Our Own Backyard

 

Each year, on the first Saturday in March, the Hawkesdale Memorial Hall committee hold a fleece show as a fund raiser. Local wool farmers are approached to donate a fleece. These fleeces are then judged and a winner obtained in various categories eg superfine merino, fine merino, cross bred etc.
The fleeces are then sold, and the proceeds go to the Hall.

The CWA (Country Womens Association) had a craft display.

Our primary school children drew, painted or built 3d models relating to sheep, wool and our local farms. Below is the baa black sheep tribute to local wool farming designed by our grade prep, who were learning to count 1,2,3.

 

Students in year 8, are studying a contempory Australian artist, by the name of Howard Arkley. His work is featured in art galleries and on Australian postage stamps.  Arkley wanted to portray a contemporary Austalian landscape. Prior to his time, Australian artists tended to show outback Australia.Instead, Arkley used the suburbs, where ordinary people live, as his inspiration - a far more relevant portrayal in his eyes. Many of his works feature suburban houses, their features and facades.

Students were asked to look at the house they live in and paint it. Many of them take their homes for granted and were forced to look at it through different eyes. Features such as gardens, verandahs were to be shown. Enjoy some of the year 8 homes through their eyes.

Students in grade 6 were involved in a global project entitled “From Me To You”, as part of a Valentine’s Day initiative by Jen Wagner. This involved students from 24 schools in various countries from USA, Canada, Italy, United Emirates and Australia. This was an exciting  project to be involved in, and each of our students wrote a note to accompany their homemade greeting card. Here is Georgia’s contribution.

We had to write a letter to an international school and sent them away. This is what I wrote”From Me to You”

Hi,
I live in a small town called Hawkesdale. It is in Victoria which is in Australia. My house used to be a Railway station. My Mum helped there. We still find bits and pieces in our backyard.  Most people live on farms around Hawkesdale but I don’t. But we have a very big backyard. We have a tennis court, a pool, heaps of trees, a garage, a couple of sheds, verandas, BBQ area, games room and cubby house. We have one pet which is a goat. We call it Walter. It is very friendly to people he knows. But when a stranger comes around sometime he might charge at them.  I’m 11 years old and I’m in grade 6 this year. My birthday is on the 30^th of Hawkesdale. I am a family of 5.  Even though I’m the youngest I’m the second tallest. I’m even taller then my Mum. We go to a big city in Australia called Melbourne every holiday because all of Dad’s family lives up there.

At our school we study Chinese at least twice a week. Since I’m in grade 6 this year we have buddies. A buddy is a program where the grade 6’s get buddies in prep or grade 1.

We have a canteen at our school. It sells lollies, chips, pies, pasties, toasted sandwiches, water, fruit boxes and Big M’s. My favourite thing at the canteen is the chicken strips.

In my class there are 22 people. Only 10 are boys.

My Town

The town that I live in is called Hawkesdale. It is a tiny town which only has about 500 citizens.

It doesn’t have many buildings or stores. We only have a Post office, Pool, Pub, 3 Churches, Funky toilets and a park called Apex Park.

Most people who live around Hawkesdale live on farms. Mainly Sheep, Cattle, Dairy and a couple of Blue Gum plantations.

We have a couple of Community group such as HADDAC which is group of people who do working bees around Hawkesdale and do stuff around Hawkesdale. My Dad is the secretary for HADDAC. We have a cert team, CFA group, Hall committee, A football/Netball club and Cricket club.

Victoria

Victoria’s Capital city is a city called Melbourne. It would be the biggest city in Victoria.

Some of Victoria’s best attractions are the Great Ocean Road, the 12 Apostles, Grampians, Sovereign Hill, Flagstaff hill and the Bendigo mine.

2 years ago there was a big fire at Grampians which came pretty close to Hawkesdale. It was horrible seeing all the dead trees and animals.  We used to go to Grampians for holidays.

The Bendigo mine is one of the greatest places I’ve been. If you came to Australia I would recommend you go to the mine.

Australia

Australia is a small continent. Before English people were here there were Aboriginals. The first English to step onto Australia were convicts.

Some great tourist attractions in Australia are Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, Darwin, theme parks and Canberra.

Canberra is Australia’s capital city. I went there for a school camp. It took 13 hours to get there. Very long! We went to Telstra tower, Old parliament house, new parliament house and a museum. It was the best camp.

Australia’s native animals are the platypus, kookaburras, Kangaroos, Koalas, Echidna and wombats.   

Your sincerely,Georgia

  

Today is Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day in Australia. This marks the beginning of the Lenten season in the Christian world. As usual our students in the primary school levels were busy making pancakes - a happy fun time and then enjoyed eating the results of their hard labour.  Below is a video showing our virtual pet, Patch, enjoying part of the action.

Download Video: Posted by murch at TeacherTube.com.

A picture tells 1000 words………………………

Our first day at school, 30th January, 2008

A small grass fire broke out near Hawkesdale today. A power pole shorted out, sending flames down the pole, dropping sparks onto the ground and causing a fire that burnt out approximately 10 acres of farm land. CFA (Country Fire Authority) fire crews were soon on the scene with 8 fire trucks in attendance. The fire was soon contained but is being patrolled to ensure it does not break out again. Local power was out for approximately 1 ½ hours as Origin Energy disconnected power to ensure that the area was safe. The CFA is a firefighting organization comprising volunteer labor in country areas.

 

 

On January 26th, Australia celebrates Australia Day. However, Monday is now the designated public holiday as the 26th falls on a Saturday in 2008. Hawkesdale celebrated on the Saturday.

Hawkesdale helped jumpstart the celebrations with a breakfast organised and provided by HADDAC,(Hawkesdale and District Development Action Committee). Approximately 95 residents and visitors attended this function. Several speeches were made as part of the formalities, one by our local shire councillor, Mr Gerald Madden and others by the president and secretary of Haddac and Erin Habel who outlined the background to the new signpost which is soon to be erected near Apex Park, as part of a CBI Project.

 

 This signpost will feature buildings and sites of historical interest, with a mud map of the town. Our national anthem was sung with pride.

Breakfast Menu
variety of cereals
yoghurt and stewed fruits
toast and spreads
sausages
eggs (fried and scrambled) and bacon
tea and coffee/orange juice

We have just moved onto a dairy farm and our family loves to milk cows. See our farm and our dairy in action.

Download Video: Posted by murch at TeacherTube.com.

We had our hottest day for 2007 on the eve of the New Year, 31st January, 2007. In the shade of our verandah at home we measured 43 degrees. It was opportune, or just plain bad luck, that it was my rostered day for swimming pool duty! Hawkesdale has a wonderful community swimming pool, that opens over the summer period. Solar heating and blankets ensure that the water is kept warmer during cooler days.

Volunteers operate the small kiosk and collect money from the public who come for a swim. Lifeguards are used to ensure all personnel are kept safe. So yesterday, at 1pm I proceeded to the pool and discovered that the water was 25 degrees - a very pleasant swimming temperature. Various people took pity on me at times and looked after the kiosk so that I could take a quick dip in the cool waters and maintain a far more effective body temperature. By 6 pm, I was ready to cease my duties as it had been a busy day selling ice confections, drinks, chips and lollies.

After a quick evening meal, it was on to Warrnambool to babysit our dear little grandson. We went for a delightful walk in the balmy air, watched people still swimming at 9pm at night in both the river and the surf and joined the throngs of other walkers along the famous Warrnambool boardwalk.

It is nearly Christmas in our backyard. Some of our students from prep to grade 5 have been interviewed to see what they want for Christmas and what it means to them. The images reflect some of the activities that occur in our school and the general presence of Christmas around Hawkesdale itself.

Download Video: Posted by murch at TeacherTube.com.