Bringing A Seaside Mosiac to Flowerdale

This is my sixth week working as an SU Chaplain at Flowerdale Primary School. The school is drop dead gorgeous, but there’s a sandpit built into a corner with two-meter-high concrete walls. On the last day of Term 3, I said to the principal, ‘I've only just hit the ground, but I’ve got an idea.’ The school hadn't had a chaplain for a couple of terms, creating opportunity for a special project on top of my regular hours.

We started working on a mosaic mural plan. I've been a lead light mosaics teacher and taught as a volunteer for more than 10 years. I’m also a social worker. I love being able to share the skills I've learnt and teach other people about developing community. The Rotary Club, Bendigo Bank, and an Osteopathic Clinic supported financially and Bunnings donated some materials. A local, who did mosaics herself, was throwing away some supplies and rang me - my husband and I loaded our four-wheel drive completely full of stock. Together with the community we were able to make this idea a reality.

The mosaic is being designed by the students themselves. It’s their playground, so it has to be their mosaic. Using their designs gives the students a greater sense of ownership in the project. It’s my job now to help them interpret their designs with the supplies we've got, and morph them into creations that they can be really proud of. We’ve got submarines, we’ve got boats, we’ve got dolphins, we've got crabs, we've got giant squid. Everything’s happening with the consultation of the community, from design to colour.

This community was devastated by bushfires in 2009. Since then, there have been several mosaic projects throughout the community that have been really popular. People that lost homes have rebuilt, and many around town have created mosaic letterboxes. Students here are the children of bushfire survivors. This project is something I thought the community would connect with.

I know that God has been part of this exciting project to welcome kids back to school and make their return really fun. For me, it’s such an incredible alignment of my passion, skills, training and values.