New school awaits approval
Substantial interest: more than 20 families attended the first information session about the Koonwarra Village School.
By Marli Draper
A SCHOOL is expected to open at Koonwarra at the start of the 2011 school year.
Koonwarra Village School coordinator Fiona McKenzie said the school’s application for registration was now being processed by the Victorian Registrations and Qualifications Authority.
Parents of prospective students met recently to discuss staffing and programs. Interest and support for the vision of a new and different school has buoyed Ms McKenzie.
“These are pretty exciting times. We are breaking uncommon ground,” she said.
Enrolment for 2011 is expected to be around 24 students from grades Prep through to 3.
Under the school’s holistic philosophy, parents and children will have a say in shaping their own learning, with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards forming a framework from which to develop more tailored programs.
This approach is based on the notion that humans have a deeper purpose in life than that assumed through paid employment.
While the approach may be unconventional, it has been proven in similar schools throughout Australia and abroad. Aiming to stay small, the flexibility to do things differently is finding favour.
“Making conscious choices about their life, many parents also have expressed a desire for something different in their child’s education,” Ms McKenzie said.
A kitchen garden is planned as a cornerstone of the school. Children will grow and prepare the food, eating together each day.
A whole school parliament is planned for each fortnight. Democratic education will empower children and teach them responsibility and consequences, Ms McKenzie said.
“Children can make good decisions, will cooperate and have empathy if they are appropriately encouraged and supported,” she said.
Ms McKenzie has seen the wide benefits of community based schools, working within them as well as the state system in her career as a teacher.
“It is quite unusual for an individual to be initiating a school these days, but in previous times it was not at all uncommon,” she said.
Motivated to make a difference, Ms McKenzie has shown remarkable tenacity, working tirelessly to bring the shared vision to life.
“I want to help create real change, to create new opportunities for people to benefit from,” she said.
Many more challenges are on her agenda.
“Once we have the school up and running we will look at the possibility of kinder. Playgroup is a possibility more or less straight away,” Ms McKenzie said.
The families involved with the development of the school eagerly await the start of the new academic year, with all the promise it holds.
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