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In Term 1, students sat the annual NAPLAN tests. Our school conducts the test with lightness and brings them to the children as an adventure rather than a chore. We recognise that in order to maintain our freedom to bring the Steiner Curriculum to the children unhindered, to receive money from our society to be able to offer a holistic and comprehensive curriculum, we need to demonstrate, in some way, that standards of literacy and numeracy are being met. The very special freedom we have, to focus on education, to not be assessment driven, is a privilege we should hold dear and protect.
This year's results were shared with families earlier this term. NAPLAN covers Numeracy, Reading, Writing, Spelling and Grammar. Most students in Classes 5, 7 & 9 sat the tests and in all cases the class average was located in the “strong” proficiency level. This means “the students’ results meet challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing”. The results are very similar to previous years and given that we don’t “teach to the test” and sometimes the content of the NAPLAN test does not match the timing of our curriculum compared to the mainstream curriculum, we are always reassured that we are on the right track when it comes to literacy and numeracy. Teachers are aware of the results and may use them to make adjustments, including extra support where necessary.
Open Day
Many of you will have recently attended the Open Day at the Bibra Lake campus. It was a fantastic event, which showcased the outstanding curriculum on offer at both campuses.
Next year, Silver Tree and Parkerville Steiner College will come together to host a combined Open Day for both campuses. This event will serve as an excellent opportunity to celebrate our beautiful school with family, friends and the wider community, sharing the wonderful experiences and learning opportunities available to all our students.
Save the Date!
Get ready for a fun-filled evening! We invite PSC families and friends to join us on Friday 3rd November for our inaugural band night. Set against a balmy summer evening, we invite you to lay out your picnic blankets and be thoroughly entertained by student performances. Be sure to mark this date in your diaries – more information will follow soon.
The Peace of Wild Things
Thank you Mark Phillips for sharing this poem. A reminder to appreciate the moment and not live into fear of the future.
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world and am free.
Wendell Berry
With gratitude
Bruce Lee
School Administrator
Bright the sun's gold rays are streaming;
Streaming fills my soul with light.
Light becomes a sword of radiance,
Radiance flasing in dark night.
Night is banished. See Love's sun-rise,
Love's Sun rising, warm and bright.
by Michael Hedley Burton / verse no. 48
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Class 7 Geometry in Nature
Class 7 have been immersed in exploring the beauty and wonder of our natural world in their Geometry in Nature Main Lesson. This Main Lesson draws its inspiration from Plato’s idea that the geometry that permeates the Universe is the visible, crystallised expression of creative thought. Class 7 students have been discovered where and how geometric archetypes precipitate as organic and inorganic forms within and around us.
Over the past few weeks, the students have been discovering the incredible geometrical patterns, ratios and rules that occur all around us in the natural environment, in leaves, shells, trees, flowers, fruit, and elsewhere. The beautiful Djilba weather we have been experiencing has meant that students were able to spend time outside, observing patterns and shapes in nature as she flaunts her spring finery.
As the weeks of this Main Lesson have progressed, the students have been challenged with increasingly complex forms, resulting in some beautiful and detailed stellar forms working with circles, angles and lines, and exploring the property of angles and triangles.
In the final week the class have explored Fibonacci’s Sequence, also through observing nature. The class were able to visit the Silver Tree vegetable garden in order to find flowers whose petal numbers corresponded to Fibonacci's Sequence. Students discovered the connection between Fibonacci’s Sequence and the Golden Ratio and used their understanding of the golden ratio to map out a nautilus spiral on grid paper. They took cross sections of celery and cabbage to identify the golden ratio. They also found the golden ration of 1:1.6 in their limbs, between comparing the distance between shoulder and elbow, and elbow and fingertip, between fingertip and the base of the finger, and the base of the finger to the wrist, from the top of their head to the belly button, and belly button to the earth.
Finally, the class discovered Fibonacci’s Sequence when they picked a coriander stem from the vegetable garden, they noted how the stem spread from one to two, then to three, five, eight, and finally to thirteen, before flowering. The children were astonished to hear that Golden Ratio could also be found in the rotation of planets in our solar system, our galaxy, the Milky Way, in the vortex of a hurricane, and many other places in nature.
Katie Southall
Class 7 Teacher
Class 8 World War I Main Lesson
Class 8 have had a range of Main Lessons this term, From Art History followed by Human Biology, Class 8 are ending Term Three exploring the chaos and turmoil that was World War One. As the students begin to transition from knowledge to cognition, they are now capable of examining historical forces at a deeper level. In this Main Lesson they continue to explore more modern historical periods and pivotal events from the beginning of the 19th Century that have significantly changed and shaped our modern world.
During the first week of the Main Lesson, Class 8 learnt about a range of areas including the lead up to and causes of World War One, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that was the final straw in the outbreak of the war, the alliances, the main theatres of war, and why Australian soldiers enlisted, with students creating their own propaganda poster to entice young Australians to join the war effort.
The class had an immersive lesson learning about the World War One trenches where they arrived at school to find their classroom reconfigured as a mock trench, equipped with gunfire audio and a nurse's station. Through reading about the lives of a number of service men and women, students were able to put together a list of battles where the ANZAC soldiers fought, identify the range of people who enlisted, and take note of the different service areas they were part of.
The latter part of the initial week was spent examining the Gallipoli campaign. Through reading and listening to stories from a number of firsthand accounts and perspectives, students were able to piece together the sequence of events of the Gallipoli landing, the weapons used fighting against the Ottoman Empire, and the conditions in the trenches, identifying some of the items in the soldier’s ration packs, and the many diseases rampant throughout the camps. The week was filled with many great discussions about the war and the many fascinating themes and debates that it brings up. Students have been particularly engaged with the personal stories of the men and women who experienced and lived through the war.
After the Class 8 camp in Week 9, the students will return to the Main Lesson, learning about the role of women during the war both on the front and at home, we will also discuss the experience of Indigenous servicemen during World War One, and the cost and aftermath of World War One.
The study of the turmoil and chaos of World War One at this age directly mirrors and speaks to the inner experience of the students, which is characterised by powerful polarities - sympathy and antipathy, confidence and uncertainty.
Ethna Brave
English and Humanities Teacher
Heartfelt Thank you!
Class 10 Science - Forensics
Class 10's had a look at some forensic science techniques and how to use these in the investigation of a crime. Their teacher Sean had his cup stolen! There was an attempted ransom, but thanks to the students they were able to get to the bottom of the crime and catch out Sean's attempted fraud and his accomplice, Alex.
Sean Connolly
High School Science
Class 10B ‘The Odyssey a Play’ by Mary Zimmerman
Class 10B presented a brilliant and dynamic performance of The Odyssey, a play by Mary Zimmerman for their Drama Main Lesson this term. The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer in the late 8th Century BC, depicting the 10-year arduous journey of Odysseus, King Ithaca returning from the Trojan wars to his homeland of Ithaca. Odysseus has been away for twenty years from his wife Penelope, Son Telemachus, father Laertes and other people connected to his household. His return journey is filled with adventures and overcoming obstacles such as fighting off the giant one-eyed Cyclops, resisting the songs of the Sirens, averting the poisoned Pramian wine offered by the sorceress, Circe, saving his crew from the lazy Lotus Eaters and spending a year with the beautiful Calypso. His journey is supported and influenced by the goddess Athena and Zeus and affected by the outburst of Poseidon, ruler of the sea.
A tremendously epic story that reveals the foibles of the human condition and the power of the Greek Gods, but also highlights the human qualities of inner strength, courage, and persistence. On his return to his Palace in Ithaca and disguised as a beggar by the goddess Athena, Odysseus finds 108 loutish suitors inhabiting the palace, eating all the food, carousing their way through the colonnades, behaving in a slovenly and entitled manner. He plans with his son Telemachus to do away with the suitors and is finally reunited with his wife Penelope.
The Odyssey has many layers including powerful mythical and metaphorical messages for all, our individual journey through life is mirrored by the range of obstacles that appear in his path. It is with a sense of justice that Odysseus returns home to his long-suffering wife Penelope, and his now grown son Telemachus, victory, and the power of the human spirit to overcome is brought into in high relief in this wonderful story.
Class 10B students have worked closely together as a team of performers and musicians to bring forth an outstanding performance season of The Odyssey. In addition to the immersion and development of dramatic performance and musical skills, the Class 10B students further developed basic physical theatre techniques, created, and worked with masks, sticks, fabric, and an array of movement sequencing to help convey the story with a contemporary framing. The Perth Waldorf School creatives Shanelle Schramm (Music Direction), Anna Dymitr-Hawkes (lighting and stage management), Eva Rinaldi (Costume), Anna Rohan (Properties) and Tom Chandler (set build) have pooled together their extra ordinary skills to create the inner world of The Odyssey.
Jane Diamond
Drama Teacher
Class 11/12 Mathematic Specialist Elective Class
In 2023, the Class 11/12 Mathematics Specialist elective course made its debut, offereing a unique opportunity for students who are curious and critical thinkers interested in studying a more diverse range of mathematics. The course has offered enthusiastic students a chance to delve into various unexplored areas of mathematics beyond their previous encounters, as well as an in-depth examination of some intriguing topics. The lessons have combined problem-solving exercises with explicit instrucion on more advanced skills.
Topics for the course were determined from the students own areas of interest as well as from the WACE Mathematics Specialist course. So far this year the class have tackled the complexities of Matrices, including graphics, ventured into the intriguing realms of Chaos Theory and Fractals, and navigated the intracacies of Combinations and Binomial Probablity Distributions.
Kelly Kranz-Little
High School Maths Teacher
Class 12 Projects
Ivy Wolff-Boenisch
15-Minute City Survey.
My name is Ivy, and in this survey, I invite you to envision and shape a community's future by adopting the "15-Minute City." While this survey is hypothetical, your insights and preferences will support my process of designing a plan for a city that is a sustainable, dynamic, and people centered. The 15-Minute City revolves around the idea of creating neighbourhoods where all essential services and amenities are within a 15-minute walking or biking distance from every home. This will reduce car traffic and thus the suburban carbon footprint.
Lux Adams
Hi, my name is Lux Adams, and for my Class 12 Project, I’ve been looking at art and the idea of the human condition. This includes both art as a product and expression of the human experience and understanding the human condition through the process of viewing and creating art.
The question for my project is:
“How can the concept of the human condition be explored through art?”
The idea of the human condition involves the connecting factors between us all, virtues, vices, tendencies, experiences, sufferings and joys. In my essay, I define it through four aspects: Morality, The search for meaning, Self-identity and Death and our sentience of the end. I analysed a piece of media (albums, series and literature) relating to each aspect. The central idea of my project is how we can all relate to each other through art, how you can look at someone else’s creation and feel almost as if it’s yours as well: that someone else in the world has felt how you’re feeling.
My original inspiration for this project was during the Hamlet main lesson in year 11, when I heard Pam talk about the human condition. I was curious about what exactly it meant and intrigued by the concept of art expressing supposedly universal truths between people, and how a room full of 21st-century teenagers could relate still to the works of a 16th-century playwright. I eventually ended up looking into art and the human condition after abandoned project ideas on the mythology of vampires, true crime and psychology, and Shakespearean tragedies. The main problem with all these ideas was my inability to hold an interest in one topic for a prolonged period of time, so my project topic broadened from Shakespearean tragedies to art and the human condition in order to allow more room for different focuses. Staying engaged with my project topic and the work for my essay and practical has been challenging as my work style has included an erratic level of interest and capability for work, but support and flexibility from my teachers and project coordinators have made its completion possible.
My practical for this project is a collection of poetry and zines from my own creative and personal experiences, with some of the poetry featuring lines from songs, films, plays or other media that I’ve connected with and continued from. The creation and sharing of these works is intended to reflect the explorative and connective nature of art. Working on the project has helped me learn more about my own creative and working processes and what stops and starts my working, as well as developing a further understanding of my topic. As part of my practical, I’ll be participating in the performance night ‘Shadows of Humanity’ on August 31st, bringing zines and poetry readings as a segment entitled ‘Ink from the vein’.
Lila John
Hello, my name is Lila John, and for my year 12 project, I have chosen to look into the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) in Australia. At the beginning of this process, I had little idea what I wanted to do for my Project, even though it was something that I had been thinking about for many years. I was very conscious of the fact that I didn’t want to do something that someone else had already done, but at the same time, I had seen so many Project talks that it was hard to think of new ideas. Time was running out before I had to make a decision when one fateful Wednesday, I had an epiphany in English class. I decided that I would go to Africa for my Project Practical and that my topic would be poaching. I have always had a keen interest in animals and environmental issues, so I thought this would be a fitting topic for me. Of course, this wasn’t a very realistic idea for many obvious reasons, but it laid the foundation for what would later become my project topic. It was after doing some research on poaching that I came across the Illegal Wildlife Trade. While I was aware that poaching was an issue in several African and Asian countries, I had no idea how extensive the trade really is, nor that it affected countless countries across the world, of which Australia is one.
This is what informed my eventual Project question:
“How extensive is the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Australia and why is it a cause for concern?“
The Illegal Wildlife Trade is a multi-billion-dollar industry with ties to organised crime groups. Spanning across the globe, it has cemented itself as one of the most profitable illicit international trade industries, behind the drug trade, arms trade and human trafficking. It involves the illegal and deliberate movement across international borders of millions of wild animals that are plucked from their native habitats to meet the demand for traditional medicine, pets, food, trophies, clothing and decorative items. The Illegal Wildlife Trade can have devastating impacts on not only the animals involved but also the surrounding environment and ecosystem. The overexploitation and unregulated harvesting of wild animals can cause species decline and extinctions, impacting the balance and function of the ecosystems and environment from which they were taken. The consequences of the trade can also have a detrimental impact on human lives and communities, national stability and the economy.
Australia is home to some of the most unique flora and fauna in the world, many of which are found nowhere else. This, along with its vast outback and low-density population, make it a very lucrative target for illegal Wildlife smuggling operations. Native birds and Reptiles are the most sought-after species in Australia as they are highly prized in overseas markets and can fetch huge sums of money, more than 28 times their domestic value. Estimating the true scale of the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Australia is proving to be a very difficult task, as the number of specimens being illegally exported out of the country is likely to be much higher than detected. Despite this growing issue, the IWT receives little media attention and isn’t widely known among the public, as these Australian natives often find themselves overlooked because they do not hold the same sentiment as the large African animals people generally associate with poaching. And I admit, before I started researching for this project, I, too, had very little knowledge about matters concerning wildlife smuggling in Australia, choosing to instead focus on the majestic mammals of the African Savanah. However, the general consensus was that my project didn’t tie in enough with the closer community, so I decided that I would research both the African and the Australian IWT and compare them in terms of scale and public perception. This proved to be significantly harder than I had anticipated, as there was just so much information. To avoid having too broad a topic, I made the decision to get rid of the African comparison and just focus on the lesser-known illegal wildlife trade in Australia.
One of the things I was most surprised by during my research was the number of different laws and legislations involved in regulating the IWT, (although I'm not sure why this is considering the word illegal is in the title). The international movement of wildlife is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a global treaty whose aim is to ensure that the international wildlife trade isn’t a threat to the survival of these species. 184 countries are signatories to CITES, which does not take the place of national laws but rather provides a framework to be adhered to by each party, which then implements its own domestic legislation to ensure compliance to the convention. Australia, as well as being a signatory to CITES and having its own national legislation, has different laws relating to the IWT in every state, making it very difficult to prosecute wildlife crime across state borders, as penalties for offences are different in each.
For my Practical I am creating a series of 3-dimensional sculptures that depict different aspects of the cruel nature of the illegal wildlife trade here in Australia.
Request for Volunteers - Kurrawang Aboriginal Christian Community Inc.
About Kurrawang Aboriginal Christian Community Inc
Our Vision
To be a safe and sustainable community for families to grow and prosper.
Based in Western Australia, Kurrawang Aboriginal Christian Community Inc. (Kurrawang) is a unique, self-governing Aboriginal community consisting of approximately 100 residents who are working hard to create positive change in their community. Kurrawang was formally a Christian mission and retains a strong Christian ethic. It has a chapel school, and community office.
Kurrawang consists of an executive board (all volunteers) and two full time and two part time staff who manage community services, housing and facilites. The Corporation owns 324 hectares of freehold land on which Kurrawang is located and owns and manages all the housing in the community. Kurrawang is a Public Benevolent Institution for tax purposes and has Deductible Gift Recipient status.
Kurrawang are looking for volunteers to assist with their current project - a new central park for community activities and the development of a native garden and recreation area.
Send us a message on contact us if you wish to offer your services – we are actively seeking painters, carpenters, landscapers, handypeople with a desire to learn and contribute to a friendly and welcoming community.
This week we have the memories of the current High School's first Coordinator, Jonathan Swann. Jonathan was a very experienced Science and Maths Teacher having taught in a number of different Waldorf Schools throughout the world. With the wonderful Mary Kirkwood they formed a strong team of teachers committed to maintaining the Waldorf pedagogy and growing the fledgling High School. Many former students recall these generous individuals with fondness. Today we benefit from their mighty efforts which laid the foundations of what we have today here at the Perth Waldorf School. Jonathan now lives in the West of England and gives occasional Chemistry Main Lessons in Waldorf schools throughout the UK and Iceland.
I first visited the Perth Waldorf school in 2007 when I was invited to give a physics main lesson to Class 8. I’d been teaching and coordinating the development of the Little Yarra High School in Victoria and now that that school had successfully established a full high school, I was taking a year out and visiting other Waldorf schools around the country.
Mary Kirkwood was the teacher of Class 8 and she and I hit it off immediately and I remember what fun it was to spend three weeks with her class, her sitting in on the lessons and sharing in all the experiments, both successful and unsuccessful, with her humour and her enthusiasm.
One thing led to another, and it transpired that Mary wanted her class to continue on to Class 9 and to be the pioneer class for the new Perth Waldorf High School. There had previously been a High School, right up to Class 12, but for various reasons this had not worked.
So, long story short, I was offered the job of High School Coordinator with the task of building up the High School to a successful Class 12 and making sure it survived. From the beginning it was resolved that graduation from the High School would involve members of Class 12 undertaking a project rather than sitting an exam. This was the route pioneered by Peter Glasby at the Mount Barker Waldorf school years earlier and taken up successfully by an increasing number of Waldorf High Schools all over Australia, including the Little Yarra Steiner school where I had recently been active.
Mary and I continued to work together as a great team. I have the fondest possible memories of this person whose life was tragically cut short by cancer not long after I left in 2014 and returned to England. Mary had arrived at the Perth Waldorf School from South Africa a few years before my arrival, and she was better acquainted with the feelings and the fall-out from the previous failed High School attempt. She knew her way around the school and the people and was able to mitigate some of the early bungling attempts which I made in trying to establish a basis for the project in the minds of members of the College of Teachers. At one point I remember a meeting when I was being pressured to produce a detailed written proposal for the High School project. I remember asking my colleagues whether they wanted a High School or a pile of paper. This did not go down well with everyone! That being said, Mary and I could see clearly that it was quite possible and, further, that the children in Class 8 and those coming up through the Lower school both needed to continue their Waldorf education and would in addition, in their own unique and mysterious way, make it possible to succeed. We were both determined and convinced!
One thing led to another, and I didn’t remain for long in the official position of coordinator and it was in some respects a relief to leave the politics behind and get on with the teaching. I was very happy teaching and developing the High School chemistry and maths curricula and Mary the same with biology. We had formed a High School Faculty with the few other High School teachers who would be involved in the project and as the High School grew, we were fortunate to be joined by some wonderful teachers so that after a short time we could offer the students a rich and varied curriculum in all the subject areas we desired. It was the cooperative work of this Faculty which in the early days successfully guided the High school into existence. One doesn’t like to mention names for fear of leaving deserving people out by mistake, but I particularly remember how the Art, English, Humanities, and Drama departments grew. The students too were an absolute joy! When Mary’s class reached Class 12 their project presentations were awesome as were the presentations in subsequent years.
It’s very satisfying to read now how the school has grown and thrived in the years since I left. Willy Brandt, former German Chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner said that the advent of the Waldorf Schools was in his opinion the greatest contribution to world peace and understanding of the 20th century. Others have said the same or similar. Indications are that more and more parents are realising this. The more children who can receive an education which originates in an accurate spiritual conception of the human being, the better it will be for the future of society. It’s also encouraging to read that the teacher training program is attracting a growing number of applicants.
Greetings and good wishes to all!
Jonathan Swann
England, June 2023
Payments of School Fees in 2023
You may have overlooked paying all of your School Fees to date. We will be issuing Interim Statements to Families with an outstanding balance at the end of this week. Your Statement will show all payments we have received and any outstanding Fees which require your urgent attention. Our payment details are included on your Statement.
Anne Mortensen
School Fees
Unallocated payment
The amount of $2,552 was received on 20 July 2023 from payee name, Lisa-Marie Johnson with no accompanying Family code. Please contact Anne Mortensen on account@pws.wa.edu.au if this is your payment.
Parkerville Steiner College
High School Maths & Science Teacher
We are looking for a dynamic Maths and Science Teacher to be part of the growth of Parkerville Steiner College.
Class 7 Teacher
We are seeking an artistic and imaginitive teacher who is driven by their passion for education to teach Class 7 from 2024. Are you the perfect match for this position?
Perth Waldorf School
Kindergarten 5-6 Teacher
We are seeking someone very special to teach our K5/K6 class in 2024 whilst one of our teachers is on maternity leave for 12 months.
Kindergarten 4 Teacher
Early Childhood Faculty is seeking someone very special to teach our K4 class in 2024 for 2 days a week. The position is 0.4 FTE, with responsibility for leading the mixed-age class of 3 and 4-year-olds with a Steiner Early Childhood programme.
Primary Music Tutor and Orchestra Assistant
Perth Waldorf School is seeking an Orchestra Assistant/Tutor who plays Clarinet or Flute to work 2 days a week.