Out to the island. Back to the table.

Oneroa Beach, Waiheke, at low water under an overcast sky: a wide grey-silver shore with a faint line of shell and weed, and pōhutukawa and bush on the slope behind — Oneroa Beach, Waiheke, at low water, overcast. A stand-in for our own shore, not the school’s site. Photo: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Openverse

Waiheke Island

A small Steiner-based school on Waiheke: the whole school at one table, six children to start. Out to the bush, the garden and the shore, then back to make something of what we found.

Come for a morning

We open in [term, year, to confirm]. Until then, this page describes the day we are building.

A day here

Day table

[draft times, to confirm]

Draft day, out and back
Time	What happens
8.45am	InCoats on pegs. Notebooks out. The weather written on the board.
9.00am	Main lessonThe first long stretch of the morning, given to one subject for a few weeks at a time, say fractions or how a rock pool works, so children can go deep.
10.45am	OutShore, bush or garden, in turn. What’s changed since yesterday?
12.30pm	TableLunch, then sorting and drawing what we gathered.
1.30pm	MakeHandwork, painting, clay or music. Something to take home, or to keep working on.
2.45pm	BackTidy up, a story, and one line about the day in the class book.

Times are a draft until our site and teacher are confirmed. Where we go depends on the weather and the tide. [to confirm: site, times, hours outdoors]

Three notes from the table

No. 1
Six to start.
We begin with six children and grow slowly, so every child is known. Room for everyone’s find.
No. 2
Different ages, one room.
Younger and older at the same table, each working at their own pace.
No. 3
Outside every day.
[X] hours a week outdoors, on the timetable: [shore / bush / garden: confirmed places only], in turn, with the seasons.

An adult in a green parka and red boots stands at the water's edge while a small child in a red jacket walks the wet sand nearby; both are small in the frame and turned away — Photo: Brian Gordillo, Unsplash · concept image, not our school or teacher. Our own frame: teacher and child crouched at a rock pool, looking at the thing, not the camera.

The teacher

Meet [Teacher name]

[Teacher name] teaches [ages to confirm]. [One sentence: something they noticed on the island this week.] [One sentence: training and experience, only what can be checked.] [One sentence: how they came to teaching, and to Waiheke.] [One sentence in their own words: what they want children to have time for.]

Children’s work

Found and made

Our first children haven’t started yet. Their drawings, finds and makings will be laid out here, with their families’ permission, and never with a name.

01: An empty ribbed cockle shell lying on fine sand, seen from above — Photos: 01 Bernd Dittrich · 02 eli hirtzel · 03 Ivan Nemchinov · 04 Jeffrey Eisen · 05 John Barkla (CC BY 4.0, via Openverse) · 06 Pilar Rubio · 07 Wolfgang Hasselmann · 08 Kelly Sikkema · 09 The New York Public Library. All others Unsplash. Found objects photographed elsewhere: concept images, not our children’s work.

02: Three split, dried seed pods held flat on an open palm — Photos: 01 Bernd Dittrich · 02 eli hirtzel · 03 Ivan Nemchinov · 04 Jeffrey Eisen · 05 John Barkla (CC BY 4.0, via Openverse) · 06 Pilar Rubio · 07 Wolfgang Hasselmann · 08 Kelly Sikkema · 09 The New York Public Library. All others Unsplash. Found objects photographed elsewhere: concept images, not our children’s work.

Specimen labels, once work exists

No. 12. Cockle shell, pencil drawing. Found [month], left on the beach. Age 8. [example caption]
No. 13. Seed pod, pencil drawing. Found in the bush, [month], left where it fell. Age 6. [example caption]
No. 14. Clay bowl to keep drawings in. Two afternoons. Age 10. [example caption]

Who we welcome

Every family is welcome at the table: any background, culture, language, belief or way of life. [optional: “every family and whānau”, needs cultural advice]

Steiner education has a long history, and some of Rudolf Steiner’s writing and lectures contain race-based ideas. We reject them. In this room, every child is equal.

If your child needs something different, tell us, and we’ll look at it together. We’re one small room, and we’ll be honest about what we can offer. [to confirm: learning support and site accessibility]

Questions parents ask

Plain answers

Is it a registered school? Can we enrol?: Not yet. Here’s where things stand: we’re working through [to confirm: pathway] with the Ministry of Education. We’ll say “registered” only once it’s true, and enrolment opens after that. We’ll update this answer as it moves.
What does it cost?: Fees are [to confirm: amount and period] and cover [to confirm]. [to confirm: support for families who need it]. Ask us; we’ll answer plainly.
Do you use screens?: Not in the classroom. The day is for looking closely at real things. What happens at home is your family’s choice. [to confirm: adults’ phone use]
What about later?: A fair question, and we won’t answer it with a promise. Here’s what we will do: teach reading, writing and maths to a written plan, and tell you plainly at what age we start formal reading and why [to confirm: approach and age]; tell you how your child is going [to confirm: how often]; and plan the next step with you, on the island or across the water.

Status table

Decided · Still moving

Decided

Waiheke Island.
We’ll stay one room, with the whole school at one table.
We’ll start with six children, of different ages, and grow gradually.
Our day will go out and come back, in a Steiner-based rhythm.
Screens stay out of the classroom.

Still moving

Registration [to confirm]
Site, and shore access [to confirm]
Ages [to confirm]
Fees and support [to confirm]
Teacher [to confirm] · start date [to confirm]

Like a tide table, this changes. Last updated [date].

Visit

Come for a morning.

Next open morning: [date] · [time] · [place] · Low water [low tide: time]

We only use this to reply to you. Or call [phone number].