The Year 8 students have been working hard during the last few terms. Each individual chose a topic that they were interested in or felt that they would like to learn more about.  Finding a mentor to help them on their journey was the next step. Along the way they kept working journals, made progress reports and practiced the art of Public Speaking.   Their final presentation is in two parts; the display of the Project itself and the Oral Presentation that explains the students learning and thought process throughout their project experience. Friday 2nd November was an opportunity to honour the students…

Gather this Friday 2 November from 6pm to take in the the beautiful presentation tables in Maam Gamambiya (the school hall), followed by the students presenting their achievements from 6:30pm. The Year 8 students have been working hard during the last few terms. Each individual has chosen a topic that they were interested in or felt that they would like to learn more about. Here is the list of projects for this year: Lydia - animal tracking and rescue Joey - motorbike restoration Sienna - yoga teacher training Aaliyah - vegetarian cooking and gardening Lily - tiny house building Freya - writing…

Knitting has been gathering a lot of attention lately by crafters and scientists alike. It turns out knitting and handwork provides a host of brain and wellbeing benefits to people of all ages. For students, in particular, knitting provides an essential learning medium. A child who is knitting a hat or a toy kitten sees their will transformed into art. They see their focused, detailed work turn into something beautiful and purpose filled. They experience how the conceptual becomes concrete. This is why Waldorf education founder, Rudolf Steiner, lectured on the importance of handwork for students just under 100 years…

By Anne Quito “I just can’t draw.” It’s a refrain most adults say when confronted with a blank piece of paper. Something happens in our teenage years that makes most of us shy away from drawing, fretting that our draftsmanship skills aren’t up to par, and leaving it to the “artists” among us. But we’ve been thinking about drawing all wrong, says the design historian D.B. Dowd. In his illuminating new book, titled Stick Figures: Drawing as a Human Practice, Dowd argues that putting a pencil to paper shouldn’t be about making art at all. “We have misfiled the significance of drawing because…

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…

As families continue to grapple with rising electricity prices and the extremes in weather changes making habitable spaces harder to keep comfortable, Chrysalis School has partnered with local renewable energy engineering firm, Enesol, and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment to address the needs of its increasing student numbers and growing demand on the electricity grid. After over 35 years of Steiner education in the Thora Valley, west of Bellingen, on the mid north coast of NSW, Chrysalis is now the third biggest school in the Bellingen Shire. The geographical setting of Chrysalis is unique, and the same might…

We are encouraging any families interested in our Playgroups, Morning Star and also River Song Kindergartens to attend our Open Day 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.

With many soloists, duets and small group performances last Wednesday, there was no shortage of musical talent on show in the jam-packed school hall! The students impressed friends and family with their dedication to practice and their coming together as one in ensembles! A selection of photos are below.

We are thrilled that an American touring anthroposophically based theatre duo, known as the Third Wheel Collective, will be conducting performances and workshops with the entire school (including College) this Thursday Aug 23rd and Friday Aug 24th - working with curriculum themes appropriate to each year and focusing on speech, movement and drama.

What great athletes we have at Chrysalis and Casuarina! It was so wonderful at the Athletics Carnival last Friday to see the students really striving to do their best and to see the Chrysalis and Casuarina students mixing and participating together. A big thank you to Class 8 for running the carnival so efficiently and to all the parent helpers for coming. Your efforts were greatly appreciated.