After studying Les Murray’s 1969 poem An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow, our Year 12 Standard English students composed short stories that explored one of the ideas from the poem. Here is a selection of them...

S T R A N G E R S    B Y   A   M E T R E
​by Lae-Ella Sinniah
 
He’s only a metre away from me. Just sitting there. I know men like him. He’s not very well kept. His misbehaving hair sticks out and hangs scraggly around his hungry looking eyes. What is it with men these days? Does he not own a hairbrush? The stranger shuffles around on the bench, stretching his legs out. Making me nervous. He moves a little closer. I scrunch my leather bag for comfort, playing with the tassels to distract myself from his uneasy presence. I know men like him. With their cheap arrogance and wanting gaze. Believing that the world is there to serve them, to satisfy their wants and desires. I wonder where the bus is? Maybe I should just get a taxi…
 
She’s only a metre away. I can smell her generously applied perfume from where I sit. God, I love that smell. It reminds me of visits to my grandma’s house as a kid. She would suffocate me in her big hugs and kiss me all over saying I was her favourite grandchild. It made me feel special, although I knew she said that to all her grandchildren. The heat of the day is beginning to irritate me. I shuffle around in my seat, moving over slightly and stretching my stiff legs after an epic day of work. Can’t wait to get home and watch some telly. The stranger sitting next to me looks tired too. Wonder what she did today. She’s clutching her handbag with a fierce look plastered on her furrowed brow, lips taut and fingers fidgeting aimlessly with the tassels on her handbag. Some people really need to loosen up. What does she think I’m going to do? Mug her? Maybe I should talk to her. Where’s the bus?
 
I can feel him watching me. He turns his head slightly to the left, his eyes inspecting me. Like a wild animal sizing up its prey before pouncing. Maybe I should call someone. Yes, that’s a good idea. I rummage for my phone. Nope, that’s not it. Oh no, where is it? I really need to do something about this bag. Half the stuff in here is just rubbish anyway. Should get that sorted out. Where is my phone?! I sip in a sharp breath. The stranger beside me fades away and panic takes his place. Beads of sweat begin to form on my upper lip. Heart pounding, I sit very still and wait.
 
I watch her as she clatters around looking for something in her handbag. My curiosity grows stronger the more flustered she becomes. She sure is something, ay. She seems cool enough, but she needs to chill. She’s really looking for something. I wonder what? I guess everyone is always searching for something these days. I chuckle to myself, bemused by my sudden wisdom. I can see the rapid rise and fall of her chest, although the stranger beside me sits very still, eyes fixed on something far off in the distance, as if willing the bus to come faster with her mind. On the bench between us, I see an old mobile. The kind that still has buttons. I guess that’s what she’s looking for, huh.
 
The stranger beside me taps me on the shoulder. I jump! Finding it hard to breathe, I turn to him, every muscle tensed, ready to run… or scream. He smiles at me. What does he want? He reaches out with a steady hand and passes me my phone. Is this yours? He asks in a deep, gentle voice. He sounds just like my brother. I know I should say something but the surprise sticks to the back of my throat, blocking words from forming. I snatch the phone from him, turn and leave. The bus welcomes me with a comforting splutter and hiss of its engine. Sitting comfortably at the front of the bus, I glance out the window. I see the stranger who once sat beside me as he continues to wait patiently for his bus. My heart beat steadies as the distance between us grows. Relieved to be heading home, I make a mental note to sort out all the junk in my handbag. Then I sink safely into my seat and close my eyes.
 
She doesn’t smile back. She doesn’t say thank you. She just reaches out with her small shaking hand and takes the phone from me. She’s scared. Of what? I have to admit I’ve been looking a bit rough lately. Maybe I’ve scared her with my lazy eye. I’ve always found that kinda weird. But I can see the fear in her, it oozes out of her small fragile body. She opens her mouth as if to say something, then changes her mind and walks stiffly away. Confused, I watch as the bus swallows her up and steals her away. I wonder what her problem was? I shrug my shoulders and shake my head. Hope I get home in time for the footy game.
​ 

Our new High School basketball teams (junior and senior) headed down to the regional competition in Coffs Harbour last week. Despite an early start and not much experience, both teams were up for the challenge,  showing genuine enthusiasm and teamwork across all three games. All the players enjoyed themselves and gave their best while representing the School.

Many thanks to our basketball coach, Year 11 student Monica Brandolini, who was selected to be part of the NCIS basketball team. Well done Monica! Thanks also to Margaret Brandolini and Cameron Gough for all of their help on the day. 

Next week, the girl's Primary School netball team will also play in the regional competition, in Tweed Heads. We wish them luck and a great experience!

Magnum Brotto
PDHPE Teacher

Year 10 students from Shearwater and Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School, recently took part in the youth safe transport program, STEER, as part of their Road Safety unit in PDHPE. 

The students heard from local fire fighters about what it is like to be a first responder at a traffic accident and how far the impact ripples when a tragic event occurs on our roads. Students were asked to identify the main risks for young drivers and then brainstormed strategies to reduce these risks, and put them into practise with some role playing. 

The workshop then moved outside, where students witnessed the fire fighters using the ‘jaws of life’ to remove a hypothetical causality from a car wreck - a very powerful component of the program.

Despite the obvious impact of the visual demonstration, the program aims to be informative, realistic and strategic, building confidence in the students, and supporting them to speak up if they feel uncomfortable in any transport-related situation.

Big thanks to Phil and Josh and the local fire brigade crew for a wonderful workshop.

Emma Sweeney 
Year 10 PDHPE teacher

Here at Playgroup, orderliness and rhythm plant the seeds for good habits, starting in these very early years. Here are Satori, Ezra, Pandora, Sahara and Ariel (at top), who have joined our new Wednesday group this year, practising cleaning the table after making ‘crunchy buns’ and doing a wonderful job.

We have some older children in our Tuesday group who are very familiar with our Playgroup routine, allowing others, who have started more recently, to imitate the more experienced children. Lily, Raffaella and Isiah are taking great care in their work or is it playing and being purposefully active…

We have been planting beans and pumpkins. Bodhi is absorbed in ‘tucking his little seed into its warm bed’ and Jasmine is watering her plant ever so carefully.

Rosewood Cottage has a veranda with a railing and this has been a great test for many children to practice their gross and fine motor skills; social/emotional skills such as taking turns; balancing; hand-eye coordination and being aware of each other. Despina, Pandora, Sonny and Sahara proudly show us their skills.

Hunter and Liberty both have baby siblings and in their self-directed play we can observe how they imitate - looking after the dolls and doing some busy work.

At the end of the Playgroup day, after so much busy work and learning, it is time to sit down and rest and books and stories are wonderful opportunity for a more inward and quiet experience.

Warmly,
Carina Halliday
Playgroup Coordinator

The Primary School held its Autumn Festival, marking the equinox, today. Before a display of abundance from the School's Farm and gardens, Class 4 students proudly handed over four kilograms of wheat, from their own harvest, to the current Class 3 students, who will plant the seed in the spring.

With six excited new Class 4 players swelling their ranks, the Shearwater chess team headed for the Term 1 NSW Northern Rivers Inter-School Chess Tournament at St Johns Woodlawn last week. With the tournament kicking off at 9.00am, our 17 keen intellectuals battled it out strategically until the clocks stopped at 2.00pm. The age-old game gave the students attending a great learning opportunity, taking in new strategies with the losses and fulfilling smiles with the wins. Congratulations to the team on a great day.

Beau Devonshire

Class 3 is a time of deep change and growth. At this key developmental time, the nine-year-old child begins to  experience the world as a more self-conscious individual. The feeling of oneness with the world, that signifies the period of early childhood, is lost.

The Class 3 curriculum meets the child at this time by offering experiences that express the deep interconnectedness between all realms of life. The children begin farming and gardening, developing their understanding of human stewardship; they delve into the language of music; study the great themes of creation, tradition and authority through history; and experience the interdependence of geography, history, land use and economic life.
 
Class 3D started our farming year with a visit to a neighbouring property to harvest and roast Bunya nuts; our Davidson Plum seedlings were potted, in preparation for planting; and responsibility for Chickenbimby (and the school flock) was officially handed over. Our young farmers are looking forward with much excitement to our Autumn Festival next week, when they will receive a portion of the wheat saved from last year's harvest by our current Class 4 students, who planted, tended, harvested, winnowed, threshed, ground and baked their crop during their own year as stewards of the land.
 
In the classroom, the children have been exploring the world of measurement. Measurement provides us with firm boundaries and strict rules – we can’t just make up ways of measuring! Although history has a wonderful record of measurement based on our own human form – feet, cubits, inches, hands, spans, lengths, digits,  today we work within the metric system. This system comes with rules and with pre-determined sets of numerical measurements – kilometres, metres, centimetres and millimetres. This exploration and experience of an overarching system with its clear sense of order, provides the nine-year-old child with a feeling of security at a time when she can feel alone and in need of firm boundaries, as she faces many changes within her social and emotional world.  
 
Dallas Hewett
Class 3 Teacher  

We are off to a wonderful start in Birdsong Kindy. The children are quickly realising why our Kindy is called Birdsong as they meet many new bird visitors daily! Merrily Magpie has been to visit, as have the Butcher Bird Brothers, Willy Wagtail, Chitter and Chatter the Rainbow Lorikeets, the little wren family and more. We are grateful for their visits and spend quiet time each day listening for their songs and surprises, thanking them by singing songs of our own. We acknowledge and celebrate Mother Nature’s gifts and the wonderful world around us.

The children have quickly settled in to our Kindy rhythm and are participating enthusiastically in our drawing, craft, painting and baking lessons. They are capable, persistent and ready for a challenge! Play is passionate and busy. It is a delight to observe new friendships being made, old ones changing and deepening, as well as a general love of fun permeating through the group, connecting our class as a whole. We are having a very jolly time, with lots of smiles and laughter, just right for the Kindy year!

Despite the ongoing heat, we have begun to notice changes around us as we transition into the autumn months. We are learning new autumn songs and looking forward to beginning our preparations for our Autumn Festival to be held at the end of term.

With love from Kat and all at Birdsong Kindy

Twenty four students from across the school represented Shearwater at the NCIS Regional Swimming carnival at the Alstonville Aquatic Centre at the end of February. The students represented Shearwater in a happy and humble manner, enjoying the competitive buzz. If cheering for your school mates pool side was an event, we surely would have won gold!

A big congratulations to Year 7 student Mika Asherovitch and Oliver Pickering, from Year 9, who both qualified for the CIS State Swimming Championships to be held in Sydney next term. Mika qualified for the Girls 12-13 years 50m Breaststroke and Oliver for the Boys 15 years 50m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke. This is a great achievement and we wish them both well for their big adventure.

Thanks to Nick, Magnum and Beau who helped out on the day, and to all the students who committed to participating and competed so cheerfully. Now it's time to pack away the goggles and lace up the runners, for the School's Cross Country carnival to be held at the end of the term. 

Emma Sweeney
High School Sports Coordinator

Last week, our Year 12 students took a break from school and their busy schedules and spent three days together, down at Lennox Head, participating in workshops on stress management and relaxation, as well as time management and study skills. There were a range of speakers, who all had words of wisdom to share. A highlight was hearing stories from previous Shearwater graduates. It was inspiring to hear proof that if you work hard and follow your passion you can achieve anything you want.
 
There were sunrise beach walks, chess challenges, lake swims, a movie under the stars and even a puppet show. A lot of delicious food was eaten, as students lovingly took turns to cook for their peers.
 
We returned to school with increased enthusiasm and motivation for what lies ahead - ready to commit to trying our best over the coming months, and remember to enjoy the journey.
 
Anna Delzoppo and Oren Shemesh
Year 12 Guardians

Congratulations to Year 11 Shearwater students Monica Brandolini and Bodhi Hallas, who were recognised for excellence in their fields of endeavour at the BASE  Women's Youth Leadership Awards Breakfast held on International Women's Day last Friday.

Monica, who "has been singing since she can remember", and has performed at Bluesfest, Splendour in the Grass and Mullum Music Festival, won the Performing Arts Award, and Bodhi was a finalist in the Sports Award.

BASE Youth Leadership is a movement that aims to empower young women and men in the Tweed and Byron shires to strive for excellence, through recognition, guidance and mentorship.

Nominations for the Youth Men's Awards close today with the winners announced at a breakfast on April 5. All the finalists from the Base Youth Women's and Men's Awards will be invited to take part in Basecamp, a one-day leadership conferences, details of which will be announced shortly. Well done Monica and Bodhi. We are so proud of you.

Praba Manning
Year 11 Guardian