It is a bit sad to come to the completion of our Human and Animal Studies at the end of this term, our immersion has felt so rich!  The students have finally finished their portraits of themselves with their favourite bird found in the Great Southern region, and have extended themselves by beginning beautiful tonal drawings of cormorants, eagles, frogs and kangaroos.

Class Four were also quite taken aback to receive a formal response from our principal, Jacqui Hamblin, in response to the persuasive texts they wrote about the need for the school to preserve the paperbark forest.  Thanks so much to Jacqui for taking the time to write individualised responses to each student (with the school letterhead and envelopes with each student’s full title!)  The process certainly created a lot of discussion, perhaps a little bit of awe at a new sense of their personal power, and it reassured the students the forest was in good hands!   

We have continued to build on our collaborative learning skills, using inside-outside circles to stimulate class discussion.  The end of term also had Class Four build on their presentation skills as each student gave a five minute talk on an animal of their choice.  We learnt so much from each other and laughed at how long we could concentrate when we had the chance to listen to a variety of our peers instead of just our teachers!  Our meditations have also continued on Friday mornings, and begun to include greater periods of silence and meditation on the breath as a way of creating a sense of home within each of us.

Thanks so much for everyone’s support over the term, especially Steve, our Class Carer, as he helps to co-ordinate the Winter Festival.  Have we said it before?  It is certainly true that it takes a village to raise a child...

Warmly,

Renee and Ashley