Chappy CHAT

Learning Community

2023 is going to be an exciting year for the homeschooling families who are involved with the Rainbow Beach Learning Community. A few of the children who were part of our community last year are heading back to school, but we have several new families who will be sending their children along on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Rainbow Beach Community Centre.

Local teacher Kerry Sleath and myself will be coordinating the activities with the assistance of parents and community volunteers.

Sarah Booth and Dean Marshall from Rainbow Beach Learn to Surf will again be providing gym and beach activities each week. We have extended an invitation to the Gympie Homeschool Community to join us on two occasions this term so that our families can widen their circle of like-minded people and make new friends.

Our focus this term will be on goal setting, gratitude, and kindness using workbooks that provide practical ways of encouraging young people in these important areas of life. We will also enjoy visits from locals who were born outside of Australia to learn about different cultures and customs.

If you would like to come along and share about your heritage, please contact me on 0413 135 867. Local mum Aimee has volunteered to teach basic Spanish and one of our young people will be sharing their expertise in dance and movement. We have also asked local business people to come along and share about their life and the highs and lows of running a business.

Chloe from the Gympie Council will be continuing to help us learn more about recycling and our group will be visiting the Hervey Bay Recycling Facility in March to see what happens to our rubbish once it is collected by the Council’s rubbish trucks. Our group will be participating in Clean Up Australia which normally happens on Sunday 5 March with their own cleanup of the area near the SLS tower on Tuesday 7 March.

Another interesting visit will be from the Gympie Bone Museum, which is dedicated to the art and science of modern bones and skeletons. Local science technicians and educational cadaver suppliers Jaimie and Debra Cook opened the museum to the public in 2019 which is located at the Gympie Woodwork Museum and will be providing a 2-hour interactive session for our young people.

Jan Waters from Cooloola Turtle Care will also be visiting this term and sharing about how we can help to look after turtles who come ashore on our beaches and give each child a copy of their recent-published booklet entitled ‘Turtle Talk’ sponsored by the Gympie Regional Council.

Our young people will again be privileged to receive tuition from local artist Mo Riggs, who continues to inspire us with her amazing works of art. If you have a skill or hobby that you would like to share with us, then please let us know as we love meeting new people and learning about what they do.

The Learning Community will be hosting the annual Rainbow Beach Sandcastle Competition on Wednesday 5 April on the beach north of the SLS tower. Registration is from 8.30am and teams will have two hours from 9-11am to create their masterpieces.

It is hoped that Aaron from Sandshapers of Noosa will again be present to amaze us with another of his works of art and perform the difficult job of judging the best entry in each category that will receive great prizes donated by local businesses.

Mark the date in your diary and even if you don’t want to be part of a team, come down to the beach for a wonderful morning of fun, friendship, and fresh air. You will have the opportunity to vote for your favourite sand creation and drinks and BBQ sausages will be for sale.

Community Pantry

The Community Pantry reopened at the Community Centre on Thursday 19 January from 1-2pm and will be operating on a fortnightly basis to see whether this is a viable option for our clients.

Pantry items and fruit and veggies are sourced from Foodbank in Brisbane and transported to Rainbow Beach free of charge by McClintock’s Transport and Rainbow Beach Transport. Woolworths Cooloola also provides goods that are nearing their best before date or that are no longer stocked by the store.

Our amazing team of volunteers unpack the pallet packed with goodies from Foodbank and make up hampers which are distributed in the foyer of the Community Centre.

If you would like to receive a hamper which cost $10 but are worth around $50-$60 or know of someone that you could bless with a helping hand, please send a message via the Rainbow Beach Community Pantry Facebook page or send a text to 0413 135 867 to be added to our list of clients.

Last year we distributed over 1,000 hampers to singles and families in Rainbow Beach, Cooloola Cove, and Tin Can Bay which were a blessing to those who are finding it difficult to juggle the increasing costs of food and housing.