The Bark 62 Term Four 2025

Cacophony

A few weeks ago, the day finally arrived where it was FINALLY time, after blood, sweat and tears, or perhaps, bones, crests and feathers, to put on our school performance - Cacophony, a melody of sorts.  Many weeks had led up to this moment, many, many hours spent painstakingly sewing costumes (Wendy P and parents, thank you), prop making and building (Jo, Jarno and Kyle - amazing) incredible vision, writing and directing (Alex - you are a magician), musicians creating soundscapes (Sasha, Sam, Zoe and Paul - legends) and practising practising practising (that’s you wonderful CB kids). And suddenly there we were, meandering down the cross country track, late in the afternoon, to take our positions in the glorious, wondrous Candlebark forest!  And after days and days of cold and rainy skies, this night brought a little magic, and it felt as if the weather gods smiled upon us. The sky cleared, the wind calmed, the trees gently whispered, and the cockatoos, well, they were pretty quiet, but perhaps they were intimidated by our year two cockatoos, whose rap battle could silence the best of us!  Of course, we also needed our audience. Parents hiked up the hill, were greeted with a delightful bird guide (Katy Penman and grade 7s - what a vision), then hiked down the hill, then later on, back up the hill, and then, for those who parked at the bottom of the driveway, it was a back down. Now that’s what I call earning your entertainment! But golly gosh, it was worth all the lost feathers because seeing those Candlebark students leap, sing, dance, prance, recite, hop, bop, scatter and rap was beyond gorgeous! The setting, the sounds, the serenity! It reminded me just how lucky we are to be living, learning and laughing on Country, and to belong to this wild and wacky place we call Candlebark.  Thank you to everyone who helped bring this show to life! It was a joy!  A huge thank you to both Jodie Naismith and Sarah Thorpe for their beautiful skill in capturing this magical evening. You can view their photos by clicking the link below: Cacophony photos by Sarah Thorpe and Jodie Naismith Password: quackquack Nat Banks

Candlebark Fete

On Friday, the 24th of October, Candlebark’s annual fete once again blossomed into a vibrant and joyous afternoon. The grounds came alive with stalls imaginatively designed, carefully crafted, and confidently run by the children themselves. As always, the range and calibre of their creations surpassed every expectation. This year’s fete raised a truly remarkable sum for charity—surpassing the totals of previous years. During Week 9, students cast their votes to determine which charitable organisations will receive the proceeds. Stay tuned to discover where this generous contribution will be headed. Total amount raised: $7,570.60

You can view the photo gallery by clicking the link below: Candlebark Fete 2025 by Sarah Thorpe Password: 7570.60 Sarah Lewis

Grade One Platypus Camp

Prep Peony Picking

On Friday, the 5th of December, the Prep students embarked on the epic three-minute bus journey to my father’s farm. There, armed with buckets and boundless enthusiasm, they gathered a vibrant assortment of peony blooms. For many, however, the true highlight was discovering the hundreds of snails nestled among the flowers. A charming “snail hotel” was soon constructed amid the peony bushes, much to everyone’s delight. Upon returning to Candlebark, the classroom was quickly transformed by the sweet, lingering perfume of fresh peonies—a wonderful way to conclude our week. If you’re ever in search of a Prep, simply follow the winding trail of peony petals… and snails. Sarah Lewis

Grade Two Letter Writing

This term, the Grade 2 class have been in a letter-writing frenzy, writing letters to classrooms all around Australia and receiving many letters in return. We began by each student being allocated a school in Australia that had joined this program and writing to a particular class. The letter included things about school, class, passions, pets, and favourite things to do, eat and play.  Once the whole class had finished writing their letters, we got the lovely Jarno to take us to the local post office so we could physically post our letters and see them go POP into the cherry red box! I’m not sure I have ever been as excited to see that shiny red slot as I was that day, when 23 little hands posted their precious letters! Then we waited in anticipation to get letters back. And a few days later, letters did indeed start to arrive. One might think that after the first letters, the novelty would wear off. Well, one would be wrong! Quite wrong! Every letter we received was met with a squeal of delight; the seal was ripped open, eyes were a-twinkling as a student was passed a lucky letter to read out loud to the class. Then, the letter was proudly stuck on the wall, and all would gaze upon it lovingly. A particular highlight was the day Rory read out his letter, and it was from ANOTHER Rory! In ANOTHER state! The joy from this wild coincidence was palpable.  What a term! What a class! Who said email killed the letter writing star? I’m pretty sure it’s alive and well in the Year Two classroom! Nat Banks

Year Seven Budj Bim Camp

In October, the Year 7s visited Budj Bim National Park in Western Victoria. We visited the Kurtonitj Indigenous Protected Area to see the ancient eel traps and permanent shelters in the cultural landscape. We learnt about the rich Aboriginal culture and history of this world heritage site. Shaun Dennis

Grade Four Art and Drama Camp

In mid-November, Grade Four headed to Beveridge to stay in a beautiful farmhouse, now a converted community arts studio. It had a great studio space, a meeting hub by the fire, a family kitchen, and bunkbed accommodation. We enjoyed stories, we cooked and made lots of things. Our farmhouse was a comfortable weatherboard, and across the fields, there was a dark bluestone house with an overgrown garden.  The two houses were perfect inspiration for shadow puppetry based on Bob Graham’s  “Rose Meets Mr Wintergarden.” In the original picture book, an old man lives alone in a dilapidated house. When he meets his new neighbours, a friendly family called the Summers, they draw him out of his despair. Production included observational drawings, stage building and decoration, lighting designs, puppet making, and rehearsals. Mid-week, Henry celebrated his birthday. We hiked up the hill and discovered this quiet place was actually very close to the growing suburb of Donnybrook. Joanne Croke and Donna Prince

Alfie's Bike Camp at Harcourt

In Term Three, the Grade Six class were invited to start a passion project where they had the option of designing an excursion, incursion or camp that aligned with their topic. Many students wanted to do this, but after doing the research, creating a budget and realising what else needed to happen, they decided this was not as easy as it sounded and came up with a new idea.  But not Alfie Rogers! Alfie knew he wanted to run a bike camp in early Term Four, and he was committed from day 1. With a budget in place, an email sent out, a food menu written and the tick of approval from the big boss, Alfie’s bike camp was put to action! And before the class knew it, they found themselves boarding the bus and heading to Harcourt campsite and mountain bike trail, ready for two days of jumps, hills, snacks and chats!  With Sam and Alice joining the fray, the entire group made the most of the two days of freedom, play and adventure. In between zipping around the trails, playing card games and cheering people on as they zoomed down the hill and flew up over the incline, there was also time for cooking snags, eating Tim Tams and sitting around the fire sharing stories.  It was an absolute ripper of a camp, and Alfie totally nailed the brief. Bravo Alfie! It was a great vision, and we’ll always remember it.

Grade Five La Trobe Camp

Week Two of Term Four, Grade Five headed off to Leanganook campground on top of Mt Alexander for a camp run by La Trobe University outdoor education students. We spent the week exploring the area, hiking the trails around Dog Rock, and investigating the local flora and fauna. Our three excellent La Trobe students offered many activities related to the outdoors, including shelter construction, Trangia cooking, friction fire lighting, nature sketching and showed us examples of First Peoples' interactions with their environment. We also visited Vaughan Springs for some more hiking and evidence of early gold mining. The week was fittingly finished off with a talent quest and severe thunderstorm. Both being very nerve-wracking but exciting. Thanks, La Trobies! Shaun Dennis

Year Seven Art

It has been an incredible year of making in the Year 7 Art classes. Highlights of Term 4 have been making a pair of large-scale Gang Gang cockatoos which will greet students and visitors to the school, spending time on the pottery wheels, visiting the 65000 Years exhibition, and making slab clay portraits inspired by Anna Culliton and the pit firing. A pit firing is when students wrap pots in all sorts of organic material and place them in a large pit, and build a huge fire over them. The fire is stoked for hours using branches and the occasional piano. The flames and temperature cause colours to flash on the clay surface as chemical reactions occur. I told the students it is my equivalent of Christmas Eve, the most exciting evening of the year. The pots are cooled slowly over a number of days and then dug out of the pit, cleaned and admired.  Katy Penman

Next Step Camp

Last week, Katy and I had the pleasure of taking half the Grade Six class to Wilson’s Prom for our annual next step camp.  This camp is one of our absolute favourite camps to run, and every year it seems to open our hearts more. It’s full of laughter, deep conversations, physical challenges, cooking, circles, sharing stories, art-making and frolicking in the wild ocean! Every year it connects the group more, every year they come back 5 inches taller, stronger, braver and more alive.  And as for the rest of what happens there, well….we couldn’t possibly reveal! What happens on Next Step camp, stays at Next Step camp! Nat Banks

Prep and Grade One Bike Week

In mid-November, the Prep and Year One students participated in a week of engaging bike-riding activities. Their adventures included riding around the school campus, exploring the cross-country track, completing a 6 km trail ride, and visiting the Lancefield Skate Park. The Prep students also travelled to Hume Valley School to experience its traffic school program. They thoroughly enjoyed riding on the road course and practising with the traffic lights—although a few found it amusing to reverse the rules by going on red and stopping on green. Despite the fun and occasional imaginative interpretations of road signals, no major crashes or traffic jams occurred. Sarah Lewis