Largs Bay Schools
Largs Bay Junior Primary School (Reception to Yr 2) and Largs Bay Primary School (Yrs 3–7) make up Largs Bay Schools. We cater for 5–13 year olds in a healthy, caring environment.
The schools are located on the same campus and share one Principal and two Heads of School. We have 516 students in total. Our values of respect, cooperation, caring, commitment and honesty provide the basis for all we do at Largs Bay Schools.
The schools have a proud history and many current students are second or third generation†attendees of Largs Bay Schools. We are proud of our past as well as being confident of the future. Learning is the key to that future.
We are committed to excellence in learning, caring for people and for the environment.
PROJECT COORDINATOR: Carmel Watson
ARTIST: Bevan Baxter
PROJECT: ‘Aboriginal Dreaming Trail’ – ceramics, mosaics project
Aims:
- To promote Aboriginal culture through the Arts;
- To actively involve our school community in an Artistic project implemented by an Aboriginal Artist, reflecting the value and respect we hold for our Aboriginal community;
- For our local community to actively acknowledge and respect the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of our land;
- For our community to actively support Reconciliation between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal Australians;
- To provide an artistically and environmentally responsible area for students to access both through play and free time along with structured school curriculum lessons and time;
- To develop local school curriculum that directly focuses on the arts as an integral part of whole school curriculum;
- Whole school community ongoing education about local Kaurna culture and heritage based on artistic, cultural and environmental aspects, through access to the garden and direct impact upon classroom curriculum;
- To bring together the often separate domains of home, school and community environments, thus empowering student learning; and
- Active and ongoing involvement of local Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community, parents, students and staff in management, decision making and implementation of school curriculum.
The Artist:
Bevan Baxter is an Aboriginal visual artist and culture teacher who has worked in a number of schools and as an hourly paid instructor. Bevan utilises a range of media to express concepts drawn from a wide range of traditional and contemporary themes based on his own experiences and those of his students. One of his most proud achievements was the 1997 Valley View mural – ‘It is my hope that people from all over the world will accept the latin meaning of the word Aboriginal in that it is indigenous plant, animal, or human of each continent.’ Bevan Baxter.
The Process:
- Steering Committee established.
- Avenues of funding and Artist knowledge explored.
- Artist contacted and application forwarded.
- Ongoing meetings with Artist.
- Artist invited to Garden celebrations / morning tea and committee meetings (Artist attended).
- Artist visited Kura Yerlo regularly in order to expand his knowledge and skills in clay work.
- Designs discussed.
- Resources purchased.
- Timetabling and space negotiated and outlined.
- Artist employed 3 days per week, stretched over more than a straight 7 weeks (due to school Artist and process needs.)
- Groups of 8 students attend art sessions rotating through classes.
- Clay work – materials collected for designs, clay tiles designed and cut out, tiles fired, tiles coloured and glazed, tiles fired, tongue completed with clay and cement work, tiles laid, mosaics laid, top of head designed created and laid (mosaics).
- End of work completion ceremony and celebration Tues Week 7, Term 4.
- Artist participation and acknowledgement.
Outcomes:
We believe the outcomes have met all of the aims of the project. Each aim has been met, we have:
- Promoted Aboriginal culture through the Arts as evidenced through the final product especially the designs used and the cultural discussions held with Bevan and the students.
- Actively involved our school community in an Artistic project implemented by an Aboriginal Artist, reflecting the value and respect we hold for our Aboriginal community. The whole school has been actively involved including many parents and community members.
- Our local community has actively acknowledged and shown respect for the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of our land. This is reflected in the continuous newsletter items, the cultural ceremonies held and the new naming of the trail as the Kuranye Metitya Dreaming Trail (the Kaurna translation of Rainbow Serpent).
- Our community actively supports Reconciliation between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal Australians. This is reflected in the whole school and community participation in the design, development and implementation of the serpent head and the rest of the garden. Of particular reference to Reconciliation is the actual design used on the top of the Serpents head which represents the Reconciliation movement here at Largs Bay Schools.
- We have now provided an artistically and environmentally responsible area for students to access both through play and free time along with structured school curriculum lessons and time. The garden, trail and head are complete and accessed by students and staff regularly.
- Our local school curriculum has directly focused on the arts as an integral part of whole school curriculum. We have developed local school activities that directly relate to the Trail. Throughout the project the arts has been a major focus for all students in all classes. The time and commitment made to the project has embedded the arts aspects of the Trail into our whole school curriculum.
- We have participated in and promoted whole school community ongoing education about local Kaurna culture and heritage based on artistic, cultural and environmental aspects, through access to the garden and direct impact upon classroom curriculum. We have invited cultural guides from Tauondi college to specifically teach about Kaurna culture. In addition many other Aboriginal visitors have shared their culture with the students, including Uncle Lewis OBrien who came to talk to us about the Rainbow Serpent in Kaurna land. The local indigenous plants will be labeled in their Kaurna names along with Kaurna uses where known.
- We have prioritised to bring together the often separate domains of home, school and community environments, thus empowering student learning. We have endeavored to keep the garden profile high on the community agenda, referring to it regularly in school newsletters and on our web site. Many of our parents, in particular our Aboriginal parents, have been actively involved in the project. The students actively promote their parents participation and attendance. We have canvassed broadly and feel confident about the acceptance and promotion of our trail within the local community and in particular our Aboriginal community. Their attendance at our celebratory ceremonies is reflective of this commitment.
- Throughout the project we have had active and ongoing involvement of local Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community, parents, students and staff in management, decision-making and implementation of school curriculum.
Highlights:
We have established a Rainbow Serpent Dreaming Trail in a very visual and large corner of the school grounds. The trail consists of an indigenous garden using local plants with a Rainbow Serpent meandering through it. The project the Artist was employed for was to decorate the serpent head with tiles and mosaics. It was just a large slab of concrete that was hard to recognise as the head.
The Artist created, with the students, differing shades of green tiles as scales, each with its own unique design. The top of the head has a mosaic design dedicated to Reconciliation and our local wildlife. The tongue is a striking blue that contains many student created animal clay designs. The most life giving feature are the eyes that are able to watch from all angles of the head. Our Rainbow Serpent is now a striking feature of our school and has brought life to the trail. Due to the strong involvement of all concerned and the cultural significance to our community, it is a credit to all involved and holds a special place in our community.
‘It is a safe place to play… I think it is very good and that Largs Bay has something like this. I was happy to help make it… It looks perfect. It makes me happy… I like the decorations on it, they tell a good story about living together in harmony… I think the Kuranye Metitya Dreaming Trail is a great new culture for the school. The children are learning to respect the Aboriginal culture a lot more and the school looks great… It looks great and the money was used well… I especially love playing on it.’ Students
‘Our Aboriginal student enrolment for the last few years has always been around 20. During this year our Aboriginal enrolment increased to 34, this is a significant rise in a short period of time. In addition to this our Aboriginal student attendance rates have also significantly improved over the same period of time.’ Project Coordinator
‘The students are more aware of the environment and their responsibility towards each other and the community, parent involvement is improving and teachers can support parents, students and the community now they have a better understanding of our culture.’ Artist
520 students participated in this project
