Newsletter Term 2 Week 9 - Samford Valley Steiner School

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News from the BoardI am sometimes asked just who and what is“The Board”?The “who” is easy – the Board is made up of 9members, 4 executive and 5 non-executives.The elected Board members for 2010 are:Cathy BrennanChairperson Class 11 parentStephen HavasVice Chairperson Class 2 & 4 parentAdrian PottowSecretary Class 4 & Prep parentAnthony RuckertTreasurer Class 5 & 6 (x2) & 10 parentJan Baker-FinchNon-executive Staff Member & Class 8parentConnie GrawertNon-executive Staff MemberGreg RobsonNon-executive Class 8 parentDavid WadleyNon-executive Class 6 parentLaurie WardNon-executive Class 7 parentThe “what” seems to be not so easily understood.I have freely copied from the schoolweb site (www.samfordsteiner.qld.edu.au) anexplanation of what the Board is:“The Rudolf Steiner Education Group BrisbaneInc, (the Association) is the incorporatedassociation, which established the SamfordValley Steiner School in 1987.Membership of the Association is open to allcurrent staff, parents and interested others.Members of the Association can nominatefor positions on the Board.The Board is responsiblefor overseeing the legal,financial and managementfunctions of the schooland is empowered tofulfil the tasks necessaryto ensure the effectiverunning of the Association.In its approach the Board adheres strongly toa governance model of working which enablesclear separation between Board mattersand School management and administration.”Another way of saying this is, that the Boardlooks at the big picture and the futureRudolfSteinerEducationGroupBrisbane Incdirection and planning for the school asguided by the Association. Although theBoard is ultimately responsible for the managementof the school, it does not becomedirectly involved in the day to day runningof the school. Its “job” is to ensure that allthe legal and governmental requirementsfor the school are met and on the largerscale that the goals of the Association areworked towards and achieved.What this means on the ground is that theBoard reviews the day-to-day processes ofthe school to ensure both legal and regulatorycompliance and also takes an overviewof strategic projects such as, review ofthe Organisational Structure of the school,the ongoing building programmes and periodicreviews of the school finances andbudgets.As Treasurer, I am closely involved in theBuilding programmes and of course theschool budget. Over the past couple ofyears both of these areas have seen somelarge changes. The building programmeshave obtained significant funding fromboth the State and Federal Governmentsvia the Block Grant Authority and the BER(Stimulus Package) funding, and expenditureof these grants is closely monitored.The budget cuts, which were put in placedue to the drop in student numbers at thestart of the year, are also closely scrutinisedand reviewed regularly to ensure that thebest possible outcomes can be achievedwithin the current budget constraints. Theaim is to be able to increase expenditureas soon as possible, when and where it ismost suitable.If you wish to know more, the Board minutesare available in hard copy from the schooloffice - they are maintained in a blue folderbehind the front desk. The folder also containsinformation about the standing Boardagenda, motions and actions.All of us on the Board encourage parentswith an interest in understanding how theschool is run and what activities the Boardis undertaking to peruse the minutes and/or speak to a Board member. Becomeinvolved, it is a great way to support ourchildren during their journey into Steinereducation.Anthony RuckertTreasurer – RSEGB Inc.Have you seen theGreen?Thank You Darin,Thank you Paolo!Our amazing hall has come one major stepnearer completion with the laying of 400 sq.metres of turf on Saturday last. The dustymound is no longer - the amphitheatre is areality!We owe a huge debt of thanks to Darin Hindmarsh(Prep parent) for the landscaping, forprocuring the turf at best possible price, forinstalling the irrigation system and finally forbossing around (in the nicest possible way!)all the volunteers who turned up early on Saturdayto lay down the sward!!In about six weeks the whole project will becomplete and we will be the very proud ownersof a library and of a hall, the equal ofwhich is not to be found anywhere in SouthEast Queensland (according to our builderat least!). Time for proper thanks will comebut none of this would have been possiblewithout the unceasing commitment, effort,creativity and ingenuity of Paolo Denti ourarchitect, and it has been thrilling to watch adream become reality over the past months.What’s in a Name?We would like to find a good NAME for thevenue. A noble hall needs a noble name,don't you agree? If you have an idea pleasesend it in to the office front desk before theend of term.In anticipation!Jan Baker-FinchSteiner TeacherTraining – Can youhelp?If marketing andadvertising is yourspecialty (or you couldrecommend someone withtalent in this area who ismindful of the Steiner way)please join us to promoteTeacher Training basedhere at our school. Wewould love to hear fromyou.Please contactDamien ColeE dcole48@eq.edu.au.2 the newsletter n term 2 week 9 n Friday11June 2010Samford Valley Steiner School
W i n t e r F e s t i v a lWe have begun preparing for our Winter Festival, which will take place just a fewdays before the winter solstice, a turning point of the year just as is the summersolstice. Through the festivals we live into the rhythms of the year. We allow ourselvesto pay attention to the changes happening in the natural world and to experiencesomething of their wonders.Now, for the Winter Festival, we gooutside together, and what is morewe go out under the stars at night.Even here in Brisbane we generally have towrap up warmly against the chill. We feel thesoft glow of the lanterns and the wonderfulglow of the firesticks and then of the bonfire,as sources of light and warmth in the darkness.They can remind us in an entirely intimateway of something which we can describe orexperience as our own inner light. We canlook at it like this. When we go out into thecold and share the quiet contemplation ofthe lanterns and the firesticks and the bonfirewe experience a meeting of polarities: Onthe one hand the enormous expanse of thestarry skies above, the tall, dark shadowy,mysterious forms of the trees, the crisp cold,and the powerful unitedness of some 300hundred people gathering together, looking,listening, walking in silence, in the dark.On the other hand, a somewhat heightenedawareness of ourselves. Perhaps, for the children,there is a slight feeling of trepidation,but at the same time through the reassuringlight and warmth of the lanterns and fires, aninner sense of hopefulness, a feeling of trustin the fire or light that glows within us.This is a mood we can encourage for the childrenby coming to the festival with a certainreverence, rather than seeing it as a performance.Similarly, we as adults can experiencethe Festival as an opportunity to cultivatewithin ourselves an inner flame, to renew ourtrust in ourselves and our own pathway.Autumn we turned outward,loudly challenging our'dragons'. Winter we turninwards and focus ourfeelings on the glow ofhope, a future orientedinner warming.This year we will come together again as awhole school and the Year 12 students willplay a growing role in the shaping of the Festival.In order for the celebration to proceedsmoothly and in the silent, respectful moodwe aim to achieve, we ask you to carefullynote the following:Once the soup and story are over, the classroomswill be locked and not re-opened.Please take any bags and belongings withyou at this point. (Soup things can be collectedthe next day).The Festival is a celebration. We welcomeold friends, but ask any former students orfriends who come, to remain with their familiesuntil the celebration is over, and not attemptto mingle with participating studentsuntil the singing is finished. All classroomareas are out of bounds once we proceed tothe basketball court.Please take responsibility for your childrenonce the Festival is over so that they canmaintain the respectful mood as they leave.Once the bonfire and singing are finished,the Primary School children and their familiesare asked to leave quietly. The High Schoolstudents will remain a little longer into theevening.We look forward as always to welcoming youall for soup, stories and the wonderful sharedsilence of the walk and the bonfire.Warm regardsJan Baker-Finch3 the newsletter n term 2 week 9 n Friday11June 2010Samford Valley Steiner School
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Newsletter Term 2 Week 9 - Samford Valley Steiner School

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