To start off with, primary school here in Queensland encompasses years prep (kindergarten) thru year seven. High school is years eight thru twelve. However, times they are a changing. As of January 2015, the year sevens will move to the high school. That means if we are still here at the start of next year Anna will start high school, one month after she turns twelve! Yikes! (I'm pretty sure we are not ready for that!)
The school also runs on what could be called a year round calendar. There are four terms to the school year. In-between the first three terms there are two week breaks. The break between the last term and the start of the new school year is six weeks.
School Bells (or lack there of)
This fun aspect of the school day is unique to this particular school. Instead of a bell or a buzzer to announce the start/end of school and morning tea/lunch, clips of music are played. Right now the music is Pharrell Williams' song "Happy" and in the past other songs like U2's "Beautiful Day" have been played. The kids don't have to be sitting at their desks or even in the classroom when the songs play. Typically kids are around campus playing or socializing and scatter to class when they hear the music.
Also, before any school-wide announcements are made over the loud speaker, a xylophone is played, similar to what's played before Principal McGee's announcements in the movie "Grease." The kids are probably clueless to its origin, but it always puts a smile on my face.
School Grounds
Thanks to the almost perfect weather here in sunny Queensland, the public schools here are campus style with multiple buildings and classrooms with minimal internal hallways. The year levels are situated in their own blocks so grade levels are, for the most part, together. School bags are hung or on shelves outside the classrooms. Our specific school is nestled up a hillside and has natural parklands next to it. It is not surprising to see snakes (yikes!), possums, lizards, etc. around campus too.
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| Hello Possum |
All primary school children get two breaks during the day to eat, relax, and burn off some energy. First break is for morning tea, where the entire school can have morning tea (aka a snack) and play for 30 min. Second break is for lunch where they can eat and play for 45 min. Again, the entire school has lunch at the same time. There is no cafeteria, and the kids eat while sitting on the ground or in areas like the one pictured below before they head off to play. Different grades are assigned to different areas, so the year sevens are not with the year ones.
Tuck Shop
At lunch the kids can purchase food from the Tuck Shop. This is where food is sold for the students and staff. This school happens to have an award winning tuck shop where healthy food is made from scratch with fresh ingredients every day. Kids can order sandwiches, smoothies, and snacks like vegemite twists, quiche, popcorn, fruit salad, and banana bread. There are daily lunch specials like sushi, chicken strips, and bolognaise spirals in the summer, as well as pizza, butter chicken, and beef pie in the winter. The tuck shop also caters to students with special dietary requirements and the diverse, international student body. I volunteer in our Tuck Shop once about once a month. It's quite a fun job and I have come home with all sorts of new recipes.
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| School Tuck Shop |
Leadership is very highly regarded and there are many positions to hold. There are School Captains for activities like sports, music, technology, and swimming, as well as Prefects and Student Council Reps. To get many of these positions there are applications, interviews, and speeches before the vote. This year Anna decided to step out of her comfort zone and is now her class Student Council representative.
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| Anna after receiving her Student Council badge at the school ceremony. |
The school is divided up into houses, just like at Hogwarts.
Ok, ok, I am sure there are other countries where this is practiced, like the UK, but this is the first time I have come across is it, so I'll just compare it to Harry Potter.
The student body is divided into 3 houses: Flinders, Cook, and Oxley. Each house has a color, a captain, a flag, and a cheer. Families are put in the same house and we are a proud Flinders family.
There are school sports such as cross country, track, and swimming. Not only are houses competing against each other, but individually the kids are competing to get spots in district, regional, and state meets. This type of competition starts in year four. The younger students compete in picnic games, which is more like the US field day.
Then in year six and seven the kids pick interschool sports like soccer, tennis, and netball to play and compete with other schools during school hours. Anna is playing tennis this term.
Camp
Starting in year four the students go away to camp during the school year. Year four and five go away for three days to do things like ropes course, canoeing, and surfing. The kids all have a blast and learn team building skills while gaining a bit of independence as there are no parent chaperones or communication home. In the last year of primary school, this year both year six and seven, fly to Canberra , the capital of Australia, for a week to learn about the government and then go skiing. Always a highlight for the graduating class.
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| Departing for camp. See you in three days! |
Bring on the Fair
The school has many fundraisers, such as a swim-a-thon and trivia night, but the biggest and most profitable is the school fair. Once a year the P&C (PTA), along with a very large amount of parent volunteers, put on a community fair. It consists of carnival rides, baked goods stall, sweets stall, silent auction, a student art auction, talent show, food stalls, a bar (yes, on school grounds), and a fantastic fireworks show. It is a lot of very hard work, but it makes an amazing amount of money for the school.
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| A small portion of the fair. There is more to the left and right, as well as behind where this photo was taken. |
Talks
I know I said I wasn't going to talk specifically about the actual education, but I will highlight one particular part that I really like. There is a lot of emphasis put on public speaking. In the younger grades, each child does a brief talk either once a week or once every other week. Sometimes the topics are provided and sometimes they can pick their own topic. It continues into the older grades, but is usually attached to a larger project and doesn't happen quite as often.
(I tried to link a little video of Ashleigh giving one of her brief talks, but unfortunately it's not working.)
Yesterday was the last day of term one, so the girls are home for the next two weeks. They are looking forward to homework free days and lots of playtime with friends. I'm looking forward to not packing lunches, as well as lots of sisterly love and cooperation. I think I'll just start each morning with a little "Beautiful Day" and hope for the best.
