Shearwater

Shearwater Funded Scholarships – An opportunity

The school is very excited to advise its community that following changes in our Constitution, approved at the recent Annual General Meeting, that the ATO has accepted our application to offer scholarships to new students. These scholarships will be funded by benefactor contributions and with the support of the Shearwater Parents, Friends & Alumni Committee.

The school is grateful to the members of our community who have made and will make these tax deductible donations to fund this scheme. The Tax Office has certain rules around approving these types of arrangements. Most significantly, these scholarships are not available to existing students and they must be awarded on the basis of merit or equity. This means that a student, with a special potential talent (eg, music, singing, drama, art, sport, academia…) who has been unable to attend our school because it has been beyond the family’s means; could make an application for one of the available places.   This means that a family who would ideally prefer a Steiner education for their child but have not had the means to send their children are eligible to apply.  Likewise if a student with a particular talent or interest with which to contribute to the school community is eligible to apply.

The future for the school depends upon a stable enrolment base and Shearwater has fallen below its anticipated numbers for 2011. This strategy will boost our numbers from Term3 which will in turn provide comfort to our wider community that we have dealt with the rigours of the past and that we can provide the confidence in the future; that parents, staff and our children can rely on. The school recently advertised for 2012 new students which included a notice about these available places. Please understand that the scholarships can only be awarded to new students. Shearwater will accept re-enrolments from former students who do not have a pre-existing debt and who have been absent from Shearwater for over twelve months.

Shearwater believes that this presents a first-time opportunity to enrich our community with new students and that it will also create a life changing experience for each new family. As committed members of the Shearwater community, this outcome is something from which we will all benefit. This is a wonderful opportunity for the school to give back to its community and clearly show that Shearwater cares about its ‘friends’; whom should be afforded the same opportunities to attend our beautiful school and enjoy with other children, these special and unique learning experiences.

The school continues to support all parents, in many ways, who have found themselves in emergent need and that these funded scholarships are intended to sustain the school into the future rather than detour our resources away from our existing committed community. I think that this demonstrates the faith that we all have in our school and in Steiner education. A walk in our beautiful school grounds, filled with the joy and laughter of more young persons, is reward enough for this initiative.