max Stibbe Waldorf School in 2007 there were 5 little people looking at me with curious eyes. Our journey began and we wandered wide-eyed together through the lands of witches, princesses and magic. We all loved the 4 number dwarfs and reveled in their adventures, especially dwarfie Plus and his huge appetite. Many laughs and indeed shrieks of excitement were heard from the class. Our 5 soon grew to 9 and then 11 children. One of our highlights in class one was our “Op die plaas” musical/play. Soon it was time to welcome class two. We were so excited to be able to write and to begin to read. Our class grew yet again and very quickly we had 15 children, all eager to learn. Such fun was had hearing the Fables and tales of Africa. Our favourite stories came out of the book – Stories Gogo told me! And at the end of each story the children would say: Cosi, cosi iyaphela, here we rest our story. Beautiful paintings, drawings and readers were created and the favourite reader was “The enormous Turnip!” And again before we knew it, it was goodbye class two and hello class three. Many new faces greeted the “oldies” and we delved into the stories from the Old Testament with gusto. We enjoyed the story of Noah, and of course Jonah and the Whale, immensely. By now we could all read and the wonderful world of books opened up for us. Each day there would be a tussle to get our class work completed so we could sit on the carpet and read! Together with class two, we put together a Christmas play with a twist: “The Elves and the Shoemaker” – a musical adventure – was a huge success. What a way to end class three! IMPORTANT DATES Sunday 8 August Rosemary Hill market from 9:00 to 14:00 Monday 9 August Women’s day, school closed Friday 13 August Class 1 Parents’ Update Saturday 14 August Parents `Spring Faire’ meeting in the Nursery School Saturday 21 August Open Day from 9:00 to 11:00 Wednesday 25 August Class 5 Parents’ Update Thursday 26 August A Friendly Reminder to all Parents: Please don’t send a huge party pack to school when it is your child’s birthday. Many parents object to their children consuming sugar, colourants, flavourants and preservatives, and, in fact, it is against our school’s code of conduct. A single cake is more than enough and a delight to all. EDITORIAL After The World Cup Wow, what a wonderful month it was! 64 games with the whole world watching us, and we pulled it off with the most amazing Mzansi style. From the opening ceremony all the way to the final whistle and the beautiful fireworks, with each and every one of those games in between, the atmosphere was great, the spirit amongst the people in the cities, the happy tourists and the general festivity of the whole event was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I was fortunate enough to attend a few games and it would be very difficult not to praise every single aspect of the facilities, logistics, safety and general organisation of the games. Speaking to foreign visitors, everyone was full of praise for the hospitality they were experiencing and the fact that they were enjoying each and every minute in SA. I also read that 92 out of 100 visitors during the world cup said they would recommend SA as a holiday destination when they returned home. This is where the true legacy of this magnificent event will bear the real fruit for us. We are now on the world map, everyone has seen us, and they will come and visit in their thousands for many years to come. In addition to being able to go to live games, many people became so accustomed to see regular matches on TV, everyone became a football expert and had an opinion on the rules, the players and the styles of play. But once it was all [...]

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Max Stibbe Matters – June 2010

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:30:20 +0000

Feedback on Special Parents Meeting Around 60 parents braved the cold and sacrificed a valuable Saturday morning to join us for what turned out to be quite a lengthy but fruitful meeting. We discussed the IQAA process, marketing, finances and sport. The outcomes of the meeting included a finance group (that has already had its first meeting) as well as the need for the school to address the need for later afternoon transport from school. The main focus of the finance group is to assist the school in finding additional income to assist the school with the immediate cash flow problems and also to find medium and long term solutions to make the school’s financial situation more stable. Gustav Rischmuller shared the marketing initiatives that are already underway and those that are in the pipeline for the near future. The school also prepared and sent out a detailed questionnaire to establish what the parents’ wishes are regarding afternoon activities and transport. I would like to thank everyone who participated, especially those parents who have taken on additional responsibilities. Your contributions are greatly appreciated! The minutes of the meeting are available from Thea at the office – just mail her at admin@maxstibbe.co.za and she will gladly forward them to you. Thomas Franken EDITORIAL Take back your child’s future! I am sure everyone will agree with me that parenting now is very different from the kind of parenting that our parents experienced. Our parents could afford to support more than three kids emotionally, spiritually and with their time. Note I did not put financial support on this list, because it was never about that. Financial support was just a part of their parenting; – an added bonus. They worried more about other things, mainly the emotional upbringing of a child. Most of our mothers stayed at home and this was one of the most important roles in the global economy. Yes, I remember coming home from school during the winter days to windows sweating steam from oxtail stews and dumplings cooking on a hot stove. My siblings and I used to follow a certain routine: the house was clean, so we would take our school shoes off before we entered the house, go inside and change from our school uniforms. We would then have lunch, wash the dishes, wash our school socks, do our homework, and then it would be supper time. After supper there would be more studying and bedtime was at 20h30. The routine ranged from morning to evening, differed from one family to another, but everywhere you went, there was routine. And look at us now! Nowadays with our Helpers, Nannies, Au-pairs – whichever term makes you comfortable – we expect these support structures to instill routine and discipline in our children. Then we make sure that we take our little angels to the most expensive schools because again that means they will be instilled with discipline by the teachers. After school it’s off to Aftercare! Besides the financial support, what are you doing as a parent in order to take back your children’s tomorrow into your own hands? Have we relinquished our responsibilities as parents because we can afford to? Are we going to allow the repercussions of “the new world order” to take our children’s future? Because we have to work we outsource our responsibilities to Nannies and School Teachers! Yes, things are not like they used to be, both parents have to work in order to survive in this economy. But balance is also important. So I ask you today what role you are prepared to play in the upbringing of your child, and not outsourcing responsibilities because you can financially afford to. Take back your child’s future into your own hands. Bridgette Khonkhobe SCHOOL NEWS Dear Parents and Guardians, Please read the information below carefully as it is important for you to know what is happening at school. 1. School stand at Woodlands Boulevard We would like to thank the parents that financed the Max Stibbe Waldorf School stand at the schools expo at Woodlands Boulevard. It was a good opportunity to give the school some exposure and hopefully some new learners. Thank you! 2. School Closes: Wednesday 9 June Please note that the school closes for the winter holidays on WEDNESDAY 9 JUNE at 13:00. Due to it being the last day of school, it is treated as a Friday. The buses will also reach their various stops as per a Friday schedule. 3. School opens again on Tuesday 13 July. 4. Max Stibbe T-shirts We would like to apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience caused by the T-shirt fiasco. We are embarrassed by the situation and will most certainly not make use of the supplier again. Please continue supporting FOOTBALL FRIDAY! Makro and various other retailers have recently dropped the prices of most supporter shirts – one can now buy Bafana supporter shirts for R99 and replica player’s shirts for around R300. 5. MySchool Cards We sent application forms home with children whose parents do not yet have a MySchool card on Friday 28 May. The school would benefit financially if you are able to make use of the card when doing shopping at Woolworths, Reggies, Engen and various other retail outlets – and it does not cost you anything! Various local shops are also listed, but to establish whether your local supermarket is a partner, please visit www.myschool.co.za. We will be introducing a competition after the holidays where the class with the most swipes per learner gets a treat once per term. Please take the time to complete the form and return it to your class teacher. If you would prefer to do it online, that would be great, just let us know that we do not need to follow up for the return of the form. Should anything be unclear, or if you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school or on tyfranken@iafrica.com SMALL [...]

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Max Stibbe Matters – March 2010

adminMax — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:30:17 +0000

IMPORTANT DATES Saturday 6 March Open Day from 9h00 to 11h00 Wednesday 10 March Parents’ Update class 5 Saturday 13 March Athletics day Wednesday 17 March Parents’ Update class 6 – 9 Sunday 14 and 28 March Rosemary Hill Farm Market from 9h00 – 14h00 Friday 19 March Parents’ Update Nursery School and Grade R Monday 22 March Human Rights Day; Public Holiday; school closed. Thursday 25 March Parents’ Update class 2 Friday 26 March School closes for Easter Holidays Sunday 11 and 25 March Rosemary Hill Farm Market from 9h00 – 14h00 Tuesday 13 April School opens Friday 16 April Parent s’ Update class 1 Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 April, Freedom Day; Public Holiday; school closed. EDITORIAL Sebastienne got into the car after school about a week before the Class 1 Parents’ Update, proclaiming,“You’re going to sit in my chair on Friday!” followed by raucous laughter. “Don’t worry. Natalie said it won’t break!” Pure joy and enthusiasm from a 6 year-old. A week later I’m sitting in my daughter’s chair at school (indeed, it didn’t collapse…!) while Sebastienne is proudly explaining each colourful drawing in her workbook depicting a letter of the alphabet. After warmly welcoming all, Natalie quickly ran through the routine of a typical school day. She then went on to explain how the children are being taught to read and write. How they literally have to ‘feel each letter in their bones’ before they even start putting crayon to paper. All the children were happily running around outside up to this point, and Natalie quickly rounded them up to demonstrate what they do during Circle in the mornings. They immediately got into the magical spirit of movement, rhythm and song. The absolute joy and enthusiasm in their whole beings was beautiful to witness, and mirrored on Natalie’s face. May we as parents try our best to cherish and nurture our children’s joie de vivre and eagerness to learn new things, for as long as we possibly can. And thank you already, Natalie. Zelde Rischmuller Why Waldorf Ymke Hemminga In my search for articles on Waldorf education I found this piece on the blogsite of Denny Strecker, a martial arts instructor from Michigan U.S.A, and decided, with his permission, to use it as this month’s editorial. It is interesting that this man doesn’t seem to be connected to Waldorf in any way, yet I think his ideas on self improvement and parenting go hand in hand with what Waldorf stands for. Different Forms of Education One of the best skills you can pass along to your child is the desire to learn. Education is a major factor in how many opportunities your child will have in life. Now there are multiple facets to education. Parents normally think about school and grades when I discuss education with them, but some other types of education include – Social, Moral, Personal, Practical, and Mental. Social Education – Knowing how to act in different social settings. I am always amazed when I see adults, let alone children, acting poorly while out in public. Teaching your child the social norms for the society you live in, will help them get further in life. Moral Education – This type of education is similar to Social, but involves the inner person as well. Knowing what should be done AND doing it. It is one thing to know right from wrong. It is another to ALWAYS choose right. Personal Education – Easily the most neglected form of education. Learning for the sake of learning. I see and hear students all the time ask, “What do we have to know for the test?” They want to know what parts of the book, chapter, or lesson they can ignore. If there is not a test on the subject at all, less than 1% of the group will read the assignment. Teach your child to be inquisitive. Learn how things work or why they work in a particular manner. This skill will leap frog them over 99% of the American Population. Practical Education – Learning by hands on experience – An Apprenticeship. Not everyone HAS to go to college in order to be successful. A lot of the top millionaires in the world never did. What they lacked in formal education, they more than made up for in Practical Education. Once your child shows an interest in something, dive in and learn as much as you possibly can about it. Mental Education – Problem Solving and Math Skills are severely lacking in our children. Working these skills on a regular basis will help them as adults when faced with difficult situations. By learning how to Problem Solve at a young age, they are better suited for the work environment as adults. In a recent study, it was discovered that 85% of adults will NEVER open a book again after graduating High School. Are you part of that group? Remember, you are the role model for your child. If you show an interest in reading and learning, they will tend to follow. January 2009, Dennie Strecker If any parents have specific questions on Waldorf Education, please email them to me by the 15th of every month so I can answer them in the next Max Stibbe Matters. SCHOOL NEWS Class 1 Parents’ Update On February 5, parents of the new Class 1 were invited by Natalie to a Parents’ Update. A mere three-and-a-half weeks into the school year, we did not know the surprise and delight we were in for. The children could not suppress their excitement and pride in sharing all that they had learned so far. And they had learned so much. Their books were filled to the brim with colourful pictures of the characters that help them learn the alphabet – big brown bears and magical caves with crystal treasures, a divinely decorated dragon, a fanciful fish and a gorgeous long-necked goose, all of which adorned the walls of the classroom as well. We were [...]

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Max Stibbe Matters – January 2010

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:30:54 +0000

We are delighted to welcome so many new children in our school! Judith, Mary and Annelie welcome Anje, Caleb, Ashleigh and Phemelo into the Nursery School and Grade R. Natalie welcomes Phenyo, Z’mingo, Nathan, Kanyisile, Owen, Ntando, Tshegofatso, Mochele and Thumelo in class 1. Oneira welcomes Tumi, Mokgethwa, Neo and Damion in class 2. Tarryn welcomes Tyler and Danielle in class 3. Althea welcomes Joshua, Bonga, Mbongisa, Bronson, Simba, Aurelio, Lesego, Reabetswe and Themba in class 4. Melanie welcomes Tristan, Gisela, Dineo en Amu in class 5 Hayley welcomes Kgethego in class 6 Marguerite welcomes Oratilwe, Brijgette and Rene in class 7 Stefan welcomes Neo, Dario,Tshepo, Kabo, Matthew, Sipho, Carmen, Otlotleng, Dylan, Brett and Lebo in class 8 and 9. IMPORTANT DATES Dear parents please diarize the following important dates for February: Class 1 Parents Update Friday 5 February 2010 General Parents Meeting on Wednesday 17 February 2010 at 19h00. Not for children. Class 2 and 3 Parents Update 24 February 2010 There will be an athletics day for the whole school on Saturday 13 March. More information about this event will be given in the next issue of MM. Why Waldorf Ymke Hemminga As someone who spent her whole school career in Waldorf schools, I am probably not the person to answer this question objectively. Luckily, if one is looking for objective studies on this education system, the internet has many, as Waldorf education has been around since 1919, which gives me the chance to write about it from a personal perspective. When I was six years old and growing up in the Netherlands, I was fortunate to be placed in the Gouda (yes, from the cheese) Waldorf school. I can actually clearly remember the contrast between the ordinary nursery school with the grey linoleum, the pencils with their pale colours and the grimy plastic dolls – and my magical, vibrant school, filled with beauty, stories and colour. In fact, the Waldorf school building was very ordinary but the teachers and parents had just taken a lot of care to make the place look special and beautiful. Every day, I cycled 7km to school and back through the flat farmlands in rain and shine, snow, ice and wind. My primary school years were filled with rich, nourishing experiences: I learned maths with dry beans, rhythmically clapping and stamping time tables; I learned French and English with rhymes and songs; I learned to write with a real goose feather dipped in ink; I made beautiful hand crafts, drawings and paintings; I heard the most wonderful stories and wrote and illustrated my own workbooks. We also went to school on a dark early winter morning to look at the stars as we were studying them in astronomy, in grade 7. When I moved to South Africa, I moved without knowing at the time, to the exact area where Max Stibbe Waldorf School is situated…. Chance? As a parent, I ask myself “What should a child learn in school?” Who remembers the contents of what they have learned in school? Is the human mind actually capable of storing facts long-term? Is it not experiences we remember and learn from? Is it not experiences that shape us and prepare us for our future? Should I then, maybe, rather ask “How could a child learn in school?” Is there a school out there that can teach, nurture, preserve and protect my child in such a way that she can grow up to be a confident, happy, strong, questioning individual? Is there a school that teaches my child, apart from Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, to become someone who is able to give meaning to her life, who is creative, resourceful, and never loses her passion to gain knowledge and who has respect and compassion for herself, others, and nature? Does this sound like a fairy tale? If you look carefully at a young child, you will see many of the above traits. My answer is an emphatic “Yes!” I have been in such a school in the Netherlands, and I have found such a school on the other side of the world from where I grew up, right here in Mooiplaats. * This article was published in the Bronberger in 2008 and is the first in a series of editorials about Waldorf education. Contributions or small ads can be emailed to ymke@rawstudios.co.za by the 15th of every month. ANNOUNCEMENTS Afterschool Activities The school offers the following after school activities: Mondays: 14:45 Recycling project with Melani and Judith or Drama with Natalie. Cricket Grade 1- 6 Boys/girls with Shad Tuesdays: Games, songs and communication with Grace Soccer grade 1 – 6 14:45 and grade 7 – 9 15:45 Wednesdays: Athletics grade 1 – 6, 14:45/ grade 7 – 9 15:45 Thursdays: Creative writing grade 6 – 9 with Marguerite Soccer grade 1 – 6 14:45 and grade 7 – 9 15:45 Outsourced Activities Please contact instructors directly if your child is interested in any of these activities. Monday: Capoeira a martial art form, contact Shaun Harris on 072 8073131 Tuesdays and Wednesdays: Junisport, gymnastics and ballsports from N/S – grade 2, contact Anique on 083 3261878 Wednesdays ballroom dancing, contact Michelle Ntombela on 079 5930931 Thursdays: Ballet, contact Esna Marais on 082 3222897 SMALL ADS The school does not necessarily endorse courses & events advertised in this newsletter. The farm market at Rosemary Hill is open on Sunday 14, and Sunday 28 February, from 9h00 –14h00.Come and enjoy our lovely country venue! The restaurant serves delicious breakfasts, cakes and lunches. There are many food and craft stalls and plenty of space for children to play. Go to http://www.rosemaryhill.co.za for more details. * Dr Glynn Meter will hold an interactive workshop on Indian Mythology, with a focus on Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma on Saturday 6th February from 13:00 – 17:00, in the Bodytalk Centre, 20 Magaliesstreet, Centurion. Contact Arjen 0832858033 or Glynn 0824987861 for directions, enquiries and R.S.V.P. Indian Mythology is an important part of Class 5 work. [...]

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Max Stibbe Matters (2007-2009)

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:30:15 +0000

December 2009 Newsletter November 2009 Newsletter September 2009 Newsletter August 2009 Newsletter June 2009 Newsletter May 2009 Newsletter March / April 2009 Newsletter January/February 2009 Newsletter December 2008 Newsletter October 2008 Newsletter September 2008 Newsletter August 2008 Newsletter June 2008 Newsletter April / May 2008 Newsletter March 2008 Newsletter January / February 2008 Newsletter December 2007 Newsletter November 2007 Newsletter October 2007 Newsletter

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