Dunedin Rudolf Steiner School

Special Character Thoughts: The Spiral Walk
It is that time of the year again, where we get to celebrate the turning point in the year; the shortest day and the longest nights require us to search for the light from within. The spiral walk is a celebration of reverence and quiet, which we do every year around the time of the solstice.
The children come into a darkened room, with a spiral of evergreens on the floor. The first child, walking slowly and carefully as their way is only lit by their own candle, makes their way into the centre of the spiral to light the candle there. All children will then, one after the other, receive a red apple with a candle in the middle, and make their way into the middle of the spiral, light their candle from the middle candle and place it along the spiral. Slowly but surely, the room gets brighter and brighter. Accompanied by a mixture of quiet and singing, the children experience how everyone contributes to the brightness of the room, a symbol for how we all contribute to the light that will take us through winter.
This celebration is carefully prepared and full of symbolism; the green that makes the spiral is usually chosen to be evergreen, a type of tree that symbolises life. The apples symbolise the seed, that lies inside in the dark, waiting patiently for the light to return so they can grow.
The physical form of the spiral represents the celestial marking of the seasons; from the beginning of the path being the summer solstice and the spiral inward, through the labyrinth of autumn to the point where the days get shorter. We pause at the centre of the spiral, at the symbol of winter solstice, when we are at the darkest time of the year. As we walk back out of the spiral, we make our way through spring towards the summer solstice – the seasonal rhythm is complete.
While none of this is explained to the children at the time, the picture is powerful and creates the best kind of learning – through doing and experiencing.

Special Character Thoughts: The Spiral Walk
It is that time of the year again, where we get to celebrate the turning point in the year; the shortest day and the longest nights require us to search for the light from within. The spiral walk is a celebration of reverence and quiet, which we do every year around the time of the solstice.
The children come into a darkened room, with a spiral of evergreens on the floor. The first child, walking slowly and carefully as their way is only lit by their own candle, makes their way into the centre of the spiral to light the candle there. All children will then, one after the other, receive a red apple with a candle in the middle, and make their way into the middle of the spiral, light their candle from the middle candle and place it along the spiral. Slowly but surely, the room gets brighter and brighter. Accompanied by a mixture of quiet and singing, the children experience how everyone contributes to the brightness of the room, a symbol for how we all contribute to the light that will take us through winter.
This celebration is carefully prepared and full of symbolism; the green that makes the spiral is usually chosen to be evergreen, a type of tree that symbolises life. The apples symbolise the seed, that lies inside in the dark, waiting patiently for the light to return so they can grow.
The physical form of the spiral represents the celestial marking of the seasons; from the beginning of the path being the summer solstice and the spiral inward, through the labyrinth of autumn to the point where the days get shorter. We pause at the centre of the spiral, at the symbol of winter solstice, when we are at the darkest time of the year. As we walk back out of the spiral, we make our way through spring towards the summer solstice – the seasonal rhythm is complete.
While none of this is explained to the children at the time, the picture is powerful and creates the best kind of learning – through doing and experiencing.

Dunedin Rudolf Steiner School
Handwork/Woodwork Teacher – part time permanent 0.4FTE
We seek a state registered teacher with skills and knowledge of the Steiner Handwork and Woodwork curriculum to teach years 2 – 8. The woodwork curriculum is introduced in the senior years at school. The ideal applicant will have a commitment to Steiner pedagogy, and a flexibility to suit a smaller school.
Applications close 12pm, Monday, 22nd of June 2026. An application form and job description is available on our website https://www.dunedinsteiner.nz/noticeboard.html or by request from [email protected] Telephone: 03 471 2163
Please send the application form, your CV and a cover letter, outlining your skills, experience and how you relate to our special character to: [email protected] Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Special Character Thoughts: Main Lesson
One of the vital building blocks of our special character is the main lesson. Topics for main lessons have been carefully crafted and adapted over the years to support the development of the children and are consistently reviewed and refined by the Fellowship, lately in particular with a view of localisation and biculturalism. Parent evenings and communication from the teachers throughout the year often speak to the development of the child and how the curriculum addresses the needs and guides the changes that occur as the tamariki grow up.
Main lessons are designed to engage the entire child, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. It stretches over three to four weeks and follows three parts within a lesson and also a three-day rhythm for its delivery. Part one of a lesson is engaging the heart through rhythmic exercises, this may be poetry, waiata, games, even mathematical rhythms wrapped in practical activities. Part two engages the head as it is often the thinking part of the lesson; this is where the teacher presents new information to the children e.g. a new story or a new historical event. The third part is for the hands; children will do something with what they have learnt, e.g. write, draw or create.
The first day of the three day rhythm is the day when new material is presented. The second day the new material is repeated and becomes a friend to the children by engaging with it more deeply. One more sleep and the children revisit the material one last time and turn it into their own work, this may be their final page in their main lesson book that refers to this new work or a practical piece of art etc. This way the child has gone from meeting a new friend to having a new friend, becoming familiar and finally part of the new concept or content. This is the deep learning the children do with their head, heart and hands and why we refer to the main lesson as being something fundamentally important to our special character.

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Also open to adding unqualified relievers to our pool. If unqualified then a basic understanding of or experience in Steiner Waldorf ece is essential.

Teacher Aide Position
The school seeks an experienced and empathetic teacher aide to work with children in Learning Support. The work is 5 mornings a week 8.45 am to 12.45pm from term 3 2026, term time only. The position is funded for 2026 but may be extended further. Total 20 hours per week, start date 20 July with some induction prior to that.
The successful applicant will work alongside some children with high needs and support them in literacy and numeracy and their general learning. The successful applicant will come with an openness of understanding and working within the principles of the Steiner special character.
Download an application form and job description.
To apply please email the office with a cover letter, CV and your completed application form ([email protected])
Applications close 3pm Monday 22 June 2026

We are looking forward to our Lantern festival next Tuesday at kindergarten. We will gather outside the kindergarten rooms to light our lanterns all together before walking through the school grounds and returning to Kindy for the traditional star biscuit and a warm drink. The children will bring home invitations with a song sheet this week.
We want to acknowledge and warmly thank Alida for stepping into the management role for the past year to cover Hannah's maternity leave. Alida was able to easily step into the role with all her years of experience at kindergarten; she brought impressive organisational skills, attention to detail, artistic flare and led us through a very positive ERO experience, all while juggling managing Aurora Tamariki at the same time! Alida is still very much involved in our kindergarten community as a parent and through our collegial relationship with Aurora Tamariki, so this is not goodbye, but merely an acknowledgement of all she has done over the last year. Thank you Alida!
Warmly,
The Kindy Kaiako

SCHOOL-CLASS KEA
Marine Science Centre
On Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th April, class Kea went on a class trip to the University of Otago Marine Science Centre out at Portbello. Our mission: to learn about plankton and take part in a field survey to find out just what lives in the water of our harbour.
When we looked at water samples underneath microscopes, there were many screeches of surprise (and disgust!) from krill to worms to eggs, anthropoids, zoeia and even a baby seahorse, there was so much to see. For many, a highlight was getting to interact with crabs, sea stars and anemones in the feel tanks on the second day. For others, it was the plankton surface area challenge in which one team created a story of an underwater world.
Story Writing
When we got back to school, we continued to think about our little plankton friends. If they could speak what would they say? What would be their big problems or adventures? This was the starting point for our children’s stories - from plankton who want to see the world or grow to be ‘normal’ size or those who seek to rid the ocean of plastic, we are hoping to share our exciting adventures with class Miro just as soon as they are published.
Art
In art, we have been learning about tints and tones. It's amazing the effect that adding white or black has to a single colour. We have been using this technique to create underwater scenes that link to our plankton stories.
Kā mihi from
Katie and class Kea

Late start or closure due to weather conditions
As the cold days are approaching we want to remind everyone that in the event of morning snow or extremely bad and icy conditions on the roads, the school and kindergarten may have a late start of 10am. The decision is based on whether staff can arrive at school safely. If a late start is declared, we will post on our page and a voice message noting the late start will be recorded on the office phone. School families will also receive a text message and kindergarten families will receive an email. If it is decided that the road conditions are too dangerous and school and kindy will be closed for the whole day, this will be announced the same way by 8:15 am. Please note that we make a call considering if we can staff the school and kindergarten and therefore be open. Families need to make their own assessment on whether their local roads are safe for driving.
Please ensure we have your current contact details. If you have changed phone numbers or email address recently, let the office know.