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Health & Fitness

Parents, Teachers, Students, and a Consulate Member Team up to Celebrate Australian Culture

“Can anyone tell me the two national animals of Australia?” booms a loud, distinctly Aussie-accented voice from the Green Bay Atrium. After many, scattered “koala” shouts, Justin Biggs, Australian Consulate-General, shakes his head with a smile and says, “Contrary to popular belief, the two national animals of Australia are actually the kangaroo and the emu. Do you know why?” The Lake Forest Country Day School (LFCDS) students and faculty sitting before him respond to his question with inquisitive stares of curiosity. After a brief pause, the Australian Consulate-General replies, “It is because these animals cannot go backward, only forward.” Thus began last Friday’s Lower School Community Meeting, culminating a week-long P.E. study on Australian sports.

Much like the kangaroo and emu, LFCDS prefers to step in a forward direction and welcomes innovation, progress, and new opportunity. One such opportunity arose when three Australian-born parents of LFCDS students—John Harrup, Kate Kelliher, and Jennifer Zacka—decided to spearhead a unit on Australian sports at LFCDS. According to Jennifer Zacka, the idea came about when she and her family were on vacation in Australia and noticed how culturally prevalent sports are to the cultivation of youth and healthy living. Wanting to instill this same natural passion for athletic playfulness at LFCDS, Jennifer, John, and Kate decided to cash in on the transparency between faculty and parent that has become so ingrained in the structure of LFCDS.

In a school that exceeds the National Association of Independent School’s (NAIS) average % of foreign students by more than 10%, LFCDS is no amateur when it comes to integrating ethnic studies into the educational mix. Just this past Wednesday, the junior kindergartners kicked off a unit on Australia by reenacting a flight to the island continent. Beginning in their classrooms, the junior kindergartners boarded an imaginary bus, paid their toll as they passed through the lunch hallway, had their passports stamped, their luggage checked, and ended up in the Performing Arts Center lobby where rows of seats resembling airplane aisles awaited them. The eager students then exited the plane and boarded their imaginary limos and taxied back to their classrooms, where they will spend the next five weeks studying Australian culture, geography, and wildlife.

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While LFCDS institutes this ethnic trip on an annual basis, as well as a “Games of the World” unit for Lower School P.E. classes in the last weeks of December, LFCDS Athletic Director Ted Stewart opened his doors to John Harrup, Kate Kelliher, and Jennifer Zacka and decided to add a supplementary Australian-specific sports unit to the February P.E. agenda. With the same hustle that Jennifer observed in many an Australian child during football practices, the three parents and athletic director switched out basketballs for rugby balls and began the unit. Games taking place “down under” in the LFCDS gym included net ball, cricket, and the always interesting Australian-Rules “footie.” Ted Stewart described the event as a great way to introduce “safe risks for kids,” and mentioned that the entire week was a great reflection of the “partnership between teachers and parents.” In this case, the kids directly benefited from this partnership by receiving an active, hands-on education and perspective into the culture of Australia through games and athletics.

While it may have seemed progressive enough to introduce Australian sports to children during their regular gym classes, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Harrup, Mrs. Kelliher, and Mrs. Zacka decided to go one step further and brought some authentic Australian flavor to the School. Using their connections, the three parents contacted the Australian Consulate in Chicago and arranged for Consulate-General Justin Biggs to come into the School to speak at the Friday Community Meeting, and to hold Australian gym clinics for the remainder of the day.

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Led by the children of the three Australian-born parents, the Community meeting began with a brief introduction into common Australian phrases and greetings. Within minutes, sounds of “G’day mate” could be heard ringing throughout the atrium. The students then passed the microphone over to Justin Biggs who gave a short, but thorough overview of Australian history, jazzing it up with his own unique perspectives into Australian culture. After an Australian folk-song sing-along, the Community Meeting came to an end and the sporting spectacle began. The remained of the day involved Justin Biggs instructing students on the fundamentals of various Australian sports. Biggs himself used to play Australian-Rules footie, and demonstrated that he still has the skills to prove it.

While LFCDS students prefer not to look behind in their educational pursuits, it is the coalition of parents, teachers, and faculty that, together with the students, ensure that the school as a whole marches to the beat of the emu and kangaroo. Onward and upward seems to be their call, especially when it comes to introducing foreign culture to the already rich educational palette.

 

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