Our Very Own Home at Last

5 October 2012

After 16 years we finally have our very own home! We completed the purchase of the former Hawthorn Junior School in Llandaff North last week, and the whole Cardiff Steiner community has been getting involved in its transformation into Cardiff Steiner School.

We have had three busy work weekends preparing for the builders. We found the opportunity glorious, after two years of planning and grafting, wishing and willing, hoping and praying, laughing and weeping we were in there – pulling up carpets, taking out floor staples (what a job !!!) carrying rubbish, revealing beautiful wooden floors, checking the electrics, wondering about the water. Check out the photos on our Facebook Page>>

We have been delighted to have as our weekend workforce, kindergarten parents, kindergarten teachers, class parents, class teachers, trustees, friends and, beautifully, some of our first kindergarten children who are now grown to 16 and 17 year olds with the grace in their hearts to come back and lend a hand.

_{Kindergarten friend, Russell Evans, and Class 1/2 Teacher, Pankaj Sulodia, get busy. More photos on our Facebook Page}

Part of the appeal was undoubtedly the great lunches which appeared each day – good food, good people, good work, good fun and a huge sense of achievement as we worked together towards a common goal. We thank you all – parents, friends and staff for your hard work over these weekends. It is never easy with the pull of family at weekends, so whether you scraped, baked or babysat (ran the crèche) many many thanks.

The builders, WT Building Group, began work on 8 October, and will complete in 10 weeks. We shall let them crack on for now, however, in early November they will be ready for us to go back in at the weekends to start decorating and doing the floors.

We invited the local community in on Sunday 7 October and had a lovely response with about 60 people dropping by and being very supportive and excited that there will be children in the building once again. We had a little girl turn up who had been at the school when it closed – she asked whether we had found her pencil case, alas we had not, but we’ll keep an eye out for it.

We have bought the building with money and support from The Hermes Trust – a charity offering grants, low cost loans and support to projects based on Steiner principles.

It is confidently anticipated that all the work will be complete, ready for us to move there in January 2013. We shall gently begin to close down our home at St Anne’s in the Christmas half term. Those of you who were with us for the move to St Anne’s from Iron Street will remember the children carefully packing up treasured Kindergarten toys and equipment for the move to their new home, we shall endeavour to make the children feel involved in and aware of the move again.

If you would get involved please just contact us. We will keep you updated during this wonderful time.