Education Team takes Bundanon to Bateman's Bay

The University of Wollongong has opened a new campus at Bateman’s Bay to cater for students in the Eurobodalla Shire to study in the Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary Education ) course. On Tuesday March 31st Jim Birkett, Education Officer at Bundanon, travelled to Bateman’s Bay to conduct a special course for these students in Visual Arts. The students experienced workshops covering all the main VA syllabus areas, with special reference to People and Places, Events, Objects and Other Living Things. Workshops involved both aspects of Art Appreciation and Art Making.

Students explored sculpture and construction, printmaking, drawing , collage and painting discovering different approaches to engaging their young students in creative experiences. Workshops in ‘Metamorphosis’, ‘Landscape and the Figurative Image’ and ‘The Tale of the Fisherman and the Golden Fish’ demonstrated connections in learning experiences between KLA’s in Visual Arts, Science, Literature, Creative Writing and Drama. Common concepts and links were discussed and ideas exchanged to enable programming of exciting learning experiences.

Last year Rae Luckie, lecturer in charge of the Diploma in Education Program at Bateman’s Bay brought a group of her students from UOW Shoalhaven campus to Bundanon and Riversdale for a similar experience. This visit was so successful that Rae was keen to follow up with another experience this year for the Bateman’s Bay students.

"I just wanted to let you know how much our students appreciated the recent Visual Arts workshop conducted by Jim at Batemans Bay. He provided the students with inspirational activities, and it was a delight to see the classroom transformed.

As I mentioned last year, the residential program conducted by Mary and Jim was one of the highlights of the GDE program at our Nowra Campus last year, and I am so pleased the relationship with Bundanon has been established in the new program at Batemans Bay". Rae Luckie.