New Friends, Familiar Faces: An Evening for All Parents
Tue September 19, 2023
7pm - 8.30pm
Enrolled families are warmly invited to the annual Whole School Parents Evening, 7pm, Tuesday 19th September, in the School Hall, with the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) AGM to be held at 6pm. All parents and carers with children in the School are welcome to both events.
The evening’s programme is an opportunity for all families, especially new parents and carers, to acquaint – or reacquaint – themselves with the Steiner Waldorf campus, the educational ethos, and how the School works. Meet key members of the community, including the Chair of Trustees, membersof the College of Teachers, the Transition Manger and Operations Manager, Class Convenors, and Co Chairs of PTA.
Light refreshments (nut & seed free) will be offered.
Children are more likely to thrive when there is a close relationship between home and school. Collaboratively, the primary task of Edinburgh Steiner School is to provide the best possible education for its pupils so that they may become knowledgeable, but also inwardly free, secure and creative individuals. Parent participation in the overall life of the School therefore strengthens the spirit of our education.
Childcare will be offered from 5.45pm – 8.45pm for those who need it. Please rquest this when RSVPing.
Please RSVP for this event, so that appropriate refreshments and seating can be arranged.
The Programme
You have decided on a Waldorf education for your child in Edinburgh and may be witnessing positive changes in their curiosity for learning and motivation to come to school. It is a decision that you have chosen for yourself too.
Timetable
Every Class in the School is composed of children who come together daily from a wide variety of families, homes and cultural and religious backgrounds. What we experience as a group is the Steiner Waldorf curriculum, as interpreted and presented to the pupils by their teachers. It is distinctive in its breadth – through the Main Lesson Programme; qualifications (that incorporate Integrated Education suite of qualifications) and how it is embedded in child development. Meet the Co Chairs of College of Teachers, who hold the pedagogy of the School.
Extra Curricular Activities
The Steiner curriculum aims to cover a wide range of activities for the pupils throughout each day. However, for pupils who wish to extend their interest beyond school hours a number of opportunities exist; and the offerings are regularly looked at so as to reflect the interests of the current pupils. The parent body can also offer their skills, resources / access to facilities to enrich this programme on an ad hoc / termly / one-off basis for the pupils.
Culture
The cultural life of the School is enriched by regular social occasions that reflect the time of year, including festivals & assemblies , the Friday Market, Spring Fair and Christmas Market, as well as yearly ceilidhs, exhibitions, concerts and drama productions, Working Groups and Waldorf Workshops, which parents and siblings are warmly welcome to. They are an important part of school life. (School Calendar).
Communication
Many aspects of the School are communicated through the FAQs, Open Tour, Application Interview, Parent Handbook, School website (use the search bar above) and included in our weekly newsletter. Other times an email or face-to-face is needed.
Our People
Edinburgh Steiner School is non-hierarchical, in the sense that there is no ‘head teacher’ or ‘heads of department’. Instead, all the teachers are responsible for managing the School and work collegially, reaching decisions by consensus. We have a Board of Trustees, College of Teachers, Management Team, Early Years Practitioners, Class Teachers, Class Guardians, Specialist Teachers, Management Group and Non Teaching Staff as well as many Mandate Groups. (Our People).
We also have a Student Council
Parental Involvement
Children are more likely to thrive when there is a close relationship between home and school. We are on a collaborative journey in striving to develop responsible, creative and freethinking young people, who will contribute to society and a sustainable environment with vision and purpose. There are various avenues where parents strengthen the education; and opportunities the School can provide for parents. Meet Committee Members of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
- Working Groups: Parent & Carer Choir, Friday Market, Extra Curricular Clubs , Maintenance, Christmas Market – Join by emailing: pta@edinburghsteinerschool.org.uk
- Convenors: each Class from Seedlings, Kindergarten, Lower School and Upper School has two Class Convenors.
- Rudolf Steiner’s Lectures: The Essentials of Education (Reading Group with Dr Iddo Obewrski)
- Waldorf Arts & Crafts Saturday Workshops – led by Steiner Teacher, Leonie LeMaistre