Always lively, Shearwater's grounds had an extra buzz at the end of last term, with the school's annual Site Day, in which emerging artists from the High School create site-specific artworks in response to our varied landscape, from creek banks and rainforest to wide open fields, waterways and gardens. This year's event was title "Autumn's Aura - Sculpture Upon The Land" and was a creative celebration of the change in season.
Site Day has been the first art making  task for Year 11 Visual Art students since 2001. Now in it’s 17th year, it includes Visual Art and Visual Design students right across the High School, from Years 7 to 12, as well as some Primary School classes and even some individual creations by staff members.
Site-specific installation is a unique form of art, where sculptural works are created in a specific location. When combined with the ideas of land art and the use of predominantly natural materials, students are challenged to question their previous concepts of art and to explore new methods of art-making. Inspired by artists such as Andy Goldsworthy, these installations are often ephemeral and so the photographic documentation becomes the artwork, and is often the only way audiences get to experience the work. 
If you were lucky enough to walk through the school grounds recently and see one, or some, or all, of the many installations then you would agree that this coming together to celebrate the beauty of nature and create contemporary art is a wonderful experience for all involved.
Anna Delzoppo and Deirdre Korobacz

Class 2 students created their own site-specific artwork last week. Hard at play in the sand-pit over several days the children created a thriving metropolis, complete with houses, roads, 'shops' and a complex barter system, involving flowers, leaves, seed pods, herbs and stones.

As a fitting culmination to their Main Lesson on human shelters, Class 3P built, and slept overnight in, their very own shelter, made from bamboo poles, rope and tarps. What an incredible experience for these eight and nine-year-olds to make themselves a dwelling, a fire, and damper to warm their bellies on a cold autumn night.
It was bittersweet to dismantle the structure last Friday as the space gave us warmth, shelter, allowed us to make memories and believe that together, using cooperation and teamwork, we can achieve anything!
Thank you to all the parents who helped with the experience – from builders to cooking help to bringing in loving food for us all to share. It is certainly a Main Lesson I will always remember fondly.  I am so proud of how all the children worked together on the task and how they safely erected the structure.
Penny Martin
Class 3 Teacher

​Our Year 9 students took part in the Bright Sparks summit, held at Mullumbimby High School at the beginning of the term. The summit was run by Northern Rivers Together, a social enterprise program, in which Shearwater is partnered, aimed at preparing young people in our region to become job creators rather than job seekers. 150 Year 9 and 10 students from the two schools heard from innovative local entrepreneurs, who shared their journeys to success and discussed some of the challenges and opportunities faced in our region.
Presenters included Questacon Innovation Week winners Avryl Hart and Jett Walcott (a graduate of Cape Byron Steiner School), visual effects artists Kate Auld and Raph Atkins (a Mullumbimby High School graduate), Saadi Allan (Flow Hive), Dave Keam (Skuff TV) and artist Brodie Jackson.
NRT comprises 16 organisations from the education, business, non-profit and government sectors that have partnered together with the aim of developing the skills of young people to enable them to contribute to a thriving local economy.
As Shearwater Year 9 student Louka McAllister said, "I think one of the biggest opportunities for young people in this region is the arts. It's a very creative region... so it's a great place to be if you're an entrepeneur or a business person in one of these environmental and creative new industries that are coming about in the 21st century".
The Northern Rivers region is an amazing place to grow up. However, an increasingly large proportion of young locals are having to move to larger towns or cities to seek better job prospects and opportunities. By 2030, when our Kindergarten children will be graduating, the nature of the workforce and the jobs being carried out will look very different to today.
Shearwater is excited to be partnering in this initiative aimed at supporting our young people to thrive in our region, through a whole-of-community approach focused on youth engagement, enterprise learning, developing skills and industry networks. 
Thank you to Andrew Carter for his help in coordinating this event as well as Year 9 Guardians, Endre Kvia and Sandra Bain for their support and their hands on help on the day.
Steve Laughton
Shearwater Head of Operations

​It was a fresh autumn Friday at Pop Dennison Park in Ballina last week, as students from across the region laced up their runners for the NCIS Regional Cross Country Carnival. 
Shearwater had 41 runners represent the school in a happy and humble manner. It was a great day, and all competitors should be proud of their efforts of qualifying for the regional team. The students cheered each other on with genuine enthusiasm, weaving a strong sense of belonging between the primary and secondary runners. Six students qualified for the state championships at the Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney on the 14th June. What a fantastic achievement! We wish Sam Darbyshire, Wyana Pietramale-Sewell, Charlie Heath, Matilda Vial, Star Eichler and Rosa Tansely-Beckerman all the best for the next stage of the competition. 
Congratulations to all runners, it was a joy to take so many energetic and engaged students to an inter-school sporting event. Big thanks to Nick Thorne, Magnum Brotto and Beau Devonshire for helping out on the day and all the parents that came along to offer their support. 
Emma Sweeney
High School Sports Coordinator

Class 1M has been enjoying their exploration of letters and numbers. Starting with the learning of the consonants, Class 1 has been meandering along an ancient trail of stories and secrets. Discovering the depth and meaning behind symbols, sounds, numbers and their meanings, the class has eagerly attained a strong foundation of literacy and numeracy.
Alongside our beautiful book work, the class is very capable in the realms of handwork and woodwork, creating stunning recorder bags and chalk boards. 
In Class One we work from the whole part, always - we move together, sing together, learn together and grow together. So before we received our basket of pear wood flutes, left by the little folk who weave magic into their creations, we also created magical flute bags. From our first weave to our last braid on the handle, we create our projects from start to finish.
Ours is a very eager and capable class that love to work and learn with pride and reverence. To end Term 1 on a high note, we invited our families to join in an autumn celebration, sharing our morning circle, singing, craft activity and lunch - a truly festive event.
Michael Caterer
Class 1 Teacher

Autumn at Birdsong Kindy has been busy and full of surprises! Much to the children’s delight, we came back after our holidays to find new play equipment in our garden. The children have been dedicated and brave as they master new tricks, helping and encouraging others along the way.
We have been watching as Mother Earth weaves her Autumn Blanket, filled with earthly treasures in red, orange and gold. We have begun to make our own Autumn weaving (pictured above), thanking Mother Earth for her abundance of gifts as we weave, in and out, in and out, getting our fingers ready for more weaving tasks to come.
We have made and flown our own kites, watching them dance and play in the Autumn breeze; dyed our craft bags with colourful star patterns, and finished finger knitting handles, ready for us to sew on. 
As well as all our busy work, there has been such deep, rich creative play at Kindy and as the days are cooling, we are grateful for the gift of friends to warm our hearts.

Year 10 has hit the ground running this term, with work experience, scuba diving and fundraising for our Vanuatu building project under our belts!
Our Mothers' Day Lunch was a great success, raising more than $1000. Aside from it being an absolutely gorgeous day weather-wise and in such a beautiful outdoor setting under the fig tree, our Year 10 students performed admirably and put together a truly awesome event! Well done guys n gals!
Special mention must go to all of the students who worked so tirelessly to put this event together, and who put in such a fantastic and professional effort on the day.
Work experience is an important component of the Year 10 program and aims to provide students with an opportunity to gain a realistic understanding of the world of work. The hope is also that through their experiences students will increase their confidence, independence and self-awareness.
We started the term with a visit to the Gold Coast Careers Day, where students were exposed to a number of organisations - university and industry-based institutions. The students then began their two-week work placements.
This year students traveled to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Helensvale, Lismore, Byron Bay and Mullumbimby. The students that I visited locally all enjoyed their work experience and their employers spoke highly of them, with some receiving offers of part-time employment. We look forward to hearing their stories and experiences.
Praba Manning 
Year 10 Guardian

Acknowledging my Influences
 
Puddy by Marcella Bruvel-Jones
Puddy is my little Welsh mountain pony who has taught me so much. I started riding when I was very young and she was the one that taught me the most. She was quite cheeky and naughty: she would buck me off and that taught me to get back on; she would also bite and that made me learn to be the big person. She would play all sorts of nasty tricks on me and each one would teach me something. She is quite a character in what she does; for example, she is so small she tries to make herself bigger by standing on higher bits of ground, which in a way teaches me that no matter what happens, just try things that might help, and also to do what you want, be the biggest you can be and make people laugh.
 
Jasper Hall by Jasper Islinger
The place where I was born, Jasper Hall, has had a big impact on the way I live my life, particularly with regard to nature and wildlife. Jasper Hall, is a farm/community in the hills behind Mullumbimby. My dad bought the property in the late 90s, originally planning to transform it into a sustainable organic hippy wonderland. The whole idea was that people would come from all over the world to work with their hands and hearts to earn a place to sleep and food to eat. Because of this, I met some amazing people and was exposed to lots of different cultures from a very early age. Jasper Hall’s location meant that I was pretty much always surrounded by nature and my friends and I would often just run off into the bush for several hours and play or make a cubby house. Because I was always surrounded by wilderness, I think that I probably care more about it than if I had grown up in a city. Jasper Hall will always be a special place for me and my brothers because it’s where we were born and raised.
 
Japan by Grace Chance
Being born in Japan and spending my first seven years of life there has had a significant influence on who I am today, as well as my core beliefs, values and behavioural habits. The Japanese are the most polite people I have ever encountered, highly influenced by Buddhism and the selfless philosophy which is embedded in their habits and values. Their attitude and way of life have impacted on my habits, such as always expressing appreciation and respecting my elders. I also highly value politeness and tend to get offended when people behave in an inconsiderate manner. Japanese culture has positively influenced me to be a considerate and respectful person.