By Derek Schlennstedt
The Dandenong Ranges Steiner School, which was founded in 1991, was proud to be a part of the global Waldorf 100 centenary celebrations this year.
On September 5 The Dandenong Ranges Steiner School held a special sharing assembly, celebrating the children’s work and commemorating 100 years with singing and performances.
The first Waldorf school was founded in Stuttgart in 1919. Today there are over 1,100 Waldorf schools and almost 2,000 Waldorf kindergartens in some 80 countries around the globe. The first Waldorf school in Australia opened in 1957 at Castlecrag in Sydney.
The assembly addressed how powerful Steiner education is in its conscious approach to developing young people for the future and pointed out the differences between conservative schooling.
“Our school is called Steiner and that was because there was a man called Rudolf Steiner,” Yasushi Hayashi said at the assembly.
“Exactly 100 years in September the first ever Steiner school opened and they did things differently and they still do 100 years later. In many schools you have different class teacher, but in Steiner the same teacher goes with year after year.”
In celebration of Waldorf education’s centennial, Dandenong Ranges Steiner School joins other schools worldwide engaging in social and environmental impact projects.
In line with the Learn to Change World theme, students have been undertaking various projects to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“So Steiner/Waldorf schools around the world are celebrating the centenary with the theme Learn to Change the World, “Enrolment Officer, Karen Frazier Walsh said.
“A group of students and former students volunteered their time and talents to busk at the Big Dreams Market on Sunday …the funds are donated to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, with the hope that the school’s contribution will help to make a difference in the world.”
“The Class Three students have been planting trees in neighbouring Crystal Brook Park as part of a global effort to mitigate the effects of climate change and to make a meaningful contribution to our local environment.”
