News

Swimming Pool Intensive for Cl 1-5

Swimming Lessons will be starting soon at the Bellingen swimming pool in week 5. (early March) This program, which covers class 1- 5, is an important part of building the skills we will later use in the Chrysalis Camp program. The work at the pool allows concentrated swimming lessons in a dedicated environment and is a valuable addition to the river safety swim program out at the Thora campus. Look out for letters in your child's bag this week. The letter & permission slip is also available here.

This good looking bunch of men…

We are delighted to welcome Nick Sheppard as the newest driver for the Natureland Bus company. This dedicated team of bus drivers, from both Steinhardts (Dorrigo) and Natureland bus companies, regularly go "Above and Beyond" for your children, and we could not run the school without them. From the left to right they are Bruce Rose, Shawn Walker (owner of Natureland), Jim, Mark Martin, Kevin Turner and Nick Sheppard

Sweetcorn Fritters

Nothing beats the fritter for a cheap and quick kids meal. This sweet corn fritter is a great place to start.3 corn cobs1 red capsicum1 bunch coriander4 spring onions2 Tbs coconut flour4 eggsSalt and pepper to seasonFinely chop coriander, capsicum and spring onions. Combine half the sweet corn kernels in a food processor with the eggs, salt & pepper blending for 1 minute or until the corn has broken up and formed a batter with the eggs. Pour this mixture into a bowl and fold in the rest of the ingredients. Note: any flour can be used and ingredients can…

Class Meetings Term 1 2016

The next few weeks are full of meetings. We urge as many parents as possible to attend. The class meetings form a vital bridge between the class teacher and the parent body. They allow parents to get an overview of the term's lessons. They also allow an extended conversation around issues of interest to the class and a deepening of the class community. We really appreciate the effort it takes to go out on a school night, particularly for those parents who have multiple class meetings to attend. So thank you in advance!Morning Star Kindy Meeting - Rescheduled to Mon 29th Feb…

Ode to the Forest

In case you missed it in the newsletter, we wanted to share something very special. This is a soundcloud link where you can hear "Ode to the Forest." This beautiful song was written by our music students on their Fiddlers in the Forest Music Camp earlier this year in collaboration with Kym Pitman. You may remember the lyrics we published in the winter edition of Emerge. The song was recorded in the School Hall by the Chrysalis String Ensemble with the help of local recording engineer, musician and Chrysalis parent, Scott Collins. The senior String Ensemble students Paloma, Romany, Angel, Hugo and Phoebe from Class 7 were then lucky enough to have the opportunity…

Corn and Avocado Salad

2 Tbs of basil pesto        2 Tbs olive oil2 cups of cooked corn kernels            20 cherry tomatoes (halved)¼ finely chopped red onion            1 large ripe avocado (cut into chunks)Pepper to tasteToss together and season to taste with pepper. Couldn't be easier!We wanted to share a few recipes from our most excellent Morning Star Lunchbox Recipe Book. You can buy this from Morning Star Kindy at the Bellingen Children's Centre or at Kombu Wholefoods. 100% of all proceeds go to support the Kindy. To see other lunchbox ideas follow this link to our website recipes page.

Bellinger River ‘Clean’ Routine

We reminded Class 6 and 7 last Friday about the importance of hygiene around clothes/ equipment used in Bellinger River.All clothes and equipment needs to be cleaned and dried before swimming in other rivers to avoid risk of cross contamination from turtle virus. Thorough cleaning of vehicles, boats, kayaks and canoes, boat trailers and equipment when moving from affected areas of the Bellinger River to unaffected areas or other waterways may significantly reduce the risk of transporting this virus.When leaving the Bellinger RiverDrain and wash boats and canoes with soapy water and dry thoroughly before re-useDispose of all biological material collected during cleaning in the…

Vale Michael Harfield

On Friday 13th Nov, one of our founding parents and teachers of Chrysalis School passed away. Michael Harfield was instrumental in the early years of Chrysalis, working not only on the physical body of the school as a builder and at countless working bees and meetings, but also as a teacher and mentor to so many young people over the years. In later years he was the cook and mentor for Kym Pitman’s extraordinary Guy Fawkes River camps, contributing to this important work with the youth of Bellingen in ways that cannot be underestimated.Michael and Wendy’s children Amber, Ebony, David,…

Social Media Monitoring – 13 tips

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently released findings from a comprehensive study on the impact social media has on kids and families. Although there are real benefits to kids using sites like Facebook, including increased communication, access to information and help in developing a sense of self, there can be serious downsides to all this online sharing too.Social networking is on the rise, and the study found that 22 percent of teenagers log onto their favorite social media sites more than 10 times a day,and that 75 percent own cell phones. This level of engagement online increases the risks of…

Sexuality, Gender and the Evolution of Consciousness. 

In 2014 Chrysalis School embarked on a new unit that fits under the PDHPE (Physical Development, Health and Physical Education) curriculum. James Deefholts will be delivering a talk to the Class 5 and 6 students entitled Sexuality, Gender and the Evolution of Consciousness. James has been studying this topic under the guidance of Lisa Romero and has been inspired to deliver this unit to our students at Chrysalis. This unit currently runs at Cape Byron Steiner School and Shearwater Steiner School and has previously run at Glenaeon Steiner School and Kamaroi School.We would like to invite Class 5 & 6…