WELCOME to Term 3. Another busy term is already under way. (Athletics days, the fete, class photos.) Please check Newsletters and your child’s diary.

I would like to take the opportunity to share the poem we wrote on our recent excursion to Karawatha Forest, where we developed our naturalistic intelligence and became nature smart. We wandered the way of the water through the forest beginning at the sandstone ridges and finishing at the ephemeral lagoons. Definite highlights of the day were the nature sculptures of Andy Goldsworthy and our deep thinking time.

WANDER THE WAY OF THE WATER

The moment we went silent, the birds started to talk,

The birds didn’t just start talking, we had actually stopped!

It sounded like the birds were coming closer.

I saw a small, brown frog,

I could hear all the frogs croaking,

I felt peaceful…

Karawatha was speaking to us,

Nature was speaking in a silent, quiet voice

A sense of calmness,

I could feel faint vibrations by putting my hand on the ground,

             Sensing the handprints of thousands of years.

I felt the wind tickling my skin,

I heard the sound of the frogs raising up and then fading away,

I heard the different tones of different birds singing,

A sound you usually ignore.

So many sounds around us,

The birds continued chirping…

Some big mosquitoes were buzzing around.

There were some smaller ones buzzing around,

Not biting, just circling around my head.

There were about 20 sandflies on my hand,

I shook them off and they flew on to my shoe.

All the bugs were bugging me yet I enjoyed being outdoors,

The sounds were beautiful.

Where I sat there was a spider about a metre in front of me,

I watched a fly get caught in its web…

And then the spider wrapped it up.

A little lizard crawled onto my leg,

It was brown and greenish grey, like a gecko.

You wouldn’t normally notice all the small insects crawling around.

Two ants were scurrying around a small plant,

It was like they were dancing to the music of the forest.

A big brown ant was carrying some white stuff

 While another was trying to eat it.

I saw one ant crawling up a leaf,

Another ant walking much slower,

It made me think that sometimes we need to slow down.

We need to enjoy some deep thinking time.

 SILENCE………..

In the middle of our deep thinking time, I heard a moment of complete silence,

I enjoyed it!

 I was sitting against a log,

The musty, wet scent was nice.

I liked looking at the scribbly gums

And the changing movements of the grass.

I noticed all the different colours on the trees-

Gold, brown, white, black.

The gold colour surprised me.

When you are still, the forest takes you in and talks to you.

For me it was just the silence that stood out,

You don’t get to experience that in the city or the suburbs.

I noticed that I was surrounded by trees,

It made me feel as if I wasn’t alone.

I realised that if you close your eyes

Everything around you seemed louder.

                    I just felt so relaxed with all the sounds

                                    and the gentle wind,

                                  It was great!

I felt a combination of nature’s busyness and complete serenity,

The stereo sounds of the fogs and birds,

The sounds of the city in the distance,

Like I was in two places at once.

THANK  YOU  KARAWATHA