A student-led project at St Francis of Assisi has sparked a passion for nature and the environment.
What started off as a learning project for Reception students at St Francis of Assisi has now taken wings and set the whole school aflutter.
In term one, young learners at the Newton school were introduced to the world of caterpillars, studying them as they turned into chrysalides and then emerged as monarch butterflies – the perfect project for a Franciscan school with a strong focus on teaching students the importance of caring for the environment.
The project also had a strong maths focus. “We worked with the Primary Mathematics Association of South Australia to open up what mathematics looks like,” ICT teacher Alison Hubner-Booth says. “As maths is the science of rules, patterns and relationships, we wanted children to look at the caterpillars, then the chrysalis and the butterflies to see if they could explore patterns in nature – cyclic patterns, symmetrical patterns, linear patterns and growing patterns.”
But, like the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, the project blossomed into so much more. “Once the butterfly emerged, we were looking at the patterns on the back to work out if they could identify whether they were boy or girl butterflies,” she says. “Our students were able to identify the two symmetrical black circles that identified it as female.
“To see that awe in the eyes of five-year-olds when they could recognise a girl butterfly was really powerful. When parents came in to see the butterflies after school, to have the children explain their understanding of how they identified the butterflies as male or female was really great.”
Ms Hubner-Booth has also noticed a marked improvement in her young students’ language skills. “The project has been successful in bringing language out in our Reception students – they have something to see so they are able to articulate and it comes through to their writing,” she says. “We also watched Austin’s Butterfly about critiquing and reflecting the different stages, and the language these children can now use from physically seeing and witnessing the process is pretty amazing.
“We also got them to do life drawings of the caterpillars, the chrysalis and the butterflies, and the details in their pictures, for five-year-olds, was really incredible.”
The enthusiasm for the project flowed throughout the school, with children from Years 3 and 4 getting their own caterpillars, while older students opted to take it a step further. “Our Year 6 environmental leaders applied for and received a $500 grant towards the setting up of a butterfly garden in a more sustainable way and to show a greater awareness of water conservation,” says James Meiksans, St Francis of Assisi principal.
“They are looking to attract different butterflies to the vegetable garden to promote high pollination, and to learn more about different plants and which ones attract different species of butterflies.”
For the St Francis of Assisi educators, giving students agency in their learning has been another key factor of the project. “It’s not just teachers saying, ‘This is what we want to do’ – it has actually come from the student voice, so they are really committed to the program,” Ms Hubner-Booth says.
Mr Meiksans agrees. “Looking at the expressions on children’s faces sums it all up because they have that innate curiosity,” he says. “When something connects with them, that love of learning and the natural wonder children have really shines through.”
The school has allocated a space for the butterfly garden and, with the help of some parent volunteers, hopes to have it up and running later this year.
WORDS: Lynn Cameron.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Russell Millard.
Featured in the SA Catholic Schools Magazine, published in The Advertiser, July 31 2021.