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"Students practice democracy in action" on ABC
Come and See Morning Tea
Tour of classrooms, chat with parents and staff
Please be ready for a 10am start
Term 1, 2009 dates:
Wed 25 February 2009
Thurs 19 March 2009
For more details and bookings please call 07 3378 5466
Most of the children like to come early to spend more time together before morning meeting so our day begins at just after 8:30am.
The early morning sun throws a beautiful light on the "Big Tree" in the middle of the school, enticing children to climb and swing from its branches. Some mornings we get to see wallabies or hares bound across the grounds and if we are really lucky the wild deer herd may put in an appearance in the reforestation site. The cockatoos are also often a sight for us all in the morning as they bicker and chatter to each in the giant heritage red gum. This gorgeous tree has been estimated to date back to pre-settlement times! This exciting natural environment provides wonderful early morning stimulus as children climb the tree, do puzzles,run around the field playing "chasey" soccer and cricket or settle down to paint pictures or just sit and think.
By 9am lunch boxes are in the fridge, shoes are kicked off and bags emptied of "Show and Tell", ready for the morning meeting. The three separate class groups meet with their home teacher to discuss the day, share stories or talk about any problems or concerns. Once a week we hold a whole school meeting in the library to discuss major issues, perform and vote. These meetings are part of the Cultural Component of our curriculum. It teaches students how to discuss, argue, present ideas and follow values. Students then engage in the focused skill building sessions for the morning, individualised programs and group sessions now occur with games, activities, text books, and individual lessons with teachers. Students who need extension may move to a different teacher for an added level of work. The students spread around the room, sitting at shared desks and tracking their progress through the activities. Student activity logs are lodged with the teacher at the end of the morning session. Students know where the noisy areas are and where to go for quiet. Once a week they also visit Japanese with our teacher Ryoko for a lesson in LOTE. These lessons are also followed up with weekly programs on the computer to help students remember and extend their Japanese.
Small groups are often taken aside for lessons or stimulus activities as parents help out with daily reading program or specialist activities that they offer the students. The children are free to use the toilet, get drinks and have a snack when their body tells them although we do have a set break time at midday to ensure that the teachers get to eat too!
Lunchtime at BIS often includes dressing up, older children putting on small skits or playing house and the younger ones taking on imaginary characters. Impromptu games frequently occur, some involving the whole school others in small groups. The library is a site for board games and computers as well as some quiet reading. Students often join the teachers under the Big Tree for a chat or company.
At around 1pm students start to come back into class for the afternoon session. All groups have some form of relaxation, mediation or centering after lunch, to get us back into the frame of mind for some logical thinking. Students may participate in the Omni sessions following their own goals, thematic units; process or an arts or HPE lesson.
Afternoons are a time when students move around the school and work with new teachers. Noisy, exciting, and full of learning , the afternoon sessions are the ultimate BIS experience as the individual child follows their interests and passions.