Casuarina Chronicle

DATE NOT TO BE MISSED:

Harmony Day/ Japanese Moon Festival, Friday 26th March

• Entertainment
• Food
• Moon viewing
• Main Lesson Sharing

More information to come.

——

Stephen Scott, Casuarina School Principal

From the Principal’s Desk

Certainly one of the best aspects of being a principal and one I really enjoy, is being able to visit all the classrooms on a regular basis. The last couple of weeks I’ve been able to do this and I’ve been really impressed. There have been many things that have impressed me over the past month. In particular I’ve enjoyed the positive attitude the children at Casuarina have towards learning. This really is a great learning environment and most of the students are taking full advantage of the rich fabric of a learning experience that the wonderful teachers here are providing. This actually reminds me of a short story called ‘The Magic Pebbles’:

Once upon a time there was a small group of shepherds sleeping in the hills. Suddenly they were woken by a strange bright light. Out of this light a voice spoke to them. “Gather up as many pebbles as you can find and put them in your bags. Travel a day’s journey and tomorrow night will find you both glad and sad. Although confused and a little disappointed they bent down and picked up a few pebbles and put them in their bags.

The next day they travelled a long distance and then at night set up camp. As the pebbles were becoming heavy, they decided to empty them on the ground. To their astonishment the pebbles had disappeared and in their place were sparkling diamonds. The shepherds then began to say together –“The voice spoke the truth, tonight we are both glad and sad. We are glad because we have these precious diamonds but we are sad because we did not pick up more.” In life we don’t know which ‘pebbles’ are going to turn into diamonds. Everything we learn without knowing the reason is a pebble. But as you will discover – that knowledge will often turn into diamonds. Clearly we need to learn all we can now – pick up as many pebbles as possible – and look forward to a future full of diamonds. “If we did all the things we are capable of doing we would truly astound ourselves”

Thomas Edison

P&F Morning Tea

Already there has been several parents indicate their willingness to be involved in a school P&F. This is very pleasing and I’m extremely keen to establish an effective P&F group as soon as possible. Therefore I’d like to invite all interested parents and friends of the school to a special morning tea next Thursday at 10.15 in the staffroom. During this time there will be an open forum to discuss the best way to establish a dynamic and effective P&F group. To assist with catering could you please indicate to the office if you intend on being part of this meeting. I really hope you can be part of what I believe to be an essential aspect of developing great schools.

Principal
Steve Scott

NOTES FROM THE OFFICE

• Can the family who is paying school fees on the internet by the name durri 15 please urgently contact lee burgess?
• We now have stocks of our colorful school t-shirts ($18.00), and our hats have also arrived ($15.00).
• Just a reminder: It is school policy that parents notify the school if your child is absent. Please phone the school office prior to 9.00 am.

Important Dates

• School Tour with Lana Risi: Thursday, 11th March 2010, 10:00am
• Main Lesson Sharing: 19th March 2010 , 10:20 am
• Class 4 Swimming Dates: March 5th, 12th and 19th
• Clean up Australia Day: Friday 5th March 2010
• Autumn Festival/Harmony day/Japanese Moon Festival: 26th March 2010
• Life Education Van: 28th/29th April 2010
• Craft Group: Every Wednesday 9.00am
• Casuarina School is starting to have No Waste Wednesdays: Starting Wednesday 24th March (See this post for more information.)

Term Dates

• Term 1: 3.2.10 – 1.4.10
• Term 2: 20.4.10 – 24.6.10
• Term 3: 20.7.10 – 24.9.10
• Term 4: 12.10.10-15.12.10

Before School Care URGENT UPDATE!!!

Due to a number of positive response to our request for feed back regarding a before school care service, we are very pleased to announce that as of Monday 8^th March 2010, the before school care service is open. We will be running the service on a trial basis for the rest of this term, to gauge the benefits that the service affords parents, and consequently the long term viability of the service.

As is the case with the after school service, we will be embracing Rudolph Steiner’s philosophies to shape the program. our aim, with guidance from Casuarina’s College of Teacher’s, will be to provide an environment where the children are cared for and nurtured, with a rhythm and mood that allows for this extra-special part of the child’s day to be enjoyed and celebrated.

The hours of operation for the before school care service will be 7:30 am – 8:30 am Monday to Friday. Please ensure that all children have eaten breakfast, or that they bring a healthy breakfast to eat at school.

The future structure of the program may allow for breakfast to provide (organic oats from Bundagen are beautiful), but we will have to wait and see.

With the warmest regards, Mike Anderson After/Before School Care Co-ordinator

Ride to School Day

Ride 2 School DayOn the 17^th of March everybody is encouraged to ride, walk or scooter to school.

It would be great if on that day as many children as possible could come to school not by car or by school bus but by bike, walking or on a scooter. As we want everybody to be safe attempting this, we

encourage parents to accompany their children.

Alternatively, you can get in touch with me by next Monday, 8th March so we can organise collecting points from which children can cycle to school in a group with adult supervision.

I look forward to this great event.

Elsbeth

—–

NO WASTE WEDNESDAY

“No Waste Wednesday” means that students need to bring their lunch and recess in reusable bags or lunchboxes on Wednesdays. By doing this and by choosing foods that don’t require packaging, such as fruit, we are hoping to reduce the amount of waste our school produces. We appreciate your support and thank you for helping to make our school environment beautiful.

Casuarina is celebrating Grandparents Day on Friday March 19th.

Come along for Main Lesson Sharing at 10:15am in our hall, stay for morning tea and a look around our beautiful school. ALL Grandparents and surrogate Grandparents welcome.

What is Main Lesson Sharing?

Main Lesson Sharing is when each class in the school shares something from the Main Lesson that they have just completed over the previous 3 weeks. They share with the whole school and parents.

Main Lesson Sharing starts at 10.20 and finishes at approx. 11.00am and is usually held in the school hall.

Parents, relatives and friends are welcome.

After Main Lesson Sharing, morning tea is available for purchase in the Breezeway area. This morning tea is provided by Kindergarten and Peach Blossom parents and is their main fundraiser for the year. A baked item (eg muffin) and 2 pieces of fruit can be purchased for $1. If your child wishes to partake, make sure they have $1 in their pocket so they can line up and buy something. Adults are also welcome to purchase morning tea.

Casuarina Craft Group meets Wednesdays from 9:00am. Everyone welcome!

Class 3 Building Project

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Class 3 Building Project

Staff Profiles

Linda Burke

INTERVIEW OF Linda Burke
Teacher of Class 7

Elsbeth Haenggi

INTERVIEW OF Elsbeth Haenggi
Teacher of Class 5

Kath Sheehan

INTERVIEW OF Kath Sheehan
Teacher of Class 4

Ruth Lindsell

INTERVIEW OF Ruth Lindsell
Teacher of Class 3

Margie Collett

INTERVIEW OF Margie Collett
Teacher of Class 2

Allie Thompson

INTERVIEW OF Allie Thompson
Teacher of Class 1

Lana Risi

INTERVIEW OF Lana Risi
Teacher of Grey Gum, Kindergarten

Rowena Parkes

INTERVIEW OF Rowena Parkes
Teacher of Rose Room, Kindergarten

INTERVIEW OF Pierina
Part-time Teacher of KG, Class 5 and 6

Thankyou to Class 7 students who created the interview question and conducted the interviews.

Main Lesson Sharing is when each class in the school shares something from the Main Lesson that they have just completed over the previous 3 weeks.  They share with the whole school and parents.

Main Lesson Sharing starts at 10.20 and finishes approx 11.00am and is usually held in the school hall.

Parents, relatives and friends are welcome.

After Main Lesson Sharing, morning tea is available for purchase in the Breezeway area.  This morning tea is provided by Kindergarten and Peach Blossom parents and is their main fund raiser for the year.  A baked item (eg muffin) and 2 pieces of fruit can be purchased for $1.  If your child wishes to partake, make sure they have $1 in their pocket so they can line up and buy something.  Adults are also welcome to purchase morning tea.

From the Principal’s Desk

Stephen Scott, Casuarina School Principal

Dear Parents,

As this is the first newsletter of the year, I’d like to take this opportunity again to say what a privilege and honour it is to be the principal of Casuarina Steiner School and how appreciative I am of the warm welcome I’ve received from the parents, staff and students of the school community.  In particular, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the many parents who gave up their Friday evening to join the staff and I in a ‘Get to know you BBQ’.  It really was, I believe, an enjoyable evening and great to see so many of you there.

I thought I should also take this opportunity to give you a brief snapshot of who I am in the form of a short profile:

As many of you know I am married to Denise, who as well as being gorgeous also happens to be a teacher.  I have two beautiful children – Callum (16 yrs) and Matilda (13 yrs).  They are both attending Coffs Harbour Christian Community School and like me love music.  I have been teaching for more than 25 years and in leadership positions for the past 10 or so years.  Most recently I was the Principal of Newton British School which is an International School in Qatar (near Dubai).  This was extremely interesting and gave us all the opportunity to do lots of travelling.   I have several hobbies but the one I’m most  passionate about is music.

Over the years I’ve been in several part-time bands playing guitar, singing or both.  I also love playing golf and have recently become more interested in fishing.

Again, I’m extremely happy to be here, and I am really  looking forward to an exciting and fruitful 2010.

Staff Profiles

Tracey Puckeridge, Teacher and Deputy Principal

Tracey Puckeridge

Just over 13 years ago I began my life at Casuarina.  My fabulous  husband, Glenn, had sent his 3 children to Chrysalis Steiner School and when I asked him why, he simply said they loved school, loved learning and were happy.  I just knew I had to be a Steiner teacher!

My first class are now on their own individual journeys and they are incredible young adults.  I am currently on my second journey with   another amazing class.  They are now Class 6 and watching them learn and grow throughout their primary years is a true privilege.

During this time I have worked with many inspired, motivated and dedicated colleagues and eventually I moved into national work with the Rudolf Steiner School Association.  I really love being involved with education on a national scale and enjoy visiting other Steiner schools and holding a big picture of the future of Steiner education in Australia.

I have 5 children altogether (3 are Glenn’s and 2 are mine) with the oldest 33 and the youngest 18.  Brock was a student at Casuarina for 7 years and he really values the education this gave him.  He is currently in Year 12.  The girls are both getting married this year.

I am currently studying for a Master of Educational Leadership and enjoying my new role as Deputy Principal to support Steve and the amazingly dedicated teachers at Casuarina.  I play flute, guitar and love to sing, and my favourite past time is martial arts where I can spar with Glenn and always come off second best!

Haylee Lila Ralston, Receptionist

Haylee Lila Ralston

I was born in Muswellbrook NSW on the 2/3/1990.  I went to Macksville Primary then moved on to Macksville High in 2002.

In 2003 I went to State athletes Titles in Sydney for 400 metres where I won Gold for the first time and then followed up with silver in our girls relay.

I started working at Casuarina School as a Front Office Trainee only just 8 months ago.  In this short time I have enjoyed working in an environment with wonderful people.  Casuarina School gave me an opportunity to do a traineeship doing TAFE every Wednesday studying Cert III Business Administration and now I am looking forward to stay at Casuarina School doing my Cert IV in Business Administration.

I enjoy scuba diving, horse riding and also playing Oztag.  In 2009 I played Oztag at the Australian National Titles.

Taja Steinbeck, Finance and Payroll Officer

Taja Steinbeck

I was born in London where I spent the first six weeks of my life.  The next 30 years I’ve spent in Switzerland where I became a dress maker, studied Economics and finished off with a Masters in Sociology.

Working for the Education Department in Switzerland  gave me some experience in the educational sector.  In 1998 I’ve moved to an Eco-village in Queensland.  Sustainable living and Permaculture were the focus during that time.

Six years ago we moved to Sawtell and Luana (now Class 4) started in Peach Blossom and Amisha (now Class 2) in Playgroup at Casuarina.  I’ve got involved with the craft group and worked as a teacher assistant in Kindergarten and the “big school”.  Two years ago we spent 9 months on a cattle station in the NT where I’ve home school the girls. On our return I became the treasurer of the Board and started to work as the finance and payroll officer.

Lee Burgess – My Life

Lee Burgess, Accounts and Front Office

I was born in Launceston, Tasmania and grew up on apple orchard on the beautiful Tamar Valley.  My 2 sisters and brother and I were educated at Scotch Oakburn College.  Life revolved around helping dad on the orchard, hockey, snow skiing on Ben Lomond, pony club, gymkhanas and royal shows.

I have wonderful childhood memories of family Sunday drives all six of us plus the dog off to explore all the hidden treasures that Tasmania has to offer – beaches, waterfalls, mountains, bush tracks.  In my adult years I have walked many of Tasmania’s famous bush tracks and spent my 40^th birthday on top of Mount Ossa (highest peak in Tassie) with great friends.

My husband and I were married in 1990 and have two amazingly beautiful daughters Emma (15) and Zoe (12) who both attend Bishop Druitt College.  For 10 years we managed a 24,000 acre property in the Northern Midlands -  a beef, fine merino wool and cropping enterprise.  We then moved to the picturesque Fingal Valley to manage a 6000 acre dairy farm.  We milked over 1200 head of cattle, raised 400 replacement heifers and veal calves.  We harvested potatoes for Simplot which ended up as McDonalds chips and growing poppies for Tasmanian Alkaloids, as well as the usual grain crops.

We moved to Coffs Harbour in 2003 and I have been with Casuarina School since 2005.  I work in the Front Office and my main duties are in the accounts department.

I am an active member of the surf club and triathlon club, local winter cross country running and my latest mad passion is adventure racing.

A Working Bee Thankyou from Glenn and Don

A special thanks to all parents that turned up at the working bee on Saturday.  It was great to see so much enthusiastic help in preparing the school for the  new year.   Some of the tasks that were achieved were:  moving a reluctant set of soccer goal posts, soft fall refreshed, sand pits cleaned, desks oiled, main offices rearranged, windows cleaned, paint jars cleaned and filled, classrooms rearranged and cleaned and a barbecue lunch cooked and eaten.

We did not get everything done as the list is never ending in keeping our beautiful school well maintained and safe for all that enjoy the wonderful School Casuarina.  The School is twenty one years old this year.  As the school ages, like all buildings the maintenance must be a little more focused and regular.  So if you could not make it to the last working bee don’t despair as they will be more regular this year and well advertised in advance.

Don and I really appreciate all the help we can in keeping the School and grounds looking beautiful and safe.

Glenn, Site Manager

From Don

A big thanks to all those who showed up to help in the garden and school grounds last Saturday.  The class III garden bed in particular was transformed and is now ready for growing. Your help is much appreciated.

A reminder to any green thumbs, or those of you that just enjoy working in the garden:  you are most welcome to get involved.  Share your ideas and enthusiasm at any time!

Don, School Gardener

Thank you so much to all the families that brought in milk caps during 2009. We raised $670.00 and the proceeds so far have gone towards purchasing Tea Sets and a Barn Yard Nature Set for Grey Gum and Rose Room. Thankyou

Casuarina School aerial view.

The “My School” Website

I’m fairly sure that most of you have heard a lot about this over the past few weeks in the media.  It was launched on the 28^th of January and profiles almost 10,000 schools across Australia.  It seeks to provide parents and communities with information about the student’s achievement in the NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) tests last year and provide other information such as:  our location, the number of teachers, the number of students and the general curriculum focus of the school.

The Website does not rank schools; instead it provides information about each school’s performance as compared to all the schools across the country.  In particular it makes a comparison with schools that are statistically similar.

A list of the schools that are in our ‘like group’ is also on the website.   It is important to realise that this website gives you very limited information about our school and there is lots of other information provided through the following mediums:  the school newsletter, the Casuarina website, the parent/family handbook, the Annual Report, class newsletters, group meetings (craft group etc) and through your personal contact with the staff, other parents and the students.

Early this month John Collier the Principal of St Andrews in Sydney stated that ‘The input of schools into a student’s life cannot be measured as a result of a short test on one day of the year.  The essential problem is that much of what schools do – pastoral care, extension of life opportunities through co-curricular and sporting programs, formation of values, creation of community – cannot be quantified.’

Although I whole heartedly believe in the accountability and transparency of schools I also resonate very strongly with this statement from Mr. Collier.

Ultimately I can only encourage you to have a balanced view of our school and I ask that you take all the measures appropriate to ensure that this occurs.

Steve Scott

Karen Kiburz, Parent and Child Group Facilitator

Welcome Back to Lavender Cottage Parent and Child Group

A warm welcome to all our new parents, carers and children.

The children have grown so much, it’s lovely to see them slip straight back into the security of the rhythm. I am so excited to be back; I had a wonderful holiday with family, camping, beaching and relaxing. My body and mind feels ready for all the activities to come this year.

This year has brought around some new changes.  I am asking for a parent / carer to become a group helper to help out with our sessions.  If you would like to help, please see me and I will give you the details of what will be involved.

You may have noticed a SWAP box on the veranda.  If you have any good clean items of clothing to swap, simply place an item in the box and take an item of clothing out — a simple and easy way to give back and do our bit of recycling.

Lavender Cottage

I have had a lot of interest from parents wanting to do craft on a Saturday morning once a month.  This will be for parents of Lavender Cottage.  We will do some craft, share, morning tea and use the time for a social gathering.  Your group carer will keep you posted.  Our first session will be held in March.

If you have ideas or suggestions for craft please let me know so I can organise materials.

Courteney and myself would like to thank David Yumi and Alexander from our Wednesday session for the donation of the wonderful sharp fruit knife.  Your kindness is greatly appreciated.  THANKYOU.  Also, to Nicky and Riley from our Thursday group for all our paper that we colour in on:  THANKYOU.

Could you please notify the front office on (02) 6651 2770 if you are going to be absent.  This helps us in our preparation of the bread dough and coffee and cuts down on waste.

Last but not least:  please read through the paper work that was handed out to you and then fill out and return you enrolment.  If you have any questions Courteney or myself will be happy to talk with you.

A gentle reminder that our sessions are designed for the developing child.  I ask each and every one  to please respect our rhythm.  Parent child groups are a great way to socialise.  However, personal conversation becomes loud and distracting.  Please, be considerate during our breathing-in rhythm, e.g. story, bread making and morning tea, and keep adult conversation limited.

Your co-operation will help to keep our children calm, settled and happy.  This is something I am sure we all want.

Take care.

With love,

Karen

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No Waste Wednesday

means that students need to bring their lunch and recess in reusable bags or lunchboxes on Wednesdays.  By doing this and by choosing foods that don’t require packaging, like fruit, we are hoping to reduce the amount of waste our school produces.

We appreciate your support and thank you for helping to make our school environment beautiful.

Before School Care – Espressions of Interest

Casuarina school would like to know if any families are interested in utilizing a before School Care service.  We are proposing to offer a one hour service from 7:30 am until 8:30am.

Please indicate to the front office if this service is in interest to you.

Casuarina P&F

I’m very keen to re-establish the school P&F and would love to hear from anyone who would like to be involved.

If you are interested, please contact the school principal Steve Scott as soon as possible and leave your name and contact details.

I’m planning on an introductory meeting with all   interested parties sometime before the end of February.

Notes from the Office

• Can the family who is paying school fees on the internet by the name “DURRI 15″ please urgently contact Lee Burgess?
• We now have stocks of our colourful school t-shirts.  The cost is $18.00
• For families that pay per term, fee’s are due by the 19th February 2010.
• Just a reminder:  It is school policy that parents notify the school if their child is absent.  Please phone the school office prior to 9.00 am if your child will be absent.
• Please remember if you are late you will have to sign your child in at the front office, and also if you are leaving early from school you will have to sign your child out.

Position Vacant

Kindergarten Teacher Assistant – 0.3

Selection Criteria:

• Love of working with children – particularly of this age group
• Previous experience desirable
• Supportive of school ethos
• A desire to make a difference
• Capable of physically demanding tasks.
• Effective communication skills and a strong team player

Commencement Date:  1^st March 2010

Applications close:  24/2/10

Please be careful driving around the school.

Road Rules

The office has received a phone call from a local resident concerned that some parents are neglecting to look for oncoming traffic when pulling into the school car park & also on departure.

As a courteous reminder:  can families please be aware the school is located in a residential subdivision and please take care when entering and leaving the school grounds?

Thank you.

Class 4 Swimming Dates: 19th, 26th Feb 5th,12th,19th March

Autumn Festival/Harmony day: 26 March 2010

Life Education Van: 28th/29th April 2010

Main Lesson Sharing dates:

• Term One- 26th Feb and 19th Mar
• Term Two – 7th May and 28th May
• Term Three – 6th Aug, 27th Aug and 17th Sep
• Term Four 29th Oct

Craft Group:  every Wednesday 9.00am

Class 5 Meeting: Thursday 2nd March 3.30pm

Class 6 Meeting: Wednesday 24th February, 4.30pm

From Wednesday 24th– Casuarina School will start having No Waste Wednesday (more information in newsletter post)

Term Dates:

• Term 1:  3.2.10 – 1.4.10
• Term 2:  20.4.10 – 25.6.10
• Term 3:  20.7.10 – 24.9.10
• Term 4:  12.10.10-15.12.10

The Main Lesson Sharing dates for 2010 are:

• Term One - 26th Feb and 19th Mar
• Term Two – 7th May and 28th May
• Term Three – 6th Aug, 27th Aug and 17th Sep
• Term Four – 29th Oct

Main Lesson Sharing is when each class in the school shares something from the Main Lesson that they have just completed over the previous 3 weeks.  They share with the whole school and parents.

Main Lesson Sharing starts at 10.20 and finishes approx 11.00am and is usually held in the school hall.

Parents, relatives and friends are welcome.

After Main Lesson Sharing, morning tea is available for purchase in the Breezeway area.  This morning tea is provided by Kindergarten and Peach Blossom parents and is their main fund raiser for the year.  A baked item (eg muffin) and 2 pieces of fruit can be purchased for $1.  If your child wishes to partake, make sure they have $1 in their pocket so they can line up and buy something.  Adults are also welcome to purchase morning tea.

There has been some confusion regarding the first day of term for Kindergarten and Peach Blossom.

On Wednesday morning,  3rd February 2010, last year’s Kindy class will have their crossing of the bridge ceremony as they are welcomed by their Class 1 teacher.

At 1:30pm this year’s Kindy and Peach Blossom parents and children are invited to come along for afternoon tea.The first day of school proper for Kindy and Peach Blossom will be Thursday, 4 February 2010 beginning at the normal time of 8:45am.

We are sorry for any confusion caused by the lack of clarity in previously published term dates.

Classes 1-7 resume Wednesday, 3rd February.

Saturday 30 January 8am to 3pm

Barbeque Lunch provided. Please bring gardening tools.

If anyone can donate a turf cutter for the day it would be wonderful.

There are plenty for jobs to do, and the conversations while working are always a bonus.

Click here to download the 16Dec2009 big newsletter (3.1Mb pdf).

Dear Co-op and Community members,

The Board of Directors of the Casuarina School Cooperative would like to wish
all parents, staff and students a very happy Christmas and New Year.

It has been a big year with the appointment of our first ever Principal, changes
to the school administration, and changes in government regulatory and funding
environments.

Two years ago, the Board decided to restructure the management of our school and
made a commitment to establish a Principal role. This was a decision towards a
more structured leadership model for a school that has had a different
tradition.

2009 is the first year Casuarina has worked with the Principal model. We have
been fortunate to have Mark Todorovic to lead us into this new era.

Mark has brought many invaluable insights and qualities to the school and has
carried the school through this first year of change with tireless effort and
dedication. He has established systems and procedures that will allow our school
to move forward professionally and grow with confidence. It has also been due to
Mark’s insight and strategic leadership skills that we now end the 2009 calendar
year with a surplus budget. Our financial position at the end of this year puts
the school on a sound footing to deal with the increased regulatory, reporting
and financial viability requirements being imposed by state and federal
governments.

Unfortunately, Mark is not continuing with us in 2010 and will be leaving
Casuarina at the end of this year.

The Board is very grateful for the work Mark has done for our school during this
year and wishes Mark every success for his future.

The global financial crisis has been a notable event during 2009 resulting in a
significant federal government stimulus spending program. The federal government
stimulus package has delivered us grant funding to maintain the school. Some of
this work is completed with the installation of new toilets at the end of
classroom 4. We have also been successful in receiving grant funding to build
two new classrooms with two undercover general learning areas. These will become
class rooms for classes 5 and 6 continuing along beyond class room 4 in the
direction of Orlando Road. The planning and design of the new buildings is
underway and we look forward to work starting in the first quarter of the New
Year.

Federal Parliament passed the Schools Assistance Bill in 2009. The bill provides
for a continuation of the existing funding arrangements for non-government
schools from 2009-2012. The Bill also contains clauses relating to the
implementation of the national curriculum. In response to the move to implement
a national curriculum, the Rudolf Steiner Schools Australia (RSSA) association
is working hard to write a National Steiner Curriculum with the view to achieve
national recognition. Casuarina supports this initiative and recognises the
magnitude of achieving this task within the period available.

With all these big picture issues going on the Board also recognises the
commitment and effort made by all staff to make Casuarina School the special
place it is. Special thanks go to our wonderfully dedicated and capable teachers
and teacher assistants for providing a unique learning environment for our
children.

The board would also like to thank parents for their commitment and involvement
in the school. Whether it is in the P&F, as class carers, cooking for breezeway,
assisting in excursions and class camps, assisting with working bees or just
meeting after school. Your involvement and enthusiasm goes a long way to
creating a strong community and feeling of belonging that nurtures our school.

We look forward to seeing everyone fresh and ready for another exciting year in
2010.

Adam Newman

Chair