Our first outing in the 3rd term was to Clay Café in Hout Bay. There was great anticipation as everyone was seated at a long work table with plenty of paints and brushes laid out for us to work with. Each child and teacher was given a ceramic item to paint. Uzair got straight to work on painting his cow milk jug while others had ceramic dogs and piggy banks to paint. Staff at Clay Café finish the process with glazing and firing the items which we can collect in 3 weeks time.

After painting we were able to relax and eat our lunch in the large playground. The children thoroughly enjoyed expending the rest of their energy on the slide and jumping castle. It was an outing to remember and some children found it very difficult to remain awake on the trip home!

On the first day of this term (9 July 2019) we welcomed two new boys from the Flamingo Lane informal settlement in Lansdowne. The Educare that was operating in the Flamingo Lane area was forced to close due to lack of funding and resources. There were two openings at the Children of Light Educare which we were able to offer to the community. In discussion with the community leader and parents, admission forms were completed for Uzair and Micheal who have quickly settled into the daily routine at school.

We now have children from 3 different informal settlements, each of these 3 naturally has its own social structures and norms. Adjusting to the social impact on the pecking order has tested some of the children, but there is a lot more self-regulation and a lot less of the overwhelming feelings of anxiety that teachers observed in the children’s behaviour just 6 months ago.

At the end of the 2nd term the school staff and volunteers hiked through the Orange Kloof with professional guide Evelyn. The sounds and scents of the forest, the play of the sunlight through the trees and on the water, together with the cool fresh air has so many physical and mental benefits. Everyone immediately experienced the calming, rejuvenating and restorative effects of being surrounded by unspoilt nature.

For the children to thrive at school it is vitally important for staff to maintain a healthy work-life balance. In the 1980s scientists in Japan developed ‘shinrin-yoku’ or “forest bathing” and have published robust scientific literature on the healing and health benefits of spending time in a living forest.

Waldorf Education aims to awaken our relationship to the world, and this Steiner says is achieved by teaching through the twelve senses. There is a relationship between sensory perception and health and vitality. In his pedagogical concept Rudolf Steiner dealt with temperament and developed in great detail the wisdom of the twelve senses which he groups according to thinking, feeling and willing.

Managing Trustee Mala Maitri Makan (second from left) presented her report and Treasurer Marchelle Karuna Whitebread (end left) presented the Financial statement for the year ending 2018. From end right; Councillor Mark Kleinschmidt, Swami Vidyananda, guest speaker Adri Marais, Trustee Zakira Triveni Fredericks, Hilary Devi Harker (Yoga teacher).

On 7 June the Ananda Kutir Education Trust (AKET) held its AGM at the Children of Light School, one of its community projects. AKET trustees were very encouraged to see Councillor Mark Kleinschmidt at the meeting. Mark was the guest speaker at the School’s Open Day in September 2017.

Ms Adri Marais, CEO at Christel House, a non-profit organisation, was guest speaker at the AGM.  Christel House in Ottery is a school offering free education to children living in impoverished communities and Adri shared some very valuable insights with us. We hope that this is just the start of many more conversations with her.

Also at the meeting were volunteers who work regularly at the school and youth volunteers who help with the children during their study breaks. Our donor of the premises and other friends of the school were at the AGM too. The school Spiritual Leader, Swami Vidyananda opened and closed the meeting with a prayer. He also gave special thanks to the youth for their willingness to serve the school community.

Our visit to Newlands Forest yesterday couldn’t have been timed better. A couple of days before the outing it had poured with rain! The streams in the forest were full and flowing swiftly. The children enjoyed clambering over the rocks and splashing cold water on their faces. The sound of the rushing water mixed with their joyful laughter expressed perfectly how being in nature enhances their creativity and imagination. All their senses were activated in the damp forest, including that unique sense of wonder that only seems to occur when we are outside in nature.

We are very excited to welcome Nushfeekah Lewendal into the Children of Light School family. Teacher Nush, as she is known at school, has previously worked in a Waldorf kindergarten and for a number of years ran her own Early Childhood Development centre. Her favourite Rudolf Steiner quote is “Receive the children in reverence, educate them in love, and send them forth in freedom”.

When Teacher Nush started working at the school this April it took a while for her to gain the trust of one of the 4 year old girls who has been at the school for over a year. After her initial reaction to Nush’s arrival and with us allowing her time to accept the change in her own way, she has become a very keen and willing learner.

It is the generous support of our donors that has made it possible to employ Teacher Nush. We very much appreciate their loving support in helping with this big step in the growth of the school. It has brought a wonderful sense of excitement to the whole school community.

Rylands Library invited our school children to a Story telling Indaba on Tuesday 16th April. It was quite an experience for the children to be part of the large school audience in the civic centre. This kind of experience is so important for our older children who are being prepared for Grade R next year.

There were a few different activities organised for the morning. One had an emphasis on saving water, another was about smoking and air pollution. Some of the children were very quick to learn the tunes and lyrics which were part of these presentations, and recited them at school the following day!

This week we joined the Rise Against Hunger (RAH) community. RAH’s key focus is to distribute highly nutritious meals to Early Childhood Development Centres which are in the process of applying to register with the Department of Social Development. According to their website the ingredients of the packaged meals comply with UNICEF standards and for the next 2 years the school will be provided with a total of 200 meals per month. This will greatly reduce our expenditure on food and speed up our ability to upgrade the school infrastructure to meet the requirements for registration. The children thoroughly enjoyed their first meal from RAH!

 

Lameck’s 4th birthday was on the 21st February and because if fell on a Thursday (park day) we decided to have his party at the park. Juliet baked and decorated the beautiful green birthday cake and packed party hats, cool drinks and eats in the picnic basket to take with. Earlier in the week we had made kites from plastic recycling so we took these along for everyone to play with. There was a gentle breeze at the park so the children were able to run and have fun flying the kites. The birthday cake and treats were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone! And that was not all … because Lameck’s mum had sent party packs to school for the children which they were given to take home for later.

Each year that a child adds to his age should be seen as an incredible celebration of all the new skills and milestones that the child has accomplished.