This Sunday, 13th july, sees the 12th Annual Dragon Boat Race on the River Ouse. Once again, York Steiner School will be ably represented by… a bunch of hippies!

Please do come and support the school’s very own team – the Steiner Sailors! The races take place on the River Ouse alongside Museum Gardens, from 10 am onwards. The school’s team will take to the water for the first time at about 11.30am.

Programmes are available outside the school office for just £1, including a ‘lucky programme number’ draw!

There are stalls, music, probably even sunshine…. who can resist!?

Please support the crew’s fantastic, very entertaining fundraising effort, in aid the school’s front playground development fund and local charity Jack Raine Foundation, the crew’s fundraising page is uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SteinerSailors2014.

This Friday is our St. John’s Festival. There will be a bonfire and singing as always, and if the weather helps us out this can bring the most wonderful energy, making St. John’s the most fulfilling of all our festivals.

Remember to wear fire colours such as red, yellow, orange, and branches of herbs or other aromatic woods to be burnt on the fire are always welcome.

Should you not have been to a St. John’s festival before, here is the post following last year’s event. We look forward to seeing you there!

The final 2 workshops in our series of 4 continue this coming Saturday with ‘Why Play Is So Important’. Some places are still available and can be booked online at bookwhen.com/yorksteinerschool. Attendance is free and all are welcome!

The final workshop, ‘Creative Discipline’, will now be held on Saturday 5th July. A creche will be available at both workshops. Creche places should be booked through the school office on 01904 654983. Further information can be found here (please note new date for workshop 4).

We look forward to welcoming you to these events!

An important aspect of Steiner Waldorf pedagogy is that children are exposed to learning stimuli in an age-appropriate manner.  A reflection of this in the modern world is that Steiner schools ask that families support their child’s education by restricting screen-time for children.

Excessive screen-time is now widely acknowledged as a cause of various problems relating to child health and development, as we have reported previously. This week a study in a high-profile medical journal reported on the many beneficial effects of limiting screen time and monitoring what children are exposed to.

But! It can be very difficult for families to find ways to limit screen time which work for them – not every family wishes to have no TV, computer, tablet, iPhone….  One way which has been growing year-on-year is by participating in Screen-Free Week 2014.

“Childhood’s gift to our children is exciting, wonder-filled, freely-directed discovery of the world. This opportunity comes only once and cannot be experienced in later life in this special way. Screen-Free Week and general reduced screen time  allow children to be active explorers, creators,’imaginers,’ and doers in life, not passive observers. Strong, capable, innovative individuals grow into themselves by doing. Let’s ‘pull the plug’ and give them a chance.”

Nancy Blanning, Gateways Newsletter
Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (Screen Free Week Endorser)

Selected resources include:

Fully referenced summary of the latest research on the effects of screen time: Screen Time Research (pdf)

Mayo Clinic tips on how to limit screen time.

Tips from teachers in the US on alternatives to screen time.

Screen Free Week offers people the chance to make a pledge, either as individuals or families, to avoid screens for the week.  Should you choose to take this up, here are some ideas of what other events are on to support your family’s choice!

International Dawn Chorus Day

Walk In The Woods

National Mills Weekend

National Be Nice to Nettles Week

National Beanpole Week

Low Tide Day (May sees the lowest tides of the year)

National Pet Month

And of course there are local events too.

However you might choose to reduce screen time for your family, we wish you the best of luck and all strength! Heaven forbid our children come to the sorry state of Mike Teavee…

IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK–HE ONLY SEES!

(From Roald Dahl’s Oompa-Loompa song in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Easter approaches… it seems to have been creeping up slowly during this school holiday, but is finally in sight. Hopefully all your preparations are done; eggs painted, hot buns crossed, children excited, Easter bunny’s basket filled…

Long, long ago – on the Thursday before term ended! – we held an Easter stall at school. Thank you to everyone who contributed the gifts, crafts and goodies which made for an amazing sight and a very successful stall. Special thanks to Naomi, Andrea and Liza (parents in KG) for organizing everything and running the stall on the day. And thanks to everyone who bought  to help school!

Below are some images of the stall, incase you need some inspiration for the weekend, and a Happy Easter to everyone!

Naomi prepares for the crowds…

Easter chocolate cakes!

Goodies galore!

This year’s Spring Fair will be at school on Saturday 17th May, from 11 am until 4 pm.

All your favourite stalls and events will be there, from the Spring Grotto to the wandering minstrels providing musical entertainment. Preparations are well under way and there will be the usual calls for hands to help and items to bring in the coming weeks. Good luck to all those involved in the preparation!

In the meantime, we hereby unveil this year’s Spring Fair Poster…

We are proud to host the second of our four parental workshops this weekend, Saturday 22nd March.

The workshop runs from 9.30 am until 12.30 pm and is entitled ‘Technology and Media’. Dorothy Marlen will explore how we understand the senses associated with the developing child, and how to best be aware of the particular sensitivities of those senses.

In this context Dorothy will discuss how to best find answers to the challenges of modern life and technology in the education of the young child.

Booking for any of the workshops is FREE and can be done online by clicking here.

A leaflet about all 4 workshops can be downloaded as a pdf here: YSS Parental Workshops

We are also offering a free creche at each workshop catering for children aged 3-7 years. The creche is held in one of our kindergartens and run by our kindergarten teachers. Places are limited, and to book a creche place please contact the school office on 01904 654983.

We look forward to seeing you!

Naomi Esser and Liza Patel(Silver birch KG) organised a Valentines Stall on 12th February, and many people contributed cakes, crafted gifts and other goodies. Others helped to run the stall on the day, and provided a lot of fun and treats for children and parents alike!

Thank you to everyone who helped, and to all who bought a treat or gift for a loved one. And thanks especially to Naomi for all her efforts in making it happen. Together you raised £178 for school! Congratulations!

Sugar roses – WOW and YUM!

Before the onslaught of the voracious horde…

Crafts and cards…

Love is all you need!

To book your place on any of the forthcoming workshops please visit our online booking system. Places are FREE and open to all!

We are now approaching the second in our series of 4 Saturday workshops at York Steiner School for parents exploring Steiner education, with a particular emphasis on children under 7 and Early Years childcare.

The workshops are run by Dorothy Marlen.  Dorothy runs the Gentle Beginnings course at York Steiner School and has over 20 years experience in early years education and childcare.

All workshops will be held in Appletree Kindergarten at York Steiner School, and are FREE to attend.

During each workshop a free creche, run by our kindergarten teachers, will be available for up to 15 children between 3 and 7 years old. This creche will allow parents to attend who may not be able to find alternate childcare. Please note: Creche places must be booked by contacting the school office on 01904 654983 . Unfortunately we are not able to offer creche booking online.

The following workshops in the series remain:

2. Technology and Media                                                                      Saturday 22nd March, 9.30 am – 12.30 am

3. Why Play Is Important                                                                      Saturday 24th May, 9.30 am – 12.30 am

4. Creative discipline                                                                               Saturday June 21st, 9.30 am – 12.30 am

A leaflet explaining more about each workshop is available to read or download as a pdf here: YSS Parental Workshops

To book your place or for further information please contact the school on 01904 654983 or via email at info@yorksteinerschool.org">info@yorksteinerschool.org.

We are glad to be able to invite all our parents, from those in Parent and Child Groups right through to those in their final year at school, to join us for our Open Classrooms Evening on Wednesday 12th March 2014, from 7 pm until 9 pm.

All the classrooms 1 – 8 will be open for an hour between 7 – 8 pm so that parent’s can have a look around at their leisure.  There will be examples of the children’s work on display and the class teachers will be on hand if anyone has anything they would like to ask.

At 8.15 pm there will be a number of different workshops on offer.  These have been planned to give a more in depth look at how and why our school teaches what it does when!   There are 15 places available at each workshops and to join we ask that you sign up on the forms opposite the school office, and would recommend to do this as soon as you can, as places are filling up fast!

The lessons and workshops available are:

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