It has been a wonderful to see the students settling into school life. There have been the usual hiccups with getting back to school routines, expectations and organisational adaptations but, overall, there is a constructive, positive buzz in the place. A great example of this vibrant atmosphere was the swimming carnival for Years 5 – 10 students. It was a combination of fun, striving and healthy competition. Thank you for your patience as we have made some changes to program and staffing, as is customary at the start of each year. Thank you for warmly welcoming our new staff and new families across the school. There will be a special welcome picnic organised by the P&F to welcome all new families on Thursday 27 February at 3pm – 5pm. Please mark it in your calendars and I hope to see you there.
In the first few weeks of the school year, Orana staff members and I have been mindful of what effect the turmoil of the outside world is having on our young people. Overall, there has been the usual brightness and enthusiasm to learn but we have noticed, on rare occasions, some antisocial and destructive behaviour, imitating the actions or speech of what they see in the media. In a world where democracy and civility are at stake, it has given rise to a reflection on what great minds have said about these matters and what we as a school are doing to protect and promote our humanity and democratic principles. There is concern in Europe and the USA that we are seeing the rise of similar political environment we saw one hundred years ago. At that time, Rudolf Steiner was witnessing Europe’s recovery from World War 1 and the rise of Nazi Germany. In his Threefold Social Order writings and lectures he provided a critique of socialism and capitalism as constructs driven by economic and political imperatives rather than cultural/spiritual considerations, and therefore were inadequate concepts in themselves to provide sufficient guidance in running a society. His view was that democracy is the key. It provides for individual freedom as well as understanding the importance of contributing to the collective good. But it is hard work and there is this constant tension between the rights and responsibilities of the individual and the group. Steiner saw that we needed to be educating young people to be free, moral thinkers and contributors to a democratic society. This continues to be our quest and, now more than ever, it is needed. How do we provide the right educational environment to enable democracy to survive and thrive?
Steiner drew on the work of ancient Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and their ideas on education and culture. Having recently rediscovered Socrates’ philosophical thinking myself through reading Open Socrates by Agnes Callard, I think we can learn a lot by practising the Socratic method when working with members in our community. Socrates relished persuading and, equally, being persuaded by others. He saw thinking as a social task and sought guidance from others by asking many questions and being open to discussion and argument. I think these are valuable principles to emulate in our community.
We can see evidence of forces from the world’s political sphere, where there is more acceptance of autocratic, ‘might is right’ thinking, having rare but noticeable impacts on our school’s social environment. We see the continued pressure for society, and even educational thinking, to be dominated by economic and political imperatives. We need to be active, understanding, firm and strategic in managing young people in these matters. We are fortunate to have students, who, on the whole, come from families whose values match those of the school. Orana young people are generally curious, compassionate and collaborative in their approach. However, we are not immune to negative ideology and behaviour creeping in such as right-wing extremism, toxic masculinity, elitism and anti-wokism (is that a word?). Despite what may be happening around the world, we continue to strive to be an inclusive, caring environment where members of our community have a voice. We are unapologetic in preparing young people to be active citizens and leaders in a democratic society and are thankful for the support of our community in this important, continual process of social renewal.
Apart from the usual rich educational program, there has already been a full program of events at school. There have been many parent evenings providing an opportunity to connect and support each other through your children’s learning program. It has been a great privilege and a joy being involved in the Early Childhood and Primary School tours. I am proud to introduce prospective and existing parents to our well-prepared teachers and children who have already settled into their learning; working with enthusiasm so early in the year. I look forward to the High School tour Tuesday 1 April. This week, along with Kira DuPlessis our Early Childhood Director and Jeddah Teasdale, Deputy Primary and Early Childhood, I had the privilege of presenting to University of Canberra education students, introducing them to Steiner education and seeing our school program in action. There are many students interested in doing practicum placements and future employment at Orana.
Reminder:
At drop off and pick up times, please use the crossing on Hickey Court. It is an extremely busy road at these times and we rely on adults (staff and parents) to set the example for students. Even if you are in a hurry, please be patient and consider safety first.
Some events coming up in the next few weeks:
- Class Parent Representatives meeting on Thursday 6 March. We will be looking at the role of CPRs and familiarising them with using the new school app for communication.
- Photos for Primary and Early Childhood 3 – 7 March.
- Year 10 Work experience and Year 9 Farm Stay 3-7 March.
- NAPLAN testing window for Years 3,5,7 and 9 will be from 12 March to 21 March. More details next week.
- Early Childhood Harvest Festival and Puppet Show Friday 21 March
- Twilight concert Friday 4 April. All welcome. This is an opportunity for students of all musical abilities and experience to showcase. More details to come.
- Community Markets Wednesday 9 April 3pm. All welcome. The P&F organise one every term. This one is a special Easter event.
- Autumn Harvest Festivals K-12 Thursday 10 April
- Early Childhood Easter celebration and puppet show Friday 11 April.
How lucky we are to be in such a vibrant community. I look forward to connecting with you at some stage this term.
