Term Recorder
Volume XI Number I
Autumn Term 2015
Rudolf
Steiner
School
KINGS LANGLEY
Around the School this term
Day One. The Staff Choir.
Day One. Class 12 welome Class 1 with flowers.
Day One. Pupils accompany the Staff Choir.
Martinmas – by the fire after the Lantern Walk.
Class 8 joins Avignon Steiner School Class 8 for a parting shot.
Class 4 Eurythmy with Dan Maslen.
“Incendio!” Miss Hobday demonstrates a fire spell with Anna Schofer.
Lukas, James and Laurence at work in the Chemistry lab.
The Term Recorder is a termly magazine published by the Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley. All rights reserved.
Front cover: Veil Painting by Nicholas Vane Photography: Chris Triplett unless credited otherwise.
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Around the School this term
Apollo, Lucian, Zachary, Anna and Hero create a Rangoli.
The Upper School Drama Club, “Off the Cuff”.
Rosa, Beatrice, Elliot and Laycy
Class 1 making Rangolis.
The School Field Hockey team just before heading off to practice with Miss Hobday.
Classes 7 and 8 give Class 1 a knitting class . Above, Rohena (Cl.8) and Talia (Cl.7) offer instruction. More below.
RSSKL Volleyball team.
Produce was offered from
the School garden.
Artemis and Emma.
Thomas and Ibrahim.
Tien and Sophie.
Nala and Isha.
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Festivals
Michaelmas
Saint Michael is the archangel responsible for hurling Lucifer from Heaven. It
is said that Lucifer landed in a blackberry
bush and cursed it, therefore it is tradition
not to pick blackberries after the feast day
(festival) – the feast day was not always
held on September 29th, in older days
it was held October 10th or 11th. It is
now associated by many with the autumn
equinox, which falls the week prior. This
“Through celebrations in their seasons are the deeper
powers of human nature realised.” - Rudolf steiner
equinox marks the beginning of darker
days. Since Michael is a herald of light,
he is thought of as a protector during this
time. It is also a time to reflect on darkness that we, as adults, may want to banish from our lives.
How did Michael and George get intertwined? Well theories say that Saint
George was an earthly representative of
Michael in his deeds. It is said that George
Passing through the valley of fire on the way to the games (and below).
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Onions.com
Class 5 performed the traditional St Michael and the Dragon play.
Music calms the savage beast.
The dragon has been subdued.
slew many dragons during his time.
The dragon legends came back from
the Crusades at a time when the Christian
church was spreading across Europe and
the dragon was seen as resistance to this
quest. George was heralded as a crusader and the story often goes that he saved
a maiden from the clutches of a dragon
by slaying it. – excerpt of an article on Magic
Let the games begin!
Festivals
Pull the tail off the dragon
5
Head, Heart and Hands
This page was put together by pupils of Class 6 to showcase
some of the things they have been exploring this term.
Class 6
Geography of Europe
by Izzie Stafford, Class 6
Roman History
by Amy Bloomfield, Class 6
The second main lesson we had after the
summer holidays was all about Roman
history. We began this main lesson with
the stories of how Rome was founded by
the two brothers, Romulus and Remus.
Then we learnt about the seven kings of
Rome and the disaster that lead to the
decision of a council of rules instead of
just one king. Around the time we learnt
about the council we all sat in a circle
and discussed
how we would
manage
the
group of rulers
ourselves. We
all had different
ideas and it was
really good to
debate our own
opinions.
by Carly
After this we decided to have our own class council where
we would discuss ways to make the class
better. Only twelve year olds were allowed
in and so lots of people are still waiting to
get in, but we were told we could elect an
11 year old to join. The four candidates
were myself, Daniel Korth, Zaid Khan
and Orla Lane and we all had to make
posters to be voted. In the end I was voted
into the council and I was really pleased! I
thoroughly enjoyed this main lesson and
can’t wait till we learn more about the Romans later in the year.
The third main lesson we had was Geography of Europe. The first country we
studied was Greece. Over the next three
days we studied Finland, Switzerland and
the Netherlands.
The next week we started on a project
about a country in Europe. We were only
allowed one country per person. We
worked on that for a week. We had to
include: a map, weather, population, culture, tourist attractions, food, what they
export, information about the capital city,
flag, how to say hello and goodbye, please
and thank you, travel route from London,
a postcard from the country and a line
graph for the temperature. All together it
by Louis
was a lot to do in one week, but most of
us managed and when the time came to
present our projects to the class, we presented really interesting details and facts.
These three weeks I think we all really enjoyed and we ended up with lots of knowledge on Europe.
by Amy
Geometry
by Nora Wemyss, Class 6
Our first main lesson this term was geometry. But unlike geometry in class 5
we got to use tools like a compass and
ruler. We found out that we don’t always
need to use a ruler to divide a line, but
also how to colour in beautifully. Miss
Nicky brought us outside to try and draw
freehand circles. At first everyone drew a
circle around themselves with chalk but
Miss Nicky wanted bigger, so everyone
tried out different techniques like using
ourselves as a radius or lying down as a
star. Then a few students found a rope
and some sticks.
We weren’t told we could use our tools,
but when we found out, our circles were
kind of accurate. We went back inside
and were introduced to our compasses. It
was a fun main lesson and we improved
our geometry skills.
by Carly
by Amy
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by Rocky
Head, Heart and Hands
Biology
Sally Abbott, Biology Teacher
C
lass 13 biology students have been
studying the processes involved in
cellular respiration as part of their A-level
course. As a homework assignment, they
created 3D models of the electron transport chain and the enzyme ATP synthase,
as a way to better understand the processes involved.
The students used a variety of materials to create their models, including items
from household recycling, Hama beads,
and a very impressive fully functioning
model using K-nex by Laurence Russell
(does anyone suspect he might want to
study mechanical engineering?).
The students are working to understand
how our bodies break down the food we
eat to release energy to power all of the
processes that enable us to live. Learning
3-D model of electron transport chain
by Laurence Russell
about the complex stages
in cellular respiration has
involved practical experiments, discussion, animations, drawing diagrams
and essay writing as well as
model building.
Below is an extract from Mrs Abbott, Laurence, Amy, James and Oliver with models.
an essay by Oliver Giambrone describing
the fourth stage in respiration: oxidative across the membrane create a proton graphosphorylation and chemiosmosis (us- dient (a pH gradient and electrochemical
ing oxygen, coenzymes and an electron gradient). As protons flow through ATP
transport chain to produce ATP and wa- synthase Protons can’t cross the membrane except through proton channels.
ter).
As protons flow through ATP synthase
enzymes they drive the rotation of the enFAD and NAD
zyme and with that force join ADP with
Pi to make ATP. This is chemiosmosis.
by Oliver Giambrone, Class 13
Electron carriers embedded in the
inner membrane of mitochondria
are vital for the final stage of aerobic respiration. The mitochondrial
membrane (cristae) is tightly folded so that its surface area is maximised. Reduced NAD and reduced
FAD donate a proton and electrons
to the electron carriers (protons
enter the matrix). Electrons are Diagram of electron transport chain by Amy Sutton
passed along the electron carriers
The electrons are passed through the last
in the membrane and as the electrons are electron carrier and are combined with
transferred energy is released allowing hydrogen ions and molecular oxygen to
protons to be pumped across into the in- make water.
termembrane space. The protons passing
Botany Main Lesson
by Sally Abbott, Biology Teacher
Class 11 are doing a Botany Main
Lesson and we have been looking at
the structure, function and evolution
of plants as well as the importance of
plants in relation to economy, ecology
and aesthetics. We also looked at ecological phenomena such as deforestation and discussed whether we can use
ecological models to help develop ideas
for a sustainable future.
Towards the end of the main lesson
class 11 had time to create their own
‘Andy Goldsworthy ‘inspired’ sculptures, using only natural materials and
considering, colour, contrast, texture &
shape.
This activity gave students the opportunity to:
• To appreciate the aesthetics of plants
and the natural environment
• To experience different botanical
structures
• To experience the textures of different
natural objects: leaves, stems,
twigs, sticks, thorns, stones,
moss, mud, etc.
•T
o understand that plants are
essential and that they live
and grow in a natural environment with interrelationships
between biotic and abiotic
factors.
Structure of a flower by Isabel Eary
Anais, Saskia, Margita, Katarina, Calla and Izzy with
Calla’s marvellous leaf sculpture.
Leaf sculture by Lucy and Margita
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Arts and Crafts
An Introduction to Performance Art
By Bea Brownlee, Class 10
Performance art is more about experience, as opposed to the creation of a
final product or object in other styles
of art. Unlike other art forms, which
are often static, performing expresses emotions and meanings through
movement and sound.
We watched a performance piece by
Jeanne Berger which started with people going about their ordinary lives.
Those people then came together in
an abandoned warehouse, where they
moved in a rather abstract way with
crashing sounds. They seemed to be
trying to escape the building together,
though sometimes one of them would
break away and do their own thing.
As a response to Berger’s performance
piece, we decided to create our own.
We wanted it to represent the recent at-
tacks in Paris. Our piece
began with everyone
bursting through some
curtains and bustling
around the tables in
the middle of the room,
paying no attention to
each other. One person
walked slowly and deliberately into the room Class 10 pupils at work.
and jumped onto the
tables, while everyone ignored her. She handprint, to represent what was left
stamped her foot and everyone walked in after all the movement and turmoil.
one direction, chanting “Right, left, right,
While studying the figure in moleft,” then stopped moving and stared tion, we will be looking at how moveat her. She raised her arms slowly, then ment cannot only be captured in a
flung them down and everyone fell under film or on stage, like Jeanne Berger’s
the tables and “died”. After filming it, we and our performance pieces, but also
drew something to record it. I covered my on paper.
piece of paper with dirty footprints and a
Pottery
The Greenman wall plaques and cave painting plate decoration are two ways to celebrate making functional and sculptural pieces
using the slab technique, exploring shape, colour and texture in ceramics. Below is a collection of work: Greenman plaques by
Class 9 pupils; containers, coiled pots and plates by pupils of Class 10. – Susan Eglinton, Pottery Teacher
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Trips & Visits
Young and old meet up
Class 5 and Sasa of Class 6.
Pupils of Class 6 pose with their guests.
C
lasses 5 and 6 invited the elderly from
Abbeyfields Care Home for lunch in
the dining room. Both classes had worked
hard at preparing the food and we had a
lovely buffet. Class 6 decorated the tables
and were in charge of all setting up and
tidying. Class 6 and several children from
class 5 stepped up to provide musical entertainment. It was fantastic to see how
well the children communicated with our
guests, showing interest and respect.
It was a lovely occasions which we will
hope to follow up with a visit to Abbeyfields.
Class 6 again.
Soonu, Loli, Chahaya, Uma, and Gracie of Class 5.
Class 9 go to the Henry Moore Foundation
of modern art his pieces
were really quite amazing.
I especially like the workshops and hearing about
the life he had and how
it corresponded with his
works of art.
Henry Moore Foundation
by Tom Tom
I felt that the work of art were very beautiful; I am not much of a fan of modern
art but the sculptures were still very impressive. Lots of the statues were bronze
and of various sizes, ranging from tiny
concept models to giant exhibition pieces. He had a few various styles that we
saw through the sculptures; he made
many pieces which featured a reclining
woman, mother and child and sculpture
within a sculpture. The reclining women’s
inspiration was gained from people sheltering from the bombing raids in World
War 2.
The grounds themselves were very
beautiful and green, with many laden
apple trees, and the works of art dotted
around at regular intervals. We had a
guided tour, which was boring/fun and
then settles down to sketch a few of the
sculptures.
The bronze sculptures were all very interesting and all unique (unless you count
copies). One was a gigantic archway, some
were representations of giant vertebrae
and some were fallen warriors. There was
a particularly large statue across a field of
sheep, which was rented to a farmer, on
the condition that sheep were kept there,
because they were the right scale for the
piece. We took our coach back, leaving
the apple trees looking slightly forlorn
and came back to school.
Henry Moore’s
House
by Joe
Henry Moore Foundation
by Millie
Henry Moore was born in 1898 (1986)
in Yorkshire, his father was a miner and
didn’t want the same for his children.
Both of Henry’s older siblings became
teachers. From a young age he had his
heart on sculpting. World War 1 broke
out in 1914. He soon after joined the
army, but got injured in battle in Northern France and had to stop. From this
he got an army scholarship to Leeds Art
University where he studied sculpting.
He opened a small studio in London
with his wife but World War 2 (1939)
made it impossible to stay and they
moved to Perry Green in Hertfordshire.
His career only really started to take off
by the time he was fifty but now he’s probably as famous as Michael Angelo or Picasso.
Even though I am not the biggest fan
On Wednesday we drove
to Henry Moore’s house where there were
his sculptures. Henry Moore originally
served in the war, but he was injured and
he moved into the country and started
sculpting. Henry Moore is now world
famous and he made exceptional sculptures.
In the morning a tour guide took us
around the grounds where Henry Moore’s
models stood. His favourite type of sculpture is a reclined mother or lady. But he
also likes taking inspiration from his surroundings. Normally his sculptures are
made of bronze or plaster.
His sculptures normally are abstract
figures with weird heads and limbs. All
together he has made about a thousand
models big and small.
In the afternoon I could really appreciate how hard it is to design these strange
models because we had to draw them. I
really recommend going to see Henry
Moore’s work, he is an exceptional artist.
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Class Trips
The annual Class 9 Embercombe Adventure
Embercombe
by Mantrika
I would just like to say what an amazing
experience it has been for all of us. The
whole class (for a start) bonded a lot
because of all the group activities that
we did. They put us with people that we
wouldn’t normally go with so that was
really good. We all learnt about what it
was like being vegetarian and what a tremendous impact eating meat has on the
world! We learnt how to appreciate the
food we eat and the materials we use. We
learnt how fun and exciting work farming
could be.
Every day at Embercombe was filled
with so many activities and events that
you never got bored. Our class built a
wood shed which will be kept to store the
firewood in one of the yurt villages. It was
so fun building it and hopefully it will
be used a lot in the future too. Embercombe was honestly the best school trip
we had ever been on. All the people that
work there spread such a positive energy.
Embercombe felt like home. I got very attached and never wanted to leave.
Class 9 with Embercombe staff.
My Embercombe
Experience
by Shyam
Embercombe is a working farm in Devon. It is to tell you how to live sustainably.
We spent 10 days there, not including the
Monday we arrived there and the Friday
we left.
Marguerite, Mantrika, Millie and Greta.
Shyam, Mantrika and Skyy.
Photos by Marcia Morrissy
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A blindfolded trek through the wood.
In Embercombe there were four main
jobs we had to do: gardening, cooking,
building and site work.
Gardening was mainly about picking
vegetables, one day we might have tomato soup, another we may have potato
wedges.
Cooking was mainly work in the kitchen. We had to cook for about 55 of us, 33
RSSKL Class 9 students, 2 Teachers and
20 staff members.
For building, we had to build a woodshed for firewood. Site work was cleaning,
and cleaning the site we were working on.
We cleaned barns, moved vegetables to
the storage area and started setting up for
the annual Embercombe Open Day. That
is what all RSSKL Class 9s have done for
a long time.
We also learnt how to skin and butcher
a deer. A warden came in and taught us
how to do this. He also taught where the
best places to kill them are and gave us a
full anatomy of the deer. We skinned and
butchered these deer then turned them
into venison burgers and venison soup
for the open day. Personally, the butchering didn’t look very pleasant.
The Open Day was quite fun. I was
allocated to the apple press and the pizza places. The apple press was where we
made apple juice, completely fresh and
not pasteurized meaning it turned into
cider when I got home.
On the day before we came back we
didn’t want to get on the coach for home
because we wanted to stay there. The
yurts were warm, the food was good, the
work was better than a gym and we got
something done on top of our exercise.
Class Trips
Photos by Marcia Morrissy
Circle time!
Embercombe
Allina, Max and Hannah.
Topsy and Hannah.
Relaxing by the fire.
by Max
Embercome was an amazing experience it was completely different to anywhere I had been before and even though
I had heard about it from people who had
been there it was so different to what I
expected. It was a long journey – about
5 hours of the whole class packed into a
coach. When we finally arrived I got my
first view of Embercombe. It was built on
a pretty large area of green fields and hills,
which seemed to stretch on
for miles.
The sleeping arrangements were a whole lot
better than I imagined. I’d
pictured sleeping in a tiny
tent in the pouring rain. But
I was glad to see we were
staying in pretty large yurts
with proper mattresses and
a stove. There were four
people in each yurt. There
were a lot of staff and volunteers who were all very
site for the Open Day. The job each tribe
did would alternate every day so you got
a chance to try something new. We all ate
dinner together, in a large building at the
opposite end of site to the yurt village.
The food was really good and we all had
to help in making food at some point so
we appreciated it a lot more. But the best
thing about Embercombe is how much
closer everyone got as a result of it. By
the end of the experience you would find
yourself hanging out with people you had
hardly even talked to before, and I think
that’s why it was so enjoyable. Almost
everyone I know who went there really
loved and I definitely did.
Working on the wood shed.
Drawing by Tom Tom
Anna
friendly and helpful. Four of the staff members
acted as leaders for the tribes; each of the four
tribes had one leader to guide them through their
time there. During the day we would be separated into our tribes (which were picked randomly
at the beginning of our stay) and would do either
building, gardening, cooking or preparing of the
Millie and Greta sawing wood.
11
Drama
King Lear Performance - Class 12 Main Lesson
By Julian Paine, Class Sponsor
H
aving sponsored the class for over
three years I was inspired to see
them perform their class play at the end
of the October half term, under the ever
enthusiastic and energetic directorship of
Mr Mike (Hadjipateras).
Class plays are not about putting the
best drama students in the biggest roles
and getting the most professional performance out of them, but about a full
group of young people tackling a great
play that challenges them to work togeth-
er productively (regardless of friendship
groups) and to learn more about themselves and about art in the process. This
social element is especially important in
year 12 as the class re-forms itself from
those who have chosen to stay on after
class 11 and those who join as new members - of which there were four this year.
The plain black style of dress and powerful staging (wonderfully enhanced by a
fight workshop that Mr Mike organised
with a theatre professional) suited the
Shiming, Flora (King Lear), Libby, Charlotte, and Dylan.
bleakness of King Lear very well, and it
was moving to see how several members
of the class were able to embody their
roles in a way that would not have been
possible just a year or two ago. An exceptional example of this was the darkly
dramatic fight between William Herring
as the evil Edmund and Dylan Dacre as
his brother Edgar.
Fantastic job class 12, and a huge thank
you to Mr Mike!
Examining the king’s medical report.
William as Edmund.
Libby and Flora.
Flora, Phileighda and Nathan (centre).
Jonathan and Flora.
Gloucester’s day of reckoning.
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Phileighda as Regan.
Cecily and Charlotte.
Special Events
WOW Day 2015
By Andrea Chishti
“Waldorf One World” day is a campaign,
where Waldorf Schools are encouraged to
create initiatives to raise funds for other,
less well off Waldorf Schools all over the
world. As last year, the funds raised by us
were assigned to two very different causes: Ein Bustan, a Waldorf Steiner Kindergarten in Israel which teaches Arab and
Jewish children in Hebrew and Arabic
and Mbagathi, a Waldorf Steiner School
in Kenya whose intake consists of 95%
orphans.
It always seems such a mountain to
climb when you start out to organise a big
event. Waldorf One World day has been
organised at RSSKL for several years now
and as every year before, it was worth all
the effort. To see so many of our community donate the most beautiful and tasty
food for the buffet and then to have the
dining room packed with parents, teachers and pupils was wonderful. As if by
magic, helpers appeared on the day and
many hands made light(er) work of what
Dear Friends at RSSKL –
Thank you so much for WOW Day!
From all of us at Ein Bustan
Thank you card sent to us by children in the Ein Bustan Waldorf School.
is a big task to squeeze into a lunch break,
without disturbing lessons before and after too much.
We raised £750, which will be split
between Ein Bustan and Mbagathi. Of
course the money we send is important
to them but maybe even more so is the
fact that others are joining them in spirit
and are supporting their work.
Singing Birds – A Concert in West Sussex
By Priya Mahtani
“Without enthusiasm, nothing worthwhile can be accomplished in art!” –
Robert Schumann, Composer
Jumping with excitement, my teenage
son returned home from school one
November afternoon, asking if he could
participate in a concert that Mr Di Meo
was organizing. Naturally I said yes,
without realizing its location was West
Sussex, some 70 miles away. That said, his
enthusiasm far outweighed my dislike of
motorway driving, and so the following
Saturday, we made our way down to the
quiet village of West Hoathly.
Nobody could have anticipated just
how beautiful St Margaret’s Church
turned out to be. We listened to the Kidbrooke Park Singers, a soprano and baritone soloist and an orchestra of eleven
incredible musicians (violins, viola, cello, double-bass, bassoon, French Horns,
harp and percussion). Expertly conducted by maestro Diane Howard, they performed both Mozart’s Laudate Dominum
and Purcell’s Chacony. It was as if to be
transported back into the 17th and 18th
centuries.
Seven children from classes six to eight
Pupils from classes 6 to 8 in St Margaret’s Church.
waited patiently in the wings for their
grand entrance. Setting the poetry of St
Francis of Assisi to music, the Mirror of
Perfection by composer Richard Blackford is an impressive and expressive
range of music.
It was to our great surprise that we saw
a tiny sparrow fluttering near the wooden, beamed ceiling, as the children were
performing the fifth canticle, Canticle of
the Birds. The children’s entrance in their
brightly coloured clothes was much like
little birds themselves.
Performed in French, in this canticle,
St Francis teaches his little brothers, the
birds, to praise their Creator and put
their trust in him. Sweetly mirrored by
how joyfully the children put their trust
in Mr Di Meo, who was beaming with
pride throughout.
Performing alongside professional musicians and an adult choir, the children
were every bit as professional and it was
an enchanted evening. Afterwards, it felt
as if we had witnessed something magnificent, as a hushed sense of wonder lingered in the air. A few of them remarked,
“I generally don’t like classical music, but
this music is magic!” or “Let’s do that
again Mr Di Meo.”
A very big thank you to the wonderful
Mr Di Meo and to his singing angels, Bea,
Basha, Daniel, Ismail, Kabir, Sophia and
Yuvan. It was an unforgettable night.
13
PTFA Fireworks and Bonfire
2015 Fireworks
Oooh...
Oooh...
Avi, Jasmina, Libby and Charlotte.
Ahhh...
A brilliant time was
had by everyone!
Thank you all who
helped put on this
super event!
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The rain didn’t keep people from the barbecue!
Class Photo albums Autumn 2015
Class 2
Clas
Class 2
s
3
Class 7
Class 12
Class 11
Class 6
Class
Photos by Marcia Morrissy
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On the annual Class Photo Day, Marcia took a few candids, too!
15
PTFA Advent Fair
Whinlatter lit up the dining room with their lively music.
The School stalls lined the Upper School corridor
The Gym had a marvellous variety of quality offerings this year.
Amazing cake display in the Star Café.
Candle dipping in the Pottery.
Dan Maslen played in the Bistro.
A sumptious lunched was served in the dining
room by Steffi Cook and her noble crew.
The Kindergarten stall.
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David Roberts manned reception.
PTFA
Avi, Jonathan, Dylan and Phileighda.
Childrens’ activities in Class 1.
Ever popular Class12 wreaths.
Jessica, Karishna and Nataya.
Mr Schiermann, Harvey, Ishan, Daniel
and Max.
Mute Brownlee greeted guests at the School stall.
The question of our time:
Participating In Our School Community
By David Wachs, Parent
Raise our children to see the world as
good. Wonderful thought…
Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy about ‘society’, although spiritual, is anchored in
something real, deep and meaningful.
From what I’ve picked in from my 23
years as a parent at our school and Chair
of the PTFA (Parents Teachers Friends
Association) is that Steiner encouraged
a sense of community as the backbone
of schools like ours.
Parents at our school are creating
many fabulous things all the time, yet
there’s a general impression that the
school and PTFA are finding it harder
than in the past to engage the parent
community to actively participate in
school life. Times are different – let’s
admit it. The spirit and the will are
there, but pro-activity could certainly
be higher.
The good news (as many teachers
have told me recently) is that most students are very happy with the school
overall. Just talk to any Class 12 or 13
student! Anyone who visits the school
will experience a lot of warmth and
connectedness, and that starts with the
children (who seem enthusiastic about
being here).
I’ve been a RSSKL parent through
three boys (two who were here from
ages 1-19), and, essentially, the freedom
to develop as a unique individual who
feels hopeful and a part of the world
continues now as it did when I came
here in 1992.
So, I ask you, kindly…are you tapping into what our school has on offer,
as a parent, as a family? Or, are you
possibly feeling detached from your
children’s school life?
What you can do: maybe create fun,
cultural and/or fundraising events,
join the school choir, come to a fix-it
day, help put on events like the Fireworks night or Advent fair, come along
to the PTFA monthly meeting, go on
school trips, go to a school sponsored
Café Talk, start an after school activity,
or just ask the school what they need,
as we can always benefit from various
skills and expertise.
The PTFA option: one way to ‘be a
part of something’ is to join hands with
us at the PTFA in an inventive, enthusiastic space where one can bring any
idea to the table that could enhance the
lives of all our children and our community.
The PTFA meets once a month on the
first Monday at 7.30pm at the school.
Those of you who want to be a part
of something bigger, making an immediate difference, something nourishing
for yourself, please consider finding a
way to contribute, volunteer, innovate,
attend - participate.
How many amazing people do we
have at our school – parents, staff,
teachers, children, past pupils and families of past pupils. The deep well of
experience, wisdom, togetherness and
drive is inspiring to say the least.
Active community life may not be for
everyone, and that’s understandable,
of course. Yet, if this strikes a chord,
please contact either myself, David
Wachs, current Chair of the PTFA at
[email protected], if you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions, or
through the school via Mute Brownlee
(admissions & office administration) at
[email protected].
17
Autumn 2015 Joiners
Joiners
I was born into
a young family
in East Sussex,
where I attended Michael Hall
Steiner
School
from the age of 5
to 19. I grew up
surrounded by
my four younger
Emily Gearing-Grief
siblings, enjoyClass Teacher
ing the musical,
creative and broad Waldorf Curriculum.
When I left school I ventured to Kenya,
where I volunteered at a Steiner School in
Nairobi, an orphanage and medical centre where I helped deliver babies and treat
jiggers. I fell in love with East Africa and
the freedom of travel which I also enjoyed
as a child and I have returned to Kenya
many times since to continue work at the
school. It was here that the first seeds of
teaching were really planted for me (although everyone always said I would be a
teacher). Before I came to Kings Langley
Steiner School to do my Waldorf Teacher
Training, I worked as a carer for a Stroke
survivor and his family and spent a lot of
time raising funds and awareness for the
Steiner School in Kenya! I am a Steiner
child through and through! I hope one
day to continue my work in Africa with
the wonderful Waldorf movements taking place there to support underprivileged and needy children but for now I
am delighted to be here. I am thoroughly
enjoying my time working at the school
with all the wonderful children and staff.
After living in
France for three
years on a farm
rearing chickens
and sheep I decided to move
back to England
Becky Curzon
after having my
Reception
daughter Maëva. Not long after arriving in England
I started looking for work, after signing
up with an agency I was lucky enough
to be placed here at RSSKL. This is my
first time working within a school and
am very excited to be working here and
be a part of this lovely community. In my
spare time I love to go shopping, dancing
and socialising with my friends.
18
My name is Susan and I am
the new Pottery
Teacher, nearly a
full year now! I
am a local potter
usually throwing and making
pots in the garden shed until I
converted an old
Susan Eglinton
cow shed into a
Pottery Teacher
studio. I have
had the pleasure of teaching art and ceramics, volunteering and demonstrating
for different art, craft and guild events,
facilitating creative workshops and pursuing my own artistic ambitions in both
painting and ceramics. I enjoy the magic
nature of clay and its capacity to transform personal stories into functional
and sculptural forms. As a craft it is very
relaxing and offers lots of exciting possibilities. It is a pleasure to teach here in
such a well equipped studio and the students seem to enjoy their practice on the
wheel. I also love dinghy sailing and for
quieter spells I enjoy walking the muddy
fields and woodlands with sketchbook in
pocket and read Haiku poetry.
Jenny Blake was
a student here
at RSSKL from
class 2 until class
13. She went on
to study fine art
at
Canterbury
on a traditional
painting course
with art studios
Jenny Blake
not
dissimilar
Art Teacher
from the lovely
purpose built art
room here at RSSKL. She subsequently studied at The Royal Drawing School.
On graduating she won The Richard
Ford Award, a drawing residency at the
Prado Museum, Madrid. She was also
artist-in-residence at Kensington Palace,
London. She has a PGCE from the Institute of Education and has taught parttime with the Royal Drawing School’s
Drawing Clubs, in the Natural History
Museum, at Harrow Art Centre and at
Heatherley’s School of Fine Art. She has
been running painting retreats in Devon
and India. For the past three years before
joining the RSSKL she taught at Pimlico
Academy. Jenny is based in London,
where she lives with partner and 2 year
old daughter. She is here working 2.5
days from Wednesday – Friday, sharing
the week and the teaching with Teresa
Iskra.
I have always
known I wanted
to be a teacher as
a little girl listening to my grandmother speak so
fondly about her
experiences as a
teacher. I grew up
in Canada, enjoyJenny Thompson
ing the outdoors,
Class Teacher
and moved to the
UK when I was 21 to finish my undergraduate degree in Politics, Philosophy
and History at the University of London.
I then went on to complete a PGCE at the
Institute of Education. After eight enjoyable years working at an arts-based primary school in Hackney, where we were
living at the time, I decided I wanted to
develop my teaching skills further and
work in a learning environment which
fostered a sense of reverence for learning.
So I began the teacher training course at
Steiner House, which I will complete in
July. A year ago, my husband Mark and I
moved with our two small children back
to his family house, where he grew up, in
Pinner. I feel very lucky for our family
to have been so warmly welcomed by the
school community here. Our son Miles
is loving being in Kindergarten, and I am
really enjoying working across the Lower School and getting to know all of the
children. I am a very keen crocheter, and
I love to travel. One day soon I hope to
take our children to Ghana for the summer break, where Mark and I spent two
summers volunteering in an Ashanti village.
Monika Salaga
Physics Teacher
Born in Poland.
When I was 6
years old I decided to become
a maths teacher.
Even though my
plans
changed
many times I
ended up not too
far from it: I studied Physics on a
university
and
graduated with a
Master’s degree.
In England for the last 12 years.
I was teaching for most of my life, in different schools in Poland and the UK.
I have 2 lovely daughters that will join
RSSKL soon.
I love science fiction and fantasy books,
as well as film so I’m waiting impatiently
for the 18th Dec.
Favourite person: Grzegorz Rosinski – do
your own research if you do not know
him.
Also I like traditional polish food and
cakes.
Autumn 2015 Joiners
I was born in
Croatia 39 years
ago in the small
town Pozega.
I left my hometown when I was
19. In pursuing
Ivana Lara Zgonik
my creativity, I
After School Club
studied architecture for two years. It gave me some understanding of what it takes to put an idea
into reality.
At the age of 22, my life turned in another direction. I began to explore the
‘mysteries’ of life. I started to research
why do we get sick. This led me to take
the course in Life Consultancy. The
knowledge in the course derived from
Chinese philosophy and the main focus
was to understand the emotions and their
effect on the whole human body. During
my studies, I worked as a nanny, and this
continued for six years. Within this sixyear period, I lived in New Zealand and
China.
Back in Croatia I worked with individuals and corporate clients leading programmes for de-stressing and relaxation.
By doing this, I became aware of how
much health and relationship problems
have their roots in childhood. As I moved
to the UK, I decided to take on Teacher
Training Course. This was a beautiful experience as I learned more about children
and myself. At the moment, I am taking
the Early Years Course so that I get to
understand the full circle of the human
development.
I have three children at the school
and am married
to Kev who I met
on a Film MA in
Dublin following
on from a BA
in Art History
at Leeds. I later
Rose Maher
Kindergarten Assistant studied painting
at Chelsea College of Art before moving to a community on the Moray Firth where I worked
in the gardens and kitchens. Looking
back, which is an unfortunate tendency
of mine, the jobs that I have enjoyed most
have largely been outdoors; i.e. helping to
build two health centres in rural Tanzania
and another one as the Director’s Assistant on ‘Chocolat’ which we filmed on
location in Burgundy.
I love writing poetry, have done some
readings at the Troubadour Cafe in Earls
Court and last year was long-listed for the
National Poetry Competition, which really encouraged me to keep on scribbling.
I am one of 21 women and one man
on the Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood
Training Course in London.
A little known fact about me is that our
indoor cat, Daisy, a blue Burmese beauty,
can be found sleeping on my shoulder at
night. We also have a puppy, a rabbit and
a gecko.
After a break
from paid employment to enjoy being with
my 2 children
while they were
small, I am now
very happy to
have a job working with young
Rachel Johnson
Kindergarten Assistant children. Child
development and
education are topics that have always
interested me, and it’s great to be able to
pursue them as a second career. I also
volunteer one morning per week at the
Boxmoor Trust Forest School, and once
a month as a Breastfeeding Supporter. I
enjoy knitting, handwork, being outside,
and singing.
Diana Esteban Barco
Afternoon Club Leader
Jeff King
ICT Teacher
Karen Coker
Class Assistant
I planned my retirement when I
was 3.
I began my career as mass composition and atomic composition.
After graduating,
moderately
unscathed, in survival
Timothy Clegg
(BA Hons) to the
English / Drama
adult male human
body I was then and remain approximately 57% water, which is 11% hydrogen by
mass but 67% by count of atoms. While
marrying and raising my family my body
mass was oxygen, but most of the atoms
in my body were and still are hydrogen
atoms.
I have been interested in words for as
long as I can remember.
While teaching in state, independent
and Waldorf schools in the UK and Canada I was analyzed in terms of molecular type (e.g., water, protein, connective
tissue, fats (or lipids) apatite (in bones),carbohydrates (such as glycogen and glucose) and DNA.
More recently, and not altogether unexpectedly, I have been analyzed into water,
fat, muscle, bone, etc.
I imagine that in the course of time I
will be none of these things.
I am a grand-master of the forgotten art
of tiddlywinks.
19
Me
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Kings Langley
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M
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P
Tilly
Topsy
Skyy
Dylan
Lara
Keona
Leah
Olivia
Gil
Tom
Anais
Maddy
Margita
Amy
Jacob
Saum
Lucy
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Pe
Pastoral Care
Celine
George
Hannah