Welcome to Kindlehill
Kindlehill School sits on the hill above the lake at Wentworth Falls. It is a primary school with a foundation in Rudolf Steiner's philosophy for education. Kindlehill currently runs from Kindergarten to Year 8, with planning in process for Years 9 and 10 in 2013 and 2014.
top of pageEducation
At Kindlehill, we see education as a wellspring for life. We believe education must provide the foundation for meeting the challenges that come at every stage of life. Today we can expect to change jobs and careers more than once during our lives. The likelihood of having a mixed family and more than one significant partner in life is higher than ever. Technology and ways of communicating are changing rapidly. How do we manage these changes and challenges of everyday life? Did our education and upbringing equip us to meet them? What will life be like for our children when they are adults? We can be sure that the lives that our children live will be at least as different from ours as ours was from our parents. Education must develop the capacities for flexibility, adaptability and creativity in order that children grow to become intelligent, imaginative and compassionate individuals. At Kindlehill it is our intent to provide such an education.
At Kindlehill you will find teachers that recognise that to learn effectively, children need their imagination enlivened. You will find learning experiences that involve the whole of the child, their thinking, feeling and willing heads, hearts and hands). At Kindlehill formal learning is introduced gradually in first class and the kindergarten year is a time to learn through play and exploration. The concept of slow food as opposed to fast food is a somewhat similar concept. Children need time to savour and digest what they learn. We avoid over intellectualising young children and protect them from the world of advertising. Instead we surround children with real life learning experiences, where they are constantly creating ideas, relationships and beautiful and useful things.
At Kindlehill we develop children's ability to interact with their peers in a way that is constructive and beneficial to both themselves and others. We appreciate that we are all different individuals with our own strengths and weaknesses. We teach our students to work within a group and individually, and be to be flexible and creative with change and difference. The curriculum at Kindlehill is a balance of the academically rigorous, the artistic and the physical. We expect that as adults the children will have the capacity to pursue whatever further studies they wish. They will also have the confidence and skills to make their own clothes, build their own houses, cook and grow their own food.
History
Kindlehill was founded in 2000 with fiery enthusiasm by a small group of parents and teachers. They shared a common vision for an education that allowed children to thrive in our ever-changing and often stressful world. From humble beginnings, with a student body of only 17, Kindlehill has blossomed into a school of more than 80 students. The enthusiasm of parents and teachers burns brightly on the hill where the school kindles the 'light' of every child in its care.
Location
Kindlehill is situated in the village of Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. Approximately 10 minutes walk from the railway station, the school grounds are nestled in amongst the bush blocks of residential North Wentworth Falls. The original Cox's Road, the first road across the Great Dividing Ranges, runs by the school. Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson camped a night on the edge of the school grounds. The lake, originally built to service the steam trains, is a short stroll down the road, and is the focus of many school lessons, especially in the younger years. This year we celebrated the Spring Equinox with a picnic at the lake. Each Wednesday is 'Walking Wednesday'. The younger children walk to school along the fringes of the lake and then up the bush lined laneway to school, accompanied by their teacher.
School Environment
The original school building is a long light-filled building with spacious, colourful classrooms, each with its own personality. This year we have made extensions to the main building and are nearing completion of a new Kindergarten Building and Performance Space. This is a beautiful two-storeyed, spiral building with a sweeping curved roof. All the building work has where possible used recycled and renewable resources, sourced locally. The design and construction is a showcase for the use of earth construction and is a regular destination for eco-building tours. The artistic skills of parents and teachers have been used to decorate the internal and external surfaces of the building. The children have participated in the building work as part of their lessons.
Classes
At Kindlehill class sizes are small. We value the smallness of the school and that the children know everyone within the school community. The classes are composite: mixed ages allow the older children to support the younger and the younger to strive towards the achievements of their older classmates. The Class Teacher begins with their class in Year 1; in the year the child turns seven and continues with this class until Year 8. Specialist teachers in languages, music, crafts and physical education support the class teacher. The Class Teacher is able to develop a deep understanding of the children in their care, their strengths and the areas where they need extra support. This means that at the beginning of each year the teacher does not have to spend months getting to know each child before having to pass them on to another teacher the following year. Teachers believe that working closely with parents is essential to developing the capacities of each child.
Community
At Kindlehill, the families are an intrinsic part of the school. Parents are active in making the school environment the beautiful and welcoming place it is. It is our experience that the participation of parents in the school warms and enriches their children's experience.
Many parents volunteer their time and share their skills in the classroom: artists, musicians, beauty therapists, biodynamic gardeners, professional organisers, teachers, holistic health practitioners, dancers, builders, carpenters and gymnasts all extend the breadth of the educational experience. Each term finishes with a working bee, where teachers and parents and students join forces to prepare classrooms and shared spaces for the coming term.
Rich Experiences
At Kindlehill we give the children rich and varied educational experiences. This year we celebrated all things Italian with a whole day, whole school Italian festival. The classes each presented a combination of song, dance and speech to the school community. Older classes performed in an Italian play, written by one of our two talented Italian teachers. It could be best described as a Comic Melodramatic Opera in Italian. Titled "Il Pane" (the bread) it followed the story of a young baker whose tears fall into the bread when her beloved gato (cat) goes missing. This has disastrous/hilarious consequences at the local school and restaurant where the bread is served.
We were recently visited by the Marimba Man, John Madin, for three days of marimba magic. John Madin constructs his own marimbas as well as other innovative instruments such as the evocatively named echo cellos and musical exercise bikes. Three days of workshops culminated in a school performance for parents. John has designed his workshops and instruments in such a way that all children have instant success in creating music as a group. Teachers and parents have taken up the challenge and have made marimbas for the school so that the children can develop their interest.
The Future: Year 9 and 10
This year teachers and parents began looking at a model for high school that would extend that sense of belonging into adolescence as well as widen the horizons and learning opportunities for students. We have come up with the life and flow of a village as a working model for a high school. In this model, children would learn different skills from different teacher/mentors and specialists with in their community. They would also participate in the community a meaningful and useful way in their high school years. At Kindlehill we like the fact that we are a small school and that children and teachers know everyone in the school. We believe this model will provide an important sense of belonging and support the essential and potential tasks of young people, that would serve them well for their future lives. Planning for the high school is in its early stages but we look forward to providing Year 9 in 2013.
We have been inspired by the words of Professor David Orr, an eminent environmental educator in the USA. He says that what is needed in our times is a paradigm shift comparable to the enlightenment
"A higher order of heroism, charity, wildness and the rights of children ... a movement of hundreds of thousands of young people equipped with the vision, the moral stamina and the intellectual depth necessary to rebuild neighbourhoods, towns and communities around the planet"
Contacts
Kindlehill Community School
8 Lake Street
Wentworth Falls NSW Australia 2782
Telephone: (02) 4757 4402
Fax: (02) 8569 2310
Email: admin@kindlehill.nsw.edu.au
