The Autumn Term will end on Friday 18^th December 2020 (Thursday 17^th December for Kindergarten) and Spring Term will begin for all on Wednesday 7^th January 2021.

We’d like to thank parents for all their support this term and the children for their hard work and cheerfulness in somewhat strange circumstances due to the coronavirus restrictions.  

The trustees of the Eskdale Community Trust for Education would also like to say a very special thank you to all our staff and volunteers who have worked so tirelessly in this last term (and indeed in this last year) to keep the school safe and to give the children the very best educational experience in difficult times.  

We wish our whole school community a very Happy Christmas and look forward with you to a what we hope will eventually be a more normal year in 2021!

In Waldorf schools, Advent, the period of four weeks before Christmas, is an important festival. 

The Advent Spiral is held on the first Sunday of Advent.  The ‘spiral’ in question is a huge spiral made from branches of evergreens and set out on the floor. It leads to a central candle. 

In darkness and with soft music playing, each child, carrying an unlit candle placed in an apple, follows the path of the spiral to light their candle from the central one.  On their return they place their candle on the green spiral, gradually illuminating the path. 

It is a magical and beautiful experience usually attended by family, teachers and children. 

Unfortunately, our Advent celebrations have to be a little different this year due to Covid 19 and it’s very sad that we can’t include families in the usual way.

On Monday 30th November the children, dressed in their best clothes, took part in the Advent Spiral.  The audience this year was teachers, volunteers who come regularly into the school and the children.  As well as the spiral walk, there was traditional music and Christmas Carols.

Each Monday and Wednesday during Advent at 8.50am, we will meet in the foyer to sing carols. All teachers and helpers who are already in our school “bubble”, or “Christmas bauble”, as the children suggested we call it, are invited to join us. Please bring your singing voices.

The return to school this year was a very special one as Moorland Waldorf has been closed since last March. Children and teachers hadn’t seen one another properly since before Easter, although we did take the unprecedented step of using some technology to help support the pupils through such very long period. It was a challenge for everyone – parents, teachers, children – to stay focussed and optimistic, to try to keep up with schoolwork, to stay fit and happy. We all learnt things about ourselves, our environment and what’s important in our lives. But September saw us reopen our doors, albeit in rather different ways, and look forward to being together in School again. We must abide by strict coronavirus safety rules and the arrangements we have in place are working well. We’re fortunate that our entire school is just one ‘bubble’ and the children can all be together. We’ve embraced the great outdoors even more than usual – open-air activities are the new normal.

If parents have any questions about our coronavirus precautions or any anxieties about the health and safety of their children, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

We hope to get through to Christmas without too much disruption!