Kids love spooky stuff

I made this poster to highlight the spooky and scary books we had in the library. The mini-books on the poster could be opened to show information on vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. The kids were tremendously excited by the appearance of this poster, and vast numbers participated in the raffle to win it when it was taken down.

Space Poster

One of our students, who rarely showed any interest in anything school-related, put up his hand in the library and suggested that the next poster should be a space scene. We were so excited at his unprecedented enthusiasm that I got to work immediately to produce this poster. It wasn’t quite complete at the time, but I was keen to put it up as soon as possible… which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Each week I added something to it (a martian, some comets, a rocket, etc), so the kids were quite excited to visit the library and spot each new addition. Towards the end of the term, kids were making suggestions for the next addition, which was great!

Fun Fundraising Thermometer

Our P&C Fundraising committee decided that they wanted a thermometer to show their progress and enthuse contributors. Amongst the clutter in my garage (which stores everything but the car), I found this old piece of chipboard. A friend and I painted a fun and friendly design and added coins made of gold foil that catch the light nicely (though they look rather dull in this photo). The central “tube” of the thermometer is made of white cardboard which I remove and replace each year to start fundraising anew. The kids love colouring in the thermometer with red texta after each fundraising event.

Where’s the library? Just look for the sign!

School library sign

Our new librarian noticed that new students and their parents had no idea where the library was. Even when she pointed it out, many were unsure which door she was referring to. So she tentatively asked me if I was interested in making her a library sign. Well, there was only one thing I could say to that: “Goody!” I bought a large sheet of craftwood from the local hardware story and drew a lovely big oval on it. My husband very kindly cut it out for me and a friend and I spent a couple of happy afternoons painting it.

I particularly like the lively colours and “cartoony” feel of this design. And, not to waste an opportunity for a giggle, we’ve given each of the books a fun title/author combination like “Late for School” by Miss D. Buss.

Big friendly library display

Close-up of children’s artwork

A friend and I had such fun making this display. The theme for book week was “Across the Story Bridge”, so we thought it would be appropriate to use the Sydney Harbour Bridge and involve every child in the school. I drew up four male and four female figures, each holding a book. Each child chose a figure and wrote their name and favourite book title on the cover. I’ve got to say, it was extremely awkward laying out so much paper across my friend’s dining room floor to paint the bridge. It was also very difficult to stick it up on the wall. And after all that, we also required lots of help from parent volunteers to cut out the figures for the littlies who weren’t so good with scissors. However, it was definitely all worth it in the end. The kids loved colouring their pictures and searching for their artworks after they’d been added to the display. Most importantly, they eagerly spent time discussing which book was their favourite. In the end, there were around 350 children represented, and it looked more spectacular than these photos show.

Library poster for book week

Library poster for book week

This was my first attempt at a poster for book week. I was only a parent volunteer at the time, so I can’t remember why the librarian asked me to make a display, but I enthusiastically complied.

I bought an end-roll of printer’s paper from a recycling store. The quality of the paper is lovely and the size makes it easy to do large displays without having to fiddle about sticking lots of smaller pieces together. I printed out a bunch of book jackets to use as the bricks in the bridge, and the kids enjoyed identifying their favourites.

I was astonished at the response from the kids – I thought they’d be a little blase about a new poster in the library, but they absolutely loved it. The larger displays have the most impact, and it’s great to see them goggling at a new picture I’ve just put up in the library. Anyway, this was my first one and it has since led to many more, which I’ll put on this blog in coming days.

Once a year I do a larger display which involves every kid in the school, and they are by far the most satisfying for all concerned. But posters like this one continue to be popular – so much so that when we take them down we now hold a raffle. The winner takes it home to put on their bedroom wall.

Tired old school mural gets an upgrade

I was tired of looking at these depressing old columns in front of the school canteen. They were painted by the students years ago, and they definitely hadn’t improved with age.

When I mentioned them to the school principal, quick as a flash he replied “Are you offering?”. Well, there’s no sense in whinging about something unless you’re prepared to do something about it, so while I was there each morning for assembly, I pondered the problem and a friend and I came up with a new design which I mocked-up in paper for staff approval.

At our request, Bunnings very kindly donated some paint. Then the two of us spent two and a half weekends at the school painting the new mural, and singing musical hits at the tops of our voices to the empty playground from our ladders. It was good fun and very satisfying. Here are the results:

It’s really brightened up the area, and the response from the kids, parents and staff has been fantastic!

What this blog is about…

I’m a school mum. That’s not so very unusual; there are a lot of us about. However, I also happen to be a school library assistant. I also work (occasionally) in the school office. I am a regular — though largely silent — member of the P&C. During the past four years I have painted school murals, helped with reading groups, covered endless library books on my dining room table, volunteered for cake stalls, turned up for working bees in the school garden (even though my home garden is in a sorry state of neglect), and have generally put my hand up for anything and everything that would help make my son’s school a better place.

My further qualifications for writing a blog about Australian school life include having personally attended an Australian primary school and secondary school and having two parents who were both dedicated and enthusiastic (not to mention exhausted, frustrated and under-appreciated) teachers for decades before their retirement.

When I decided to write a blog, I pondered which of my many and varied interests to focus on. It wasn’t long before I was forced to admit to being a hobby whore, flitting from short-lived passion to short-lived passion — from cooking to piano to writing to crochet to running to jigsaws — not really very suitable for a coherent long-term blogging experience. Then I realised that school was the answer. It is a never-ending source of potential topics, and in the near future I hope to entertain both you and myself with some of my anecdotes.

Let’s just hope that blogging isn’t just my latest short-lived passion…