Our Year 10 students recently had the opportunity to participate in a workshop run by the Centre for Sustainability Leadership - a not-for-profit organisation that aims to help participants develop the skills to influence systems and build networks and experiences that can provide them a platform from which to take action for social change.  

While there are people who seem to be naturally endowed with more leadership abilities than others, people can learn to become leaders by improving particular skills.

The workshop focused on experiential learning, with students working collaboratively on a group project which they would like to see implemented; exploring the principles of sustainable leadership; reflecting on the qualities of a leader who inspires them and evaluating their individual strengths and weaknesses and their personal style of leadership. 

Group projects included sustainable and animal-friendly tools and processes for the School, the development of a day for ‘self-love’ and ‘de-stressing’ and the design and construction of an outdoor classroom. Over the next two weeks, the students will meet to discuss their ideas and work towards implementing them to benefit the School community.
Praba Manning
Year 10 Guardian 

The halls are alive with the sound of sewing machines, arc welders, dancing feet, laughter and song as the High School counts the days until opening night. Wearable Arts 2018 - 'Homecoming' is coming to ground and around 200 students from Class 7 to Year 10 are busily creating, with roles as musicians, actors, writers, filmmakers and editors, lighting and audio technicians, carpenters, dancers, singers, tailors, artists, set and prop designers and makers, choreographers, photographers, graphic designers, stage hands, models, judges, ushers, and caterers. Tickets are on sale now via the shearwaterperformingarts.com website. Don't miss out!

Going to Central Australia with my class was a once in a lifetime experience. It was amazing! I still can’t believe how big and beautiful Uluru is. I think it should be a compulsory journey for everyone to have. People probably think that the long bus trips every day would be the worst part, but surprisingly they were one of the highlights about the camp. I talked to so many more people that I wouldn’t usually talk to and made so many more close friendships with people I would never have expected to connect with. This trip really brought us all together. There were some hard times as well. For example staying overnight by the side of the highway with no running water or toilets. Then in the middle of the night there was a dust storm. At the time it was horrible, but now, looking back at it, its just a funny story to tell everyone. Going on this camp made me realise how we take the little things in life for granted.
I loved seeing different parts of Australia that I hadn’t seen before and all of the different cultures. It has inspired me to travel more of Australia! This camp was amazing! I am jealous of the year 9 class that get to go on this camp next year. I would love to do it again.
Daisy (Year 9)

From sandstorms to 9 hour bus trips, camp was really all about overcoming challenges and obstacles each day. It created opportunities to build existing friendships and to to make new ones which helped to bring different people in our class together. A big part of it was experiencing new parts of the country which many had known about and seen pictures of, but never actually been to. Once we began to get further out west it became quite a shocking reminder of how lucky we are in the Northern Rivers to have clean water, as a large percentage of communities we visited didn’t have that luxury. Over all I think everyone benefited greatly from the experience and although many were glad to be home there were abundant memories made that won’t be forgotten.
Éan (Year 9)
    

Students from Classes 1 to 6 enjoyed the Primary School's annual Pet Day at the end of last term with all of their furry (feathery, woolly and scaly) friends!

Alex Korobacz from Bare Hands Carpentry recently completed stage two of our Preschool playground equipment with the support of the dedicated families who took part in our holiday working bee. A big thank you to Alex and Bel (parents of Malika) and Magnum (Zion and Isis), who were hard at work nearly every day. Also to Tam (Matchum and Tommy), Nikolett (Maya and Leila), Rich (Yasmine), Jacob (Willow and Isi), KDN (Tula) and Thomas (Mattea), for their hard work sanding, sawing, digging and varnishing/oiling. Also to Bel (Malika), Elyse (Dylan), Jo and Matt (Francis and William), Claire (Matchum and Tommy) and Rachelle (Willow and Isi), for food and drink deliveries to keep everyone's energy flowing.
A BIG thank you to our beloved Frankie for his skill and care as he zipped in and out of our gardens with the tractor, digging holes, clearing ground, moving logs and removing one of our plants to make room for our Crystal Castle. A BIG thank you also to Ken and Sunshine Suzie who, with love and dedication, ensured the surrounding gardens were ready for the adventures of our precious little ones when they arrived back from their holidays.
Our Therapeutic Space has also been completed over the holidays - a big thank you to my own boys, Malcolm, Jared, Connor and Jordan, for volunteering their time. The Therapeutic Space will provide all the children at Preschool and Playgroup with an opportunity for quiet time, when needed, complete with cuddles from our guinea pigs, Scuffles and Rosie Beautiful Flower.
Our deepest appreciation from all Preschool staff,
Craig, Sandy, Suze, Danni, Antoinette, Gabe, Karen, Susan and Kaz

Class 1L has begun Term 4 with an introduction to physics through the workings of the nature beings. The children have been exploring the qualities of the four elements - earth, water, air and fire.

The earthy realm of the ‘Gnomes’ or ‘Cobolts’ started our work with mechanics - moving and shifting, experimenting and problem solving. Our room has been a buzzing hive of activity as marble runs grew around the room, exploring shape, size, angles and making adjustments to improve speed, height and drop. We then moved on to racing cars, using ramps and drawing mats to construct speedways od all shapes and sizes. Teams worked together collaboratively striving to improve performance.

This week we will be wading through the watery world with the ‘Undines’ or ‘Water Nixies’. We had a peek at Crystal Creek last Friday after the rains, just to see if we noticed any change or action, which we did of course; it was certainly flowing fast, swirling and forming little rapids over the logs and rocks. Next visit we’ll take our boats down to launch.

Over the coming few weeks we will look at the properties of wind - making propellers, planes and windmills, and learn about the work of the ‘Sylphs’ and the world of bees, birds and butterflies.

To finish this main lesson, we’ll play with the properties of fire and the work of the ‘Salamandas’ who make sure there is warmth from the sun reaching every blossom and seed for new growth. All children love to watch the flames of a fire, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Through this lesson the children imbibe the dawning of understanding that everything is interconnected and that we all have a responsibility to nurture our environment and take care of our surroundings.
Linda Mayer
Class 1 Teacher

Come adventuring in the library! Our latest display in the library foyer not only features fantastic books about epic adventures but also the boots and photos from one who has climbed to Mt Everest Base Camp, sat with gorillas, met Mother Theresa and backpacked around the world. Yes, Kalyani has done all those things and created a wonderful display to inspire you to read biographies of people who have "been there done that!" There are even bookmarks and booklists to take home and get inspired.