Term 1 Week 2 2014 - Ananda Marga River School

Ananda Marga
River
School
Newsletter
February ☺ 2014
Term 1 ✼ Week 2
Editorial ☺
Welcome to Term 1,
2014. What a great start
to the year we have had.
It was fantastic to see all
the children’s smiling
faces on Tuesday and to
welcome our new families
to the River School.
Everyone settled into
their new classes
beautifully and
comfortably, including
our two new teachers
Kristy (Currawongs) and
Belinda (Regents) and
new teacher aide Cheryl.
We also welcomed back
Gurumurti as our cleaner,
Jaro as our grounds/
maintenance person and
bus driver, and Jon and
Satya as our other bus
drivers. A big thank you
to Irma who has taken on
the role of tuckshop
coordinator this term, and
to all our sta! who
arrived back after their
holidays full of energy
and passion for the
coming year. 2014 is
going to be amazing!
251 Bridge Creek Road
Maleny QLD 4552
Phone (07) 5494 3559
Phone (07) 5499 9359 (ECC)
Fax (07) 5494 3577
admin@amriverschool.org
www.amriverschool.org
“You are never
alone or helpless.
The force that
guides the stars
guides you too.”
Shrii Shrii
Ánandamúrti
Editorial
1
Announcements 2
Noticeboard
13
"Real education leads to a pervasive sense of love and compassion for all creation." Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar
This is a very ‘newsy’ type newsletter this week as we haven’t taken a whole lot of photos yet, nor
have we started a lot of our exciting adventures, but they’re not far away! The most important thing
I need to check with you all is that we have your current email address – if we don’t, please let us
know, as this is the means by which we keep in touch and keep you updated with all the school news.
Jenny
Welcome to Our New Students!
A big, warm and all-embracing welcome to our new River School children and families:
Red Cedars
Lauris Dwyer Kyra Quinn-Ross
Regents
Sachi Mehta
Currawongs
Parul Mehta
Alliyah Hill
King!shers
Yindi Norman
Lilliana Schwabe
Gumnuts
Lilli Brunckhorst
Tom Gicquel
Lillipillies
Lily Gicquel
Josh O'neill
Sugar Gliders
Luca Babbage
Summer Carney
Kailash Deacon
Jih D'havilland
Ishtah Keylar Betts
Amelia Lahey
Grace Mcguire
Brandon Mohr
Freddie Monahan
Lilu O'duhring
Che Rowlingson
Dusty Schultz
Kaine Simpson Weston
Lucas Terrey
Sacha Williams
Auraillia Von Dayme
Meditation
Our beautiful Morning Circle, where we all come together for singing and mediation is
held each Monday morning at 9am. Our Sugar Gliders and ECC students engage in
Morning Circle in their classrooms, while students in Years 1 to 7 come with their classes to
the Jagrti. All parents and family members are welcome to attend this uplifting start to
the week.
Whole School Meditation now occurs every Tuesday to Friday at 10.15am. At the sound of
the large gong donated to the school from Tibetan monks in exile (in India), the whole
school puts down their work and participates in varied meditation practices with their
classroom teacher. The energy in the school this week has so uplifting, and all the children
and sta! are enjoying this Quiet Time.
For a recent article on the benefits of meditation in schools, go to:
www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Meditation-transforms-roughest-SanFrancisco-5136942.php
Neohumanist Virtues
This year we are continuing our Neohumanist Virtues program where we go through
one of ten major virtues that are central to our Neohumanist philosophy each week. A
couple of changes:
We are replacing Creativity (which happens naturally and spontaneously in so many
areas of our lives) with Knowledge.
So our 10 virtues are now:
1. Love: the sweetest and most special feeling of happiness within yourself.
2. Compassion: spreading the feeling of love within yourself to include others.
3. Service: when you express your compassion by helping others without expecting
anything in return.
4. Respect: positive regard for yourself and for others.
5. Honesty: using your words and actions for the bene#t of others as well as yourself.
6. Responsibility: when you act properly for yourself, others and society.
7. Courage: doing the right thing, whether it's easy or hard, because you know in your
heart it's the right thing to do.
8. Simple Living: living in the best possible way for yourself, others and the planet.
9. Contentment: being satis#ed with what you have and how you live your life.
10. Knowledge: increasing your understanding of yourself, others and the world.
Another change is that, so as to develop our own River School unique picture of each
virtue, the weekly Morning Circle presentation (which each class will do once a term)
will be an artwork developed in the classroom through discussions between the
children and their teacher, and materialised in their art sessions with Tracy. As well as
the artwork, they can also do an additional presentation (play, song, story, picture,
music, poem, etc.) just like last term if they have the time and inspiration.
And #nally, this year we have set up blackboards around the o$ce and library area
with the current virtue written on top where the children can draw any ideas they
have for each virtue.
This week’s virtue is Honesty.
We welcome any input that you
may have on the virtues.
Website
Our website has been updated for 2014.
In particular, our new sta! page:
www.amriverschool.org/school/sta!
Our key dates for this year:
www.amriverschool.org/calendar
Our new ECC page:
www.amriverschool.org/early-childhood-centre
And our publications and products page:
www.amriverschool.org/publications
Also, please note that the password to our Parents Resources page:
www.amriverschool.org/parents is now riverparents2014
Lunchtime Activities
The River School is changing the way we do lunchtimes! They start at the same time and
have the same duration, but after feedback from parents requesting more activities during
the longer break of #rst lunch, the teachers have jumped into action.
Library The library will be open 3 days per week at #rst lunch, with reading and borrowing
available for all children. Board games are also available for students who wish to play
quietly with their friends. We would love to see the library open 5 days a week and would
love some parent volunteers to help us achieve this.
The Studio The Studio is open on Monday and Friday at lunchtime. The Studio is sta!ed
by a teacher and is a place for children to go for some quiet time, to have a relaxing chat
with friends, to play quiet games, or spend time with a trusted member of sta!.
Fantasy Club The Fantasy Club was an initiative of one of our lovely students in 2013. In
the school foyer is a basket of a variety of dress up and play materials for children to get
together to engage in imaginative and fantasy play. It was a huge hit with many of our
students last year, but some of our dress ups are becoming a little worse for wear. If you
have anything at home that might be suitable, we would really appreciate your donation.
Wednesday Picnic Every Wednesday at lunchtime, all the students from Years 2 to 7
gather outside the library for a whole school picnic (bring your own lunch), followed by
organised activities on the oval. Classroom teachers will take turns to organise and run
these activities.
Art The Art Shed is open twice a week at lunchtime for students to engage in artistic
projects with Tracy.
Music We are starting to build a collection of musical instruments in the foyer. We have a
piano and didgeridoo at present and would love more items including a guitar and various
percussion instruments. Students are welcome to spend their lunch breaks exploring their
musical talents.
More to Come There is more to come and parent volunteers are welcome to help us
organise and run di!erent activities for our students. Being such a small school, we simply
don’t have enough teachers to do it all and teachers do need a lunch break! Organised
sports at lunch are certainly on the agenda, and last week a group of children asked for a
table tennis table to be placed outside the o$ce (near the cob pizza oven) for children to
play at lunchtime. Does anyone have an old table tennis table they would like to donate?
Volunteers If you have time at lunch times and would like to organise or participate in an
activity with the children, please let us know.
Buses
Our bus timetables have changed slightly so that we have more chance of
delivering our students to school on time. Please ask at the o$ce or email
admin@amriverschool.org if you have not received this information. Please note
that it is absolutely essential to inform the o$ce if there are any changes to your
child’s transportation home after school. The last thing we want is to leave anyone
behind or put them on the wrong bus. Also, we really don’t want to race around
the school looking for a child who is on the bus list but has gone home by car. For
bus changes, please phone or email Bec on admin@amriverschool.org before 1pm
daily. We really appreciate your help and consideration with this.
Driving Through the School
Please do not drive up into the school grounds between 8.20am and 3.00pm. A lot of our
children are at school early and many stay late waiting for parents, and the road at the top of
the school forms part of the playground. We need to work together to keep our children
safe. All vehicles will need to park in the carpark adjacent to the ECC.
Tuckshop
Our tuckshop is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with a simple and
healthy sentient vegetarian lunch on o!er. Orders need to be made in the morning
and given to the classroom teacher.
Parent Committee
Our wonderful Parent Committee meets on the #rst Monday of every month and is
involved in many aspects of school life. Fundraising including the organisation of
the Spring Festival and the running of Café Nights are part of their commitment to
the school. Each class has a class representative. The role of the class
representative is to be a spokesperson and advocate for the parents, as well as a
conduit between parents and the classroom teachers.
Head - Steve Skull
Vice - Natasha Stacey
Secretary - Rod Johnson
Treasurer - Bec Judah
Class reps:
ECC - Duncan Stacey
Sugar Gliders - Peter Thompson
Lillypillies - Liz (Flora's Mum) / John (Shaun's Dad)
Gumnuts - Bec Judah
King#shers - Sonya Weston, Rowan Hudson, Matt Duncombe
Currawongs - Su C and Sue P
Silky Oaks - Libby
Red Cedars - Cecilie, Matt Duncombe
Electives
Our electives program is continuing this year after very positive feedback from both
parents and students. Electives in Term 1 are o!ered to all students in Year 1 to 7.
This round of electives will start in Week 3 (next week) and include activities such as
cooking, bird-bath making, science, French and ball games. If you have a special skill
that you would like to share on Tuesday afternoons (for a 4-week period), please
contact the o$ce.
Service
A signi#cant aspect of our school’s curriculum is service. This term we will continue
cooking for and serving meals at the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre community
lunch. Students from Years 4-7 will be invited every second Thursday (starting next
week) to attend and be involved in this service project. We are hoping to #nd a
parent volunteer to go with the children, supervise and help them serve. It is a
fortnightly commitment for about one and a half hours. Plus you can have lunch! If
you are interested in being involved as an energy levy project, please let us know.
Energy Levy
There are a number of energy levy projects that we will be starting this term. If you
are interested in helping out in your child’s classroom, the point of contact is your
classroom teacher. However, there are a number of other projects that you can
become involved in.
Energy Levy Project
Who to Contact
Classroom help
Your classroom teacher
Maleny Neighbourhood Centre
community lunch
Office
Tuckshop
Irma at the tuckshop
Gardening – general gardening or
upkeep of vegie gardens
Office – we will form a group to work with our
groundskeeper Jaro
Friday swimming at Maleny pool
Classroom teacher or office
Electives
Office
Art Shed – helping out with
classes, special projects or
revamping our Art Shed
Tracy in the Art S hed or office
hed or the office
Office help – policy writing,
newsletters, etc.
Office
Sports shed – we would love
someone to clean out, organise
and maintain our sports shed and
equipment
Office
Library – working at lunchtimes,
sorting out books or covering
books
Office
Red Cedars Project Club
Ann in Red Cedars or contact the office
IT – any skills!
Office
!
We would love to start small working groups on the above projects (and many more
to come!) so that parents can be actively involved in an area of interest that
bene#ts the children at our school. If you have ideas for other projects, or have
other skills that could be put to good use, please let us know.
Laurie’s Lessons
We are delighted to welcome Laurie back this year, running his private guitar and
keyboard lessons on Monday and Tuesday mornings. The cost is $30 per half-hour
lesson. If you are interested please contact the o$ce who will get you in touch with
him.
A reminder that the
River School is a
No Junk Food zone!
Please provide your
children with only
wholesome sentient
vegetarian food for
school. Thanks :-)
Laos Student Trip
Dear Families,
This year again we are looking forward to a visit from students from the Sunshine
School in Laos. This year eight students have been selected to come. They are 14 or 15
years old. We are looking for host families to host either one or two students for the
four weeks of their visit at the beginning of Term 3 (July - exact dates still to be
determined). This is a great opportunity for your family to experience another culture
and share your life with others.
Students make a small contribution to their host family for food and other expenses.
Families who hosted the students last year made comments such as:
"We had some really magical adventures."
"A very enriching experience for all of us."
"A good experience. We'll all miss them."
"My kids loved it."
If you are interested in hosting, please contact me on 0400 222 887 or by email on
inrsong@ozemail.com.au Also, let me know if you'd just like to help in general planning
for the students' stay.
Thanks,
Kamala Alister
Welcome Afternoon Tea
You are invited to attend this opportunity for families to get together with all
of the teachers and students and welcome in the new school year!
Next Wednesday 12th Feb @ 2.30pm
Holistic Therapist at the River School
Claire Laycock is a Maleny local, is mum to Luca (Sugar Gliders), and has many
years experience as a Holistic Therapist in private practice. She holds a B.Sc
(Evolutionary Biology) from the University of Queensland, and has been
swimming in the Holistic Health #eld ever since. She is a professional
kinesiologist, holds yogic quali#cations, is a gifted Intuitive, and plenty more.
Her other passion is dressage, or dancing with horses :).
Sessions can help with:
Challenges: Emotional, behavioural, learning, developmental, spiritual,
external/ life situation changes. better health: enhanced neurological function,
radiant health and happiness, deeper connection and integration with your
body, heart, soul, and spirit, living your life purpose.
Sessions tend to go for around an hour, and involve a short chat followed by a
kinesiology balance. You can simply lie down on a massage table and relax…
many clients gently drift o! to sleep, to wake up feeling clear, refreshed, and
on-task.
“Claire helps me to feel strong. She is nice and funny. After I see her, it is easier
for me to read and write, so school is more fun. I love it when I see Claire”. RS
student, 8 yo.
Claire is here to serve students, sta!, and the wider River School community.
She will be available Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9am- 2.30pm. Sessions are free...
Come along and say hi, she would love to meet you! See the o$ce to register
your interest, or email Claire at crlaycock@gmail.com for further information.
Shine your light bright!
Silat Martial Arts Classes
Silat Perisai Diri is an Indonesian Martial Art system which focuses on fast body
movement and re%ex reaction. It is ideal for all ages as it incorporates the proper use of
breathing techniques, meditation and ergonomic action to develop self-defence.
As we have had a such a positive response to our elective course at the River School in
2013 we have decided to begin a childrenʼs speci#c class held at the Maleny
Showgrounds.
Classes will commence on February 18th.
Class times: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4 - 5 pm
Cost: $80 per month
Adult classes are also available from 5:30 - 7:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays.
If you are interested in your child attending or trying it yourself please give Chris a call for
more information.
Contact: Chris Sanidas 0405 604 239
Maleny Rangers Football Club Sign-On
The #rst games for the 2014 season kicks o! in mid-March. So if you haven't already, now's the
time to Sign-on.
To register on-line, please visit www.malenyrangerssoccer.com where you can #nd details about
our club, registration fees and of course the direct link to register & pay (CC, direct debit, or
cheque). We are still the cheapest football club in the Sunshine Coast Football Association, and
we like to believe the most family friendliest.
To register in person, please come along to one of our Information & Sign-On Days, Sat 1 Feb @
the Maleny Maple St Kiosk (9am-12noon) or Sat 8 Feb @ the Maleny Showgrounds Main Pavilion.
Gear sales will be held on Sat 8 Feb. Everyone welcome. No experience necessary.
For more information contact our Registrar, Emma Richards 0413 647 114 or Secretary, Kate
Beard 0439 735 585, malenyrangersfc@gmail.com
Sally’s Kids Art Classes
have resumed on Wednesdays from 3:30 until 4:45 at the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre. If I get enough people coming I'm considering holding two classes, one for ages 6 to 9 in which
we will do more hands-on making stu! - typically popular with boys,
followed by an open-age drawing class.
It's $10 for one child per class, and for families it's another $8 for each additional person. Parents are
welcome to stay and assist their child. Some parents part take as paying students, and enjoy it too.
Some students like to bring a snack.
Please feel free to contact me.
Sally Fisher (B.Ed. Art and Craft)
phone 0407 323 328
www.sally#sherart.com.au