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| A |
Anthroposophy |
'Anthroposophy' is
described by Rudolf Steiner as "a
path of knowledge leading from the spiritual in man to the spiritual in the
universe". In 1923, the General Anthroposophical Society was founded by Dr Rudolf
Steiner in Dornach,
Switzerland, which has now become world-wide.
Click here
for more information about the Anthroposophical
Society, or here
for a biography of Rudolf
Steiner |
| B |
Biodynamic
agriculture |
A practice that
involves using preparations from natural substances such as herbs, cow
manure, and quartz crystal - all prepared within nature's laws. It aims to
produce organic food of the highest quality, free of artificial additives,
but rich in the living forces that stream into our earth from the cosmos |
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Bioscape
Bees |
The Bioscape group is a sub-committee of the
Orana
School Council.
'Bioscape' is BIOdynamic gardening and landSCAPE
work in the school grounds, with Working Bees four times per year. Bees involve landscape design, plantings, water management,
support for the educational garden, redeveloping natural ecosystems and
playgrounds.
Click here for more information or have
a look at the Calendar dates. |
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Bush
Dance |
An annual P&F
community event for parents and children, usually held in August.
Funds raised support the high school. Click here
for the date of this year's Bush Dance |
| C |
CCH |
"Community Commitment Hours" -
Parent hours (or payments in lieu of time) to ensure that Orana School is
clean and well-maintained for the children, as well as keeping overall
fees as low as possible. The scheme also provides plenty of opportunity to
be involved in the day-to-day life of the school and to meet other
parents.
Click here
for more information about coordinators and who to contact. |
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CRSSA |
Orana School's legal
status is that of a not-for-profit association registered in the ACT.
The full title is the "Canberra Rudolf Steiner School Association"
(CRSSA). Like all associations, the CRSSA has a Constitution
which defines its purpose and principal structures, for example, how the
School Council and College of Teachers are set up. Copies of the
Constitution are available in the school library |
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College
of Teachers |
The College of Teachers governs the
Orana School. The College is comprised of full-time teachers
at the school who are committed
to initiate and implement educational policies. The specific areas of the College's responsibility
are matters of curriculum, students' progress, enrolment, educational staff,
school calendar, and school records.
Click here
for more information |
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Community
Markets |
Held after-school at
the Forest amphitheatre on the last Friday of the month during term time.
A collection of food and craft stalls sell items suitable for children
with a proportion of the funds raised flowing to classes. Click here
for the contact person or have a look at the Calendar
dates. |
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Core
Group |
The College of Teachers
has a representative on the School Council,
and vice versa. In addition, the two committees meet together several
times each year. These combined consultations are known as Core Group
meetings. |
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Council |
There are seven
members of Council -
three
nominated by the College of Teachers, three elected by the School
Association (CRSSA), and the Administrator.
Additional members can be co-opted by the Council itself; The College of
Teachers and Council also hold joint meetings thus forming the "Core Group".
Click here
for more information |
| E |
Extra
Cleaning |
A group of parents have formed a business partnership with the Orana School.
This group has been contracted to clean specific parts of the school |
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Eurhythmy |
A performing art
that reveals the relationship between the human being and the cosmos. It
expresses in movement the forms inherent in words and tones. Vowels,
consonants, musical tones, and intervals are 'moved' through the limbs to
focus spiritual energies into space. |
| F |
Festival:
Harvest Festival |
Held during school
hours towards the end of Term 1. A celebration of nature's bounty and a
time to reflect on our connection with the land. Children bring and
display produce which is given to a worthy charity after the Festival.
Parents are welcome to attend. Click here
for the Calendar date. |
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Festival:
Lantern
Walk |
A traditional
feature of our Winter Festival for students and parents, held on a Friday
evening on a date close to the winter solstice. Students carry the
lanterns they have made in class to light their way through the dark with
music and song. Click here
for the Calendar date. |
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Festival:
Spring Festival |
Held during school
hours early in Term 4, a seasonal assembly and performance of music and/or
dance by various classes to celebrate spring. Parents are welcome to
attend. Have a look at the Calendar
date. |
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Festival:
Spring Fair |
Orana's biggest
"open day" and public P&F event each year, coordinated by
Class 4 parents and attracting hundreds of visitors. Fine food,
beautiful craft, live music, pony rides, stalls, games and more. The
fair is held mid-November from 11 am to 3 pm. Click here
for the date of this year's Spring Fair. |
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Festival:
Winter Festival |
Each
year we celebrate the seasonal transition through winter with a series of
events during the week of the winter solstice. These events include
a daytime "spiral walk" for young students and a wonderful evening Winter
Festival of music, performance and "lantern walk" for the whole
school to enjoy. |
| M
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|
Maintenance Bees |
'Maintenance' is a
category of CCH. Maintenance is repairing,
painting, carpentry, odd jobs on the interior, exterior, furniture and
fittings of the school. Several bees per term are held.
Click
here
for the Maintenance Coordinator. |
| O |
Orientation
Evenings |
An information
evening held in the first weeks of Term 1 in which new parents can meet
teachers, parents and friends of the school and gather insights about
Orana School and Steiner Education generally. Click here
for the New Orana Parents page. |
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Orana
Cafe |
Also
known as 'Parent Cafe'; held on Tuesday mornings, 9-11.30am. This is an
informal cafe, run on a voluntary basis to allow parents to meet and chat in
a relaxed atmosphere. There are regular speakers from the school. |
| P |
P&F |
"Parents and
Friends" -
The Orana P&F is a separate entity from the School Association with
its own constitution. It exists to support the teachers' work through
fundraising, social and community building activities. A representative of
the College attends P&F meetings to report on the College and Core
Group meetings, and vice versa. The President of the P&F represents
this group at Council.
Click here for the P&F page. |
|
PETT |
"Parent Education and Teacher
Training" - PETT is a separately constituted body affiliated
with the Orana School.
During
the year PETT organises
workshops, talks and classes by local or visiting speakers on a variety of
topics. Topics have connection with the work of Rudolf Steiner, and particular
emphasis is placed on the development of the child and educational issues.
Click here for more information. |
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Pr
lesson |
"Practice Lesson" - Specialist
teachers are with classes, and class teachers have their practice
lessons in English, Maths, and revision work, etc. |
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Pupil-Free
Day |
Students are not required to attend
school on a Pupil-Free Day.
The day after the Spring
Fair teachers meet on curriculum issues.
Staff in-servicing also happens at a three day conference at the end of
January and a week in the September break allows for five days of in-servicing
outside of school teaching time.
Click here for the Calendar
date. |
| R |
Rudolf
Steiner |
Austrian scientist
and visionary Dr Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Click here
for a biography of Rudolf Steiner |
| S |
School
Association |
See
CRSSA. |
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School
Tours |
This is a wonderful way to see what
happens in the classrooms. The tour starts with a brief introductory talk
about Steiner education, followed by a visit to some classrooms. Parents who
would like to know more about our Kindergarten, Primary or High
School/Senior College can book into one of these tours through the office. |
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Sessional Kindergarten |
Sessional Kindergarten (Pre-School) starts in
the year in which the child turns 5 years old. Click here
for more information. |
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Steiner
education |
"Steiner
Education" is the generic name given to schools that offer
pre-school, primary and/or secondary education based on the philosophy and
educational insights of Austrian scientist and visionary Dr
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). While sharing a common
educational philosophy, all Steiner schools are independent and autonomous
organisations which can vary in their size, style and structure. |
| T |
Term
Cleans |
Classrooms
are cleaned at the end of each term.
Click
here for the Term Cleans Coordinator contact information. |
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Twilight Supper |
A
social event held on a Friday evening towards the end of Term 1 each year,
hosted by Class 2 parents and providing an opportunity to meet other
parents, friends, children and teachers. |
| W |
Weekday
Cleans |
Parents
who elect this as part of CCH
are rostered to clean classrooms at the end of each school day. Weekly
cleaning involves cleaning one or more classrooms on a Monday, Wednesday
or Friday afternoon after completion of class at 3:15 pm. In
addition, as we use household cotton towels for drying hands in the school
toilets, washing the towels at home is an option as part of Weekly
Cleaning.
All cleaning gear is supplied and some flexibility can be given to the
time of cleaning, type and number of rooms cleaned.
Click here
for the Weekday Cleans Coordinator contact information. |
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Waldorf
Education (WE) |
"Waldorf
Education" is another name for "Steiner Education".
The term arose because the first "Steiner" school was formed to
provide education for workers at the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in
Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919. For more details see "Steiner
Education" |
