Articles

Clean Energy Knowledge Sharing Initiative

Grant-funding providers, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, recently released the final case study for Chrysalis' Smart solar and battery solution that received $30,000 from the government under the Clean Energy Knowledge Sharing Initiative. We are extremely grateful to both DPIE, and project partner, local energy consulting company, Enesol, for all the work involved to provide our current and future students and staff with an inspiring and comfortable school environment! For details of process and benefits, please download the full case study here.  

Early Childhood Programs Open Morning & Info Evening

We are encouraging any families interested in our Playgroups, Morning Star and also River Song Kindergartens to attend our Open Morning and/or Information Evening to learn more about our Early Childhood Program and all that we offer for your children. Come along and meet other like-minded families and our teachers as well.

The Right Brain Develops First: Why Play is the Foundation for Academic Learning

By Vince Gowmon Did you know that the right brain develops first? It does so by the time children are 3-4 years of age. The left brain, on the other hand, doesn’t fully come online until children are approximately seven years old; hence the first seven years being recognized as such a critical period in child development. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” ~ Albert Einstein The left brain’s functionality is one of language, numeracy, literacy, analysis and time. It is the logical, calculating, planning, busy-bee part of us that keeps us anchored in the pragmatic world, and in…

Camp Creative Scholarships Now Open

Camp Creative are generous enough to offer our students the opportunity to win scholarships again this year. It is a wonderful experience and students from our school have been in many courses over the years. The 2020 Camp Creative scholarship program is now open for kids and teens aged five to eighteen, living in the Coffs City, Nambucca and Bellingen Shires. The scholarships offer an opportunity to participate in a week of fun learning in the creative and performing arts. They’ll get five full days of creativity across a range of course options, including music, visual art, singing, drama, dance,…

Woodwork Program at Chrysalis

The woodwork program begins in year 5 and continues to class 8. Along the way students are introduced to the basics of woodwork and woodworking tools and gradually progress with an increase in complexity and difficulty of projects. A major focus of the program is to develop the WILL of the child. Taking a raw piece of wood and turning it into a beautiful object. This takes persistence, dedication and lots and lots of sanding. Along the way students learn the intricacies of wood and how to read its hidden secrets. Some is straight grained and easy to work, some…

Where Are The Textbooks? The Use of Main Lesson Books in Steiner Education

Main Lesson books are unique to Waldorf education. While traditional schooling pairs lecturing with textbook references and worksheets, Waldorf students process and record lectures in notes and illustrations on large, blank pages of high-quality paper. What are these books exactly and why do Waldorf schools use them?   What is a Main Lesson Book? The creation of a Main Lesson book is an active, hands-on experience of learning that encourages both intention and creativity.  Waldorf students record content of each subject of study, presented during a student’s main lesson class, in a Main Lesson book. These creative, curriculum-rich books become…

Upcoming Parent Education Talks and Workshops

We are excited to announce a range of informative talks and workshops during Term 2 across various age brackets to assist you with your parenting journey. Please see our Parent Education page for all the relevant flyers. Happy Child, Happy Home - Lou Harvey-Zahra - Saturday 18th May 10:30am - 12pm @ Morning Star Creative Discipline Workshop - Lou Harvey-Zahra - Saturday 18th May 12:45pm - 3:45pm @ Morning Star Parenting Children to Thrive - Lou Harvey-Zahra - Sunday 19th May 9am - 10:30am @ Bellingen Youth Hub Positive Parenting of Tweens and Teens - Lou Harvey-Zahra - Sunday 19th…

Chrysalis staff make water safety a priority

Water activities form a large part of the Chrysalis Steiner School’s wholistic approach to education. Through direct, hands-on experiences our sense of responsibility for self and to each other is increased out in nature. The school is determined that staff and students alike are able to continue to enjoy the benefits of water-based activities safely. With raised awareness around water safety on the Mid North Coast this summer, it is timely that sixteen teachers and staff from the school completed their Still Water Bronze Medallion qualification last week under the watchful eye of Jason Phillips from Royal Lifesaving NSW. Jason…

School Sores (Impetigo)

It’s that time of year that reported cases of Impetigo increase due to the heat and humidity creating the moist hot conditions that the bacteria thrives in.  It presents initially as small, usually itchy, red spots – not unlike mosquito bites – that change into blisters that fill with pus and become yellowish brown, looking a bit like it is encrusted with honey or sugar. (Chicken pox blisters tend to dry to black & crusty). Impetigo usually presents on faces (especially up noses and around the mouth area), hands or the scalp. It is very contagious through touching, scratching, using…

Senior String Quartet play for Bellinger Valley View Club

The Chrysalis Senior String Quartet (or FALL Quartet as they have named themselves, using the first letters of their names) performed for the Bellinger Valley View Club on Monday 19th November to rapturous applause from the 80 attendees and the Christmas Lunch event. They were very impressed by the ability and musicality of the Quartet and their wide-ranging repertoire. The Quartet played for almost an hour straight and still didn't play all of their favourite pieces! It was lovely to hear the ladies sing along to Silent Night and Skye Boat Song. The students were able to experience for a…