On Tuesday 16 March I visited four of the schools that our children moved to. Many staff at the schools commented on the way that their schools were benefitting by having such pleasant natured, well behaved and positive new children.
"The Hope Valley children have softened the atmosphere around the school," was one comment made by a school administrator.
Everyone has settled into their new schools and they are making new friends.
It was strange seeing all of the children in their new uniforms instead of good old maroon and white.
Jace and Kale have recently moved house so that they are even closer to their new school. They are riding their bikes to school which is fun. The boys still go to Kwinana for soccer and see some of their old school mates there.
| Kale misses being able to walk around while eating playlunch. | Kale likes being able to choose what he does for sport, riding hie bike to school and having lots of school kids live near him. |
| Jace really misses playing hand tennis and being allowed to eat snacks on the move. | Jace is enjoying the work he is doing on solar cooking and likes his teacher who plays BLINK 182 in class. Jace is also having fun riding to school. |
Everyone is finding the new language they are studying, German, to be easier to learn than Indonesian but difficult to speak.
The school is in a beautiful bush setting with lots of children bussing to school.
| Maddy misses the small school where she knew everybody. | Maddy said that evryone at Baldivis was very nice. The teachers have helped her to fit in. Making papier mache puppets has been fun. |
| Victoria misses the big tree in front of the school "we were not allowed to climb, but we did." She also misses the choices available in the canteen. | Victoria likes having a canteen that is open four days a week. |
| Jessica misses the people at Hope Valley and the atmosphere. | Jessica likes all of the welcoming people she has met at Baldivis. |
| Emily misses old friends and free time before school when she could play. | Emily likes the bush that surrounds the new school and the birds like those in Hope Valley. |
| Isobel misses all of her old friends. She didn't want to start at Baldivis but is happy now. | Isobel likes the bush and birds around the new school. |
| Luke misses the people and everything. | Luke likes being out in the bush. |
Most of our students moved on to Orelia. The same school bus that operated last year, stops at Hope Valley to pick up the town kids and then it drives on to Orelia.
A lot of our resources, including all of the library books, were transferred to the school.
The school councillors for 2004 were selected at the end of last year so the Hope Valley students missed out on the chance to be selected. The Orelia staff have recognised the potential of the new children and have developed a plan to give them the opportunity to work as councillors later this year.
| Raymond misses the low canteen prices and our Apple computers. He also misses getting keys from the office and doing lots of jobs around the school. | Raymond loves the bigger selection of girls to choose from. |
| David misses the smaller sports carnivals. | David likes the reverse cycle airconditioners during the very hot weather. |
| Michael misses the teachers and his friends from Hope Valley. | Michael likes the fact that he hardly ever sees the principal at his new school. |
| Daniel misses his friends and all of the bush that surrounded the school. | Daniel likes the big new library. He also likes the faction point competition and being able to win an icy pole for wearing your uniform |
| Ryan really misses the free play time before school. | Ryan enjoys having a bigger variety of sports to choose from, he is doing swimming at present. |
| Gary misses having all of the jobs to do around the school and having a lot of responsibility. | Gary likes having more people to meet and eventually more friends. |
| Sally misses the chance to go on regular camps and all of her friends. | Sally likes the chance to get to know more people and find more friends. |
| Katie misses the small family atmosphere of Hope Valley. | Katie enjoys the phys ed and daily fitness. |
| . | . |
| Jenny misses the Hope Valley teachers and all of the other kids. | Jenny likes being at a school with lots more kids. This will mean many more friends. |
| Jason misses the library. | Jason likes having the canteen open every day of the week. |
| Angela misses being able to play before and after school. | Angela loves the air conditioned library. |
| Chad misses living across the road from school and having free play time before school. | Chad likes the early close on Wednesdays. |
| Shenea misses the family feeling at Hope Valley. | Shenea likes having more friends. |
| Chloe misses the teachers from last year and playing when the bus arrives in the morning. | Chloe loves art so she likes the art room and the nice teachers. |
| Nathan misses the Hope Valley oval and walking to school with dad in the morning. | Nathan likes his new teachers and having more friends. |
| Gabby misses the fun activities and playing sport. | Gabby is pleased that her friend Chloe is with her. |
Nicholas and Kaitlyn are going to Forrestdale Primary which is only a six minute drive from home. Sometimes they carpool with a neighbour to get to school.
Forrestdale is avery attractive school surrounded by lush green lawns. The covered area from our fort area is now at Forrestdale.
| Nick misses all of his friends and the fort area. | Nick likes having lots of areas to play in. He is making a clown for some circus activities and is really enjoying that. |
| Kaitlyn misses everybody and the playground. | Kaitlyn is getting to know a lot of kids and likes that. |
My second school visit was on Tuesday, 6 April. I started at Marri Grove Primary School visiting Shanarra, Lisa and Tyler. The school is a green oasis among the dry farm paddocks.
Next stop was Mundijong where Bradley and Brendan have settled into rural life. Their house is surrounded by bush and fields with the occasional sheep and horse.
The second largest group of students moved to my third stop, Calista Primary. It felt like the good old days being surrounded by kids in maroon and white uniforms.
I missed two students during the first Orelia visit so I called in again at lunch time. The 6/7s were training hard for the staff versus student softball game which is on tomorrow.
My next stop was a busy building site with a very interesting looking school inside it. Harmony Primary School should be completed in a month or so. In the meantime classes operate among the builders and landscapers. I was surprised to see all of the children in casual clothes, but found out later that they were having a free dress day.
Jandakot Primary was the last stop where I spoke to Jody. Unfortunately Adam was away.
| Tyler misses his classroom and the playground. | Tyler enjoyed a recent excursion to a marina. He loves playing cricket. |
| Shannara misses her old friends and knowing everyone at the school. | Shanara is looking forward to going to Rottnest for camp. Only the year seven class has camp at her new school. |
| Lisa misses knowing everyone at the school. | Lisa likes making new friends and her new teachers. She is happy to have more choice at PEAC this year. |
Mundijong is one of the smallest schools that the children moved to. The school buildings sit amongst native gardens. The small town is surrounded by farms. Bradley and Brendon are still involved with Kwinana soccer teams so they catch up with some of their old friends.
| Bradley misses his Hope Valley home because there are hornets at his new house.He misses the canteen because there is no canteen at Mundijong. He doesn't like having to keep his shirt tucked in. | Bradley likes living in the country and having no neighbours except some sheep and horses. |
| Brendan misses the assemblies and his friends. | Brendan like the gardens at Mundijong and his many new friends. |
| Chad would like to have his old friends to play with again and to be mixing with all of the year levels. | Chad has made a lot of new friends at school and near his Leda home. He likes the sport he can play at Calista. |
| Gemma misses her friends and the teachers. She has fond memories of the assemblies and all of the space she had to play in. | Gemma enjoys science and likes the science teacher who brings animals into school. She has made lots of new friends among the children and staff. |
| Ellen really misses the small school. | Ellen likes her teachers and has made many new friends. |
| Melanie just remembers her tiny class and Student of The Week Awards. | Melanie likes her new friends. |
| Kennah misses in this order, her friends, the teachers, Mrs Wilson and knowing everyone. | Kennah likes her new teacher but prefers the smaller school. |
| Matthew misses all of the playtime, he doesn't have afternoon play at his new school. | Matthew like his new friends and teacher. Having canteen every day is also a winner. |
| Bianca would like to have all of her old friends and teachers back. She is also going to miss going on camp because they don't have camps at Calista. | Bianca likes her new friends and teacher. She enjoys going to Buddy Class each week to work with the juniors. |
| Brianna misses ringing the bell at lunch time, having swimming lessons, her friends and the teachers. | Brianna likes visiting the town library as part of school lessons. She has a nice teacher and some new friends. |
| Chelsea fondly remembers her bigger classroom, the teachers, her friends and the small school. | Chelsea likes the huge oval she can play on at lunch time and she has some good friends. |
| Cassie liked coming to school on the bus, being allowed to walk around while eating snacks and having good friends. | Cassie has new good friends and she loves the science teacher. Having canteen every day is good. |
Look at the faces these kids pulled behind my back. Cheeeeky.
| Chris misses all of the people and Wes making funny comments. He also misses the assemblies and all of the awards plus having music lessons. | Chris is glad that he has some friends from Hope Valley and he likes having a large group of people to choose new friends from. He likes the large open area at Orelia oval. |
| Shaun misses the cheap canteen prices and all of the things that the P & C did for everyone. | Shaun likes the new people and he is glad to be the year seven softball team captain. |
The Harmony school was due for completion at the end of 2003 but it is still a construction site and won't be finished for another month or so. Classes started in February and gradually more facilities are becoming available. The canteen will operate next term and more playground space will be ready.
The children are in tribes instead of factions and these are based on the elements of water, fire, earth and wind.
| Mitchell misses having lots of space to play in. He also misses being called a nerd by his teacher. | Mitchell likes having everything brand new and fresh. He is enjoying planning the new year 6/7 playground. |
| Kasey misses the playground and her friends. She also misses the Hope Valley staff. | Kasey likes her new teachers and is having fun making a DVD of the beginning of the Harmony school. |
| Taylah misses her old friends and the teachers. She also misses her "old" principal. | Taylah likes doing buddy activities with Mitchell and has lots of new friends. |
| Xavier aid that he doesn't miss anything. | Xavier likes the new playground and his new teachers. |
| Tori misses being part of a small school, it's easy to feel lost in a big group. | Tori likes having a lot more people to meet and is excited about planning the year 4/5 playground. |
| Troy misses playing on the big oval. | Troy likes playing with the football and the new junior primary playground. |
| Jody misses the smaller group of students, her friends and the teachers. She also misses being allowed to eat snacks while walking around. | Jody has lots of friends and her cousin at Jandakot. She likes having a science room and is enjoying the bridge building work. |