Sathya Sai Primary School, 2007
School Portrait, Sathya Sai Primary School, 2007
Principal and Teachers, Sathya Sai Primary School, 2007
Festival of Performing Arts
Some of our students will be performing in the annual Murwillumbah Festival of Performing Arts at the Tweed Civic Centre from 17th June - 10th July.
Mr Jenkins class 2/3 will perform a Recorder Ensemble. Our second item is an Instrumental Ensemble. Here, Mr Jenkins and students practice for the musical items.
Art gallery developing in school hall
Classes 2/3 and 4 have created some truly impressive paintings of Wollumbin after looking at the style of Austrian Artist Frederich Hindertwasser. Hindertwasser was an inspiring artist, architect, political activist and ecologist whose work inspired a generation of young people who were becoming more conscious of their interaction with and impact upon Nature.
The students have portrayed this same love of Nature in their vibrant paintings of Wollumbin and the caldera using Hindertwassers style.
Two students have been invited to Sydney on Saturday 30th June to the opening of the Operation Art Exhibition in which they each have a piece of art displayed.
Musical Excellence
Saturating ourselves in experience and striving to reveal their innate excellence, our music team lead by Chris Jenkins and Jenny Hibbard provided an opportunity for our students with a May 25th musical recital at 2 pm at the Anglican Church. Also, during Friday's assembly, our new Recorder Ensemble who will represent us at the Murwillumbah Festival of Performing Arts, performed for the first time! The developing class of performers in grades 2/3 also presented an item.
Grades 2 and 3 demonstrate their recorder skills
Education Week
Education week in our school is a celebration of excellence. Human excellence is elicited by balancing Education and Educare. Human excellence flows from balancing worldly and spiritual knowledge. That is the mission of our school: human excellence through the spirit of human values.
- Education signifies the knowledge gained through the study of books written by others.
- Educare comes from the heart and is spiritual knowledge found within every person. In every person is found love, truth, right conduct, peace and non-violence.
- Truth is harmony between our thought, word and action.
- Right conduct comes from deep inquiry into truth and there is no better conduct than adherence to truth. Ask any millionaire 'Do you have peace?' and they might say ' I have everything, but no peace'. " Peace is something you cannot pass on to another. It comes only from one's heart. In the world today we find only 'pieces', not 'peace'.
- Love manifests from within us and is our life-breath. The world cannot exist without love. Like all other values.
- Non-violence also comes from one's heart only.
Silent Sitting at Assembly
These five values are not separate from each other; they flow from one another. They are a sacred gift of spirit to man. Man should try to manifest and put them into practice. That is educare. The foremost quality a man should possess, should be to speak only truth.
Seniors Art Project
Truth is one, not two. Speaking untruth or talking in an irresponsible manner is not humanness. Understanding is the most subtle form of non-violence and flows through as balance, to display human excellence.
Anzac Day - our ANZAC Visitor
Our school was fortunate to have the President of the Murwillumbah RSL club to speak to us during Tuesday's assembly. Mr Derek Sims told us about how important principles like love and friendship were for him as a Vietnam Veteran and will be for our students all their lives.
Mr Derek Sims, President of Murwillumbah RSL
with Mrs Gowing, Mr Sturmer and students
The Spirit of sacrifice is the hallmark of true education. At our school we aim to sacrifice all that is not the five human values of love, truth, right conduct, peace and non-violence, removing the husk of our ego to reveal the kennel of love in every one of us.
Saff, Students and Friends from the Sathya Sai
Primary School in the Anzac Day March
Friends make such a difference especially in tough times when our character is tested most and shows the most. Our quote 'the way to have a friend is to be a friend' brings our thoughts of gratitude and Love to Anzac Day which is celebrated this Wednesday when we thank our elders who fought for what their consciences decided was right conduct and truth. Friendships formed in tough times stand by us over lifetimes and bring great Love.
When we live from our conscience we are strengthened and real friendships blossom.
Visit by Principal, Sathya Sai School, Toronto, Canada
The retired Principal of the Sathya Sai School, Toronto, Canada, Mr T. Pillay, visited Australia during March, 2007. Here is Mr Pillay on the schol steps with Bob Molloy, (Chair of the School Board) and Mrs Bronwyn Gowing, Principal. Mrs Pillay stands behind Bronwyn Gowing.
Mr Pillay addressed the students about the Sathya Sai Schools worldwide, and Human Values Education.
Igniting the Flame of Human Excellence ~
Ten Years of the Sathya Sai Primary School
In 1997, the Sathya Sai Primary School was opened at the Sai Temple at Mt Warning, 20 minutes drive out of Murwillumbah. It was set up by a dynamic team: Anne Evans, Wendy and Robert Cameron and (the late) Francis Parry, with the help of Mr T Sri Ramanathan. On 7th March 1997 the official opening was held with 10 students.
The ember of 10 students has become a flame of over 100 and the quality of LOVE through human excellence has been maintained and enriched as our model school in human values education matures. Co-founders Robert and Wendy Cameron were our official guests as we celebrated the school's tenth year in an assembly on the Anniversary Morning.
Co-founders of the Sathya Sai Primary School,
Robert and Wendy Cameron, at School Assembly
on the Tenth Anniversary of the School.
Over the next 2 years the student numbers and school needs expanded and outgrew the Mt Warning Temple. In January 1999, the school suffered growing pains. The school was relocated into Condong St, Murwillumbah in leased premises. A new headteacher, Ms Jane Blacklock was appointed.
Students at the Condong Street School
2 years later the school had grown out of the Condong St building and in January 2001 we moved into the current building, a former Anglican Church Hall, at 9 Nullum Street (around the corner from the Condong St School). The Sathya Sai organisation then began to purchase the building. Here is the appearance of the building prior to the School moving in, during January 2001.
Former Anglican Church Hall became the Sathya Sai School
School Assembly on occasion of the 10th
Anniversary of the Sathya Sai Primary School, 2007
Birthday Cake, Celebrating Ten Years of the
Sathya Sai Primary School
On the evening of the Tenth Anniversary of the Sathya Sai School, a Barnyard Dance was held for Students, Staff, Parents and Friends of the Sathya Sai Primary School.
Parents, Friends, Staff and Students
at the Anniversary Barn Dance
Ancient Wisdom - A New flag and New Leaders
~ Students Representative Council, 2007
Representing the ancient Bunjalung nation on Bunjalung land our new school leaders were badged by their representative Aunty Desrae from the Tweed Heads aboriginal people who form part of the Tweed aboriginal co-operative society.
Our school had asked permission from the elders, to fly the aboriginal flag: red (the land and blood that flowed), black (the aboriginal people) and yellow (sun representing new growth and promise) colours representing our aboriginal heritage in this land.
Aunty Desrae told the new SRC that everyone was a leader and that the current students selected to represent the voices of our children had great responsibilities to play their role well in every action they took. She offered age-old wisdom that is eternal, to guide our leaders, as she said that every person had to make decisions from inside themselves and each had to lead their own life and learn their own way. We are delighted with the synchronicity of our aboriginal heritage and the Sathya Sai philosophy that guides our school's directions.
Ancient wisdom shows us still, the pathways to self-knowledge. When we know ourself, we have access to the eternal wisdom that is within us all. We look forward to taking her up on her offer for our school to visit the aboriginal museum in Tweed Heads when it fits our studies. We will now fly the aboriginal flag provided by our Federal Member, Ms Justine Elliot at last August SRC selections. Aunty Desrae told us she was so proud that we had asked permission.
National Harmony Day
National Harmony Day - Australia's first National Harmony Day was held on 21st March 1999 to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. National Harmony Day promotes the social cultural and economic benefits provided by Australia's rich cultural and linguistic diversity. It is a simple and powerful way of expressing that there is no place in our community for racial intolerance or disharmony. It also encourages a sense of citizenship and pride in our nation and local community.
Harmony Day was celebrated locally through a festival in Knox Park on Sunday 18 March, in which we participated singing our values songs. In our school, we celebrated International Harmony Day on a world scale on Wednesday. Our staff, motivated by the leadership of Mrs Sandy Naidu, are having a fun learning day with a visit to Thailand in Mrs Naidu's class, to Indonesia in Ms Watkins class, to Japan with Mr Jenkins, experience Aboriginal Australia with Mr Baker and India with Mrs Broughton. Tasting stories, food, dance, handicrafts, painting and music of 5 different countries to explore harmony was a very rich learning for us all. The classes all rotated around the classrooms and get to know the cultures and all our teachers even better, so that we all work in harmony too!
Experiencing Aboriginal Australia with Mr Baker.
The orange ribbon originated as a symbol of anti-racism. Now as a positive symbol of harmony in our community it is a simple but effective way of showing others that we believe living in harmony in a culturally diverse society benefits all.
2007 School Year begins
Welcome back to a new school year. Our values for weeks 1 and 2 are Love expressed as caring and that's where we start all of our activities from. We welcome some new people to our school and with 110 students, our teachers are working creatively to fit all of their students into five air-conditioned rooms, happily!
Staff of Sathya Sai Primary School, January 2007
Welcome to New Staff
Mrs Bronwyn Gowing returns to lead an inspirational team of highly experienced teachers of EHV and mainstream academic curriculum. Grade 5/6 will benefit from the experience of SSE (Sathya Sai Education) teacher-trainer Ms Leelah Broughton who comes from a strong IT background in Victorian schools and with overseas teaching experience. Mr Mark Baker leads by example with practical experience in NSW primary education, already making staff feel enthused and ready to learn with and from him. He has a pretty good golf handicap too (not much chance though to practise, with three gorgeous daughters and a busy wife!), having been a professional golfer, and looks forward to leading the team for Sport. Mark is our grade 4 teacher for 2007. Mr Chris Jenkins brings his love of music and maths to grade 2/3 this year with his happy welcoming inclusiveness, already making us feel at home and loved! Looks like there are some spelling competitions coming up between grade 4 and grade 2/3 from staffroom banter between Mark and Chris. Start learning your words kids! Class 1/2 will love learning some Indonesian later on, from a creative and experienced musician Ms Annie Watkins, who will take to guitar, recorder, drama and anything else very happily, to light up her children's minds and hearts around learning. Annie has last year completed her EHV Diploma in Canberra, and glows when it is spoken about! Ms Sandy Naidu graduated from Sydney University and did her masters in EHV in Queensland, working also in Thailand and her gentle, loving nature masks a strong and focused commitment to the well-being of each lucky child in her kindergarten class. All staff are university graduates, highly experienced and committed to human values education, the vital area of our school's strength and focus.
Sai Angels Visit our School
Like the elves who worked for the shoemaker at night, on Sunday morning over 30 members of the Sathya Sai Organisation from Brisbane travelled to our school bringing gifts of books, discs, pens, paper, a new hard drive making our computer stores safe, as well as funds for the school next year, and then whisked through the school cleaning desks, resource cupboards and tables, painting the stairwell ceilings and walls then dined on the shores of Knox Park fountains (they never see water fountains running in Brisbane due to level 4 water restrictions!). All this, in about three hours. They worked with Love. Working with Love enables us to work smarter rather than harder and behind them the laughter and love ripples through the buildings, surrounding us all in classrooms and nurturing us, at this very busy time of year. Thank-you so much and to Johan,chairperson of the Murwillumbah Sai Organisation and his team, who organised the painting and Mukthi whose magic wove love into our store rooms. They touched us lightly and deeply with the resources of time, energy and knowledge.
| School Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8.30 am-4:15 pm Address: 9 Nullum St Murwillumbah NSW 2484 Postal Address: P.O. Box 705 Murwillumbah NSW 2484 Phone: 02 6672 8972 Fax: 02 6672 8922 |
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