News

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…

Baby Spinach, Ham & Cheese Quesadillas

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.TortillaHamCheeseBaby spinachMethod: Arrange ingredients on half of a tortilla.  Fold tortilla over and press in a sandwich press until cheese has melted.  Allow to cool then cut into wedges.  This can also be made using a frypan on low heat to get similar results.

Storybook Characters Go Out On Strike!

Class 6 invite everyone to come along to their evening performance at 6:30pm on Friday 6th Nov of their play "A Grimm Night for Hans Christian Andersen" in the Hall. Please note: The play is geared for older children from 11 years onwards and parents will need to use their discretion regarding the attendance of their younger children.

Spinach, Feta and Pinenut Rolls

250 g silverbeet, spinach or kale2 Tbs butter1 onion finely chopped1 C ricotta¾ C crumbled fetta½ C grated parmesan            ¼ C chopped coriander or parsley1/3-1/2 C pinenuts2 eggs lightly beaten½ tsp nutmeg8 sheets of filo pastrySalt and pepper to tastePreheat oven to 180°C.  Lightly sauté chopped spinach in a small amount of butter.  Mix together with rest of ingredients. Layer 8 sheets of filo pastry, brushing each with a little butter.  Place a long sausage shape of mixture along the length of the pastry allowing room at the ends to fold in.  Roll mixture up in pastry to…

Tamworth Interschool Extravaganza

Angel Cohan represented Chrysalis School at the Tamworth Interschool Extravaganza. This is a huge equestrian event with 430 riders competing! Angel did very well in showjumping with a 4th and 5th place in her age group. It was full-on the whole 4 days…walking the jumping course at 7am, doing a jump round and tearing across to one of the 10 dressage arenas, then back for another jump round. Angel and her horse Monty arrived home happy and exhausted. They are keen to compete again next year. Congratulations Angel.

End of Year Assembly & Morning Tea to celebrate our wonderful volunteers

On Friday Nov 6th we have our last Assembly for the year. This one is a special one as we want to celebrate all of you! Chrysalis thrives on volunteer input, whether it be baking a cake for the market stall, picking up a paint brush at a working bee, telephoning your child's class to advise of a flood day, driving a bus to class camp, sewing up play costumes. The roles are many and varied, and they all contribute to our vibrant school community. The school would like to thank each and every one of you at this "End of year assembly…

Class 3 Farming Main Lesson Camp

Thanks to Kevin Doye for a few pics from the recent Class 3 Marook Farm camp. As part of the Class 3 farming main lesson, this camp lets the children get hands-on with farm life, as they milk the biodynamic cows, sluice out the shed, make Haloumi and then get to taste the fruits of their endeavours. And, of course, all the essential camping skills like pitching tents and working together as a team are laying the foundations for our amazing adventure camps in Class 7 and 8.

Class Meetings Term 4 2015

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!Class 5 Meeting - Wed 28th Oct 6.30pm…