LYSS Newsletter 7 October 2025

Class 8 Project Exhibition

On Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th September, Class 8 shared the culmination of three terms of dedicated work in a vibrant project exhibition attended by students, teachers, and parents.

For the first time in their schooling, students chose their own project topic and, with scaffolding and guidance, completed a major independent work. The process began at the end of Class 7 and came to fruition at this exhibition. Alongside their displays, students delivered four oral presentations: the first on the inspiration for their project, two progress talks describing challenges and problem-solving, and a final ten-minute presentation sharing their complete journey. Each project also included a written overview and an essay on an inspiring person connected to their chosen theme.

Here is just a glimpse of the range and dedication Class 8 brought to their work:

Bealah explored the world of art, drawing inspiration from her mother and grandmother, both artists. She enrolled in an art course in Armidale, travelling each week and returning late on Monday nights, still arriving at school the next day. Her project included research into historical methods of paint-making, experimenting with techniques, attending exhibitions, and producing a large body of original, carefully documented artwork.

Bealah Class 8 Project

Tilda, inspired by “Mr Walker,” a local gentleman she often saw walking smartly dressed, wondered about the stories hidden in everyday lives. She bravely approached strangers outside the shops in Yarra Junction, often facing rejection, but persevered until she conducted several in-depth interviews. She transcribed, edited, and illustrated these with her own drawings, producing a book of inspiring quotes and stories that highlighted her developing skill as a sensitive interviewer.

Henry’s proposal to build a Warhammer terrain board was initially met with scepticism, but his passion carried him through. He designed and constructed a detailed, interactive board with movable scatter terrain and individually crafted building ruins, each requiring hours of work. His patience and persistence gave him new knowledge of construction techniques, tools, and materials.

Emily, with only minimal sewing experience, set herself the ambitious task of sewing teddy bears to donate to the Royal Children’s Hospital. She independently contacted the hospital to check safety requirements and experimented with different ways to create eyes and noses without detachable parts. She trialled fabrics, refined her designs, and completed six teddy bears, which she donated to the hospital, while also displaying her prototypes at the exhibition.

Mia devoted her project to supporting a local wildlife shelter. She discovered that many carers are ordinary people funding their rescue work themselves. Determined to help, she designed and sold handmade gift cards, surveying people’s preferences, managing costs, and selling her products locally. The funds she raised went directly to wildlife care. Her family now carry rescue kits in their cars, ready to help injured animals, showing how her project extended into her everyday life.

James undertook the technical challenge of building an FPV drone. He devoted over 100 hours to practising on a flight simulator before piloting his own drone, which he built from scratch. He then recorded striking aerial footage and created an informative short film about the school. His project demonstrated persistence, technical skill, and creativity.

Eloura dreamed of hosting a Winter Ball, initially for her class, but the idea grew into a large-scale community event. Held over two nights at the Warburton Arts Centre, the first evening was for Class 8 and the second open to the public, drawing over 70 people. She organised entertainment, handmade games, a crescent moon photo booth, dance instructors, and an MC. She also secured raffle donations from local businesses. The event raised funds for the Class 8 Celebration and showcased her talent for planning, creativity, and community leadership.

Inika delved into her Italian and New Zealand heritage by collecting recipes from family members. She tested and perfected all 36 recipes in her finished cookbook, often preparing meals in the afternoon for the best lighting to photograph them, and reheating them later for dinner. Her beautifully styled photographs, family stories, and copies of original recipe cards made her cookbook a treasured keepsake of her cultural heritage.

Xochi, Tya, and Ariya, all new to sewing, bravely tackled garment-making for the first time. Each of them displayed clothing they had sewn themselves, showcasing not just skill but also courage in taking on an entirely new craft.

Millie, inspired by her sister’s work as a marine biologist, explored the local marine environment. She filmed underwater footage at numerous sites, researched over 20 marine species (including some rarely seen), and interviewed biologists. She edited her own educational video, painted detailed illustrations of each species, and created extensive written profiles, bringing science and art together.

Phoebe, a state-level basketball player, took on the role of coach for a group of six- to eight-year-olds. Coaching was a new and challenging experience, requiring patience, communication skills, and organisation. Each week she guided her young players, developing as a teacher and mentor.

Grace, moved by the loss of her two grandfathers and inspired by Little Women, created a memory chest. She built a prototype first to practise her skills, then her final piece, a handcrafted wooden chest engraved with a tree and phases of the moon. She also researched her family history and compiled a family tree, weaving together personal reflection, craft, and history.

Riley, a dedicated dirt bike rider who competes around the state, built a dirt bike from scratch with the guidance of his father. His project reflected his passion, mechanical skills, and determination.

Ethan undertook the painstaking task of carving a chess set by hand. Each piece was turned on a lathe and then refined with carving knives. He described spending three hours carefully cutting the cross on the king, only to have it break — a setback he faced with resilience. Though the process has been far more time-consuming than expected, he is committed to completing the set and crafting a chessboard from special woods.

Nia Song writing

These examples give a glimpse into the variety and richness of the Class 8 projects. Each student produced something personal and meaningful, and many demonstrated remarkable creativity, effort, or perseverance along the way. The projects as a whole are a true celebration of independence, imagination, and community, and Class 8 should feel deeply proud of what they have achieved.

Archer: Workbench

Tao: Punching Bag Stand

Jett: Leatherbound Book About African Culture

Luna: Resin Jewellery with Native Flowers

Koah: Building a Radio

Tully: Australian Gothic Photography

Oliver: Bookbinding and Manga

Aidan: Designing a Dream Bedroom

Nia: Song writing

 

Little Yarra Ensemble Seniors Tour Of Germany

What an amazing trip the LYE seniors had touring Germany. It will be hard to summarise as the trip was so full of rich cultural and personal experiences.
We departed Melbourne on Sunday the 7th of September, flying into Frankfurt arriving Monday morning. We caught a train to the Leipzig Waldorf School, where we visited previously in 2019. It was lovely to be welcomed so warmly and to deepen our relationship by working with the students and staff from Leipzig. We conducted workshops and joined rehearsals with their school orchestra and choir performing a work by Mendelssohn.  This culminated in LYE performing with a wonderful sharing of LYE pieces, workshop pieces, and finishing with the Mendelssohn. We worked with the school from Tuesday to Thursday, during which time we enjoyed a visit to the city, a camp fire with damper arranged especially for us and a shared community dinner after our evening concert.
Our next stop was Chemnitz. We were invited to work with this school as they had a Waldorf festival planned during the week we were visiting, and we were invited to perform as part of the final day of celebration. We arrived on Thursday evening to find to the students’ delight that accommodation had been arranged at a nearby farmhouse, complete with friendly donkeys, chickens and decidedly unfriendly geese. We worked with the Chemnitz students in workshops on Friday. Our students have really risen to a new level with these workshops. At times they find these activities can be repetitious, but I think they have grown to understand the value of offering workshops to the students of each host school. They are a chance to share the joy of creating music with younger less musically experienced children. The participants become a part of a polished ensemble and the joy they receive from working with our students is so evident. Even though we had a language barrier, playing together felt seamless and the German children quickly followed the lead from our LYE students. This was excellent leadership from the LYE group. Well done!
On the Saturday afternoon we played to a full audience and the LYE performed exceptionally well. The performance almost became incidental as our students became enthusiastically involved in a soccer tournament that had been arranged as part of the festivities. They played a couple of rounds before we performed, followed by a semi-final and final after our time on stage. What a day – our performance was very well received by the Chemnitz community, and we also won the soccer tournament! Seren was awarded the best female player and Oliver Smith the highest goal scorer of the tournament. The students topped off an excellent day by dancing into the evening to the final band of the festival, Meniak, made up of past students from the Chemnitz Steiner School.
On Sunday morning, we travelled on to Dresden. All travel was via public transport, mainly trains via a Deutschland-Ticket that Anni’s mother Jenni organised for us. This monthly ticket made public transport a breeze, and what great public transport they have throughout the country. To support us, John and Jodi travelled in a van carrying our instruments and our luggage.
In Dresden we went to an Opera in an amazing opera house. The 184 year old building is spectacular, and a worthy venue for the opera by Handel entitled Saul. The next day, we returned to our tour program of workshops and performances at the Dresden school. Again, these were very well received, and our hosts begged us to stay longer and do it all again the next day. Alas, the tour is on a tight schedule and we had to keep moving!
Tuesday morning we caught the train to Berlin. We stayed in a lovely old hotel and visited many of the tourist sights in the evening and the next morning. We visited the Holocaust Monument, a remnant of the Wall, as well as a trendy part of town with some great vintage clothing and record shops. On Wednesday evening, we arrived in Hamburg and stayed at the school in Harburg, a beautifully forested area to the South of the city. On Thursday morning we performed to the students from Hamburg and then kept moving on to Kiel which is in the northern part of Germany and only 100km from the Danish border.
Our first night in Kiel was spent in an ancient house owned by Anni’s (class 11) grandparents. This property was part of an Abbey, and the house was constructed in 1597. The house was beautiful and held so many stories – it was wonderful to be able to stay there. Anni’s grandparents made us so welcome, a huge thanks! Another highlight of this visit was being able to gain access to the 700-year-old church on the property. We took our instruments and played a number of pieces. What an incredible acoustic and setting to be able to play in, and to be a small part of a story of such a grand beautiful building was a real privilege.
The last musical day was Friday the 19th of September. The Kiel Waldorf school is the largest in the world with over 900 students. We played a number of school’s concerts for the younger classes and the middle school. We then had a show and tell opportunity where the younger children wandered between instruments and our students gave demonstrations and a try of the instrument where appropriate. We had the afternoon off and prepared for an evening concert. This was well attended and I think this was the student’s finest performance. They performed beautifully even though they were very tired from a couple of weeks on the road.
The music teacher at Kiel gave me an insight afterwards into the impact our students have on their audience. One parent reported that when their child came home from school they threatened to divorce them as a parent if they did not take them back to see our evening performance. I have had so many emails from the teachers at the schools we visited saying students have been inspired to take up instruments and want to start similar groups. This is the overwhelmingly positive and lasting impact our students have had on our host schools. We also had a number of students and their parents enquire about the possibility of an exchange at LYSS as a result of the tour. Well done LYE senior students!
After Kiel we caught a train back to Frankfurt on Saturday morning and rested in a hotel that evening. At the Kiel evening concert we received almost 500 Euro in donations collected from the audience, so we went out and had an absolutely memorable middle eastern feast in a restaurant in Frankfurt.
On Sunday, we started the long journey home, flying from Frankfurt to Shanghai. In Shanghai, we had a 17-hour stopover, during which we ventured out into the city and spent the day investigating. We arrived home in Melbourne on Tuesday lunchtime and the school bus carried us on our final trip back to LYSS.
What an unforgettable trip it was. Much appreciation to all our students – they were amazing. They completed a trip we initially thought might be too difficult and we did it because of their sheer determination as a group. Well done for your dedication to the ensemble and the touring process. A huge thank you to the team who participated – Celia, Jenny, John and Jodie. Everyone worked so hard and both staff and students gave it their all!