Camphill School News

AT the start of the new school year we always welcome over 50 new co-workers from many countries of the world who come to live and work with our pupils. (In the new intake for our BA in Curative Education, 12 countries are represented through the 22 participants.) It never ceases to amaze me how destiny seems to work and just the right co-worker ends up working with the right child in the right house and right class. New relationships are made which transcend national boundaries. In this time of international terrorism we can recall the founding groups' vision in 1939 of Camphill being a `light in the darkness' of World War 2, with the child with special needs acting as a catalyst to form new communities. So it is here in the Camphill Rudolf Steiner Schools with people from all denominations and races living side by side with children and young people with special needs. With this knowledge one can wonder about what the wider mission of the child with special needs is?

At the Aberdeen September holiday weekend we held our annual Open Day with hundreds of people coming and enjoying a day out in Camphill. Of particular interest this year was the work of Amber Nursery and its work with local children. The nursery is already full and we are currently discussing the next phase of its development. Many also had questions about the impact of `The Road' and we were and are continually grateful for your support in combating this threat. We hope by now that the decision has been made and, if the road has to go ahead, a route chosen which minimises the impact on the locality.

With best wishes for a peaceful Advent and Christmas,

Laurence Alfred