Daylesford Dharma

Autumn Dharma Village Fair 2013

2013-03-24T21:49:00.000+11:00

What a magical day; enabled by the weather makers, created by so many wonderful people and oh so much enthusiasm.

Thank you - Thank you - Thank you

Daylesford Dharma Village Fair

2012-03-26T10:43:00.002+11:00

What a fantastic day was had by one and all last weekend at the Daylesford Dharma Village Fair!

Thank you to everyone who helped before and on the day behind the scenes. Thank you to all the punters who came along with their enthusiasm and generosity. And thank you to the rain for giving us a reprieve.

Thank you to all the local stall holders:

Thank you to all our talented music makers:

Thank you to all the magic makers:

Thank you to Buddhist principles for guiding us.

How lucky are we?? To be part of such a fantastic school in such a fantastic community.

Learning Celebration

2011-12-28T16:44:00.002+11:00

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our recent Learning Celebration. Here are some photos from the day, taken by Kim Percy.

Happy holidays from all of us here at the Dharma School!

Our Day of Carving

2011-12-10T20:44:00.001+11:00

By Andromeda

Click for bigger

Not long to go!

2011-12-10T20:35:00.001+11:00

This is gorgeous Tanya, the teacher of the Littles. She's very pregnant as you can see. On behalf of all us at the Dharma School, we wish you much love and health and support as you near the birth of your baby. We already know your baby is going to be very wise - she/he chose you as a mother, after all! xx

Family Tree

2011-12-10T18:58:00.001+11:00

By Ruben

This is our school family tree, we love climbing it and playing around it. It's our favourite thing to do at school. The first day I came to this school I looked at the tree and thought "this is the best tree ever, I'm coming here every day" and I was determined to come there every day. Sadly the tree isn't on our land so we can't go there any more. But hopefully when the 190 trees we recently planted grow we can climb them and play in them.

I cant wait until the trees grow so we can climb and build cubbie houses in them, but I guess we'll have to wait. :(

Puppets

2011-12-10T18:48:00.001+11:00

When asked to create an artwork about mindful consumption Ozzy created these incredible puppets. If you are lucky enough to be part of the school community you will see these puppets in Ozzy's performance at the end of Term Four.

Pauline Hanson

Mama Cass

This is What

2011-12-10T18:43:00.001+11:00

By Andromeda

This is what the earth would look like if we stopped polluting. It would be peaceful and beautiful. Everybody would have enough to eat.

Nature Photography

2011-12-09T14:55:00.001+11:00

By Gabriel.

Last week I walked around the school yard with a camera taking photos of leaves, flowers and trees.

This is a picture of a spider I found in our oak tree:

I liked this photo because I managed to get the flower in focus when the background was blurred:

To take this photo I had to lie on the undergrowth of our big blackwood tree:

This photo is of the flower of a blackberry bush that was growing in the oak trees:

Nature Adventure

2011-12-08T20:41:00.001+11:00

Instead of having our morning in the classroom, today we met at the Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens for a morning of nature adventuring with Bec, Patrick and Meg.

We started off by dispersing like seeds in the wind then writing about what we found once we'd landed.

Some of us were more creative with our writing implements.

We talked about the forest and all the different things we can do with wood.

We carved trees.

We jumped out of them.

We sat in their shade and ate our lunch.

Then we used them to try and light a fire.

Some of us even tried to eat them.

After a while we even started to look like them.

Our minds and our bodies were becoming one with our environment.

Until soon enough, the transformation was complete.

My Australian Refugee Story

2011-12-08T20:33:00.001+11:00

By Andromeda

Chapter one
My name is Andromeda. I have a dog and a goldfish. My dog is called Ruby and my goldfish is called Goldy. I have blonde hair, blue eyes and I live in Daylesford. Daylesford is pretty much bush, but there are roads, houses, shops and schools. There are so many trees I am surprised that there are not many at my house.

I like fluffy bunnies. I also like sushi, climbing trees, going on holidays, going out for dinner, visiting my grandparents, going to Sydney and eating cakes.

I live with my two brothers Callan and Llywelen, Ruby my dog, two goldfish and both of my parents. My great grandmother has just died recently. If you were wondering when and how, in April we think she died because the night before she died she had bumped her head.

My best friends are Isobel, Yemaya, Ozzy and Lizzie. Yemaya and I have had ten sleep overs!

Chapter two
A bomb exploded in our town. No one was allowed outside of their house. My mum and dad were too worried to let us out of the house, so we couldn’t play with our friends.

Everyone was scared sick. Mum and Dad kept vomiting. I was too worried to be silly. We could not go to school which I really wanted to go to. I really missed learning.

People with guns came. One person with a gun came and knocked on our door. Mum answered the door. We all got taken out of the house, even the animals. Ruby got excited and jumped on the soldier. He smacked her really hard. Dad yelled at him.

We went to the boss’ office. Dad got yelled at. The boss went mad at Dad. They had a punch up. Some soldiers tried to stop them, but they couldn’t. We got put in a bus and left Daylesford. Dad got left behind. Everyone was really sad, Dad was too. The bus was taking us to the airport. Soon after Dad arrived everyone was so happy to see him. Everyone was worried about how we would pay for the bus and aeroplane.

Chapter 3
We got on the aeroplane and left. I was really scared. I had never been on an aeroplane before. I almost vomited from looking out the window. I wish people hadn’t started fighting, because I miss my friends and family.

The aeroplane was really crowded. We only got three pieces of food a day. An apple for breakfast, a piece of bread for lunch and sometimes if we were lucky at dinner we would also get a piece of bread. Sometimes, the bread was mouldy. I couldn’t wait to get there because the aeroplane was so awful. My stomach hurt so much from being hungry and thirsty all the time. At night when I tried to sleep I woke up with pains.

It was really smelly on the plane from everyone being unable to shower. We couldn’t even go to the toilet properly. The stench was so strong that my mum fainted. I tried to hold my nose for ages until I fell asleep.

Chapter 4
We landed 9 hours after we got on the plane. I was so relieved and excited to get off and walk around. I jumped out and got my bag. Straight away we walked together and were put on a bus and taken to a place I had no idea where it was.

When I got outside, I froze. It was so different. It was dusty. People were wearing these funny hats. There was food called dumplings. There were vegetable dumplings, meat dumplings. They were really yummy. The family loved them too. Here is a picture of me eating dumplings.

2 years later
My mum is now a really good Chinese cook. I am now used to the new food. I really like the differences. I go back to Australia about once a year.

Tipperary Springs

2011-12-08T20:27:00.001+11:00

By Isobel

In the morning we went down to Tipperary Springs with Katarina and Meg.

It took a long time to get there.

We walked........

And walked.....

Until I thought we were there...
But we only got to go to Boomerang Ranch.

All the boys sat together.

While Andromeda and I sat together.

We were looking for shapes within nature.

After about an hour we went back to school. We had a really great time.

Zero and Bess

2011-12-08T20:14:00.001+11:00

By Zephyr

Zero is my dog the brown headed small Jack Russell. And Bess is our teacher Bec's dog. Whenever Bec comes to school, she usually brings Bess with her. Bess and Zero have snuggly time when they are both at school as well as lots of play fights.

Jack Russells are hunting dogs and Zero tries to teach Bess how to go hunting at school. Bess is a calm dog and Zero is a playful dog and you always see Bessie lying down and Zero jumping on her.

I always love watching Zero and Bessie play fighting at school, it's so cute.

Aspirations

2011-11-30T11:55:00.001+11:00

Of course we all have hopes and dreams, but how often do we sit down quietly and actually ask ourselves what we value and what we aspire to become?

Here are some of the aspirations of our students:

Chairs and Cushions

2011-11-30T11:37:00.000+11:00

There are so many aspects of our schooling that are different from other schools. As you can see, we sometimes sit on chairs at tables.

And at other times, such as every morning when we meditate, we sit on cushions on the floor. Sitting with our legs crossed is the best position for meditation. Just as Buddha was sitting cross-legged when he was enlightened 2,600 years ago, we hope to be enlightened by our lessons each day.

Spelling Test

2011-11-30T11:18:00.000+11:00

Unlike most schools, at the Dharma school we only have two classes: Prep to Grade 2 in the Small class and Grade 3 to Grade 5 in the Big. Because there is more than one age group and more than one level in each class, our teachers sometimes have to teach a few lessons at once.

When the Bigs have their spelling tests, for example, rather than just read out ten words for all the class, Bec calls out each student's name then says a word that she believes is on their education level.

So instead of reading out 10 words, she reads out 10 words for all 8 students - that's 80 words. It's amazing our teachers don't lose their voices by the end of the week!

Mindful Consumption

2011-11-30T11:01:00.000+11:00

Here we are one morning, watching a play some of the children performed on mindful consumption. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, scholar, and poet. Here are his wise words on mindful consumption:

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming. I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.

Interview with Sandy

2011-11-25T12:36:00.000+11:00

Sandy is Ozzy’s Nana who comes in once a week to do drawings with both the Bigs and Littles. Ozzy caught up with Sandy and interviewed her for an hour and 45 minutes.

Ozzy: What was the past work you did with Myer?
Sandy: I used to make the ads for Myer and David Jones and now I work here at the Dharma school with you guys.

Ozzy: How long have you been painting for?
Sandy: I have been painting since I was four years old. I am now 65 years old. So, I have been painting for 61 years.

Ozzy: I have noticed that you have some unique pieces of jewellery. Could you please tell us about one of your pieces of jewellery?
Sandy: One of them is a locket with my mum {nana Bett} inside it. Sadly, she died in 2007 she was 94 years old.

Ozzy: What is your favourite experience?
Sandy: I have four good experiences;

Winning the grand final in 1966.
Giving birth to Keele.
Giving birth to Krish.
Giving birth to Kane.

Ozzy: Why do all your children’s names start with K?
Sandy: I called all of my three children K because I was in my K phase and all my girlfriends had children with names starting with K

Ozzy: Why are the saints your favourite team?
Sandy: Because when I was a little girl my father Patrick took my little sister and me to a Saints game. Ever since then my whole family have been Saints supporters for 53 years!

How the Earth Began

2011-11-25T10:42:00.001+11:00

By James

How the Earth began – my version

A big dinosaur was farting in space. He managed to fart SO much that it blew him to the sun. When he got to the sun, he took a big bite out of it.

He burnt his tongue off. The tongue floated around in space for two whole years. It travelled with the stars, around the sun. It orbited through massive galaxies.

It ended up stopping near the sun because there was a big gravitational pull. The tongue tried to get away, but it was being pulled away by another planet that wanted it as food. That planet was called Gloopier. The sun started to pump out lots of heat which made the gravitational pull stronger. The tongue eventually gave up and just stayed there.

There was still lots of bacteria on the tongue from when the dinosaur used to eat old rotting stegasauuses. After two years of orbiting, it changed colour into a weird mouldy green. It became moist, it grew into a slime that started to drip. The drops became solid and flat. They had a strange mushy gas smell. They turned into leaves. The leaves multiplied and then turned into vines.

The sun got a lot hotter all of a sudden. Apparently Jack (dinosaur’s old friend) was cruising around space and let out a massive fart from a heap of fish he’d been eating at ‘Starfish’ the funky new star in the north galaxy where heaps of creatures were visiting. The fart was so big that it made the sun fire up big time. Everything was suddenly so much hotter.

The vines coming out of the old tongue started going crazy and wrapping up the whole tongue into a big ball.

Sloopier (a neighbouring planet) was in big trouble. The inhabitants were running out of supplies. The planet was imploding. Microscopic bugs decided to leave like refugees and embark on an unknown journey through space.

They floated and ran into the big ball of vines. Exhausted, they rested there like it was a big bed. When they woke, they started eating the vines and growing bigger. Their poo mixed with the vines and eventually trees started to form. This was the beginning of earth as we know it.

The bark on the trees started looking very strange and over time long figures started to step out of them. These were the first humans. They were called barkiens. Barkiens were rough sort of characters. They ate bark and made sounds a bit like trees falling down.

My Ockapocka Poem

2011-11-24T14:29:00.002+11:00

By Isobel

My pet ockapocka likes to draw

He has a big big appetite,

Dirty with small small tusks,

But he's never been to snappatite.

He goes into town with a bag

The shop she likes is wopido,

People laugh at his ears,

But he hops into his car called the escaloo.

My ockapocka has a frown,

He has a pet shnabbit

Cuddle your shnabbit as tite as you can

And then hop into your car and eat a cabbit.

My ockapocka took his shnabbit

Eating a cabbit when he bumped into Wola

Wola is a girl shnabbit,

She and my pet shnabbit go and collect Wola.

I put kola, wola and my ockapockas pet into the escaloo to go to school

They play in the playground which is called fodoo

At lunch they go to the sandpit to make love monsters.

I went to go pick them up but they were wating at

The trees playing as happily as can be,"time to go!"

They hopped into the escaloo,

And went to meet a hindoo.

Shoes

2011-11-18T12:22:00.001+11:00

In Tibetan culture, as a sign of respect, it is customary to remove your shoes before entering a home.

Unlike most schools, at the Dharma School we also remove our shoes before going into a classroom. We do this as a way of showing our respect for our learnings, and as a way to keep our classrooms clean. If we ever forget, the pile of shoes outside the front door quickly reminds us.

Art for a Changing World

2011-11-18T12:11:00.000+11:00

Every term at the Dharma School we have a theme to which a lot of our work relates. The theme for Term Four is Environmental Balance Inquiry. As part of this theme, Paul asked the Bigs to do a drawing relating to an environmental slogan. Here is what three students came up with:

Gabriel

This is a picture of the earth as a melting candle. I drew this picture in our inquiry lesson when we were making environmental slogans.

This slogan is on the theme of pollution and global warming. My idea was that the world is like a candle and it will melt away if we don't stop it from becoming hotter.

Will we melt as well?

Zephyr

I did this picture in art about climate change. C4 is a kind of explosive. If climate change continues the world will be ruined forever and nothing will be able to live on the planet any more.

One of the things I wrote was WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME so we need to plant more trees and ride more bikes not pollute the world by driving cars and having wars.

As a nine year old I feel we have a lot of work to do so that the world will continue for other human beings, animals and plants.

In my picture I tried to show how urgent the message is. We have no time to lose.

Ruben

This picture of the earth as a grenade represents how fragile the earth is, and if we treat it badly it will be destroyed and we won't be able to live here anymore.

A grenade doesn't work unless the pin is pulled so we still have time until we destroy it. We can still save our world but we have to stop cutting down trees and building cities. At our school we planted around about 190 trees but we kept some in case some died.

I looked up for a picture on the internet and found a picture of an awesome golden grenade, so I drew up a version of my own and drew islands and made up continents.

I loved this idea because I thought it represents our earth, and I really care about our planet, and I know that a lot of people do as well.

Cricket

2011-11-10T20:49:00.000+11:00

At the Daylesford Dharma school we believe that a healthy mind exists in a healthy body. While it's true we spend the first part of each day meditating and quietening our minds, we are also kids and that means we have a lot of energy that we like to release while playing games, bushwalking and doing sports.

Here some of us are playing cricket at lunchtime with Zephyr's dad Patrick.

Prayer Flags

2011-11-10T20:21:00.002+11:00

Hanging on the outside of the Small's classroom are prayer flags. Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. By hanging flags in high places, the wind carries the blessings depicted on the flags to all beings.

Buddha

2011-11-10T20:08:00.000+11:00

This Buddha sits outside the front gate of our school and welcomes people as they enter the school grounds. It is a reminder to each of us that we are all kind, wise and compassionate individuals.

The statue was very generously bequeathed to the school by a local buddhist who passed away. It is so heavy that it had to be rolled to the school on a skateboard! It may have had a very active past, but today appears very happy with its peaceful life of quiet contemplation.