This week, we celebrate the beginning of Winter and to mark this change in seasons we welcome the anticipation of several exciting Winter Solstice events across the School. Our Class 1 and 2 children have started preparing to walk the traditional Spiral Walk in the darkened Drama Room with their Class Teachers, watched on by their parents and carers in the audience. The Spiral Walk will take place on the morning of Friday 9 June. The following week, our Primary School classes will celebrate the Winter Solstice with the quintessential lantern walk on the Top Oval, followed by the firesticks performance by Class 7 students. The Winter Festival will take place from 5pm on the Top Oval on Friday 16 June.
The Class 1 and 2 Spiral Walk is an important rite of passage for our younger students to experience the light shining during the darkest time of the year. The Spiral Walk itself is symbolic of finding light in the darkness and honours the seasonal cycle of light and darkness in the outside world. It is a traditional Steiner celebration which occurs in almost every Steiner School across the world, thus creating a special link between these schools, their students and families. For our younger students, the Spiral Walk is an opportunity for them to be held in a reverent space so they can experience the Winter Solstice celebrations in their own smaller and quieter way. This special celebration is traditionally held inside, in darkness, with the room illuminated only by a single flickering candle in the centre of the spiral. In the darkness, the students find within themselves the courage, curiosity and a sense of duty to venture to the centre of the spiral to the candle that awaits them.
Class 1 and 2 Spiral Walk
We warmly invite all parents and carers of Class 1 and 2 students to attend the Spiral Walk in the Drama Room on the morning of Friday 9 June (Week 7). We ask that all parents and carers bring a mood of calm and quiet to the Spiral Walk. Please endeavour to arrive on time as we will not be able to accommodate late comers once the Spiral Walk has commenced.
Class 1 – 9.10am seated in the Drama Room for a 9.15am start
Class 2 – 10.10am seated in the Drama Room for a 10.15am start
Whole School Winter Festival
The Orana Winter Festival will be held on the Top Oval on Friday 16 June (Week 8) for all children from Kindergarten to Class 6. The Festival will commence with a lantern spiral walk followed by the Class 7 firestick performance.
K-6 students arrive at classrooms at 5pm
Parents in place on the Top Oval by 5.20pm
Students are collected by parents from classrooms at the conclusion of the Festival
We look forward to sharing our Winter Solstice celebrations with all our Orana community in the coming weeks.
Sharaine Talip — Acting Deputy Principal / Head of Primary School K-6
