Samford Valley Steiner School Comes of Age

• September 4, 2008
• Special Features
• Editor

The Open Day, incorporating 21^st birthday celebrations, will be held on Saturday September 6^th from 10am-3pm at the school at Narrawa Drive, Wight’s Mountain and will include demonstration lessons, displays, individual and ensemble performances, school tours and great food.  The whole community is invited to come and see for themselves what the Samford Valley Steiner School has to offer and to join in the birthday celebrations.

This year the Samford Valley Steiner School turns 21.  Beginning as a pre-school in a garage in Kenmore, after many moves and struggles the school finally settled on 20 acres at Wight’s Mountain in 1991 where it slowly grew, adding new classes each year. In 2006 the high school opened and now caters for students from years 8 to 11 with the first year 12s set to graduate next year.

The high school curriculum is designed to nurture the developing adolescent in all aspects of their growth from children to adults, not least of which are the obvious physical changes.  The physical education programme incorporates a diverse range of sports such as hockey, soccer and basketball, in mixed gender teams and with students of varying abilities, to help them develop a sense of team effort.

The students also participate in individual sports like rock climbing and abseiling (see photo at right), circus skills, and fencing.  The rock-climbing and abseiling course is conducted at the Kangaroo Point cliffs and the students are instructed in safety procedures, various knots and appropriate use of equipment. The programme culminates in a day climbing at the Glasshouse Mountains.

As part of the circus skills programme, the students learn juggling, acrobatics, tissue, trapeze work, unicycle riding and practice general strengthening and conditioning exercises.

Students also learn Aikedo, a martial art that focuses on defence.  The aim of all of these activities is to push the growing adolescent beyond their comfort zone, enabling them to reach beyond their perceived limits.

Every three years a first aid course is conducted which, apart from the obvious safety benefits, allows the students to apply human anatomy and physiology knowledge gained in their biology lessons.  The whole high school participates in the first aid course and students receive their St John’s Ambulance certificate at the end.  Running the course every three years enables students to keep their skills current.