WEEKLY LEAFLET 32
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As we move through another week at Michael Oak, we take a moment to share some of the recent highlights from the Class 10 camp, that they have been fundraising for this whole year, the Class 5 language sharing, and much more . We hope you enjoy this week’s leaflet!
Next week features the Class 1 parents evening, our key Annual General Meeting, the lively Friday Market, and a special Eurythmy showcase by Class 11.
24
November
Class 1 Parents Evening
7:00pm to 8:30pm
Meeting among Class 1 parents and teacher, taking place in the Class 1 classroom.
26
November
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
6:30pm to 8:30pm
General meeting in the big hall open to all staff and parents.
28
November
Market Day
12:30pm to 3:00pm
Our weekly market takes place every Friday at the school entrance.
28
November
Eurythmy Performance
7:30pm to 9:00pm
Performance by class 11 taking place in the big hall.
- Nikhita is a Class 6 parent, who took on the role of fair coordinator for 2025.
Over the years, the Michael Oak family fair has become a time to celebrate our wonderful school and community. It is not just another fundraising event, but it is the only annual event where our entire school community has the opportunity to work together, socialise, and celebrate as a whole school (high school, primary school, and kindergarten as one). Parents and staff members alike should feel proud, honoured, and enthusiastic about bringing such a wonderful event together. It is truly the only time of the year that we have a whole school experience at one event, with many parents appreciating the opportunity to mingle and celebrate together.
Crafting through the year to sell products at the fair has become a firm tradition at Michael Oak, allowing all parents to learn and master new skills, with many often not knowing their hidden talents. You will never know until you try. The monthly craft days are so special, as they give parents the opportunity to get to know each other better and strengthen the bonds within classes, whilst allowing children to play in a safe space, enjoying the morning with their friends.
The crafting lovingly undertaken by parents culminates in some of the most wondrous and beautiful craft items, sought after by many loyal fairgoers for Christmas or holiday gifts.
This year’s craft was no exception, and a massive thanks must go to all who participated in crafting this year, with special mention of Kindergarten 2 (Craft Link Sara Muhl), a young class whose class parents produced exquisite craft for the fair. Thanks and appreciation to the High School craft group, who also contributed beautiful craft, and to Adele for the gorgeous Waldorf dolls this year.
Huge thanks must also go to everyone who contributed to the baking and preparing of delicious homemade items for the Tea Garden and other food contributions, as well as shift duties done by parents at various stations.
These contributions, from Kindergarten to High School, have also become deep rooted traditions of our family fair, having started within our community many years ago. The sharing demonstrates the willingness of parents to help and assist, and also shows the dedication that parents have for the school. Thank you once again, dear parents, for all your heartfelt efforts, and to those who provided other donations. This is such a beautiful way to thank the school for teaching and nurturing our happy children throughout the year.
The family fair is planned throughout the year, with the month before the fair being the busiest period, yet with enthusiasm and positivity, it ultimately delivers an exciting day enjoyed and appreciated by many families. Once the Bedouin tent is raised on the Oval, the children feel that the fair has begun, and their excitement is palpable on the premises. The fair that they have been waiting for throughout the year has arrived.
It is this excitement and the smiles of the children that make all our fair planning efforts worthwhile, knowing that the children and their families create unforgettable memories at each family fair.
Without knowing it, the best and lasting memories of our children’s childhood are being made, and the fair will always be a connection to a past full of happy memories. While the memory of this year’s fair is still fresh in our minds, Class 6 of 2025 would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the entire Michael Oak community for the hard work, dedication, and willingness to help that made this year’s fair a success.
With special thanks to staff members Natheema Jacobs, Kyle Snapper, Rob Howe, and Chris Mathimba. Your help was invaluable. Last but not least, thank you to my dream team… Michelle Oliver (our incredible food lead for undertaking this huge portfolio), Mohamed Abbas (our super efficient finance lead), and Natasha Kemp (our amazingly sharp witted quotes and procurement lead).
I also need to mention the hard work and dedication throughout the year by Lesley Palmer (our themes lead) on her fantastic spirit and creativity, Sean Walsh (our games lead) who built new and exciting games from scratch for the fair, and Brent Palmer for his amazing ability to host the event and entertain the audience.
The Class 10s spent the week of 3 to 8 November at Bushwhacked on the Orange River, finally enjoying the adventure they had worked toward all year through their fundraising efforts. After a ten hour bus ride that felt like a small journey of its own, they settled into days of paddling, swapping partners and discovering the many unique approaches to keeping a canoe steady. One evening they built an impressively large bonfire that became a quiet highlight of the trip. And in the end, the students agreed on one thing with absolute certainty: the food was the undisputed favourite.
Our Class 5 children made their way to Constantia Waldorf School for the annual language sharing, a gathering where Class 5 children from Waldorf schools across the city come together in a spirit of celebration to share how beautifully their secondary languages have blossomed. The morning was filled with short plays, heartfelt songs, and thoughtful poems.
Our Class 3s recently embarked on a wonderful learning journey at the Bloublommetjies Biodynamic Farm. They rolled up their sleeves and immersed themselves in the rhythms of farm life, taking on real jobs like milking the cows and turning compost.
We can confidently say it was a hands-on experience. In fact, most of their tasks seemed to revolve around one very fundamental farm ingredient: poop! They handled it with great enthusiasm (and plenty of handwashing).
Of course, all that hard work was fuelled by the farm’s delicious, wholesome food, which was a highlight for everyone. It was a truly memorable trip that connected our children to the earth in the most grounded way possible
A group of Class 5 boys discovered a collection of forgotten woodwork offcuts as well as other scrap parts and immediately set their imaginations in motion. What began as a pile of spare parts quickly grew into a proudly handcrafted go-cart complete with working brakes, a turning system and even a personalised license plate.
As the year gently draws to a close, we warmly invite our high school families to a festive soiree filled with entertainment, laughter, and a bring-and-share feast.
As part of our commitment to ensuring a solid handover of the Fair to the organisers for 2026, the Class 6 of 2025 put together a survey requesting feedback on our Medieval Fair 2026. We received 87 responses, 9 of which were from members of staff and 78 from parents. Thank you so much to those who provided feedback. The responses were rich and provided a good sense of where we did well with the Fair this year and where we can still improve. A full report has been provided to the school and is ready to be made available for the Fair organisers in 2026. A brief summary is provided here.
The average responses to some key questions in the survey are shown in the figure below. Responses were scored 1 to 5 with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent.
Overall, feedback was very positive. Respondents loved the atmosphere at the Fair, as well as the food, entertainment and theme. This was not universal. Six respondents gave low scores for overall satisfaction, one of whom was very unhappy indeed, but a significant majority of scores were positive.
Respondents felt that the Fair achieved its goals of marketing and community building, although there were suggestions for more extensive marketing next year, aimed at reaching people outside of the direct Michael Oak community.
On the whole, respondents felt that the Fair was worth the effort that they put into it, but there were a lot of mentions of the unbalanced nature of the effort and calls to try and reduce effort or spread it more evenly.
The change in layout was received largely positively, with the banquet hall getting a lot of positive mentions, but the location of the games needs improvement as respondents felt that they were a little lost. The Dragon’s Lair did not receive substantial comments but there were some suggestions that the execution can be improved.
Feedback on the inclusion of KG was not extensive but what comment was received was mixed. There were several mentions appreciating the fact that KG was once again part of the main fair, but also several indicating that the Fair was long and noisy for KG children.
The main area for improvement next year is the entry and payment processes. Queues were long and this should be resolved. Other major areas for review are the approach to organising the Fair and the role that Class 6 plays, cost of food and craft, quantity of baked goods produced, and information and communication.
If anyone would like to see the full report, please feel free to reach out to Kim Walsh in Class 6 on 082 570 4565.
Join Dr Tessabella Lovemore online for a talk exploring the effects of testosterone on boys and how it can influence the way boys relate to care, learning and the world around them. The 30 minute talk will be followed by a 30 minute Q&A.
📅 Thursday 24 September
🕗 8.00pm SA time
💻 Online via Zoom
Donations are welcome. Email activepracticalloveinitiative@gmail.com to attend and receive the Zoom link.
Awaken your Inner Artist with this new five week art course, inspired by the work of five modern and contemporary artists. Through art, reflective writing, music and poetry, participants will explore their inner creativity and expression. No previous art experience is required.
All High School parents Welcome! Be part of a dynamic group of parents who engage with the School and help shape school policies on topics such as AI use in the high school; navigating a phone-free school and issues such as bullying or vaping. Please add any items you would like to be discussed in the final meeting of the year at the High School Parent Forum by completing this quick form linked HERE. For enquiries contact the Forum Chair Cecile Blake Benadé. cecileblake@gmail.com.
The date of the final meeting is 17 November 2026
Join us for the debut performance of ‘Awakening’ an exploration of the origins of our world and the human beings within it. Workshopped and co-created by Helios, an independent group of grade 7s and their teacher, Elinor Driver.
Weaving origin stories from around the world together into a web of questions, pictures, colours and sound this production is the culmination of the group’s primary school theatre journey and is an exploration of some of the answers that myths, stories and science give us to the big questions of what it means to be human and how we came to be here.
Music theory lessons for Grades 1 to 3, following Trinity College of London, with in person or Zoom sessions available. Lessons are R300 per session.
Contact Dharma for more information or to book.
From Jan 2027 for 3 months
Hello Everyone,
My name is Luiza, I am 16 years old and I was born on January 5th. I attend a Waldorf school in Berlin, Germany and I am currently in 10th grade.
I come from Berlin and live quite centrally with my mother, my brother (15), my little sister (7) and my stepfather. I would describe my family as open-minded, loving, warm and welcoming.
My favourite subjects are Art and Spanish, and I also enjoy Sports. Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are
not really my favourite subjects.
Don’t miss out! Remember to book your space at the Mommy & Me Expo on 3-4 October 2026 at Venue D’Aria!
Please contact Elzette at admin@donatoevents.co.za for more info and rates.
I am in Cape Town for a month with my 6 year old son, Jude. We have come over from Zimbabwe to have a baby here, and while we are here, I am looking for a tutor who could spend a little time with Jude a few times a week.
I would love some help with reading, handwriting and maths to keep him learning while we are away from home. I am trying my best, but I am definitely not a teacher and could use some help!
If you know of someone who might be interested, please get in touch.
Becky
073 533 3037
WhatsApp: 00263 772 234 349
Save the date for Imhoff Waldorf School’s Spring Fair on Saturday, 12 September! Come along for a wonderful day of craft activities, games, delicious food, music and family fun. Bring the whole family and enjoy a vibrant community celebration as we welcome the arrival of spring.
A gentle invitation to reconnect with yourself. Join this four day women’s retreat exploring Ayurveda, embodiment and women’s wisdom through a nurturing and restorative experience. No previous experience is needed, and all are welcome.
Join Constantia Waldorf School for their magical Annual Fair, A Fairy Tale, on Saturday 24 October 2026 from 10am to 3pm. Enjoy a day of fun, food, activities and fairy tale magic for the whole family.
📍 Spanschgemat River Rd, Belle Constantia
🎟️ Adults R30 | Children R20
💳 Cashless event
I went to the aquarium on the weekend, but I didn’t stay long.
There’s something fishy about that place.
