This year we have welcomed back as K6 students; Freya, Sacha, Eleanor, Delilah, Sage, Ocea and Harlan, and as K5, Corin and Remy.  Our new K6 children are Frankie, Grace, Fern, Remi, Amaya and Vincent, and in K5 we welcome Olive, Lyra and Jack.  The children overall have settled really well, and are a delightful group.  Our hearts and thoughts are with all the families affected by the bushfire last weekend, and we are ready to help in any way we can.  

For little children (and adults too) re-establishing familiar daily and weekly rhythms as much as possible is comforting, so I was very happy that school was able to resume as normal on Monday.  All of our children have now returned to resume the term. 

This week I have been telling the story of “The Little Flame”, adapted from the one written by a colleague, Sandra Busch.  It was written for young children as a response to bushfires.  Fire means many things; the Aboriginal people used fire to burn the bush, create grasslands and prompt new growth.  There are many native plants that need the heat of fires to open their seedpods for germination.  While we need fire to heat, cook and process, it can threaten, endanger and overwhelm us when it runs wild.  In this story, the fire element is redeemed, is contained and cared for and able to give of itself.  Here is my adaptation of Sandra’s story; 

Once upon a time a weary traveller wandered along the dusty road.  He was tired and hungry for he had been walking for many days, and when he came to the forest, he took off his pack, gathered some sticks and leaves, and lit a small fire to make himself some tea.  Then he lay down beside the fire and went to sleep. 

While he slept a naughty wind came and blew a little flame out of the fire.  Wind and flame started playing together, running through the grass, over the bushes and up the trees.  They didn’t look where they were going, burning everything in their path.  The traveller woke and ran from the flames, and the animals and birds fled too. 

The wind and the flames puffed themselves up and grew big and wild.  They leapt from the forest into gardens and houses and the people had to leave their homes.  Mother Earth asked the wind and flame to stop, to settle down but they took no notice of her pleas.  So she asked the heavens for help. 

Soon there was a cloud filled with rain moving across the sky.  Good winds blew it to where the fire was burning.  When the rain began falling, the flames shrank smaller and smaller, and the fire was subdued.  “Thank you” said Mother Earth. 

Two little children returned to their home near the forest the next day.  Around them they could see all their tree friends, black and sad.  Mummy said they could take the bath water to the trees so they filled buckets and took the water out to the forest, where they saw the traveller.  He said he would help, and together they took the buckets to all the trees nearby, giving each a little drink of water. 

As they worked, the children saw a little stick that was still burning.  “This must be the flame that jumped out of the fire”, they said, and ran home to Mummy to get a container to put the little flame in.  They brought the container back to the traveller and he picked up the burning stick with its little flame and carried it carefully in the container back to the children’s home, where he put it in the wood oven. 

“This is where you belong, little flame”, he said.  The little flame helped to heat the oven and the children helped to bake bread and cake for dinner.  It was a special dinner for the traveller, who was asked to stay the night.  “And whenever you pass by, you must come here to stay with us,” said Father, making the traveller very happy. 

With warmest wishes,

Denise