The Bark term four 2022 Issue 45

Gravity and Other Myths performance:

The grade 1, 2 and 3's went off to Bendigo to see a performance by the dance/circus group Gravity and Other Myths called Backbone. `Extraordinary' and `unbelievable' barely do it justice. It was amazing. The performers all met when they were about 10 years old at Circus Aus and are now an international sensation.

Here's a link to the performance group if you ever get a chance to catch them.

https://www.gravityandothermyths.com/sticks-and-stones

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Grade 1 Camp:

Last week the Grade 1 class spent 3 days in the tall mountain ash forests of Toolangi. We have been learning about some of the threatened species of Victoria, including the helmeted honeyeater and the Leadbeater’s possum. These remarkable creatures have tiny patches of remaining habitat in the forests near Toolangi, and we wanted to go and see where they live.

At the Wirrawilla rainforest we met with Steve, the president of the Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum Association, and he stayed with us all afternoon, showing the children different plants and speaking about their roles in the ecosystem. We sipped crystal clear water from sparkling mountain streams and saw the world's tallest moss and glow-in-the-dark fungus. We crept inside an enormous mountain ash trunk, were hailed on, had a snowball fight and listened to stories that Steve told about the forest. We met George, a tiny taxidermied Leadbeater’s Possum and looked with awe and delight at the tiny little hands and clever tail that can carry nesting material back to their hollows. We heard Steve's sadness at the ludicrous battle he faces in fighting VicForests to stop the logging of these ancient trees, which are home to so many creatures, but are being pulped into cheap copy paper. We learnt that warriors come in all forms, and that Steve had been arrested for protecting these trees. His gentle, thoughtful, engaging company was enjoyed by us all, and when we waved goodbye, Jasper said “I hope we are going to see Steve tomorrow”.

The following day we spent at the Healesville sanctuary, site of the successful helmeted honeyeaters' captive breeding and release-into-the-wild program. We saw an incredible array of animals: Tasmanian Devils, Tree Kangaroos, Koalas and a Bilby being the highlights. The flight show was dizzyingly wonderful, with parrots and birds of prey zooming just above our heads, showcasing their magnificence. The carefully tended paths and play areas were nearly as popular with the kids as were the animals. Beautiful, thoughtful landscaping touches made walking through the sanctuary a delight.

On our last day we walked through the Toolangi Sculpture Park and then returned to the Wirrawilla rainforest for a final explore and play in the ancient rainforest. The kids all wondered with hopeful voices if Steve would turn up? Walking beneath the massive gnarly beech and sassafras trees, enjoying the vibrant green of unfurling new fronds of the tree ferns, looking at the eddies in the clear creek, we were convinced that this landscape needs protecting. I hope that the children of Grade 1 will be able to one day visit the proposed Great National Park, knowing that the habitats of the helmeted honeyeaters and the Leadbeater’s possum are protected. And I hope that this happens soon enough for these little creatures to be able to still cling to existence.

Student Poem:

History is an

Impressive way to describe

Something from the past.

To make one thing history

Or make something in the present or past,

Reality....this could be history.

You can make history.

By Rafi, grade 4.

Mythology Quiz:

Nine Candlebark Kids won the Mythology Trivia Quiz on Halloween at the Castlemaine Town Hall.

Grade Fives Win the Mythology Quiz On Halloween, instead of trick or treating….. nine of us, all grade fives (Frankie, Lewis, Woody, Milly, Seba, Ofek, Silas, Jethro and Paddy) battled our wits against other Mythology lovers at Castlemaine Town Hall. It was a competition set up by the Castlemaine Library. Everyone dressed up in their costumes. There were five other groups competing and about eight rounds in total. Our group name was “The Friends.” It was a very close competition, but we won by 4 points. An impressive feat as we were the only team without adults! For one question we jokingly wrote monkey magic because we didn’t know the answer, and it was monkey. Surprisingly they counted our answer as correct!!! Another exciting victory occurred when the teams were given a bonus question (which counted for two points) for the first person to correctly name Hecate’s Roman form. Silas put his hand up and answered Trivia which was right, and put us in front by two points. In fact, we held the lead for practically the whole quiz. At the end, when the scores were analysed, we ended up on 79 points winning the competition! The prize was a mythology book for the youngest team member (who was Paddy) and a miniature 3-D printed Nike, goddess of victory, statue for each of us. Plus, a choice of travel Trivial Pursuit or Hungry Hippos. It was a great win for us, and we will remember it for a long time. By Milly and Seba

Grade 4 Marysville camp:

Our delightful camp with year 4 students to Marysville. Cooking, creek wading, ape pillow jumping and ice cream to top it all off!

Mia at the States:

My State story...

My dad and I left home at 7:30 on wednesday morning and travelled for an hour and a half to Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park.

We got there at 9:00am and I had big buterflies but still I was ready. I had practised really hard over the last few weeks. My first event was discus, at 10:00, and I was really excited because this is my favourite event. A discus is a small rubber object like a frisbee.

My first thought was that this is going to be hard but when I started throwing I thought it wasn’t about winning or losing, it was about having fun and it was a lot of fun. I hope other people can have the same experience I had that day. The competition started and I didn't have very much luck with my standing throw but I moved on and thought about my next throw and didn’t let it bother me.

I did a spin on the next one and this time luck was on my side and I threw a whopping 19.62m with my first ever spin, a new PB for me at competition and that was enough to get me into 10th place.

So that's it on my discus report and the start of my shotput report.

A shot put is a heavy ball of iron or brass that you push out onto a sandy surface.

After the discus we had a long wait before the shot put. We had to pick up my state jumper and then I had a friend from Little Athletics come to watch.

After the wait I went to the marshall area while Dad found a place to watch.

We got put into the order we were throwing in, and before I knew it, it was my turn.

The first one was good and I was happy but I knew I could do better, but again my nerves got the better of me and the next two throws weren't as good as my first but at least they were in the sector.

I came 15th out of 16 kids.

It wasn’t my best day but it made me feel lucky that I'd tried.

Mia Greenwood, Grade 5

New Candlebarkian:

Here is Emery James Thorpe. Born 11/11/22 at 6:26pm, weighing a healthy 4.23kg.

Congratulations to Sam, Sarah, Auden and Imogen.

Year 6/7 Bike Camp:

Candlebark year six and sevens went with Alice Miller year sevens on their great bi-annual bike ride around Victoria. They travelled nearly 280 km in five days through intermittent weather and undulating terrain to achieve something truly amazing. The route took them from Alice Miller and Candlebark respectively through our local region with sleepovers at Mia Mia, Guildford, Clunes, Trentham then back to school.