About the Dandenong Ranges Steiner School (DRSS)

Parents continuously make choices for their children and mostly they share a common goal in wanting to provide them with the best.  Of course defining the best can vary enormously according to our individual values.

 "The first thing that struck me in experiencing a Steiner Kindergarten was its simple beauty.  Surrounded by natural materials, soft lines, gentle light and a deeply calm atmosphere it re-awakened a longing, which at the time I didn't understand.  It was so deep that I knew I wanted to know more about it.
In embarking on my journey to discover what Steiner education was all about I found that the more I understood the more remarkable it seemed and I was left with no doubt that it was the best choice for my children."

-co founder, Dandenong Ranges Steiner School

The Dandenong Ranges Steiner School was established by a group of parents who wanted their children to attend a Steiner school close to home.

The School's Primary School (1-6) now occupies its beautiful Campus at Crystal Brook, located on the border of Emerald & Narre Warren East near the Cardinia Reservoir, while the Early Childhood Centre (Playgroup, Kinder & Prep) remains at the school's original site in Menzies Creek.

If you would like to discover more about what draws parents to this extraordinary educational model please contact the school and ask for an Information Pack.  Tours are conducted each term.

The School currently offers:

• Playgroup - for children from birth to kinder age, usually 3 turning 4
• Kindergarten - for children from 3 and a half to 6, includes prep
• Primary School - now offering class 1 through to class 6

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Playgroup The School offers Playgroups to parents with children from birth to kinder age. Playgroup is a chance for families to meet weekly in a warm, nurturing and healthy environment. It is lead by experienced Playgroup Leaders. Free play, morning tea, simple songs, and a short story are offered. Playgroups are held in Menzies Creek.

Inside the Playgroup

The Kindergarten

	The Kinder room

The Kindergarten programme centres around the child's inner need to play. Play is seen as the child's "work". Through play children learn about themselves, others and the world in which they live. The kindergarten includes children aged 3 ½ - 6 in a mixed-age setting. It includes prep children.

Simple equipment, from nature or made from natural materials, is provided to encourage play. Cloths, blocks, dolls, shells, rocks and baskets are used. Even the furniture is used in creative play. Outside equipment includes sand and water as well as climbing frames, slide and swings.

The Kinder playground

Kindergarten Program

A rhythmic day provides the stability and security in which creative play can arise. Routines include:

	A basket of Kinder dolls

The task of the kindergarten teacher is to create a home-like environment and to encourage creative play by engaging the children in work taken from daily life. Examples of this work are cooking, sewing mending, polishing, woodwork, cleaning and washing.

The Primary School

	A Class 4 Display

A simple principle underlies Steiner Education: The child develops through stages that reflect the great cultural epochs. Nothing is taught for its own sake, but within the context of how human culture developed, thus building up the child's own sense of humanity.

At the centre of the curriculum are the needs of the developing child. Each subject is integrated with Storytelling and the Arts and offers the child nourishment for the head, the heart and the hands.

A rich childhood is the best guarantee for successful adulthood and we present the traditional academic subjects as well as a wide variety of artistic and cultural activities.

The Curriculum in Classes 1 - 6 includes weekly classes in Craft, Painting, Eurythmy, German, Music and Games.

The primary classes we offer in 2009 are:

• Classes 1 - 6
• Prep, Kindergarten and Playgroup