WINTERS FLAT SUSATAINABILITY JOURNEY
LETTERS OF SUPPORT FROM TEACHERS
Support from teachers from another schools
2/8/15
Buninyong Primary School
To whom it may concern,
I am writing in support of the ResourceSmart program at Winters Flat Primary
School, and in particular, my previous colleague Jeannette McMahon.
I worked at Winters Flat Primary for two years and during that time I had the
privilege of working closely with Jeanette in developing the ResourceSmart
program at the school. The growth of the program over my time at the school
was tremendous, largely due to the efforts of dedicated staff and a highly
engaged school community.
The ResourceSmart Sustainability program has flourished at Winters Flat
where the school’s history with maintaining a healthy biodiversity, rich gardens
and green playground areas are appreciated by staff, students and parents
alike. The endorsement of such programs as the Nude Food Lunches, Battery
Recycling system and Tree Planting days were also enthusiastically supported by
the sustainably-minded Castlemaine community. I was fortunate to have the
opportunity of working with organisations such as Coliban Water, Friends of
Campbells Creek and the Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group,
that helped engage and inform our students about the various modules that our
school was working towards completing.
Although I am not currently working at Winters Flat Primary, I consider my
part in developing the ResourceSmart program to have been a great experience
in many ways. These include working closely with Jeanette McMahon and other
staff to develop sustainable polices relevant for the school, as well as plan and
implement cross curricular learning documents incorporating the ResourceSmart
foci across the school. Jeanette’s passion and vision were an inspiration to work
with, and our goals and achievements in encompassing the entire school
community within what we were trying to accomplish is a testament to her hard
work and dedication. I also valued the experience of learning and exploring with
my students, as we discovered how to live and work more sustainably with the
world around us.
I feel honoured to have taken part in Winters Flat’s journey through the
ResourceSmart program and am so proud of all that has been achieved by the
school community.
Yours sincerely,
Bianca Alvarez Harris
Buninyong Primary School
Mark O’Sullivan
St Mary’s PS
Templeton St
Castlemaine 3450
2/08/15
To Whom it many concern,
I am writing on behalf of St Mary’s Primary School, Castlemaine. After attending the ‘Youth
Leading the World’ conference the other week, I was moved to write a letter of thanks, support and
admiration.
Firstly, thank you for hosting. From the outset, my students and I felt welcomed and comfortable as
your students greeted and then escorted us to the conference. My senior students were obviously
impressed and these little touches throughout the conference inspired and showed them what
confident leadership looks like. I would also like to thank you Jeanette. Your leadership overall at the
conference whether that be as someone promoting sustainable ideas and knowledge or with making
the conference flow, or helping engage and inspire the students really made it work. Your offers of
assistance with St Mary’s sustainability journey and the willingness to share and offer ideas and
resources will be gratefully accepted.
Walking around your school was an inspiration for what a concerted effort at promoting and
implementing sustainable ideas can look and sound like after years of hard work and dedication on
many levels. Your student’s knowledge, acceptance and enthusiasm for all things sustainable were
amazing. It felt easy and ingrained. The signage around the school, the fact that kids wander over to
the compost bins to get rid of their fruit peels etc without thinking, the respect for the veggie
gardens and also the daily weather reports to remind the other students about what to wear to cut
down on power usage all combined to show me that the message can get through. Their
‘Sustainability School Tour’ was educational in a friendly way. It was obvious through this and your
student’s offerings throughout the conference that your sustainability journey is one that everybody
is on together. Not something that is taught as an add-on, but a message that is embedded in
Winters Flat’s everyday life and a way of thinking that will stick with your students as a gift for them
and the planet forever.
Thank you and kind regards,
Mark O’Sullivan
NO. 652
Roberts Avenue
P.O. Box 170
CASTLEMAINE 3450
Telephone No.03 5472 1522
Fax No. 03 5472 3744
Website – www.winters-flat-ps.vic.edu.au
Email – winters.flat.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
Support from principal WFPS
August 2nd 2015
To Whom It May Concern,
In 2012 Winters Flat Primary School signed up to the Resource Smart Sustainability program which has been a real change agent for our school. We have
been able to achieve a much greater awareness of the issues around sustainability
and have been able to work towards some soutions to local issues. We expect to be
able to achieve our 5 star accreitation this year, which will be the pinnacle of our
whole school approach.
We have been working on reducing our energy, waste and water and increasing our
biodiversity and have achieved some outstanding results with a reduction in utilities
accounts. Whilst this is always helpful for a school, of greater significance is the
heightened awareness of the impact such actions can have amongst the students of
our school. This will be knowledge which is with them for life, and which will
positively reduce their impact on the envirnoment for years to come.
The development of a whole school sustainabilty cross –curricular program is a real
feature of our school. Classrooms have a programmed approach to their learning
and the whole school is focussing on the same area each semester. We have been
able to share our learnings with other schools in the area and are regarded as a
lighthouse school in this area by the community.
The adoption of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program has been a
resounding success at Winters Flat. Children from Grade 2 are involved in formal
clases based on the SAKG principals of “Grow, Harvest, Prepare and Share”. The
extensive vegetable gardens are an attractive adjunct to the school environment,
and children all know how to compost, seedsave, attend to the school chickens and
the worm farm. Our students planted a large indigenous food garden, with local
plants which will provide food for a feast later in the year. They have worked with
local community elders to design and constuct this garden which is in the shape of
Bunjil, the eagle, who is a significant Korrie symbol of our local area.
Staff have participated in extensive professional development , attended
conferences, implemented policies, recieved ACEL awards and has been invited
onto expert panels to develop and share our learnings. Our school Sustainability
webpage is also maintained by our staff.
Sustainabilty practices have been incorpoarted into our Positive Behaviour Support
program with acknowledgement for good practice a regular feature of our school
assemblies. One of our key values is “Care For the Enviorment”, for which children
are acknowledged and all classrooms have their own “Care for” areas which they
tend and keep tidy on a regular basis.
I am very proud to be the Principal of this school, and would like to congratulate our
Community Leaders and the ResourceSmart team who have been the drivers in
ensuring our school is on the forefront of sustainability education.
Yours sincerely,
Mary-anne Rooney
Principal
Support from teachers WFPS
Teacher support Letter 1: Class teacher Grade 3/4
To: Sustainability Victoria,
I am currently a grade 3/4 teacher at Winters Flat Primary school. I have taught at this school for
more than 10 years, in a range of classrooms. In that time, as a society we have seen a greater
awareness of environmental issues, to the extent that it is now imbedded within our curriculum.
I am proud to be a teacher at this school. Whilst we have always had an alternative way of
approaching education, the Resource Smart program has helped provide a framework for us to
educate our students about sustainability. In 2012 our school launched into this program with
Jeanette McMahon as the driving force; her passion for the environment fuelling our desire and
obligation to educate our next generation.
Since our involvement with the program, we have imbedded the areas of water, waste, biodiversity
and energy into planning. These areas underpin our planning of literacy, numeracy, science and
other subjects.
In 2014 we started with Water as our theme. We explored the water cycle, what water meant to us
and learnt the intricacies of having clean water available to us on demand. Students learnt to
appreciate water as a valuable resource, appreciating our school water tanks and ensuring we did
everything we could to not waste water.
Next we had Biodiversity as our semester theme. We started by investigating the word then realised
that we actually had quite a hold on this topic already. We have been involved in the Stephanie
Alexander Kitchen Garden Program for a few years. Still, students have learnt in more detail about
animal and plant relationships and their roles in human survival.
This year Energy was our theme for terms 1 and 2. In that time, my students researched different
forms of energy, learned the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources
how these are converted into usable energy, the impact of energy use on our environment, created
flowcharts and overall become more conscious of our classroom energy consumption. To help with
our understandings, we engaged Energy Bob and local electrician Solar Steve who explained the
process of solar capture. Each event was different but both engaged and educated students. They
still talk about the experiences, months later and always question whether we need the lights or
heater on.
Waste is our theme for Semester 2. We have just begun to immerse ourselves in the topic. My
students are already quite familiar with our local services and in reducing, reusing and recycling so
they have been exploring what other countries are doing.
Our school’s nude food policy, composting beds and worm farm clearly meet the Resource Smart
Program’s expectations. In my time at this school, the changes in students’ attitudes and the hard
evidence (rubbish in bins) is clear. Then, each classroom had a huge rubbish bin that everything went
into. Now, we have a compost bin which fills our garden compost bays or feeds our chooks. We have
a small recycling box in which scraps of paper, card etc we cannot use again is placed, and a small bin
for rubbish. When someone puts something in the rubbish bin, we all question it!
Overall, our involvement in the Resource Smart Program has been a linchpin for us. It has helped us
structure our curriculum and provide a framework for what has always been a significant part of our
school’s ethos. We care for ourselves, others and our environment.
Yours Sincerely
Helen Weir (Grade 3/4 classroom teacher)
Teacher support Letter 2: Class teacher Grade 4/5
5th August 2015
To whom it may concern,
I have been a member of the Winters Flat teaching staff for almost two years now
and have taught the Australian curriculum whilst integrating the Resource Smart
focus areas of waste, energy, biodiversity and water. I have found that our students
have a drive and a commitment in these areas and of being part of the change to
increase our sustainability.
In the first semester of 2014 my grade 2/3 class covered a number of areas in relation
to the topic of water. First they explored the water cycle to gain an understanding of
how water is made to ensure fresh water is available. Then they looked at ways of
conserving water. Finally they investigated water based animals and their
environments to further understand the importance of water in our environment.
The second semester of 2014 the class investigated biodiversity, with a particular
focus on mini-beasts. These investigations looked at the adaptations of various minibeasts as they have evolved, their defences and attack mechanisms, their
environment and natural habitat. The students enjoyed researching the mini-beasts
that live in various areas of the school grounds and the kitchen garden. The class
also developed and performed a class play on preserving biodiversity which they
delivered to the whole school at assembly.
This year my grade 4/5 have delved into energy and being energy efficient. They
have looked at the ways in which energy is used at home, at school and also in
Indonesia as part of their LOTE program. We had also been lucky enough to have
Solar Steve and Energy Bob visit the school to discuss ways in which energy can be
harnessed from the sun and how we can reduce our energy usage. From this the
students researched what they believed to be the best renewable energy source
and wrote a magazine style persuasive text to relay their understanding of the topic.
For this semester the focus is on waste. The semester has only just started but we
have big plans with a campaign to stop the use of plastic bags in the local
community. We are also conducting waste audits and collections to track the types
of waste that is coming into the school in a bid to eliminate landfill waste being used
by our families.
The teaching and learning that is occurring in these areas are hands-on, real life and
have a direct effect in the students’ lives, you cannot get much more powerful
teaching and learning than that. The students can see that they really can make a
difference and are keen to do so.
The program is invaluable in terms of developing young people where sustainability
and environmental awareness is at the forefront of their minds. I just know that as I
continue to learn and develop my teaching in this area our students will be doing
the same and together we will make a change.
I would also like to note the effort, drive and the commitment that our Resource
Smart team has, they do an amazing job at supporting our teaching in the
classroom as well as spreading the word among the school and local community.
The importance of this issue is undeniable and one of the best ways to change the
outcome is through education and action and we are doing both and I am
incredibly proud of that.
Regards
Simone Healy
Grade 4/5 Teacher
Winters Flat Primary School
Teacher support Letter 3: Class teacher Grade P/1
03/08/15
To Whom It May Concern,
I am a Prep/One teacher at Winters Flat Primary School. I wish to express my
appreciation of the ResourceSmart program running in our school. This is largely due to
the work of one teacher, Jeanette McMahon, who has worked tirelessly to implement
and document our journey towards being a 5 star ResourceSmart school and bring
about our whole school Sustainability Curriculum document.
The ResourceSmart program has enabled my students to gain knowledge about the
areas of waste, energy, biodiversity and water. They strive to reduce, recycle and
reuse waste in our classroom and use the recycling box for recyclable items. They
understand how to sort their food scraps into the compost and bring nude food in
reusable containers for snack and lunch. My class enjoyed learning about the water
cycle and energy from guest presenters and experts, including Coliban water
representatives and the popular Energy Bob. This year at Winters Flat PS we
participated in National Tree Day for the 12th consecutive year. The students are
showing great care tending their plants and are developing an understanding of
biodiversity.
Being the youngest students in the school they are guided by our school leaders in all of
these areas. The school leaders have done a terrific job being role models for the
younger students and spreading the ResourceSmart ideals. The whole school is on this
journey together. We are excelling in reducing our waste, increasing the biodiversity of
our grounds, lowering our water and energy usage and understanding the complexities
of sustainable living.
It is fulfilling to have a classroom of young students who show care for their
environment and understand how precious it is.
Yours Sincerely,
Fiona Johnston
Prep/One Teacher
Winters Flat PS
Teacher support Letter 4: Class teacher Grade 2
2/8/15
To whom it may concern,
In the second semester of 2014 the integrated theme for the whole school at Winters Flat
Primary was Biodiversity.
Having explored the importance of healthy waterways earlier in the year (when the theme
was Water) I was delighted to recognize the inspiration and learning that had obviously
taken place when my students volunteered to conduct the biodiversity audit of the school
grounds, understanding it was a requirement of the Resource Smart program.
This grade four and five class had some prior knowledge of the concept of an audit having
previously participated in the measuring, recording and interpreting of water usage data;
and some well-meaning but simplistic ideas about animals and the environment.
The biodiversity audit was a complex undertaking. Skill preparation was required in the form
of map reading, interpreting scale, estimating area, height, width and volume,
understanding and translating percentage and equivalent fractions etc. Students performed
a modified audit at home, to practice measuring, counting, estimating and averaging and
gave their home garden a biodiversity rating. Difficulties were discussed and consensus
reached as how best to achieve consistency in our school audit.
We used the Cool Australia audit form, maps of the school and divided the grounds into
sections for which one group of students was each responsible.
We collated our data and after much hard work, discussion and problem solving we reached
agreement on the overall biodiversity score. Students were thrilled with the score which
rated our school biodiversity has good to very good but they were in no way complacent
and immediately began action plans for improvement.
In studying biodiversity, students gained a deeper understanding of ecological concepts
such as habitat, ecosystem, species and food chains. They learned about the connectedness,
the complexity and fragility of the web of life. They could see for themselves the necessity
of habitat to support animal life, that habitat is much more than a tree for a bird and that
every creature and every plant is significant, not just the cute and pretty ones.
Their action plans included landscaping of particular areas of the school. We accessed the
support of a local landscape gardener who helped with feasibility studies and provided
practical advice about location, soil management and suitable plant species etc. Having
determined approximate costs, students wrote letters of application to the fundraising
committee for financial support.
This year some of the action plans are well underway even though the students responsible
are in different classes with different teachers. Our SAKG gardening specialist is using the
action plans from last year and incorporating them into the whole school gardening
program. Students are sharing their knowledge, work and inspiration. Everybody’s jumping
on board. There is a definite sense of contribution for the greater good of our school, its
biodiversity, our local environment and ‘the environment’ in general.
Embedding sustainability into the curriculum authenticates our teaching and learning about
the world around us. In my experience environmental issues are a real and weighty concern
for many children. They are thirsty for knowledge and hungry for the tools, skills and
understandings that will enable them to feel empowered to make a positive difference. Our
learning about biodiversity in particular, has been, and will continue to be an inspiring and
motivating experience. Students are feeling positive and have hope for their future and the
future of the planet and so do I.
I congratulate and thank the Resource Smart team and the Winters Flat curriculum
committee for providing the direction and support to our classroom teachers that is
enabling a sound and meaningful, whole-school approach to the teaching and learning of
sustainability. It is a serious issue of global significance, integrating it into my teaching has
been personally and professionally rewarding.
Thank you!
Peta Firth
Grade two teacher
Winters Flat Primary School
Teacher support Letter 5: Class teacher 3/4
To Whom it May Concern,
As a classroom teacher at Winters Flat Primary School I was asked to reflect on
the impact, achievements and changes that I have witnessed in our school over
the past two and a half years. I thought- ‘crikey’ what on earth could I write??
So I sat down at my computer and spent such a wonderful time trawling
through two years of incredible photographs which was a pictorial testament
to the work that we had been doing and the achievements of the students. As
they say, ‘the pictures tell the story”.
During this time our curriculum focus has been in the area of Water,
Biodiversity, Energy and currently Waste. I feel that the ‘themes’ have been
truly embedded into all areas of the curriculum, Literacy, Maths, Science, Art,
Kitchen/ Garden program and even Health and Physical education.
Curriculums have been built and expanded at each level within our school.
At school level, changes such as installing water tanks fed, from the drinking
taps, sustainable/edible/cultural Gardens developed, Removal of rubbish bins
and the establishment of a 3 way waste system in every classroom/staffroom
established, a culture of nude food prevalent among students and staff, the
establishment of defined areas for each classroom to care for and overall a
general ‘corporate culture’ of pride within our school.
This year the student Leadership has been developed and expanded, with an
expectation on students to take on greater responsibility and roles within our
school community, this has led to a louder student voice and a collective
feeling of belonging and responsibility from all the student body. The elected
students have accepted their roles with full sincerity, and pride, and are
achieving incredible things.
On a more personal level I have to admit that I am a ‘consumer’ and was really
quite ignorant in the area of sustainability so this has been a massive journey
of learning for myself also, with the students leading the way and teaching me
in reciprocity. I am proud to say I now have a recycling bucket and a ‘Chook’
bucket in my kitchen for food scraps.
So…. A journey began!
How exciting to be part of an adventure where students, teachers and families
are all learning from each other.
I am excited to think, where next….
Karen Brooks
3/4 Teacher
Winters Flat PS
Teacher support Letter 6: Class teacher 5/6
August 9th 2015
To: Whom It May Concern
I am a teacher at Winters Flat Primary School and have been for many, many years.
During my time here I have noted some remarkable changes within our teachings and
understandings in regards to our environment. We have always tried to be innovative,
but in recent years this has escalated to new heights. Involvement in the Resource
Smart Program has allowed us to better understand the need for direct teaching and
learning about sustainability.
The areas of water, waste, biodiversity and energy have become a part of our
curriculum and are constantly referred to in general classroom activities and
discussions. Students easily discuss environmental issues and are generally concerned
with doing the right thing.
The most obvious difference is the students’ awareness of environmental issues and
the care they take in the classrooms and around the school. The school ground is clean
and cared for – rarely any rubbish to be seen – assisted by each grade having ‘care for’
areas. It is very noticeable as, in the past, we tried really hard to encourage students
not to bring inappropriate wrappers etc. and to not litter our school grounds with very
little effect. The use of the three waste containers in our room has really assisted the
students in understanding the reduce, re-use and recycle philosophy.
I really enjoy teaching Science and have tried hard to incorporate Resource Smart
areas into our practical activities. It has assisted students in their understanding and
is much enjoyed.
Our student leadership team are very active and aware, readily discussing
environmental issues and what the school can do to help.
We have had a very invigorating journey so far, thanks mainly to Jeanette McMahon
and her small team of helpers, and we look forward to continually ‘upping-the-ante’ and
ensuring our students are well equipped to be environmentally aware and considerate in
their future lives.
Wendy Oates
Grade 5/6 Teacher