The Daylesford Dharma School relies on grants to supplement is budget and to implement special projects for the school. We have been fortunate in obtaining the following grants and wish to thank the funding organisations for their support.
Living in the Landscape
Hepburn Shire Council - Community Grants
The Hepburn Shire Council has contributed nearly $2,000 towards the Living in the Landscape curriculum project.
The Shire of Hepburn is a region of great natural beauty, with abundant wildlife and forests. The Shire also boasts a number of successful community environmental programs and eco-friendly businesses. The Lessons for Living in the Landscape project seeks funds to write a locally based environmental curriculum for our primary schools that draws upon these strengths. Children in the Shire will be captivated and inspired by a ‘hands- on’ program that is relevant to what they see outside their classroom or home window. This project provides children with knowledge and experiences to strengthen their connection and sense of belonging with their local landscape.
The Living in the Landscape project is well underway and locally based environmental curriculum is being implemented in the school.
For more information on the Hepburn Shire Council, visit:
www.hepburnshire.com
Edible Garden Project
Coles Junior Landcare Grant
We received $1,000 from the Coles Junior Landcare Grant for our Edible Garden Project.
The Edible Garden project is a wonderful way to get children interested in the environment by involving them with digging, planting and growing. Gardening not only provides students with a chance to learn about life cycles and ecosystems, but it also develops their ability to solve problems and work collaboratively. The garden can act as an outdoor classroom where numeracy skills and the foundations skills for science become an active part of learning. It can also help create better health outcomes for children and their families by focusing on organic, high quality produce.
As part of the Edible Garden curriculum, students will spend time in the garden each week and help to design, build and maintain on the school grounds a comprehensive vegetable garden according to organic gardening principles. Their work in the garden will be reflected in their numeracy and literacy classes where their experiences are recorded in a journal and reflected upon. Experiences in the garden will be reflected in the curriculum science classes where simple soil testing and propagation experiments are carried out.
The Edible Garden is well on its way, with students planting seeds and seedlings in spring and now harvesting some of the fruits of their labour!
For more information on the Coles Junior Landcare Grants, visit:
www.juniorlandcare.com/coles
Cold Climate Outdoor Learning Studio
Building the Education Revolution - Primary Schools for the 21st Century
As part of the Federal Government's Building the Education Revolution, we successfully applied for a grant to build a Cold Climate Outdoor Learning under the Primary Schools for the 21st Century Program.
The Cold Climate Outdoor Learning Studio provides an innovative learning area that supports immediate links to the outdoors. It will provide an urgently needed additional learning area for the school. This learning studio will be designed to provide a warm learning space during the prolonged cold seasonal weather of Daylesford and a shaded learning area for the warmer months. It offers teaching staff the flexibility to present lessons close to the natural environment and adjoining the School’s kitchen garden.
The Cold Climate Outdoor Learning Studio is currently being built and will be ready for use in Term 1 of 2010.
For more information on Building the Education Revolution and the Primary Schools for the 21st Century Program, visit the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) website:
www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/BuildingTheEducationRevolution/Environmetal Education Centre
Building the Education Revolution - School Pride Program
As part of the Federal Government's Building the Education Revolution, we successfully applied for a grant to build an Environmental Education Centre under the School Pride Program.
The Environmental Learning Centre provides an innovative learning area that supports the delivery of a range of curriculum outcomes. The Environmental Learning Centre will provide an urgently needed additional learning area for the school.
The Environmental Learning Centre is currently in the planning and design phase.
For more information on Building the Education Revolution and the School Pride Program, visit the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) website:
www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/BuildingTheEducationRevolution/
Grants