COMING EVENTS

Friday 2 August Movie Night

Tuesday 6 August Teacher/Parent/Student Conferences C8 & 9

Tuesday 6 August Class 1 Parent Meeting

Tuesday 6 August Class 2 Parent Meeting

Friday 9 August Kindy Market

13-15 August Middle School Sports Tournament (Classes 5-8)

Tuesday 13 August Class 3 Parent Meeting

Tuesday 13 August Class 4 Parent Meeting

Saturday 17 August Open Day Tour 9am

Saturday 17 August Bushcraft Workshop

Kia ora tatou

This week I spent two days meeting

with other Steiner Principals from

around the country at our termly hui.

A variety of issues and initiatives were

discussed but of particular interest

was that funds have been allocated for

us to engage a range of contributors to resource a program that

will support special character development for staff in our

schools. Myself and the Principal from Te Ra school will be

coordinating this work, our aim is that it will be trialled later

this year for use in our schools from 2020.

Today we hosted a fund raiser for the refugee centre in

Mangere. Onesies seem to be the sleep wear of choice for

many students and staff. It was fantastic to see the unicorns

playing with tigers and sheep on the field. This evening there is

a movie night to round off the day.

If you have relatives or friends who may be considering our

school, please let them know that our next Open Day is

scheduled for Saturday 17th August. There will be one tour

leaving from the auditorium foyer starting at 9am.

On Wednesday the 21st of August, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium,

we are hosting the High School information evening. This is

particularly aimed at families with Class 6 and 7 students as

they look ahead to joining our High School. We will speak to our

Main Lesson programme, Independent Projects, Play, subject

lessons, academics, and more, and how these learning

experiences emerge from, and engage with, our Steiner special

character. We provide a presentation, information to take

home, and key staff will be available to either talk with you

after the meeting or arrange another time to do so.

Ngā mihi

Terry Storer

Principal

A THANK YOU FROM NADINE SEIDEL

Dear Michael Park Community,

I have been at Michael Park in the kindergarten, nursery and

playgroup since 2010. Over the years I have met and worked

with a number of you in the kindergarten as well as in the wider

community through the College of Teachers and the Rudolf

Steiner School Trust.

It is with great joy and excitement that Justin and I are now

going to be parents ourselves and I wanted to take the

opportunity before going on maternity leave to thank you, the

wider community for all the love and support I’ve received.

Your generosity in time, advice, gifts and support have been

beyond my hopes and dreams and I feel very lucky and

privileged to be part of such a loving community.

Aroha nui,

Nadine

FRIDAY FLYER 2 August 2019 Newsletter 23

FAIR TEAM UPDATE

FAIR SHED OPENING - Sat 10th August

The Fair Team are meeting on Sat 10th August from

10am to open the Fair Shed and start working through

props and requirements per class activities.

FAIR TEAM MEETING - Tuesday 13th August

There will be a Fair Team meeting on Tuesday 13th

August. If you are a class/kindy fair coordinator please

come along. Details and start time to follow next week.

Warm regards, The Fair Team

Contacts:

Brenda Davidson brendad@michaelpark.school.nz

or catch up with her in the school office, or;

Paul Lands mr.paul.lands@gmail.com 02108299367

supporting the broader Steiner initiatives in New Zealand/

Aotearoa and future development, such as the Steiner

Federation levy (16%) and miscellaneous other costs (2%).

Myth busting

Sometimes there is an urban myth that “nobody pays their RSST

donations” – this is NOT true and would mean we couldn’t

support or offer the Special Character aspects of our school.

Currently, we are tracking in line with previous years for the

collection of donations from families. On average we receive

85% of the total donations requested each year. When we ask

other schools about their collection rates, we are doing well by

comparison. So if you aren’t paying because you think no one

else does, please reconsider this as the shortfall each year

amounts over $50,000.00 - just think what we could do with

that!

What guides the work of the RSST?

We have a Trust deed that explains how the trust must work. We

follow the MPS Vision, for which there was extensive parent

consultation. From this we develop an Annual Plan to help us

prioritise goals.

Members of the current RSST

We are all volunteers on the RSST, and we do this with the best

intentions and interest for the whole community at heart.

Currently the RSST has nine members – Melanie Woodham (co-

chair), Rochana Sheward (co-chair), Suzanne Brunner, Craig

McColl, Mary Miller, David Le Pelley, Nina Hamill, Darren Rawlins

and Janette Feenstra (College representative).

As Steiner emphasised, the school is strengthened by the whole

community working together.

A healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul,

the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole

community, the virtue of each one is living.

What can you do?

Lots! This list is not exhaustive, but provides some suggestions

for ways to support and participate in the special character you

(Continued on page 3)

THE RSST & SPECIAL CHARACTER

It has been great to hear from our parent community that there

is strong support for the special character at Michael Park

School.

You will often hear the phrase “Special Character” - we use this

term to include both Steiner education and also Steiner values

and actions within the whole school community. The Rudolf

Steiner School Trust (RSST) has reflected that we can strive to

do a better job at communicating to the parent community the

work we do to support Michael Park school and particularly it’s

special character.

What is the role of the RSST?

The role of the RSST is one of governance – this means that we

focus on planning for the future and provide oversight. We

work closely with the College of Teachers (COT), who hold the

expertise for Steiner education and who bring the theory into

practice in a considered way. We also collaborate with the

Board of Trustees who hold the governance of the school’s

everyday activities and Ministry of Education requirements.

While the three bodies work closely together, we also have

clear and distinct roles. The RSST is not involved in the day-to-

day operations and management of the school and so if we

receive letters or comments in these areas we direct them to

the Principal to respond.

What the RSST does to support special character

The work that the RSST engages in can broadly be explained as

responsibilities as the proprietors of the land and buildings, the

governance of the Kindergarten, providing resources for the

school to deliver the Special Character, and supporting the

future development of the Special Character. Some of the work

we do is compliance with Ministry of Education policies, Trust

policies and Governance responsibilities, and some work is

future development. The RSST engages in a range of other

projects that support special character when we have the

capacity, including currently, developing the MPS alumni

database, supporting the 40th anniversary celebrations of MPS

and creating special character speaker events for the

community.

Where does the money come from and where is it spent?

The RSST receives limited funds from the Ministry of Education

(for buildings), attendance dues from families, and funds from

fundraising activities. The Special Character Donation is an

important stream of funding to support the Special Character.

The vast majority of the donations go directly to Steiner related

activities at MPS such as Special Character teacher expenses

(paying for Outdoor classroom, Handwork, Eurythmy and Music

teachers), training and development (60%), and Special

Character resources such as quality paper and art supplies,

curriculum and festivals (22%). The rest goes towards

care about.

• Pay your annual special character donation.

• Support your class teacher with what they need so that

they can spend their time and energy teaching your children.

• Attend events with a special character focus, such as

festivals and speakers to develop your understanding of the

special character and show your ongoing commitment to

supporting your child’s education.

• Engage in fundraising initiatives such as the school fair.

Working together creates a stronger community and the

proceeds go back to strengthening the Special Character.

• Respect and support Special Character student guidelines,

such as appropriate clothing, lunchbox items, and limiting

technology especially in the Kindergarten, Lower and Middle

schools.

• We often hear that parents want better communication,

and we can always do better. We understand that different

families like different methods of communication. We also need

parents to listen out for messages in the Friday Flyer, through

class emails, on the website, and on Facebook.

• Our students are taught to THINK before they speak (is it:

True, Helpful, Important, Necessary, Kind). As a community we

can model good communication to our children and each other.

(Continued from page 2)

We meet in the handwork room from 9am—2pm (coming in later and leaving earlier is ok).

Up and coming dates: Friday 16 August

Friday 6 September Friday 20 September

Everybody welcome! Looking forward to seeing you.

Nina & Leela

Your Craft Group Team

Michael Park School, Ellerslie

WEDNESDAYS FROM TERM 3 (24 JULY)

4.00p.m. - 5.00p.m. School years 2-5

$100 Per term (come along first time for free)

Come and visit our beautiful school shop, You will find Snapdragon in next to the whare at top left of the turning circle.

Open every Friday 8.15-9 am 1:30-2:30 pm

All proceeds go to our school. Snapdragon is a parent-run fundraising initiative.

Come and shop with us to support our school!

mailto:rawhitiplaygroup@gmail.com