Space in TAFE was the first thing I suggested to Andrew!! They’ve had declining numbers foir years, and there is some actual land space there as well. They are going to use TAFE grounds for the necessary bus turnaround and/cr parking which will be shared with TAFE, but generally they are already using art studios and farm land and the kitchens for Home economics. Andrew’s argument is that the Education Dept cannot AFFORD to build three storeys, but that’s just his excuse. Glad you reminded me of Perth Mod. Same problem. Growing numbers on insufficient land.
It was the first time I’d seen the new classrooms built for the year 7s They are GORGEOUS! White, spacious, open decorated with handmade ceramic tiles, and funky little lunch areas. I think little ex[ense spared there! The new classrooms are still mainly demountables. School size is currently only 900 but it has doubled in five years, and expected to rise to 1200 in two years’ time. When I said that 700 used to be considered the desirable size with the upper limit 1200, he told me that there was no longer an upper limit. Just as well. the predicted number for MRSHS is 1900 by 2025. and that’s probably an underestimate. WE have to get to 3000 before we’re allowed to think of a second high school in the area!! Anyway Marg River Organic garden is getting all excited and signing petitions. Andrew Host DOES see me as a difficult person to deal with!!
The farm is really lovely. Lavender labyrinth was gret. I’ve just ordered about $3000 worth of ceramic tiles to mosaic the small labyrinth with. The cooler start to summer and a late rpuning has made the orchard a little erratic – no quinces and the pears are small, but the seven geese are doing a fantastic job keeping the foxes away andPB has been comin g once a fortnight to cure the olive groves, prune them, get the lacewing beetles that are needed to control the bugs. And I haven’t got a single itinerant worker here – well the two Frenchies who are building the opuig sty, and will be leaving on Saturday, but they’ve been really GOOD workers, and I’ll be sorry to see them go. I gave Pete Godden his marching orders, and he was very angry. I suspect he had planned to build himself a cob house and squat here for the rest of his life, and I saw through it. He has removed all his furniture, and today I bought the stone infrastructure from him at a third of its value. Phew! relief! He wanted the limestones, and I thought I’d have to rebuild the tipi site. Much cheaper this way!! A great dfeeling of relief not to have workers coming in. They’d break tools, do sloppy work, steal things – It was SO timeconsuming to MANAGE them. I know I can’t get as much done, but it’s leisurely and I do it at my own pace. I’ll get professionals (like PB) in for jobs that really need doing and focus on the meetinghouse workshops for income. Also I can rent out the two caravans and bus for lowcost housing and not advertised, just on known people in trouble, All sweet harmony.
You sounds as though your stamps are keeping you busy..And that you’re enjoying the Olympian view! Pete wants me to become council President in October, but I’m really enjoying the farm too much…We’ll see. I’m pretty confident of being reelected even though we’ve gone over to the no-Ward system. Practising the doorknocking now, for the Greens 🙂
I’ve just reviewed that article on global education for the Journal of Teacher Education this evening, but I have another one g waiting for EPAT. on Irigary’s interpretation of Plato’s allegory of the Cave . I like that intellectual challenge, There’s a conference on metaphor in Amsterdam later this year, but I don’t think I really want to get away. I’m doing thinkfests each month, and a weekly series for U3A on Are numbers real or invented, and really finding infinity a challenging concept… But I have learnt the difference between real, rational and natural numbers, so progress is being made….
!6-19th November 2012 Tingrith hosted a camping gathering of about twenty campervans from as far away as Taree of people interested in CB Radio. This was a gathering with a difference however. They watched a movie from Eckhardt Tolle, and another called “What about me?” which dealt with identity and community. They learnt about bush survival skills with Steve Tribbeck, joined in a thinkfest on Imagination with Felicity Haynes and had a creative woodfired pizza evening in the courtyard. They were keen to return for a photographic workshop in the coming year.