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WINTERS FLAT SUSATAINABILITY JOURNEYLETTERS OF SUPPORT FROM PARENTSParent Letter 1:12 August 2015To whom it may concern,I am writing to express my support for Winters Flat Primary Schools efforts to raise awareness within the school community regarding environmental sustainability. By participating in the Resource Smart Sustainability program, the school has shown that it recognises the importance of educating our children (and also ourselves, their families) to ideas which highlight the inextricable link between our own human wellbeing, and that of our physical environment.It has been heartening to hear my children speak with enthusiasm about what they are learning. They are proud of their efforts to monitor and reduce energy consumption both at school and at home; they look forward to participating in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program regularly where they learn how to plant, grow, harvest and prepare fresh produce from the garden and consider where the food they eat comes from; they have been made more aware of the cycle of production/manufacturing and waste and how they can reduce this impact by using less of the things they don’t need and reusing or recycling things before discarding them; they have been thoughtful about gathering items to donate to Orphfund to try to help improve the lives of vulnerable children around the world.This is only a small example of the learning I have seen happening at Winters Flat over the past year or two, but it is the culmination of these many small endeavours that impact in large ways to shift the mindset of our community. By exploring subjects such as biodiversity, waste, water and energy as part of the school curriculum, the children are seeing the far-reaching impacts of their everyday decisions – something we can all benefit from doing. And it has been wonderful to see the students themselves leading the way in many of these areas through the Community Leaders program.I’d like to congratulate the school, it’s passionate and hard-working teachers and students, for making environmental sustainability the important topic it needs to be.With best wishes,Aleshia NgParent Letter 2:2/8/15Dear To whom it may concern,Re: Support Letter for Winters Flat Primary School Resource Smart ProgramIn 2012 Winters Flat Primary School signed up to the Resource Smart – Sustainability program. I was one of the parents that were involved from the very beginning. I was very excited that such an amazing program had started up at my children’s school. Not only is sustainability important for the environment, but for the future of my children and all generations to come. If we educate our children now we can change the direction of where our environmental care is going which will be our children and our future leaders.I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and support Jeanette McMahon for all her hard work. She is a wonderful leader and allows others to step up and lead as well. Her enthusiasm and dedication is infectious and due to her ongoing commitment to having our student’s voice heard our young leaders are stepping up. She has also included our local community and other local schools, so as one whole community we are moving forward together. An incredible achievement.I am a proud aboriginal women and leader within our community and the sustainability program goes hand in hand with our culture and our connection to country. How we are responsible for the care of country is everyone’s business. By working as a whole community and involving our children within our schools we are creating real change. By reducing our energy, waste and water and increasing our biodiversity results are amazing. We are so happy that part of this is to also have an indigenous garden which myself and Aunty Julie has been involved in creating. The Student Leadership Program and the ‘Youth Leading the World’ congress my children have been involved in both. They are passionate leaders and care about the environment and want to actively be involved in this. Winters Flat has encouraged them to do this and the change in them is incredible.Also because of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program one of my daughters wants to be a chef when she grows up and also wants to be involved in a local Indigenous cooking program we have in our community. She has direction now and most importantly knows she not only is good at something but it holistically encompasses her beliefs. All my four children have attended Winters Flat Primary school it is a fantastic school with very passionate teachers. We are proud to be part of this school and so does the rest of the Koorie Community. It has the highest attendance of Koorie kids in the Shire. We look forward to the next chapter of this sustainability journey for myself and my children, we look forward to continue to work with the school to bring about a better tomorrow for everyone.Thank you for listeningBest wishes,Kathryn Coff(mother)Ph: 0432656007Parent Letter 3:4/8/15?To whom it may concern,??My daughter attends WFPS, and?I would like to congratulate the school on the efforts they have made in embedding sustainable practices into their curriculum.?The school really "walks the walk" when it comes to these issues, and I have been impressed with their whole school approach, which has been led by some very dedicated teachers. My daughter recently was part of the Youth Leading the World conference, which she thoroughly enjoyed. The conference has helped her?confidence, and she came home both nights eagerly sharing?ideas. She was proud that her school hosted the gathering, and has since been looking up all sorts of related information so she can learn more about the issues. She feels supported in expressing her ideas and?views about the future, and as a parent, that's something I am glad is being encouraged.The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen program has also been an amazing part of her learning. I am continually impressed by the breadth of this program, and the effect it has on students. Being able to be part of the food cycle -planting, growing, harvesting, preparing and eating - has been such a powerful way to teach children, and it always seems that the children are as?integral to this process?as the teachers -?something the school facilitates really well.We have also appreciated the way the school have implemented the Cross curriculum Network meetings - sustainability and Koorie culture focus, recognizing the many aspects of sustainability, and the?significance of indigenous culture - for example? with the Aboriginal perspective on energy from a local elder, and a Acknowledgements to Country smoking ceremony with elders showing the children what plants are used and what they symbolise. Finally, my daughter really enjoys all the sustainable arts projects the school take part in - one that comes to mind was Fridge Henge - which she relished showing her grandparents and talking them through all the various aspects and meanings.?Sincerely,?Lisa D'OnofrioParent Letter 4:5/08/15To whom it may concern,I am writing to express my appreciation for Winters Flat Primary School’s effort in embedding sustainability throughout the curriculum. The school’s ‘Nude Food’ policy has led to me to always send my son’s school lunch and snacks without packaging. Having these habits in place extends to making all our family lunches packaging free. I had become used to seeing students’ lunches ‘nude’ and was recently surprised to see how much more waste and processed food is around in schools where this policy is not in place.I am grateful for the school’s collection of used batteries for the Mount Alexander Battery Exchange program. I wasn’t aware of how to dispose of used batteries properly, and now I bring them in to school whenever I find we have some. They keep appearing in old toys and remotes… We now only buy rechargeable batteries and this also is a direct result of a former Winters Flat student (now in year 9) energetically explaining to me the harm caused by disposable batteries and telling me how I could buy a charger and rechargeable batteries at the IGA.I think it is great that the whole school composts their rubbish. It heartens me to see food waste being composted, to see the compost bins in the classrooms, and to see the students understanding and participating in this process. It was wonderful to see the students building layers in one of the composting bays, shovelling and chatting. My son’s class has been responsible for the worm farm and it has been interesting hearing about it from him. The sense of ownership and valuing of the worm farm that has come from this responsibility has impressed me. He has explained to me what foods worms don’t tolerate well, and this has changed what I put into our compost at home.We still have the poster our son designed for Water week up on our wall at home. I believe that asking students to design something to inspire others to understand and use water wisely teaches the students responsibility for teaching others about sustainability as well as to be mindful of their own practices.Our family learned about Orphund through Winters Flat Primary, and this led to us donating used clothes and study materials to them. It also served as a starting point for discussions at home about consumer goods, and the differences between first and third world lifestyles and consumption.My son enjoys the gardening program very much, and I get to hear a lot about the chooks, and how they are cared for by Terry and the students. I think this kind of experience is very valuable in building students’ understanding of and care for some of the creatures we share our planet with. I believe that the awareness of how food is produced that comes from long term participation in a gardening program, across seasons and years, is a very valuable understanding for students which cannot be gained from theoretical studies of food production. I am very grateful that Winters Flat makes this available to the students.The SAKG cooking program has had a large impact on our family. SAKG has contributed to my son’s love for cooking. The program has offered him many opportunities to develop his cooking skills which have meant much to him, including participating in the Festival of Lamb. Sometimes he cooks dinner for our whole family. His enjoyment of the classes led me to volunteer as a parent helper. I also learned a lot from the classes, which improved my cooking skills, and our family eat a more fresh, seasonal and local diet as a result. Our family enjoyed visiting the Fridge Henge exhibition in the Castlemaine State Festival. We went more than once, and our son showed us the WFPS fridge and explained what was in it and why. I was impressed by the health and environmental messages communicated in Fridge Henge, and particularly by the Winters Flat fridge and how the students had a sense of ownership of its content.There are no doubt more aspects of Winters Flat Primary School’s sustainability practices which have positively affected our life, but these were the ones which came to mind first. Yours faithfully,Jane TaylorParent Letter 5:To whom it may concern,Winters Flat Primary School has an exciting and accessible approach to sustainability that reaches throughout the school. Students not only learn about what sustainability means in a global sense, but are encouraged to take action within the classroom, the playground, at home and in the community. Solar panels, water tanks, 'lights off' signs, a beautiful kitchen garden, a chicken coop, waste identification charts and a newly planted 'forest' are just a few of the visible signs of the school's commitment to sustainability action.?I have two children at the school and both have been involved in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. As well as cooking beautiful healthy food, an important part of this program is learning about gardening (planting and caring for ?the garden), seasonal changes (what fruit and vegetables are in season), waste management (water care, composting, caring for chickens) and biodiversity (observing all the plants and animals around us).Composting, recycling and waste reduction are a part of the daily classroom routine. Every classroom has a waste system (compost, recycling and landfill bins) that is maintained by the students. Students are further encouraged to minimise waste through a whole school 'Nude Food' policy that discourages packaging in school lunches. My children have admonished me for putting packaged muesli bars in their lunch boxes, clearly the idea is reaching beyond the school.?It is exciting to see this sustainability program flourishing. My children turn off lights around the house, use a shower timer and show an interest in their environment. It's great to see the students empowered to make changes.Katie Kilgour5/7/15Letter from Grandparent 5:To whom it may concern,I have helped my three grand-daughters and their classes, in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, over the past few years. In that time, the students have developed valuable skills, such as, plant identification, plant propagation and fertilising?and pruning techniques.The Kitchen Garden Program has been a great way for students to learn the importance of teamwork and to all work in a cooperative way, to plant and care for a vegie?garden,?berry garden and fruit trees and to look after a large worm farm, chooks, frog bog and compost bays.Students have also worked with the local Landcare group?‘Friends of Campbell’s Creek’, to develop skills in hands on experience, with native seed propagation, native grass and tree planting and caring for Campbell’s Creek.Trevor McKay06. 08. 2015??? Parent Letter 6:6/8/2015To Whom It May ConcernI would like to express my support for the Resource Smart – Sustainability Program at my children’s school, Winters Flat Primary School in Castlemaine, Victoria. I have been very impressed with the opportunities for learning that both of my children are exposed to in years 3 and 6. Some of the issues they have learnt and have brought home to talk about include; waste management, renewable forms of energy, global warming and biodiversity.The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program is another part of the program that enhances this learning further. Both of my children love it and bring home great ideas and recipes as well as a better understanding of where good food comes from. Some more examples of sustainability that the school is promoting include a greater awareness of unnecessary packaging by encouraging “nude free” lunch boxes, walk or ride to school days, annual tree planting days, conscientious heating and cooling options, reduced power usage, solar panels on roofs, rain water catchment, compost buckets in classrooms, small general rubbish bins, recycling bins, chickens, fruit trees for shade, awareness campaigns, “care for” areas, that includes picking up rubbish and general pride in their school surrounds. These are some of the many ways Winters Flat is encouraging its students to be more mindful of theirs and their parents’ impact on the earth and I think it is wonderful. Thank you.Kind regardsLibby TwigdenParent Letter 7:To whom it may concern,I understand that Winters Flat Primary School is submitting an application to the ResourceSmart Schools Awards and would like to provide some feedback in support of this application. I have two children at the school, both in grade 4 and over the past 18 months have been impressed by their involvement in such programs as SAKGP and the student leadership programs.Both of my children have been inspired by the things they have been learning at school to try to make a difference to the environment. They often come home with ideas on things we can be doing at home and within our community to ensure that we live more sustainably.? They have confidence in themselves and have developed strong belief that the things they do can have an impact and make a difference, not only to the environment, but to the world around them.Yours sincerelyNatalie StuchbreeParent Letter 8:7 August 2015To whom it may concernI am writing in support of Winters Flat Primary School’s application to the ‘ResourceSmart School Awards’.One of the aspects of Winters Flat Primary School that we most value is the school’s ongoing and genuine commitment to engaging staff and children in a range of environmental and sustainability issues, including reducing energy and water usage, reducing waste, and increasing biodiversity in the local school environment.My children have participated in a number of sustainability themed projects and activities in the 18 months since coming to Winters Flat. They talk about these activities at home—it is obvious that they are really thinking about the issues and see them as important, as well as enjoying what they are doing.The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program is a powerful way of switching kids on to sustainability and health issues. It is also provides enjoyable, hands-on learning through which they can develop a range of social, team work and practical skills. This sort of holistic and approach to learning is really effective.It is fantastic that the school’s ‘Leadership Program’ gives individual students opportunities to take leadership roles in implementing sustainability initiatives within the school, and that some of the school initiatives are reaching out into the wider community, so that students can experience how they can be active members of society and help bring about positive change.I feel lucky to be part of the Winters Flat community, and hope that the school will receive support to continue and expand its sustainability program. Yours sincerely,Nicola Fortune ................
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