Hi my name is Bernadette. I have two boys, one is 3 years old and the other is 4 months. My family will be moving to Bargo in the near future which we are excited about except there is no Steiner school in the area. We would love to see the Bowral school reopened but are not sure if or how it is possible. We will be willing to get actively involved on any level. If anybody has any ideas we would love to hear from you. The other alternative is to home school our children following the Steiner approach. Again if anybody is interested in home schooling please let me know.

Hi,
I am a mother of three children ages 12, 6 and 4. I am also a counsellor and psychotherapist. I believe traditional schooling does not foster harmonious relationships and contributes to low self esteem in many children. The main focus of traditional schooling is academic achievement, leaving many children without the social and communication skills that are necessary for a happy life. I would love to see a Steiner school from k-12 in the St George or Sutherland Shire and believe the demand is great as there is so little choice here and many unhappy students and parents.
Kind regards

25^th August 2007; The Inner West Steiner Preschool Working Group was launched today, with our first monthly meeting. We are keen to hear from any parents, teachers, or teacher-assistants that are interested in helping us get our project off the ground. We will be calling for expressions of interest for enrolments from families soon- please contact us if you would like to know more.

Hi,
I am interested in starting a school in Wisemans Ferry NSW. Firstly as this is the education I would like for my child and then secondly once high school eventuate it will be three school buses, a total of 2hr travel time to get to the closest high school. I hope some other people in Hawkesbury River area are interested as I have four other parent that are interest since putting this idea out into the universe today.
Anything good takes time, hopefully this is the seed.

New Initiative

Steiner Inspired Kindergarten in the Bribie Island/Caboolture region.

If you are interested in being a part of this special project please nominate yourself to fill a committee position.

Please do not hesitate, please do not assume someone else will fill the role, please DO extend your support.

Community participation and dedication is needed to get this project off the ground.

The Wonderland Steiner Initiative Committee will hold its first AGM on

The Wonderland Steiner Initiative is targeting the areas from Narangba to Woodforde, to Maleny, to Bribie Island.

Did your child miss out on a kindergarten space?

Are you interested in a kindergarten that nurtures your child and fosters creativity and imagination?

 Expressions of interest are being called for anyone in the Caboolture/Bribie region who is looking for a kindergarten alternative to existing overfilled resources. If you have children under the age of 5 who have been left with no options in 2010 or younger children whom you would like to see attend a high quality kindergarten with a nurturing philosophy, based in Steiner education then please contact either

Meg Geer – 0422 449 223
Tanya Bell – 0409 975 608
Email to – bribiesteiner@gmail.com
Or visit www.bribieislandplaygroup.weebly.com

Megan and Tanya run a Steiner inspired playgroup on Bribie Island and are very involved in the Steiner education community in SE Queensland. Both women have a background in childcare and teaching and are keen to see their own children educated in a nurturing and creative environment.

Community participation is needed to get this project off the ground in time for our children. If you are interested in being a part of this special project contact us immediately to express your support and find out more.

A little about Steiner kindergartens

During the first seven years children are physically forming and live very much in their imagination. This great capacity to enter into imaginative pictures and stories is a good place to begin the process of learning. Free, creative play is considered the best preparation for self-realising adult life.

The teacher endeavours to create an environment that gives children time to play and encourages them to exercise their imagination and learn to conjure up ideas from within themselves. Simple homely tasks and artistic activities to both do and see are balanced with storytelling, singing games and generous play times. A rich supply of natural materials provides scope for imagination in play, which refined toys often deny.

Activities offered for the four to six year olds are based on the house and garden. These include sweeping, gardening, cooking, building cubbies, looking after animals, singing, listening to stories, helping to prepare the meal table, cutting fruit, painting, clay modelling and drawing. Children learn to enjoy building, using the natural materials in the room to make their own constructions and patterns. Practical experience helps the child develop confidence and capabilities.

Steiner education seeks to nurture the senses through water-colour painting and singing, beeswax and clay modelling. The teacher works consistently to provide rhythm and structure to the day, week, year and whole curriculum, to harmonise with the child’s natural rhythms.

At this age, children are discovering how to relate socially with a peer group and take part in fundamental life tasks. Through meeting and playing creatively together, children learn vital interpersonal skills. The teacher plays an important role in enabling relationships between children to strengthen through play.

Young children develop primarily in their doing, learning through imitation and physical activity. The role of the teacher is to provide a model for the children and a secure space in which to discover the world. They are not yet ready for more formal classes. Thus, the teacher reserves the formal teaching of numbers and letters for the child’s next developmental stage, signalled physically by the change of teeth, at about the age of seven.

We live on Bribie Island, an hour north of Brisbane just below the Sunshine Coast. Bribie is a wonderful little island full of beauty and nature. Its potential for learning is huge as we have loggerhead turtles, dolphins and dugongs regularly sited in the Pumicestone Passage, as well as carefully preserved bird sanctuaries, ducks and lizards freely roaming the beaches and streets, pelicans at every turn and flora and fauna in abundance. Bribie is currently lacking in resources for the large number of young families migrating to the island and only has one kindergarten with 40 places and a waiting list of over 100 as well as a couple of ABC learning centres. There are a large number of mum’s who love living on the island and enjoy the lifestyle but struggle to find the kind of education they want for their children.
We have begun a Steiner based playgroup in the area, and are currently experiencing good numbers. If you would like to support our group in its endeavour to build a Steiner Kindergarten and community youth arts studio please contact us.

I live in inner Brisbane and would love to see a Steiner initiative here.  I have a 4 year old son and a newborn son also.  We would be very keen to be involved in any new initiatives.

I write with hope that someone might be interested in establishing a Steiner School in The Gap, Brisbane.  It’s a perfect location as it has so much to offer in terms of nature and its lovely community.  Whilst I am unable to develop the project myself I would like to express an interest in assisting in any way I can to help the establishment of a school in this area.

Hi,
Our daughter is only 20 months but we would love to hear from other mums who are interested in Steiner schooling.
It would be our dream to send her to a steiner school, that is why I am emailing you. If anything happens in the toowoomba/highfields regions in Queensland please let me know.
Thanks
Carla

We currently live in the Adelaide Hills, and my sons (one is 2yrs and the other 9months) and I are currently attending the Mt Barker Waldorf School for playgroup.  I would dearly love for them to attend here for their schooling, but it looks as though we will be moving down to Victor Harbor by the time that they are due to start kindergarten.  I am wondering if there are others in the Victor Harbor area that would be interested in starting up a Steiner playgroup, with the view to developing a school in the area in over the next few years?  If any interest, please make contact.
Thank you,

We are seeking expressions of interest from community members who would be willing to join or support our group to help make this happen.

If you would like to know more about this initiative please contact:

Ramana Dean:    ram.dean@gmail.com

Thankyou, and we look forward to hearing from you. 

Hello
We are looking for a Steiner School within reasonable traveling distance from Stawell in Victoria.  We have a beautiful 8 year old son who has been Steiner schooled since kindergarten and we’d like to continue with that.  If any one could send us information, we’d be very grateful.  Our email address is isgunder@aapt.net.au
Many thanks
Ian & Sandy

Hi there,
I live in Mandurah, WA and we are currently travelling to the Perth Waldorf School in Bibra Lake, 40 mins away, for Kindi. I am wanting to know if there are many parents in the Mandurah area who are also doing the same and may have a Steiner-based parents group or are interested in starting one. A school initiative would be fantastic of course too..