“Children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions.” Alfie Kohn

newsletter

1

Important Dates for Cycle 3, 2019

Monday 15th April First day of Cycle 3

Friday 19th April Public Holiday (Easter Friday)

Monday 22nd April Public Holiday (Easter Monday)

Wednesday 24th —Thursday 25th April School Sleepover (Level 2s)

Thursday 25th April Public Holiday (Anzac Day)

Wednesday 1st—Friday 3rd May Walhalla Camp (Level 3s)

Tuesday 14th to Thursday 16th May NAPLAN (Level 3s and 5s)

Friday 17th May Student Free Day

School Holiday Program (bookings required)

Monday 20th May to Friday 24th May Cycle Break

Thursday 23rd May School Holiday Program (bookings required)

Monday 27th May First day of Cycle 4

Cycle 2, 2019

Birthdays

celebrated

in April

Emelia, Clover,

Harrison, Bohdi,

Lexie, Kealy,

Blake

Maeve, Minna, Flick, Ruby Grace & Mila with their Climate March Banner

Jy

It is great to see our Foundation students settled into our

room and focusing on some exciting things including science.

We spent time observing our pets and each came up with an

invention to help them with one of their needs. It was very clear

that our pets are very important in our families.

In week 4 the Foundies began their

Out ‘n ‘ About adventures by

learning how to be on the bus and

in public spaces together. For our

first outing we prepared some

honey joys before hopping on the bus for a tour of

Leongatha, including driving past some of our Foundies

homes . We finished with a visit to McIndoe Park to enjoy

our snacks. Thanks to Sam, (Evie’s mum) for joining us.

On Tuesday afternoons, Dinah has been teaching us

some artistic techniques as we learnt about the artist

Vincent van Gogh.

Next cycle we continue our study of living things, which

will incorporate a focus on birds, and an Out ‘n ‘About

to a local park.

Sun Room by Jasmine

Puppet Making PLP by Bel

The Puppet PLP for Cycle 2 was a big hit! Puppets and scripts were

designed in the first week so we could hit the ground running in

week two with felt, hot glue and pipe cleaners to bring the puppets

to life. The final weeks involved turning cardboard boxes into stages

and puppet theatres and then performing plays to an enthralled

audience on the last day of the cycle.

Reuben

Martha, Cole & Evie Daniel & Connor

Foundies ready to hop on the bus

Indigo

Matehya Annabel, Evie & Matilda Avalon

2

3

Level 1s by Kristen

This cycle was full of creativity and exploration

for the Level 1s. They explored ‘living things’ in

science, engaging in a project on their pets and

finished the cycle with inventions they created to

help their pets in everyday life. Some of the

children learnt that to make their ideas a reality

they needed to be flexible with their designs and

think carefully how to make and remake their

inventions so they were functional. This was a

highlight of the cycle and really sparked the

children’s interest.

Another

highlight was the

Out ‘n’ About to

PIVS. We joined

the PIVS Level 1s

with rotational

activities, a lovely

shared lunch and

play. The children

enjoyed exploring

the different

environment and making new friends.

A big thank you to PIVS for hosting us and to Suzi Bowles for coming along with us to make this

day possible!

Kitchen Volunteers !

Thank you to Isley Sutherland, Jarrah Cocks, Suzi Bowles and Lucy Pearce

for your kitchen volunteering during Cycles 1 & 2. A special mention to

Lucy Pearce who has jumped into the kitchen on multiple occasions.

Sarah’s adventures in India

During Cycle 2, Sarah was on long service leave, enjoying an

adventure in India with her daughter Cas. Sarah shared some of their

colourful journey with us.

Quilah Sol

Mergie L-R: Aiden, Kristen, Sol, Amy, Quilah, Bella,

Suzi, Quillan, Mergie, Jo (PIVS) & Charlotte

Sarah & Cas

4 Fin

PLPs next Cycle

Gathered in the Art Shed

On Fridays, we ventured to Cowes Yacht Club to learn to sail. It was a

great experience and lots of skills have been learned, including how to

rig a sailing boat, different steering techniques, ways to adjust the sails

to move in different directions and speeds, how to capsize the boats

and then get them up the right way! The different weather conditions

helped us practice these new skills and really added to the experience.

When the weather was not ideal

for sailing, we spent time in the

clubhouse doing activities which

reinforced what we were

learning on the water. Knot

tying was very popular, and the

students showed their skills by

tying me to a chair!

Sunshine and light winds greeted the final day and

we all had the opportunity to go on a catamaran.

What an incredible experience; when the catamarans go fast, they tip onto one hull and it feels like you are

flying. A perfect way to finish!

A big thank you to the team from Cowes Yacht Club for being so welcoming and helpful. The 7 to 10

year old’s completed their Tackers 1 course and the 11 to 12 year old’s their Start Sailing 1 course.

The surfing PLP this cycle was lots of fun. What a way to spend a Monday! It was really great to see the

keenness from the students and there was an overwhelming ‘let’s get out there and give it a go’ vibe. Using

big, soft boards, Henry ran through surf awareness, safety and technique as part of every session. In the

water, we practised and

practised popping up and finding

that sweet spot on the board.

And of course, things got extra

fun with party waves, double

rides and backwards surfing. A

great way to build student’s

confidence in the water.

On some days, we were

challenged with cold, windy and bumpy conditions, but that was all

part of it! Throughout the PLP, students were well and truly

exercising mind and body muscles, with having to be organised,

remembering their gear, bringing lunch and managing the knocks

and bumps that come with such a physical activity. After our four

sessions, I’m sure that the students came away with a sense of

achievement and some fun, popping, tumbling, salty memories.

Sailing PLP by Henry

Surfing PLP by Jess (PIVS Mentor)

Capsizing practice

Blake (CYC) Daniel & Hannah Fin, Asha & Henry

Henry demonstrating techniques Into the water

Getting ready to practice ‘popping up’

Jy

5

We achieved a lot in the five weeks of

Kitchen Garden this cycle. We rejuvenated

the school composting systems, sourced

organic cow manure and hay (thank you

Colin and Sally), built and managed a large

hot compost pile, divided and replanted

rhubarb crowns, prepared and planted out a

new herb bed, tackled lots of weeding jobs

and harvested the last of the summer

produce.

Kitchen Garden by Angus

School Strike 4 Climate Change by Angus (photos by Alison Taylor)

On Friday 15th March, KVS students were among the 20 thousand

people that attended the School Strike 4 Climate at the Old Treasury

Building in Melbourne. More than 1.4 million young people around

the world took part in school strikes for climate action, to show their

support for more action on the issue.

Many KVS students have been

inspired by Greta Thunberg, the

16-year-old Swedish student

whose solo protest last August prompted the global movement. KVS

students coordinated the planning of this by making signs and

organising Alison Taylor to come and give a presentation at school to

learn more about the complex science behind climate change.

Some students attended the School Strike independently with their families

and many of the KVS students (supported by KVS staff) travelled to the

event by train, leaving from Cranbourne Station where we met up and

travelled with the students who were attending from PIVS. Upon arriving at

Parliament Station, it was clear that this was not a normal day in the CBD!

As we exited the station we were met with a large crowd, plenty of colourful

banners and a chorus of chants. For the first hour a range of speakers

addressed the crowd, who were interspersed with a number of musical performances. The crowd then

began a march through the city streets, which wrapped back around to the Treasury Gardens. It was a

big day and a rich experience for all KVS attendees. In the words of Greta Thunberg, 'we proved

that it does matter what you do and that no one is too small to make a difference.'

Kitchen Garden by Angus

Our chickens are an important part of our Kitchen Garden environment and

looking after the chickens is popular. We recently treated our chooks for scaly

leg mites. Scaly Leg is caused by a small parasitic mite, which burrows under

the scales of the bird's legs or feet, where it causes discomfort. Our treatment

option involved cleaning their feet and applying a waterproof barrier to

suffocate the mites. We also cleaned out the entire chicken coop, including the

bedding, perches and egg boxes. We have added Diatomaceous Earth, a

naturally occurring powder to the bedding, feed, and dust bath, which is an

effective organic method of parasite control.

Indigo & Erin

Quilah, Charlotte & Sol Hot compost pile

Refreshing chicken bedding

6

What was it like for you as a child at school?

I enjoyed my time at Wonga Park Primary School; it was a close community and I made some lifelong

friends. I loved maths in primary school and was very excited to be outside as much as possible.

If you were a child at KVS, would you like this school. Why?

I would have really enjoyed KVS as a child, it has a great community with amazing

opportunities for the students. I would have loved how much students get a say in

their learning environment and enjoyed all the camps and Out ‘n’ Abouts.

What other careers have you had?

I haven’t had any other long-term careers, although I have been working with

schools for the last 6 years running

and assisting with outdoor

education programs like surfing,

skiing, snowboarding, hiking, rock

climbing, kayaking and snorkeling.

This led to the opportunity to work

with the Village Schools. I did try

out being a carpenter for a little bit,

which taught me lots of skills!

Why did you want to work at

KVS?

I love the philosophy of KVS, and

after learning how KVS approaches

education, I really wanted to work

at KVS alongside such a strong

team and community. Also, a

school which prioritizes time in the

outdoors was very appealing!

What do you enjoy about working

at KVS?

I love how being a smaller school

you can create stronger

relationships with the students, this

then flows into a great teaching

environment. The team and

community at KVS are also so

helpful and welcoming, it has

made me really enjoy the start of

my time at KVS!

Meet the Mentor Henry Rushford joined KVS at the beginning of this year as our PE/Camps Mentor

Happy Birthday

Henry

Connor

Daniel P Evie N

Lola Martha

7

Humanities by Scotty

This cycle the Level 2 students explored the world that we live in, looking at the features of different

places, where they are located in the world and their culture. They created a story involving a

character that travels around the world after first travelling to a different state or territory of Australia.

Level 3-4 students focused on Indigenous culture and history over the past two cycles, with a

particular focus on the Aboriginal dreaming. We looked into what was meant by ‘the Dreaming’ and how

different meanings and understandings could be taken depending on the individual or group who was

discussing it. From this, we looked at individual dreaming stories. Level 3-4s analysed the meanings and

morals of dreaming stories, before creating their own iterations of these stories.

Inequality and diversity were the focus for Level 5-6 students, as they chose a ‘big topic’ based around

the theme of inequality and worked in groups. Subjects included climate change, gender inequality and

homelessness and food security. The students researched the causes, effects and possible solutions

to these problems, presenting their findings in a poster.

DQ World by Brent

An effective digital citizen is one who has the knowledge and skills to

efficiently, positively and confidently engage with digital technologies.

In order to assist students with their acquisition of these skills, we have

been exploring the DQ World and its digital intelligence (DQ) modules.

The DQ World is a contained online space that is split into 8 learning

modules. Each module focusses on one aspect of digital citizenship and

students experience a range of narrative videos, surveys and games to

build understanding of a particular skill.

Our focus this cycle was screen time management and personal information. Multitasking was the first

area discussed and it was fun to brainstorm examples at school when students become distracted. We

highlighted how difficult it can be to switch our thinking from one task to another with these distractions

competing for our attention. It is important to become aware and develop some self-management

routines to online distractions.

Students were introduced to the 3-2-1 rule as one self-management strategy. The 3-2-1 rule refers to

only playing games 3 times a week, limiting total screen time to 2 hours per day, with less than 1 hour

dedicated to games. The unit provided great discussion points, and I look forward to continuing our

exploration of another module.

Flick, Indigo, Blake, Jacob - Gender Inequality Poster Siera, Kealy, Maeve, Mila - Homelessness and Food Security poster

8

Cycle 2 provided many opportunities to get in touch with nature and create art from it. It was a lovely

experience to sit and get arty outside and to stroll the grounds together finding inspiration and tools to

create our works. Several groups explored 2D and 3D forms, others looked closely at the many details and

textures nature has and tried their hand at representing that. One highlight was making nature paint

brushes and exploring the effects they give. This is displayed on the art shed glass doors, and also on the

paper framing of the Level 3-4 bird artworks in the Lab. Cycle 3 will see a sparks art board introduced

where we can pin up some of our own artworks to encourage conversation and inspiration for others.

Student Art by Shannon

Ruby A Matehya

Sophie B

Siera

Matilda Cycle 2 artwork by Grades 5 & 6

Indigo A Jacob T (Gr 5) Indigo L

9

Clover, Evie Scarlett & Bella

Amy & Josephine Marni & Sarah Sarah & Fiona

Student-led Activities by Fi

Student initiated activities

are an important part of the

Village School Philosophy.

This cycle included student-

led PLPs on Japanese

games as well as Cats.

Students were coached in

Auslan by Charli (Flick and

Lexie’s sister) whilst others

initiated chess games and

magic shows. Wheel action

continues for all ages!

Group trust games Magic for Fin & Jensen by Indigo A, Mila & Flick Chess with Mak, Jensen, Fin & Daniel P

Clover roller-blading Biking with Bohdi and Harri Billy-cart rides, Maeve & Lola Maeve & playgrouper Cameron

Charli leading a session on Auslan

Matehya leads a PLP on Japanese Games

Lara leads a PLP all about Cats