Outdoor Agency

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At the Junior Campus, we believe that to learn about the environment you need to be immersed in the environment. The engaging learning experiences we design must matter so much to our students that they want to take action with their new learning. We find that experiential learning experiences often lead naturally to student led service or action-oriented initiatives.

As an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) School, each Grade level explores environmental learning in differing ways. The Australian Curriculum directs us to teach about the environment through cultural, geographic, and scientific lenses, and through lines of sustainability and responsibility.

Upon authorisation as a Primary Years Programme school the International Baccalaureate organisation commended our school on the levels that we go to, to form connections and enrich student learning.

• In the Early Years, our students inquire into the idea that ‘Nature inspires wonder’. This encourages respect and appreciation of the environment. Students in Early Learning explore the outdoors during regular Nature Play sessions and by bringing nature inside the classroom environment as often as possible.

• In Prep, our students extend their learning to delve deeper into the interconnectedness of humans and the environment. A range of outdoor learning experiences are usually offered depending on student interests.

• Grade 1 students learn about light and its impact on life. Students visit the Mole Creek Caves; an environment that reveals the contrast of life without light.

• Grade 2 sees our students investigating water and its connection with life. Students visit sites where they can see and feel water and learn more about this vital resource.

• Grade 3 students learn about symbiosis and investigate soils and plant life.

• In Grade 4 our students investigate the idea that ‘Life on Earth is fragile’. Students usually work together with Forestry Tasmania and conduct inquiries in the forest at Hollybank Nature Reserve.

• Grade 5 takes our students out to different farms connected to our community. Students learn about sustainable farming practices and commodities while they follow different supply chains.

• Additionally, Grade 5 students learn about animal adaptations and visit Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary to take their learning further. Students at this year level also inquire into conservation and the community groups who contribute towards conservation efforts.

• Students in Grade 6 continue to build upon their understanding of adaptation while they investigate human adaptations forced by changes in nature.

The interactions our students have with experts in differing environments are invaluable. Our teachers often use these interactions to discuss perspectives. Questions you might hear in our classrooms afterwards could be, “If you were a Park Ranger, what would you do?” or “What might an Ecologist’s view of this be?”

With relevant learning a clear goal of ours, experiential learning offers endless opportunities to teach all the disciplines. Our staff are adept at pointing out the presence of Mathematics out in the field, and the connection between Science and Art to experiences on excursions. More and more, our teachers are intentionally planning learning beyond the classroom, and our students know that learning opportunities exist in all environments.

Over the past few years our systems have been improved and our capacity to take students offsite and into the surrounding environment has strengthened. The benefits of outdoor education experiences mean the time and effort that goes into these experiences is worth it!

Nicholas Foster Deputy Principal | Head of Senior Campus