Lynn Venish, Jamieson Program Coordinator Frensham Junior School
As part of Outdoor Immersion, students in Years 5 & 6 enjoyed an eventful outdoor experience while on camp at Mr Keira earlier this term. Students learnt to set up their tents and sleep in the outdoors, hearing only the sounds of nature. The many activities included hiking down the mountain from Mt Keira lookout to the campground, learning to cook their own dinner using a Trangia cooker, stand-up paddleboarding, beach activities, canoeing, Indigenous cultural craft and Bush Regeneration. Our students are fortunate to experience the joy of the outdoors while being challenged by choice to build confidence and resilience in the outdoors.
Caring for our local environment was evident as all classes participated in the Clean Up Our Schools Day. Each class focused on a different zone around the school, demonstrating citizenship and respect for our collective role in caring for our environment.
The care of our chickens continues to bring delight to all students as each class takes responsibility for one week of care, as part of our Outdoor Immersion program. Students use the stamp provided by the Australian Food Authority to stamp each egg and once a carton is filled, classes deliver the eggs to the office to be sold. This program helps foster a wonderful sense of belonging, connectedness, responsibility, service and leadership amongst our students. Our Year 6 animal care monitor displays wonderful initiative in supporting different classes every week when filling the food and water troughs, cleaning out the coop and collecting eggs.
In service to our broader community, Year 6 students visited residents at Annesley Retirement Village. Students and residents engaged in a range of intergenerational games and activities which included individual and small group conversations to exchange ideas and experiences. We hope to broaden this service to other year groups at Frensham Junior School.
In support of Harmony Week, students demonstrated their recognition of our rich cultural diversity, by wearing something orange. This provided teachers with a wonderful opportunity to speak to their classes about the importance of kindness and embracing difference.
Kindergarten students enjoy their role of caring for our Therapy Dog, Iris. Each week, students engage in cleaning out the water bowl, brushing, exercising and preparing enrichment games for Iris. Throughout the process of taking a leadership role in service to Iris, students learn that like humans, dogs also need to foster a growth mindset through learning from their mistakes and striving to improve and refine their skills.
Preschool children are learning about the principles of sustainability through their participation in a Harvest Stall. This involves parents in bringing in used items that could be exchanged for items presented by preschool at their stall. Through this process, preschoolers learn about the concept of recycling, reviving and reinventing, as part of our social responsibility to preserve our environment for future generations.
