Tel: +27(0)21 881 3867 - Fax +27(0)86 514 3427 stellenbosch@waldorfschool.org.za www.waldorfschool.org.za

2 9 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9

‘Twas a few nights before Christmas

When all through the school,

There was a great exciting flurry with lots to do.

The Class 1’s are hosting the Advent Play

And really hoping you could support and stay.

They have learnt their lines and their songs

And are wishing for you to come along.

Date: Tuesday, 3rd December 2019

Time: 18h30

Dear Parents,

Please could ALL children attend the Advent Festival in

support of the Class 1 children.

The children need to arrive at school by 18h00. Class 1

children need to be present at 17h45.

Michaela (Class 1 teacher)

What Happened to a Blade of Grass

An Advent Story by Eugene Schwartz

Once upon a time, a blade of grass grew in a mountain meadow.

She was a joyful blade of grass, for she delighted in the spring rains that made her swell and grow, in the western winds that made her bend and sway, and most of all, in the Sun that filled her with its loving light and warmth. One day, the blade of grass was so filled with her joy that she called out, to no one in particular, “Oh, I am the happiest blade of grass in the world!” A raven was sitting on a fence nearby and overheard the exultant cry of the blade of grass. He croaked in derision, “Happy, are you? How can you be so pleased with yourself when you do no one any good?” “Whatever do you mean?” asked the blade of grass. “Look at the meadow on the other side of this fence,” said the raven, “A herd of cows graze there, and all of the blades of grass in that meadow are feeding the cows, whose milk then feeds the children in the town. But you are not good enough to be food for the cows. You are of no use at all!” The blade of grass looked through the fence, and saw that what the raven said was true. She could hear the sighs of delight that came from those blades of grass as the cows consumed them. She said hopefully, “Once the cows have eaten all of the grass in that meadow, then surely they will be brought here, and I, too, will feed them.” The raven laughed. “Only wait! Only wait!” he shrieked, and flew away. The weeks passed, and the blade of waited, but the cows never came to her meadow. By now she had grown tall and strong. A host of tiny, fragrant flowers appeared on her long stem, and she stood straight and bore them with shy delight. The rain cooled her, the wind caressed her, and sun wafted its warmth towards her. She forgot about the cows and cried out once again, “Oh, I am the happiest blade of grass in the world!” The raven was near, and he sneered. “My, you are a proud one! But look at the grasses in that meadow! The farmer is mowing them down to give to his cows during the long, snowy winter. But you are of no use to him for that, either.” The blade of grass looked through the fence, and saw that what the raven said was true. She could hear the sighs of delight that came from those blades of grass as the farmer cut them down. She said bravely, “Once the farmer has mowed all of the grass in that meadow, then surely he will mow here, and I, too, will be stored away.” The raven laughed. “Only wait! Only wait!” he shrieked, and flew away. The weeks passed, and the blade of grass of waited, but the farmer never appeared in her meadow. Autumn was coming, and her flowers had given way to a crown of seeds. The Sun had shone so long upon her that the blade of grass was becoming sun-golden herself. Crimson leaves on the mountainside waved to her in the wind, and stray snowflakes sparkled like jewels in her crown . She forgot about the cows and the farmer and the mowing and cried out once again, “Oh, I am the happiest blade of grass in the world!” The raven flew by, and he snickered. “You are so pleased with your tresses of golden seeds, but look over yonder. The farmer’s wife and children are moving across the meadow, swinging their scythes, and soon they’ll make an end to you. And once they’ve threshed away your seeds, do you think that they’ll have any use for you? They’ll crush you, and bind you, and hurl you into a place where the Sun never shines!” continue on next page...

The blade of grass looked up, and saw that what the raven said was true. Even when she was young, and green, and filled with life, she had not been good enough for the cows to eat, nor had she been worthy of being mowed. Of what use could she be now that she was old, and hollow, and bereft of her seeds? But she spoke bravely. “But surely I will be spared! My seeds will fall into the earth, and next year I will rise again and be of use to someone.” The raven laughed. “Only wait! Only wait!” he shrieked, and flew away. Very soon afterwards, the blade of grass was torn from the earth by a sharp blade wielded by the farmer’s son. She was thrown onto a long wagon and crushed by the weight of thousands of her cousins. On the threshing room floor she was beaten and thrown in the wind and cast down again. Her roots were cut, her seeds were gone, and she felt herself nothing more than a hollow tube, frail and weak and useless. After some time she was gathered up with many other empty companions, tightly bound, and cast into a cold, dark place. All that the raven had spoken had come to pass. No longer did the wind whisper to her; no longer did the rains refresh her; and, hardest to bear, no longer did the Sun, with its light and warmth, brighten her summer days. The days, weeks and months passed in cold and in darkness. The blade of grass, now noth-ing more than a piece of straw, would sometimes sleep and dream of her beautiful life in the summer meadow, only to awaken with a start and lament her present lot. One day, a bright light suddenly shone upon her, and a gust of wind rustled her. The storeroom door had been opened, and two peo-ple stood nearby, gazing upon the bales of straw that were piled up in the cavernous space. “This is the last of my straw,” said the woman. “It will do,” replied the man. In less than a moment the blade of grass and the bale in which she was bound were hurtling through the air and landing with a thud on the wooden floor of a wagon. Bale after bale came crashing down on top of her, but the blade of grass rejoiced. “I will do!” she thought, “But what will I do?” When all of the bales were loaded the ox-drawn wagon began a long descent down a curving mountain road. Dust rose up as the wooden wheels dug more deeply into age-old ruts, birds dove down to pluck at the seeds that remained on the strands of straw, and cold winds tried to scatter the bales. On and on they travelled, until the wagon pulled into the courtyard of a little inn on the out-skirts of a small village. Upon the command of the man who had piled the straw into the wagon, an army of servants appeared and began to unload it. “Be quick!” cried the man, “It is taxing time, and we will have many guests tonight!” Most of the straw was lain upon the wooden palettes that would serve the guests as beds, and much of what remained was strewn upon the floors of the tavern and its kitchen, ready to absorb whatever fell or spilled. But when the servants had completed their tasks, the blade of grass and a few of her companions still lay in a random heap on the wagon. “What of these?” a servant asked the master, who replied, “The inn is complete. Use that straw in the stable.” The blade of grass felt sorrow. She was not even good enough to stuff the mattresses on which the guests would lie, or to drink up the gravy spilled by the cook! Were she not so completely dry and hollow, she would have shed a tear as she was roughly cast down onto the manger of the stable. An ox that lay nearby continued to chew his cud and showed no interest in the slender blade of grass. She could hear the shuffle of feet and the cries of the servants as guests began to fill the inn, but the in the stable all was still. Night fell, and the blade of grass was immersed in darkness once more. The inn and its courtyard had grown quiet as the guests left the tavern and retired to their rooms. But the silence was broken by voices outside, and by the muffled braying of a donkey. The innkeeper entered, bearing a lantern, and soon an old man, a young woman and a donkey had settled in the stable. It grew dark once more. Then there was movement, a flame that burned and was consumed, and the beating of wings. The woman groaned, and the cries of a baby followed her tears. The newborn was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in the manger. The blade of grass was moved by a pair of callused hands and pressed up against the baby’s body. The blade of grass suddenly remembered her summer in the meadow, and the Sun that had filled her with its loving light and warmth. Though it was winter, and though it was the dead of night, that same Sun was shining up-on her in the manger. continue on next page...

As the baby squirmed, the blade of grass sensed how much of his weight she was supporting with her frail body; as the wintry breez-es blew through the open door of the stable, she felt how much warmth she could hold in her hollow being, and in the darkness of the night, she slowly learned to glow with a light that shone from within. And the blade of grass rejoiced, for now she knew that she could, after all, be of good use. Outside, on the bare branch of a wintry tree, a raven cowered in the chill night air and looked with longing at the ox and the ass and little family who rested contentedly in their secure stable. And in the meadow where the blade of grass had once grown and slowly ripened, three shepherds stirred in their sleep, soon to set out on their journey to Bethlehem.

The End

CRAFTS

Advent Wreath

Christmas seems to move forward every year. In shops one can buy Christmas trees already at the beginning of Advent. It is very difficult to find the patience to wait until Christmas to up the Christmas tree but it really only belongs to the twelve Holy Nights. Advent is a lot easier to celebrate if you have an Advent wreath.

On the wreath are four candles. If you have time, it is very nice to set a few minutes aside, just before the children’s bedtime, to have the room darkened and the candles lit.

Just one is lit in the first week, two in the second week, three in the third and in the last week before Christmas, there are four can-dles shining out into the dark to herald the coming of the light in the darkness. A simple advent song is all that is needed to make it into a much appreciated ceremony.

Materials

White tissue-paper

Teased sheep’s wool

Gold foil

A blunt needle or fine knitting-needle

Glue

Method

Cut a square piece of tissue-paper (10x10cm) for the head. Using a little ball of teased sheep’s wool, make the square into a little head. Tie the head at the neck with thread.

Cut out the pieces for the body, arms and wings (Figure 30) by laying the gold foil with the outside uppermost on a base that is not too hard, for example on a piece of soft cardboard, and drawing the forms on the foil with a large blunt needle or a fine knitting-needle.

Attach the head by placing the neck inside the body and stick-ing the two edges of the body together to make a kind of fun-nel. Stick the arms to both sides of the body, and the wings to the back. Take a little tuft of teased sheep’s wool, spread this round the head for hair and glue it on. Finally make two little hands of tissue-paper and stick these to the arms.

The dream team and our Matrics of 2020

It is always said, that “it takes a village to raise a child.” This is a very true saying. When we do our final Matric Examination, it truly takes a village to execute these examinations successfully. This village is Jacky Philander and Althea Pietersen in Administration who do so much behind the scenes before and during the examinations. This village is also our Community Invigilator, Manda Matthaei, with a heart as big as the universe who makes our students feel relaxed and comfortable to take their exams. It also takes my “partner in crime”, Sarien Roux as a Senior Invigilator. I thank all of you for the effort and dedi-cation you put into these examinations. We had our annual monitoring inspection and yet again passed with flying colours. This is the fourth year in a row, where when we were inspected, we passed with praise as to how we execute our examinations.

We take pride in in delivering a Matric examination that leaves our students “intact”. Our students leave High School, not broken, but healthy and strong and ready to face the big world out there. This is our main aim, we want our students to leave school with optimism, enthusiasm and passion.

We have come to the end of our Matric 2019 examinations. We will know our results on the 8th of January 2019. We normally have a small celebra-tion at school from 10:00 onwards. You are all welcome to attend as we celebrate our wonderful students and their achievements.

Ronél Swanepoel

Please “like” our Stellenbosch Waldorf School Facebook page and share our events with your friends and family.

PS and KG Outreach Programme

Macassar Library and Aftercare Centre

Class contribution schedule Term 4

Tuesday, 3rd December: KG1, KG2 & PG

Thank you for your support.

Primary School and Kindergarten Teachers

LOST PROPERTY Please note that lost property items will be displayed outside the Reception area every day. Please visit this table to collect items that your children may have displaced over the past few months. Unclaimed items will be donated to charity at the end of term.

Dear all,

December holidays are just around the corner.

We would like to thank you for your continuing support during the year and wish you safe and relaxing holidays with family and friends.

Stellenbosch Farmers Market will continue as usual on Saturdays, from 08h00 - 13h00 and you will still be able to get your fresh veggies and dairy products.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me, Bozena, on 076 966 4875 or bozena@waldorfschool.org.za

DATES TO DIARISE NOVEMBER 2019—JANUARY 2020 - (THESE DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

DAY NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY 2020

Sat

Sun 1 KG Advent Garden

Mon 2 School closes 12h30

Tue 3 KG end of Term 4 HS Sports Tournament at CWS PS closes 12h30

Wed 4 SWS end of Term 4—School closes at 11am 1

Thu 5 Teaching staff at school 2

Fri 1 HS Halloween Social 6-10pm 6 Teaching staff at school 3

Sat 2 7 4

Sun 3 8 5

Mon 4 9 Admin Office open 6

Tue 5 10 Admin Office open 7

Wed 6 11 Admin Office open 8

Thu 7 Class 7 Play morning for PS students Class 7 Play evening for Cl.7 parents

12 9

Fri 8 13 10

Sat 9 PG/KG Parent Meeting 14 11

Sun 10 15 12

Mon 11 16 Day of Reconciliation 13

Tue 12 Cl.7 Camp (12-15 November) 17 14 Admin Office open

Wed 13 Cl.6 Camp (13-15 November) Cl.5 Camp (13-15 November) Cl.4 Camp (13-15 November) Cl.3 Camp (13-15 November)

1 15 Admin Office open

Thu 14 19 16 Admin Office open

Fri 15 20 17 Admin Office open

Sat 16 Cl.9 Shakespeare Play in The Shed 7pm 21 18

Sun 17 Cl.9 Shakespeare Play in The Shed 4pm 22 19

Mon 18 Cl.9 Shakespeare Play in The Shed 7pm 23 20 Admin Office open

Tue 19 Cl.9 Shakespeare Play in The Shed 7pm 24 21 SWS start of Term 1—school closes at 12h30

Wed 20 Cl.9 Shakespeare Play in The Shed 7pm 25 Christmas Day 22

Thu 21 Cl.9 Shakespeare Play in The Shed 7pm 26 Day of Goodwill 23

Fri 22 27 24

Sat 23 BOT Meeting 08h00 28 25

Sun 24 29 26

Mon 25 30 27

Tue 26 End of Matric Exams 31 28

Wed 27 29

Thu 28 30

Fri 29 Primary School Sports Day 31

Sat 30

Sun SWS 2020 TERM DATES WCED 2020 TERM DATES

Term 1 15 Jan—20 Mar

Term 2 31 Mar—12 Jun

Term 3 7 Jul—18 Sep

Term 4 29 Sep—2 Dec

Term 1 21 Jan—27 Mar

Term 2 14 Apr—19 Jun

Term 3 14 Jul—18 Sep

Term 4 6 Oct—2 Dec

Workshops and Events

Classifieds

Looking for car…

Anyone interested in selling a car please contact Tonya on 073 123 6014.

Songwriting with Martin

I am an artist and researcher from Denmark whose 3 children are variously engaged at the Stellen-bosch Waldorf School in the fourth term. I co-write songs with people from their experiences and con-cerns, such as living with the effects of climate change or living under unpredictable social conditions. No prior experience or music skills are needed to co-write. Please feel free to reach out if you, or some-one you know, would like to share a story or learn more:

E-mail: martin@songcrafter.dk / WhatsApp: 079648 2207 Martin Hoybye (More info at: www.martinhoybye.dk)

Handyman available…

For any maintenance jobs in and around your home, please call Jacob on 076 677 8025.

We wish you and your family a won-derful holiday season and a safe re-turn back to school in 2020.

The school will start on Tuesday, 21st January and on that first day we close at 12h30. The Playgroup and Kindergarten children will start on Wednesday, 22nd January 2020.