As has been discussed in earlier Emerge articles, the school is working with a funded program to enhance literacy and numeracy in the early years. The Association of Independent Schools is supporting us in this process through an action research approach which aims to develop and embed instructional leadership and professional development for teachers. AIS consultants will continue to assist the school with professional learning opportunities in the areas of diagnostic assessment and personalised learning as well as introducing a three tiered intervention model to support children with additional needs in literacy and numeracy. Assessment for learning is a key…
News
Living Classroom and Spring Festival 2017
A snap shot into ‘lifelong learning’… “Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” ~ John Dewey Since 2011, at the Autumn and Spring Festival Days, Chrysalis opens each classroom to parents and/or grandparents so they can visit their child’s class and take part in the lesson of the day. This innovative and exciting idea came from an inspiration of one of our teachers when she invited her parents to take part in the morning lesson. Parents that took part were able to participate in the morning activities with their children and get a better grasp of…
The Greek Olympics… in Byron!
Undertaking an epic journey through the ancient cultures of Persia, India, Egypt and Greece, the Class Five child develops an understanding of the different pictures of social and human geography. Descending from the dream world of the ancient epics, through the development of agriculture, and concluding with the conscious civic society of the Greeks, the children trace the foundations of modern consciousness. Through a study of Greek architecture as ‘form balanced between earth and heaven,’ the children develop a strong sense of the beauty of form. This connects to the Olympic ideal, which is the counterpart to their historical studies, incorporating grace, strength,…
Class 8 Term 3
In Term 3 Class 8 investigated three main lesson topics; Financial Mathematics, Number & Algebra and Lay of the Land. In Financial Mathematics the students discovered the history of money and examined the ancient wisdom of the Richest Man in Babylon, who encouraged his peers to save regularly and invest wisely (including in yourself, through learning new skills and talents). The students investigated budgeting, lending and best buys; all of which will hopefully make them more financially savvy into the future. The Number & Algebra main lesson built on the concepts explored last year in Class 7, manipulating more complex…
Class 7 Term 3
Class 7 has embarked on some new territory this term so far. We began the term with our class play, The Canterbury Tales, thinking we would be performing it back in week 4. How wrong we were. Instead, we postponed the play until week 8 and managed to slip in a 3 week Mechanics main lesson as well as a week of The Age of Exploration. Now that Cathy is back on board she will be pulling the play back together again this week in preparation for our performance this Friday. At least the students have had a long time…
Class 6 Term 3
As Spring fast approaches Class 6 have been busy. This term we had a magnificent ten day camp to Canberra and Mt Selwyn. Camps at Chrysalis offer the opportunity for the children make great leaps forward in relationships, personal strength and maturity. The camp offers support to the curriculum, and a meeting of the developmental stage of the child in such a way that each individual and the group as a whole, are strengthened. In Canberra, we visited many places of historical and current significance from the War Memorial to the Museum of Australian Democracy and Parliament House. The students…
Class 5 Term 3
Class 5 have recently returned from the Greek Olympics, which is an annual event for the Class 5 Steiner students in the northern region of NSW. Ancient Greece is predominant within the Class 5 Steiner curriculum, and the Greek Olympics provides an opportunity for the students to experience how the ideals of beauty, grace and physical strength were celebrated in this period. It also provided a wonderful opportunity for our Class 5 students to meet and relate to students from other Steiner schools. Term 3 is also the term for the Class 5 play. Our play is based on the…
Class 4 Term 3
Here we are taking breath in Term 3 - in what has been a lightning paced year, Sparks from Thor's hammer have guided us through mapping, mathematics and mindful social negotiations. At time of writing, Class Four have performed their play; Thor and the Giants, to most classes in the school, staff and to their parents. The various lead roles showcased confidence, stagecraft and comedic awareness from a class who are extremely keen and highly talented in the dramatic arts. Thank you also to Belinda for your advice, prop-making, costume sourcing and backstage help throughout the process. We are preparing…
Class 3 Term 3
Following on from the imaginative introduction to Grammar in term two - where the children went on a journey with Anna and Otto to Grammar Island - we looked more consciously at the rules and structure that underpin the children's experience of both the spoken and written language in the study of Grammar. Just as our building main lesson explored the blocks that can be put together to make houses, here we discovered the blocks that underpin the structures of language. The children participated in re-enactments, games, drawing activities and written work that was derived from either the story or…
Class 2 Term 3
Happenings in Class 2 This term has brought many learning experiences to the children in Class Two. The term commenced with the ‘Saintly Lives’ Main Lesson and the children heard a variety of stories about those who demonstrated qualities such as love, hope, courage, strength and more. Whilst learning about these wonderful people, we continued to take steps in developing our skills in literacy, and many learning milestones were had in the classroom. From here we continued our adventures with King Counting and the square city that he developed in his kingdom. The children continued developing their skills in numeracy…
