CHAPPY CHAT – November 2022

Learning Community

Term 4 has started well with several new homeschooling families coming along for the first time.

We have exciting news regarding Topsy the Turtle recently created by our art tutor Mo Riggs and students from her art class in conjunction with TurtleCare Rainbow Beach. The Fraser Coast Regional Council is running a ‘Waste to Art’ competition where local artists have been tasked with creating a work of art using items destined for landfill.

The competition is open to all ages, with a prize pool of $3,500 across four categories plus a people’s choice award. Entry is free and artworks will be displayed at Gatakers Artspace in Maryborough from 11 November 2022 to 8 January 2023 so make sure to call in if you are in the area.

Prizewinners will be announced at the opening night of the exhibition on Friday 11 November and we will be sending representatives along including some of our young people just in case Topsy wins a prize.

Topsy’s body was created from an old crab pot with second-hand chicken wire for her flippers, head,and tail. She was then filled with plastic wrapping and bottle tops donated by local businesses. Recycled ice cream containers were cut into shape for Topsy’s shell and the finishing touch was two margarita bottle lids for her eyes, all fulfilling the judging criteria of demonstrating reuse and repurposing by using waste materials sourced from homes or local businesses.

Still on the topic of waste, Chloe Zatta, the Council’s Waste Minimisation Officer visited us on two occasions recently with the ‘kNOw Waste’ Education Program, which included practical and fun activities to teach the importance of how to deal with waste, whether it be packaging, containers, or organic waste.

Many of our homeschooling families spent a fantastic 3 days on K’gari in October, staying two nights at the Beachcamp Retreat at Eurong Village in their amazing glamping tents and cabins. The first day was showery but that didn’t stop us from heading straight to Lake McKenzie and a swim in the beautiful clear water.

Hana and her team from the Retreat are inspirational in their work trying to keep the island rubbish-free and on our arrival Doug encouraged us in how to recycle our rubbish so that it doesn’t end up in landfill. During the evening Parks & Wildlife Ranger Jenna spoke to us about the island’s history, natural attributes and how the local rangers care for the local dingo population.

On the second day we headed up the beach on wonderful smooth sand to the Champagne Pools, where most of the group enjoyed floating about in the bubbles caused by waves crashing over the rocks surrounding the pools. After a quick snack we headed back to Eli Creek for lunch and the opportunity to float down the creek’s crystal clear water.

Driving back to Eurong was a little more difficult in the soft sand but we made it safely. That evening the children had a wonderful time decking themselves out in glow sticks and racing around the dingo-proof grounds of the Retreat.

Our last morning brought showers and we intended to stop at one of the beautiful creeks on the way back to the barge for morning tea but the rain just got heavier, so we drove straight to Hook Point.

While we were waiting to board the Manta Ray, we were treated to the antics of a pod of dolphins and a very friendly young female dingo that sat by our car. Once we arrived back on the mainland the drivers had to put air in their tyres in the torrential rain with some unable to get home for several hours, due to the road being closed at Carland Creek.

It was an amazing few days away and we are very grateful to the Beachcamp Retreat, Manta Ray Barges and Qld Parks & Wildlife for assisting our families with accommodation, access to the island and information that made our trip to Paradise so special.

In November the children have been set goals in reading, spelling and learning times tables, with vouchers from local businesses as incentives for those who reach them. The goals include reading 5 new books, learning to spell 30 new words and being proficient in 3 new times tables by the end of the month.

Community Pantry

Volunteers at the Community Pantry are appreciating being undercover in the foyer of the Rainbow Beach Community Centre instead of being subject to the vagaries of the spring weather in the car park.

The first week back after the holidays saw a huge amount of donations from Woolworths Cooloola and one client was thrilled to even find a Barbie doll that he could give to his grand-daughter for her birthday.

Ed’s Beach Bakery is donating day-old bread which will be a wonderful addition to the other items in the hampers from Woolies and Foodbank. We would like to thank Rainbow Beach Boomerang Bags who have kindly donated some of their reusable bags to our clients.

Special thanks to Lee McCarthy, organiser of the recent evening at the Sports Club featuring Olympic swimmer Lisa Curry. Profits from the evening and an art auction totalling around $800 were donated to the Community Pantry which is a great blessing.

We will be putting together some special Christmas hampers, and if you have food items or small toys that you would like to donate, they would be much appreciated. Please leave a message on the Rainbow Beach Community Pantry Facebook page and we will organise a pickup or you can drop them down to the volunteers on Thursdays between 1 & 1.30pm at the Community Centre.

If you would like to order a hamper for your family or someone else who may need a little extra help, send a message via the pantry Facebook page and we will add you to the list for the next week. Hampers cost $10 which covers Foodbank’s handling expenses and are worth around $50 even without the extra items from Woolworths.