Outdoor Classroom Day 2017 WA Event

<p>Be a Mary Poppins and take learning outside your classroom. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://www.school-news.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/High-Ropes-in-action.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12493"/><figcaption>Fun, adventure, challenges and team building: these are all part of what makes Alexandra Adventure Resort one of the best camps in Victoria! Totalling over 16 outdoor activities, there is something to test everyone’s skills. Our camp is recently renovated with new beds and teacher facilities – you won’t want to leave! </figcaption></figure>



<p>There’s a spoonful of sugar in every school
trip and what could be more exciting than a whirlwind tour of ; Australia’s very own, Victoria. Dance
alongside the non-animated penguins of Penguin Parade, Phillip Island. (That
was the last <em>Mary Poppins</em> reference,
I promise.)</p>



<p>With horrific stats like one-in-eight primary school children getting less than 30 minutes of outdoor playtime each day, it’s no wonder students go wild at the mere mention of a school excursion. </p>



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<p>Depending on your location, exploring Victoria
might be a local jaunt or a long-haul flight. Either way, there’s so many
different things to do, and so many ways to integrate cross-faculty learning
that it’s well-worth the planning. </p>



<p><strong>Let’s go fly a kite&#8230; </strong></p>



<p>(Okay, that one really was the last <em>Mary Poppins</em> reference.) </p>



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<p>Victoria has a stunning plethora of national
parks and botanical gardens boasting native flora and fauna, with iconic
natural sights to see along the Great Ocean Road, across the Twelve Apostles,
the Yarra River, and more. ; </p>



<p>Outdoor learning is not just being eroded by generation Z’s reliance on hand-held technology but also by the pressures of testing and academic studies. All of this in spite the World Health Organisation’s recommendation for children to receive at least one hour of physical activity per day.</p>



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<p>Sir Ken Robinson, leader in the development
of creativity, innovation, and human potential, and chair of the <em>Dirt is Good</em> Child Development Advisory
Board, insists: “Play is not a dispensable, frivolous part of childhood. It
facilitates many forms of development – social, creative, physical, cognitive
and emotional – that are fundamental to the healthy growth and maturity of
every child. Children must have the time, space and permission to engage in a
variety of play, which schools can offer and encourage parents to make real
play part of the everyday.”</p>



<p>Schools have the power to do something now to incite enthusiasm for the outdoors among children&#8230; carve some time out from the daily classroom grind and go fly a kite! (Last, last <em>Poppins</em> nod.) </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://www.school-news.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/AdobeStock_171201114.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-12498"/><figcaption>Hot air balloon flying over Philip lsland, Victoria, Australia</figcaption></figure>



<p>Shine a spotlight on a special corner of
Australia’s stunning natural scape, explore our national history, both modern
and ancient, through landmarks, museums, galleries, shows, and more.  ;</p>



<p><strong>Outdoor learning ideas in Victoria&#8230;</strong></p>



<p>Why Victoria, you may ask… Why take students to Victoria for an educational excursion?</p>



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<p>Well, Victoria has curated a reputation for
prioritising its natural wonders and Indigenous history; there are many high
quality organised outdoor activities that are a critical part of the Victorian
economy as well as world-class history and art exhibits. </p>



<p>To put it in perspective, outdoor activities
account for four times as many jobs in Victoria than the mining sector!</p>



<p>With an abundance of outdoor activities to
choose from: nature-based, camps, outdoor recreational activities, bushwalking,
canoeing, birdwatching, beach activities, etc., it is a great location to
organise an excursion. </p>



<p>An increasing amount of research is showing educators the value of outdoor play for young children. With this in mind, there are great new programs in Victoria that focus on play in the bush, at the beach and other natural spaces for primary school-aged children. </p>



<p><strong>Adventure therapy and penguin parades…</strong></p>



<p>Go online and check out the <em>Outdoors Victoria</em> resource, where there are a plethora of innovative ideas including sea kayaking and ‘bush adventure therapy’, which targets young people affected by adversity. </p>



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<p>See penguins and fur seals in the wild at
Phillip Island and learn about Antarctica.</p>



<p>Go fish! Take young anglers to cast a line
in a pond or find a farm that will let them catch and help cook their own
lunch. </p>



<p>Hearty high seas? Lap Port Phillip Bay in a
ferry boat.</p>



<p>Walk! Learn about Melbourne&#8217;s amazing
history and architecture when you engage in walking tours around the city. Bus
tours are a great option for special education groups, or class groups that
require wheelchair access. Bus and private tours are particularly good if you
can recruit a guide or bus commentator with a sense of humour.</p>



<p><strong>Music and arts events that will make you drool&#8230;</strong></p>



<p>Museums: there’s so much happening in
Victorian museums that we could never quite do them justice here. Keep yourself
up-to-date with the latest exhibitions and events at Melbourne Museum,
Immigration Museum, Scienceworks, the Royal Exhibition Building and IMAX
Melbourne Museum. They publicise their exhibits well in advance so you can find
out if one will line-up perfectly with a unit you plan to teach.</p>



<p>A Lego convention was held at the Royal Exhibition Building in January, which might interest little STEM learners around the country. Melbourne Museum is hosting its epic Nelson Mandela exhibition until March; then Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series will take over until May 2019. </p>



<p>Melbourne’s<em> International Jazz Festival</em> will launch mid-2019, attracting young
musicians and classic music teachers, while the gymnastics <em>World Cup</em> will be gathering in the city this February not to
mention, the epic <em>2019 NRL Harvey Norman
All-Stars</em>. If you can work that last one into your planned school
excursion, hat’s off. </p>



<p>Try finding any kid or teen who wouldn’t want to go and see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical <em>School of Rock</em>, based on the Jack Black cult hit phenomenon. Of course, <em>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</em> also hit Melbourne theatres in January. (That one may require pre-pre-pre-booking.)</p>



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<p><strong>Did you know that Melbourne Museum is Autism-friendly? </strong></p>



<p>Get the free <em>Field Guide</em> app. to learn about Victoria&#8217;s unique and diverse
wildlife in the great outdoors. It has descriptions of over 950 species,
including birds, mammals, fishes, reptiles, frogs and invertebrates from
terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. It’s part of an ongoing
collaboration between Australia&#8217;s major natural history museums – so you can
use it wherever you go!</p>



<p><strong>Are you signed up to <em>Outdoor
Classroom Day</em>?</strong></p>



<p>This fantastic global campaign celebrates
and inspires outdoor learning and play. The latest Outdoor Classroom Day was
November 1, 2018 and the next will be May 32, 2019, when thousands of schools
and millions of children around the world will take their lessons outside and
share their experience.</p>



<p><strong>Why should you join in?</strong> First, it’s free! Second, because we must make outdoor learning an
essential part of every day, at school and at home. The good news is that there
are a growing number of schools worldwide that recognise how important outdoor
learning and play is to children. They want to reach their full potential as
much as we want them to, so let’s give them the best tools we can. </p>



<p>Research is also showing that outdoor
learning improves children’s physical and mental health, helping create a
lifelong connection with nature. That’s why we’re starting to see nature
therapy-type programs pop-up in the education sector and in our wider
communities. ; </p>



<p><strong>Have you heard of <em>Project Dirt</em>?</strong> </p>



<p><em>Project
Dirt</em> asked teachers who
have taken part in previous <em>Outdoor
Classroom Days</em> about the impact of taking children outdoors. Two surveys
across 45 countries with teachers who participated in the campaign between
2016-2017. </p>



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>68 percent of teachers
want more time for children to play outdoors.</li><li>87 percent of teachers
want more time to take lessons outside.</li><li>97 percent of teachers
worldwide believe that outdoor playtime throughout the school day is critical
for children to reach their full potential.</li><li>88 percent of teachers
globally said that children are happier after playing outdoors, and 89 percent
said the same when they learn outdoors.</li></ol>



<p>There are more that 500 Aussie schools
already signed up but many more schools are encouraged to join in and spend an
entire school day learning and playing outdoors. </p>



<p>Even if you already get your children
outdoors regularly, why not use the day to celebrate what you are doing and
inspire others. </p>



<p>Check out the online <em>Outdoor Classroom Day</em> resource; it encourages schools to share what
they do outside of the classroom on the day, along with two million other kids
around the world on the same day. </p>



<p>There are lots of fantastic individual
lesson and topic ideas from a broad range of experts and organisations. </p>



<p>Be inspired and inspire others by using
#OutdoorClassroomDay on your public Facebook, Twitter or Instagram post and
tell us what you get up to in Victoria!</p>

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