child side traditions
Child Side Traditions and the shape of our year through our school events
Daily Rituals
Each day at Child Side School is different but is given shape by daily rituals which allow us to work cooperatively to look after our working environment, and to reflect and give thanks for our world and what is around us. These rituals are also created to achieve important learning outcomes that satisfy curriculum objectives, and teach real life skills. A morning tea of fruit and crackers is prepared daily by children and staff. Lunch is also prepared together, often harvesting what is available in our kitchen garden. We are responsible for cleaning our own dishes after lunch and tidying areas in our working environment on a roster system. These rituals are in place to give us responsibility for our school, our bodies, and our community. Parents are welcome to help facilitate these rituals and offer their time to help prepare meals with the children.
Enterprise Afternoons
Held on the last Friday of each month, stalls open for selling at 3pm and are set up in the HUB or outside area, weather permitting.
These are a school educational initiative; learning outcomes in the maths curriculum, marketing, supply and demand concepts, communication outcomes and financial literacy are all addressed. It involves the whole school including families. Children set up a simple stall selling their home-made or home-grown wares, and are responsible for their own money float and posters to market their product. Keep it simple and enjoy learning through preparing wares and participating on the day as either a seller or a purchaser.
Ideas for stalls include:
• Fruit, vegetables, seedlings, herbs, flowers, eggs
• Home-made baked goods
• Home crafts
• Busking
• Jams, preserves, chutneys
• Favourite recipes with take-home packs
Easter Breakfast
We celebrate Easter as a new beginning by sharing breakfast together as a community in our main courtyard. Symbolically, Easter is a time of new beginnings and means different things to different families. We reflect upon the many symbols of fertility (eggs and rabbits), the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ, and we recognise Eostre, the Pagan Goddess of Spring who brought with her new life. Families are encouraged to bring along any personal symbols of Easter special to them to help decorate our tables on the day. After we share breakfast and clear up, the school community takes a slow amble around the nearby lake to look at the water level. Some children beat drums as a “thunder welcome” inviting the rains to begin.
Ideas for contributions to our Easter breakfast table include:
• Carton of eggs (a BBQ is set up on the day)
• Loaf of bread
• Yoghurt
• Juice
• Fruit Salad
• Muffins
Wheelathon
Usually held during Term 2.
This is a fundraising and school educational initiative. Children bring their bikes or scooters (for the younger years) and complete laps during school time. They are sponsored per lap or by donation from their friends and family and all monies raised are used towards upgrading various school facilities.
YAC Fire Twirling Exhibition
Held on the last day of Term 3. If weather is unsuitable, it will be postponed until early Term 4. Families are asked to leave straight after the fire show for safety reasons.
Fire twirling is a symbolic rite of passage from childhood to adolescence depicting the journey of transformation and change. It involves children in the early adolescent years, and is a school educational initiative. This is not a ‘mainstream’ adult-directed show-case but rather it is the voices and choices of these children within set curriculum criteria. The whole school community is invited to celebrate this event, with families having a picnic dinner together on the lawn.
Little Day Out
Held on a Saturday or Sunday in November from 10am -2pm
This is a school and P&F initiative. It is an open day to showcase our school to give people in our wider community a chance to tour our grounds with one of the co-principals, attend educator talks and learn more about the Child Side way. It is our largest fundraising event of the year and is a fun filled day where we all get to enjoy our amazing school and all the wonderful people in it!
All families contribute in some way – volunteering time selling food in the HUB, donating home-baked cakes to be sold at our cake stall, donating books and clothing for our second-hand stalls, or helping to facilitate other fun activities such as obstacle courses or our messy play area which is a hit with the younger kids. Bring along your friends and family and anyone else interested in our school and playgroup and enjoy this great event!
Christmas Spiral
This is held during the last week of school for the year. A picnic dinner commences around 6pm followed by our other rituals and when applicable, a graduation ceremony for children moving on to their next phase of education.
Our Christmas Spiral is a very simple tradition where we want to remember a Christmas behind the commercial image and popular culture, where families can remember what is important to them without the expectations of polished performances and concerts. It is a symbol of thanks and gratitude – remembering all that we sacrifice to be a part of this school (time and money) but all that we gain (community, time with our children, focus on sharing responsibility for raising the village, enjoyment with each other).
After dinner, we spend time as a community playing on the oval together or catching up in the courtyard while the fresh rosemary spiral is set up in the HUB. Everyone is then gathered in the courtyard and given a pebble to place in our world wishing well; making a silent wish for the world and remembering loved ones who may no longer be with us. We then watch some video footage of the highlights of the school year for our children, and do a short graduation ceremony for any children moving on. After this, we head back to the HUB for the spiral.
The rosemary spiral helps us to remember our humble beginnings in an old house with a rosemary bush outside. The spiral is decorated with tea light candles to symbolise the light that each family brings to our community, and objects that each family brings to symbolise our connection to the physical, plant, animal and people worlds. Handmade figurines of Mary and Joseph (symbols of the origins of Christmas) are walked around the spiral as we sing some traditional Christmas songs together as a community. It’s a simple and magical way to end our school year off together and reflect on the importance of family and community.