News

Friday Notice 29 April 2016
Posted on Friday, 29th April, 2016

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This week the Littlies went to the Waterfront Pavilion and made some Peace Trees with the Gyuto Monks.

They are beautiful and on display in the Littlies Cottage if you would like to see them.

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The Willie Wagtails
Posted on Friday, 1st April, 2016

The Biggies class had a great workshop with The Willie Wagtails this morning and the whole school thoroughly enjoyed their performance afterwards.

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Friday Notice 4 March 2016
Posted on Friday, 4th March, 2016

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What a fabulous turnout of students, staff and families for the National Ride2School Day. Well done to John, Wellington and Arthur for riding all the way from South Hobart on their tandem with a tag-along!

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Term Dates for 2016
Posted on Friday, 4th December, 2015

 

Term 1 – Tuesday 2nd February to Friday 8th April (Easter falls during the term March 25th – 29th)

Term 2 – Tuesday 26th April to Friday 1st July

Term 3 – Tuesday 19th July to Friday 23rd September

Term 4 – Tuesday 11th October to Thursday 15th December

40th Anniversary Celebrations – Friday 30th October at school
Posted on Tuesday, 20th October, 2015

All Cottage School community members past and present are warmly invited to join in the children’s 40th Anniversary celebrations on Friday 30th October 2015 at the school.

This event will begin at 1.30pm and will include children’s presentations celebrating the school’s 40 year history.

Come along – maybe share some memories, a round of ‘The Rattlin’ Bog’ and join us for afternoon tea afterwards. If you are in touch with any ex students please let them know.  The more the merrier 🙂

 

School Improvement Plan Video
Posted on Friday, 14th August, 2015

Here is a video of Steve explaining the concept behind the School Improvement Plan. He would welcome any queries you may have concerning the contents. Click on the link below to watch the video.

School Improvement Plan

Come and help us celebrate our 40th Anniversary
Posted on Friday, 17th July, 2015

You are warmly invited to attend the following two events…

1. FRIDAY 30th October (1.30 – 4.30pm): at the School, Queen Street, Bellerive.

This event will begin at 1.30pm and will include children’s presentations celebrating the school’s 40 year history.

Come along – maybe share some memories, a round of ‘The Rattlin’ Bog’ and join us for afternoon tea afterwards. If you are in touch with any ex students please let them know.  The more the merrier 🙂

2. SATURDAY 31st October (7.30pm – 11.30pm) at The Derwent Sailing Squadron, 23 Marieville Esplanade, Sandy Bay.

Tickets ($35 per head) are available from 40years@cottageschool.tas.edu.au

Tickets are selling fast. Book yours now so you don’t miss out!

Includes canapés, speeches, silent auction, DJ and dancing!

As numbers are limited, this is an adults only event.

Celebrate 40

Fundraising Event for the Vanuatu Cyclone Appeal
Posted on Tuesday, 28th April, 2015

At the end of last term, Hana’s Middlies 1/2/3 ran a “Coin Drop” fundraising event  on the green space to raise funds for Vanuatu after the devastating  effects of Cyclone Pam.

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Ride2School Day – Friday 13th March
Posted on Monday, 16th March, 2015

What a wonderful start to the day we had with the annual Ride2School Day last Friday. There was a record number of Cottage School students, parents and siblings bike riding, scooting and skateboarding. Thank you to all staff & parents who joined in to help promote the physical and mental benefits of being active. We joined thousands of other schools around Australia to make riding, skating and walking a feature of our school’s culture. It is wonderful to see the increasing number of families who are riding to school.

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“School Leader” – New Position at the Cottage School
Posted on Wednesday, 22nd October, 2014
The Cottage School is embarking on the exciting next exciting stage of our journey, and taking applications for the new position of School Leader.  We are looking for an experienced and committed person to:
 
• Provide curriculum and program overview and to support the professional development of teaching staff.
• Manage the administrative, risk, fnancial and human aspects of the School and identify and implement improvements and effciencies.
• In collaboration with the School community, lead our long term strategic ‘School Futures Project’ to provide a sustainable direction for the School.
 
Please feel free to pass this news onto friends and associates.  More details of the opportunity can be found at 

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Cottage School Circus
Posted on Monday, 20th October, 2014

What a fantastic show! All the children from Kinder to Grade 6 practised their circus skills during a few Phys Ed classes. At the end of last term they performed their show for the whole school community. Bravo! Bravo!  Great job everyone – we loved it. Check out the Gallery for lots more pictures.

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Sally’s Garden progressing well
Posted on Friday, 26th September, 2014
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Sally’s Garden is being created to recognise the founder of the Cottage School (1975).

The space at the front of the Green Cottage, which was previously a little unloved, is getting a much needed make over. In the spirit of Sally it is being transformed into an outdoor classroom complete with beautiful sandstone seating that encircles a fire pit come water play come table, new sandstone steps, small fruit trees (heritage apple), native grasses and a refurbished garden bed incorporating a ‘cubby nook’.

A very big thank you to Thierry Cueff and his gang for creating the lovely stone seating, steps and yet to come cladding on the retaining wall.

And Ben Walker for sculpting the fire pit (which will actually be more like a flaming wok!) that started it’s life ploughing the fields at Penna.

We are aiming to have it complete early in term four. Just in time for warm outdoor learning!

More information on the history of the school can be found here and more pictures here.

The Great Book Swap
Posted on Friday, 12th September, 2014

The whole school participated in the Great Book Swap (a fundraiser for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation) on Wednesday 10th September. Students donated books for the cause and then bought a book with a gold coin donation.

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Tom’s Middlies at Gymnastics
Posted on Friday, 15th August, 2014

Tom’s Middlies have just finished their gymnastics unit at the PCYC in Liverpool St. They had the opportunity to use a variety of equipment including; the beam, even and uneven bars, rings, mats for rolling and tumbling and their favourites, the trampoline & climbing rope.

Here are a few photos of the action:

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What is a Skoog?
Posted on Friday, 1st August, 2014

Jane and Amadeo brought a ‘Skoog’ into Shona’s music class last week. The Skoog was designed by some young guys in England to make music accessible to everyone. It is a spongy cube which you can squeeze or touch to make sound and is connected to a computer. The children were able to choose from a large selection of instruments to play. Looks like the children had lots of fun making some great music with it.

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Grade 3/4 History & Science Inquiry
Posted on Friday, 30th May, 2014
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Tom’s Grade 3/4 class visited the ruins of Lisdillon Saltworks for their History and Science inquiry (Historic Inventors and Innovators).  They stayed overnight in their tents on Paul’s block.  What a great example of learning outside the classroom and even the overnight rain didn’t dampen their spirits. They also visited the new Saltworks at Mayfield Jetty Road and the Bark Mill at Swansea.

Littlies Environment Day
Posted on Friday, 23rd May, 2014
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The Littlies went to the Botanical Gardens this week for Environment Day to explore the infinite variety of plants and fungi.

We also enjoyed playing in the autumn leaves.

Ride to school day
Posted on Wednesday, 19th March, 2014
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Some of the kids, mums, dads and teachers that rode to school…the learning can really benefit from some before school exercise and what better way than to ride your bike to school?

Start the day with yoga
Posted on Wednesday, 5th March, 2014
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Every Thursday morning Lee starts us off with a yoga session…a great way to prepare the body and mind for a day of learning.

Alumni Donation
Posted on Monday, 17th February, 2014

An ex-student has donated $4,000 to the school. What a generous gift from a 19 year old heading off to university! Thank you Edward – we’ll put the money to good use. We wish you all the very best at Uni and in all your future endeavours.

Goodbye to our 2013 leavers
Posted on Friday, 20th December, 2013

It was the last day of term on Thurs which meant it was time to say goodbye to our kids who are moving onto their new schools.

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Farewell, be safe and I’m sure we’ll all see each other around the Hobart village.

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School fair on again – Sat 9 November
Posted on Wednesday, 16th October, 2013

A popular event on the community calendar, The Cottage School Fair is best described as a cross between a Farmer’s Market and a Craft & Design Market.

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The whole school community, including members of extended families; past school families; friends; and even community members, unconnected to the  School, bring the best of home-grown ; homemade and handmade together to create the thousands of items for sale on the day.

This teamwork, one of inclusion; community spirit and the focus on home-made, rather than mass-produced, are part of The Cottage School ethos. The same ethos that underpins our curriculum and code of ethics influences many of our choices and standards at Fair.

Bring your friends and your family and remember to come early and stay for a while! Enjoy coffee and cake; a milkshake or ice-cream; or even lunch. Take home something for your Garden, your pantry or perhaps for dinner. Pick up a Crafty gift or two and fossick for a bargain on the second hand stalls. On the way out, choose a bright bouquet of flowers and pick up your plants.

We hope to see you there!

Last Working Bee For 2013
Posted on Sunday, 8th September, 2013
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Well done to everyone who made it to our last working bee for 2013.

It was a tricky day to find the time with the Federal Election requiring us to vote and the weather threatening to dampen our day (there will be plenty of catch up jobs for those that didn’t make it!), but in the end the sun shone and those that did make had a huge impact with lots of the usual jobs ticked off plus some great new things for the kids to explore, like three new vegie gardens, a new music wall and markings going onto the white courtyard wall for PE.

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The school’s absolutely sparkling…for more pics check out the working bee gallery.

The Great Book Swap
Posted on Thursday, 5th September, 2013
The Great Book Swap is a fundraising event for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Kids donate unwanted books from home then buy another book for $2.
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This really encourages us to sacrifice something in order to gain something else. It’s also a great opportunity to discuss some of the difficulties many indigenous children live with; growing up without books and not being able to read and write.

Of course is it’s always a good time to talk with your kids about the great  joys of reading and of sharing favourite authors, genres and styles.
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Left over books were donated to the fair (Sat 9th Nov 2013)
Thanks for organising this event Lee.
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Manure dig gets a good turn out
Posted on Thursday, 8th August, 2013
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The Cottage School manure dig for 2013 saw over 20 keen parents and friends meet in the Tassie highlands to shovel, scoop and encourage very good quality sheep manure (can you say that?) into 1100 bags. This is a great opportunity for the school community to get to know each other better, but it’s also an important part of preparing for our major fundraiser in November, the Cottage School fair.

Special thanks to Lesley and Andrew for organising the day and John and Di Fowler for allowing us into their lovely shearing shed.

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End of Term 2 Concert
Posted on Wednesday, 10th July, 2013

The whole school squeezed indoors due to bad weather to watch the end of term 2 concert. Special thanks to Shona (our music teacher), Kate (our French and poetry teacher) and the kids of course!

Check out the gallery page for more pictures.

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And we say goodbye to Ruby. We wish you all the best Ruby.

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Winter Solstice bonfire
Posted on Monday, 24th June, 2013

A beautiful night for the Cottage School winter solstice bonfire.

Good fire. Good food. Good company.

Special thanks to Vanessa, Thierry and Cléo for hosting.

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Mid year working bee
Posted on Tuesday, 4th June, 2013

Thanks to everyone who came to the mid year working bee last Saturday

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We always have a diverse range of jobs and a diverse range of skills to match. A lot was achieved.WP_000243WP_000245

One of the best things about these days is seeing the school community come together. Having an opportunity to catch up with old faces you may not have seen for a term of two and welcome new families that have joined the school community this year. For those that don’t do the daily drop off or pick ups, it’s an opportunity to connect with the school again and of course an extra day at school is a real bonus for the kids!

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The school really sparkles post working bee and has a air of new, fresh, energy about it.

Thank you to all.

Sheep poo donation to gardens burnt in fires
Posted on Tuesday, 12th March, 2013
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Jo (L) and Kerrie (R) from  the Tasman Dunalley Neighbourhood House with the donations.
The Dunalley Tasman Neighbourhood House Revegetation and Garden Restoration Program were VERY happy to receive 40 bags of sheep poo (and a couple of bonus spades) last week from the Cottage School, funded by profits from the Garden Market. The poo & tools will be distributed to gardeners affected by the January bushfires.
This photo also shows the community fruit garden (on the left) which was badly burnt in the fires. A number of fruit trees were killed, the netting which enclosed them plus the watering system were completely destroyed plus some of the timber framing which held the net. The fence behind the garden was also lost (hence the temporary hessian fence). A few of the surviving trees have however managed to sprout new growth.
If you are interested to learn more about this project please see: http://dunalleytasman.org/current-activities/

Term Dates for 2013
Posted on Friday, 1st February, 2013

The Cottage School is very much looking forward to the start of the 2013 school year. See you all on Monday 4th Feb…

Term 1 – First Day Monday 4th February – Last Day Friday 19th April  (No cooked lunch on the first Monday)
Term 2 – First Day Monday 6th May – Last Day Friday 5th July
Term 3 – First Day Monday 22nd July – Last Day Friday 20th September
Term 4 – First Day Monday 14th October – Last Day Thursday 19th December

 

Special General Meeting – Thursday 7th February, 7.15pm

AGM – Thursday 7th February 2013, 7:30pm

Working Bee term 1 – Saturday 16th February, 9am

Farewell school leavers…
Posted on Thursday, 20th December, 2012

Today was the last day of a long year at Cottage School and it was with a little sadness and best wishes that we said good bye to our grade sixes, teachers Janet and Margie and others heading off in search of new adventures…

More pictures at School Leavers gallery…

End of year concert
Posted on Thursday, 20th December, 2012

The traditional end of year concert was held last Friday and was well attended by family and friends. Thanks to the good weather we were able to hold it outdoors. Big thanks to Shona, our music teacher and Aaron, who’s been teaching guitar this term, for organising the performance. It’s always nice to have the school community come together.

More pictures in the End of Year Concert gallery…

 

Middles Mayfield Camp
Posted on Wednesday, 12th December, 2012

For the 2012 third term camp we had glorious weather for our 3 night camp, one of the Cottage School’s favourite spots. Mayfield on the East Coast was the scene of much emotional, physical and social growth and this camp was undertaken wholeheartedly by all.

The Middlies (Grades 2,3 and 4) together enjoyed swimming with current at the Estuary, exploring and damming Buxton creek, shell collecting on Christmas Island,bird watching at the Eagle’s eyrie and walking and exploring the property. This setting provided the children with the opportunity and time to build enduring relationships in an authentic environment.

 

From a teacher’s point of view, our camps are an immensely important part of our curriculum. We are able to understand the students on a completely different level. We witnessed them challenging themselves physically and emotionally while fostering their independence in situations that require them to collaborate, reach a consensus of opinion, compromise, negotiate and apply all the skills required to work as a part of an effective group.

 

Part of our school tradition is to acknowledge each camper’s contribution with an award, this provides the opportunity for the children to celebrate each other’s successes and reflect on their own achievements.

For years, Cottage School children have been researching, recording and passing on the history of the Buxton’s, the first owners of Mayfield. Their emigration from England, arrival in Tasmania and the trials and tribulations of establishing a farm on the East Coast, are all significant events synonymous with Tasmania’s early history. This year Bruce helped to solve the mystery of where Thomas Buxton was buried after the death of his wife in 1864.

 

Each November the children look forward to introducing a new group of Middlies to the Mill, the activities and the places that make Mayfield significant to another generation of Tasmanians.

 

More pictures can be seen at the Middlies Mayfield Camp gallery or see Curriculum for more information on why camp is important to the Cottage School.

New teachers appointed
Posted on Wednesday, 28th November, 2012

The school is thrilled to advise that we have recruited 2 new, very high caliber teachers. A very big welcome on behalf of the Cottage School community to Michelle Mihalic (Littlies) and Pamela Daly (Kinder).

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Michelle Mihalic

Michelle has a number of years teaching experience including Reggio Emilia training. She will be known to some of you as she has relieved at the Cottage School this year. Pamela has also had a number of years teaching experience and most recently taught at the well known Silkwood School on the mainland which has a very high reputation.

 
Until the end of the year both Michelle and Pamela will be at Cottage School one day a week as part of their induction  process. Please take the time to go and introduce yourself and welcome Michelle and Pamela to our School. I know they are both incredibly pleased to have been appointed and it was a pleasure to be able to ring them and offer the positions. Michelle and Pamela will both be a wonderful asset to the school and will bring new skills, experience and ideas that will  assist in growing Cottage School and help us move forward into the future.

School Fair
Posted on Monday, 12th November, 2012

The Cottage School fair, our major fund raiser for the year, was held last Saturday at the Bellerive PCY.

Once again the school community worked hard to pull together a wonderful event that attracts a large number of regulars, friends, families and first timers. Funds raised at the fair (a substantial amount of money particularly for a small school) goes into the Friends of Cottage School (FOCS) fund and is used to purchase items needed other than the normal everyday things required for running a school. High on the list is a new school bus, but other things include the redevelopment of the sand pit, a food processor and cooking utensil for the cooked lunch program, the new deck in the nook in front of the White Cottage just to name a few

A very big thank you to the school community for making  and donating the wonderful produce sold at the fair and the help provided on the day. A big thank you also goes out to the businesses that donated produce or vouches – all have contributed to making the day such a success. Elisia and the Innis-Short family deserve special thanks as the tireless fair coordinator and her patient family that lives through the build up to this one day in November!

More pictures coming soon to the gallery…

One of the highlights of fair day for the kids is the ‘wet and wild play’ that takes place back at school whilst parents and staff  pack up. Tom, our Middlies 3/4 teacher, reminds the kids of our playground rules “Is it safe, is it fair, does it show I care” before things get underway.

See more pictures at the Fair Gallery…

Cottage School Fair
Posted on Tuesday, 30th October, 2012

Sat 10th November, 9am – 1pm

Bellerive PCYC – 10 Scott Street, Bellerive

The annual school fair is our major fundraising event. We have lots of great stalls selling gourmet foods, freshly baked goods, cottage plants, crafts, cakes and lots more. There’s good coffee and great cake from our cafe and delicious hot lunches from the kitchen and of course there will be a BBQ! Our supervised play area offers fun entertainment for the kids and don’t forget our quality sheep poo at $5 a bag.

Term Dates for 2013
Posted on Thursday, 11th October, 2012

       In 2013 all Tasmanian Schools will go from 3 terms to 4 terms.

                                     Next year’s term dates are as follows:

                                     Term 1  –  Monday 4th February  –  Friday 19th April

                                     Term 2  –  Monday 6th May  –  Friday 5th July

                                     Term 3  –  Monday 22nd July  –  Friday 20th September

                                     Term 4  –  Monday 14th October  –  Thursday 19th December

 

Sandpit drainage fixed
Posted on Thursday, 27th September, 2012

Good news, the sandpit drainage has now been fixed. We’re looking forward to the next big wet to test it out!!

Sandpit drainage problem
Posted on Tuesday, 28th August, 2012

It has come to our attention over the last few weeks that the new sandpit has a drainage problem. We are looking into this and aim to rectify the problem over the September school holidays. Apologies if your child has come home a little damp because of it, but from all reports they actually prefer it this way…apparently it’s much more like a beach!

Term 2 end of year concert
Posted on Saturday, 25th August, 2012

Attention parents, families and friends.

The end of term concert is on this Monday (27 August) at 2pm. See you all there!

 

Renovations officially opened
Posted on Wednesday, 15th August, 2012

Three years ago Cottage school looked a little different!

Thanks to the very generous government grants – known as ‘Building the Education Revolution-BER’ for schools, Cottage School was able to embark on the most extensive renovation and refurbishment it has ever had. Anne remarked that it felt like a dream! 

For decades, Cottage relied on the ‘army’ of parent helpers to paint, patch and keep the buildings in a useable condition. Now, our lovely cottages are professionally painted inside and out, some have new windows, new roofing, new wiring, new plumbing, new carpets, new walls, new heating…the list goes on.

The Biggies cottage has a wonderful kitchen extension, underneath which we have the brand new Kinder room, with a landscaped  ampitheatre outside.  There is even a brand new kitchen in the Middlies cottage for school lunch preparation. The storage sheds outside replace some very old buildings and have provided cleaner, drier storage for important items like dress-ups and sport equipment.  Most importantly the school is now a shining example for energy efficient renovations.

Senator Bilyk was on hand to unveil the official plaque and to receive the school community’s heart felt thanks. She heard from a number of people how it has improved our school.

So many people at the school were involved in the project that I am bound to miss someone if I try! Almost every member of the school community in some way contributed- from checking buildings, to running errands, choosing equipment for kitchens, colours for cottages , attending steering committees………… However, Penny must come high on the list for managing a lot of financial business. I have fond memories of running into the independent schools authority with our progress reports to be signed off for our next tranche of money to pay the builders! Teaching staff must be honored for their efforts to teach in temporary classrooms, which must have been very challenging at times.

Our supervising architect was the very talented Nigel Legge, and our builders were Otto Berry.  Sean Berry and his team must be congratulated for their ability to work safely and kindly near the children, and for getting the job done to such a high standard.

Clarence Council was fantastic in getting the  approvals through in a timely fashion, and our various electricians and plumbers must also be mentioned.  One major, but unseen part of the project involved consolidating the electrical connections to the school from three to one and connecting the cottages with data cables.  Lastly, you may have noted a rather fine array of solar panels on the roof of the white cottage.  These were as a result not of the BER- but a tenaciously applied for- over a couple of years!- 50K$ solar school grant, that just happened to coincide with the end of the BER.  These solar panels are putting a large amount of energy into the grid, and in summer, actually put the school into healthy credit!  This should result in an incredibly modest electricity bill over the year for the school. We will keep you informed.  The installers of the array were Nuenergy.

 The school is now included in ‘Sustainable House Day’ on Sunday 9th September between 10 am and 4pm.

See more pictures of the school grounds Gallery

New sandpit grand opening
Posted on Wednesday, 15th August, 2012

An upgrade to the Cottage School sandpit had been in the planning for a few years, however sometimes things just have to wait until the right people come along…

Parents Kevin Roberts and Rob Gowty, together with Kinder teacher Janet Patel, provided just the right mix to get things started. Much discussion and planning went into what the childrens’ needs were and what would work for the school as a whole.

Finally things got started in mid 2012 with the added help of George Underwood, Ben Walker and Dong-Chul Lim (known onsite as DC) and it wasn’t long before things started to get serious with sand being removed, holes being dug, cement being laid, dirt being moved, new sand brought in, more dirt moved, timber walls erected, bit more dirt moved before finally the new sandpit was ready for some serious play time.

All the workers involved got much thanks and gratitude from the staff, the school community and most importantly the children who produced some very special thank you cards. These will be cherished and go into the ‘special things’ drawer.

The grand opening saw a song performed by Margie’s Prep/1s and Hana’s Middlies 1/2s that summarised in song, the highs and lows of the sandpit build. It was enough to bring a tear to a burly old sandpit builder’s eye.

Perhaps the new sandpit will still be in use when our children’s’ children come to Kinder for the first time…

Sheep poo dig a huge success
Posted on Wednesday, 15th August, 2012

Sheep poo $5 a bag

A big draw card for the Cottage School fair each year is the bags of quality sheep poo we sell. Gardeners have come to know and trust  this great garden fertilizer from the Cottage School fair. Unfortunately someone has to actually collect it, so twice a year the sheep poo coordinator (yes that’s how serious we take it) calls for volunteers to pack their BBQ lunch and head for the country with spades, rakes, buckets and other specially designed sheep poo collecting equipment.

Our first dig this year, under the new management of Andy Wells and Lesley Gardener, was a huge success. A very well organised couple of days saw an estimated 1,500 bags collected. That’s got to be a record!? There was a great turn out of school families that whilst doing the school a great service also get the opportunity to get to know people from the school community, particularly those parents who can’t do school drop off and pick up.

A very big thank you to our hosts, farmers Sarah and Steve, who not only opened their shearing sheds to the school, but also their home.

Lots of bags of poo makes for a very happy fair coordinator!

For more pictures check out the sheep poo dig gallery.