There are many things growing and changing Here at Birdsong Kindy.
We have been lucky enough to have had many caterpillars weave their green and gold cocoons and have seen the Monarch butterflies as they emerge and take their first flight.
Merrily Magpie’s babies have been growing bigger and more confident, singing loudly in our garden and and beginning to search for their own food, while Merrily watches on.
Our Blossom Babies have been sewn with care; our turtle shells have been finger knitted and woven; and of course our turtles have grown and changed as we have fed them into plump young hatchlings ready for their own adventures in Mother Ocean.
And of course the Kindy children are growing and changing too, as we prepare them for their summer festival and ceremony and transition into Class 1.
What a wonderful year it has been. I look forward to hearing stories of the many adventures of Class 1 and beyond.
Kat Barwick
Birdsong Kindergarten Teacher
Class 7 recently went on their final Primary School camp. It was with jubilation that restrictions were lifted and we had the opportunity to continue with the tradition of fantastic camps at Shearwater. Although shorter and closer to home than past Class 7 camps, this was no exception.
The two classes came together with the intention of fostering new friendships and getting to know their future Class Guardians. We had a wonderful campsite at Lake Arragan and, after setting up our tents, we got on with the business of weathering storms, facing physical challenges, eating lots of wonderful food and reapplying sunscreen.
Shearwater has many aspects that make it unique but one of the standouts certainly has to be the camps, creating fond memories for our students and graduates.
The benefits of the situated learning that forms this aspect of an outdoor, hands-on curriculum are so valuable and can be readily measured by the social health of the group and smiles of the participants.
Watching students immersed in nature while learning together is a tremendous highlight for a teacher and now, standing at the end of our seven-year journey, I give thanks not only for the wonderful students of Class 7 but also for Shearwater, for placing an emphasis on a living curriculum. I also acknowledge my wonderful fellow teachers and a further note of appreciation goes to the planners, shoppers and parents who provided lovely food, as well as to Nick Thorne and Venessa Skye who went above and beyond to help this camp run smoothly.
