Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Bush School

This term, the Dolphins and Starfish have been participating in walks down to Centennial Park for Bush School.

Bush School is proving to be such a wonderful part of our curriculum, and it’s interesting to note that with each visit comes a very different experience. Each session in the bush is special and memorable.

For many, Bush School provides opportunities for new experiences and new skills. It may be climbing a tree or building a ‘nature house’ and decorating it with leaves. It might be creating a family of mice out of Banksia. Being in nature promotes imaginative play.

Children who have first-hand experiences of nature also appreciate what it means to live sustainably. The children are able to experience the natural cycle of the seasons and explore the various natural elements produced by varying weather. We see this every few weeks on our way to our bush classroom as we are greeted by ‘the upside-down tree’. We witness this special tree change with the seasons.

The bush can offer a sensual smorgasbord with lots of tactile experiences, a sense of timelessness, freedom, and a sense of belonging to the place. The children become confident, capable and relaxed in natural environments.

Bush School is about letting the children be, having time to explore and time to feel the sense of freedom. It allows for more open-ended communication and a less routine-based program. Outdoor nature play is authentic, real and hands-on learning. It develops an increase in children’s independence, confidence and creativity, and physical and emotional resilience. Bush School is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.

(Children in Wild Nature – Niki Buchan)

Collection of pre-loved toys and books

Once again, we are collecting pre-loved toys and books in good condition to send to the Aboriginal Pre-schools in outback Australia. These schools are in desperate need of quality resources and materials. Through our book and toy collection each year, we have been able to help these pre-schools and bring a touch of happiness and learning into these children’s lives.

Please bring in your donations between Friday 23 June and Tuesday 27 June. The toys and books will be picked up on Wednesday 28 June by Gunawirra, a not-for-profit organisation in Redfern that will distribute the materials to these Pre-schools.

Monty Prior (Boori) – Aboriginal performer

Monty Prior is a multi-talented performer who has worked in numerous industries including film, television, modelling, sport, music and theatre-in-education. He is also known as a public speaker on Aboriginal issues.

Monty was born in 1950 in Townsville, North Queensland. His father was from the Birrigubba of the Bowen region and his mother is from Yarrabah (near Cairns), a descendant of the KUNGGANJI. Monty is an accomplished didjeridoo player who has performed solo with the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra. Monty worked for many years with Joe Geia, performing in schools throughout Australia. He has written several award-winning books with Meme McDonald including Maybe Tomorrow, My Girragundji, The Binna Binna Man and Njunjul the Sun. His picture book collaboration with Jan Ormerod, Shake a Leg, won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction in 2011. Monty’s stories are about finding strength within to deal with challenges, and his skill is to create positive visions of the future for both Indigenous and all Australians.

On Tuesday, the children were lucky enough to be entertained by Monty who shared a special time with us, telling us a story about the kestrel bird. This bird teaches the Aboriginal people how to hunt and go in search for food. It flies with its wings spread out, hovers and dives down for food. If the food is too big or heavy such as a snake, a goanna and a mouse, it will let it go. 

The children were then involved in a spirit dance in honour of the bird. The children dramatised a story by pretending to be the kestrel bird and the animals that it was catching. Boori used paints to represent the feathers of the bird. We learnt the didgeridoo he was playing was made from a Stringy Bark tree and was only played by those who lived at the top end of Australia.

Monty made different animal sounds using the didgeridoo and the children were encouraged to dramatise and move around the room like the animals. Once the music stopped they were to freeze. Some of the animals and actions included a kangaroo hopping and looking for food, a kangaroo sleeping and scratching, an octopus wiggling, snakes crawling, a starfish playing the guitar and a jellyfish shaking. Monty shared a beautiful story about a Willy Wagtail. We learnt that the story is 25,000 years old and was told to Boori by his uncle.    

There was a tribe on a mountain and another tribe on the earth that had stolen their fire and wanted it back. They were feeling cold. So, they asked the ancestors because they felt they were capable of getting it back themselves. Monty explained that every person has its own animal. This idea was represented in the story by different animals. The biggest and strongest ones said they would fly to the sun and bring back an ember. The little Willy Wagtail wasn’t big enough, so they kept telling him to wait out of the way. When the big birds flew, their feathers began to melt. They returned empty handed. It was the Willy Wagtail who was able to fly quickly and bring back the ember. Today he has a little red dot under his tail showing that he got the fire.

From the story, we learnt that you don’t have to be big to be strong. It doesn’t matter what size you are to make a difference.

We also learnt how the Aboriginal people stop themselves from being bitten by mosquitos, using a branch from a tree with leaves. The leaves are crushed, allowing the sap to come out. They brush and swoop the leaves over their bodies before they begin to dance.

Luca: I liked it when Monty counted and everyone had to hide and then we surprised him and jumped up.

Grace: He put feathers on his arms with the paint. Ochre goes on your arms like we put sunscreen on.

Hannah: We were lizards and caterpillars and then we had to hide.

Talia: He played the Didgeridoo.

Luca: He played sounds of the dingo, the kangaroo, the crocodile and a dinosaur.

Leo: I liked the singing and dancing.

Savannah: I loved all the parts of the show.

Micah: I loved the story about the animals and people.

Tomer: I liked the story about the bird.

Kornmehl Movie night

Movie night is this Sunday, 18 June from 5.00 pm – 7.15 pm. If you have not yet booked your tickets, please feel free to just come along on the night and purchase tickets at the event. We are looking forward to a fun and exciting evening.

The children have been working on making collaborative art canvasses to be auctioned on the night. Some of the artworks have been inspired by Aboriginal art works and artefacts. The Dolphins have explored the cover from a cushion that Renee bought when she was in Jilkminggan a few weeks ago. They have replicated the patterns and colours of the cushion cover on their artwork. The Starfish have been inspired by circles in Aboriginal art and decided on the colour blue for the background, to represent the ocean, which is a place the children are all familiar with. The Seashells have been inspired by the Aboriginal artwork that was done with Graham Toomey a few weeks ago. 

Some of the other artworks include portraits and drawings of each child in the group.