Berwick Lodge Library/Asia Studies

A Little Asian Inspired Story

Once upon a time there was a young teacher who wanted to make a difference to the lives of the students she taught. She had a keen interest in the culture of Asia as well as the language ‘Bahasa Indonesia’.

So here is where the story of her teaching program for 2011 begins….

“Selemat pagi enak-enak,” said Miss Vine as she welcomed her first class for the year into the Library.

“Huh?” replied the children.

“This year in the Library we are going to be learning about Asia – it’s culture, traditions, animals, sports, stories, dances and the language Bahasa Indonesian. And what’s even better is that we have the perfect place to do all this wonderful learning – in our Library!” explained Miss Vine.

“WOW!” exclaimed the children. “This year in the Library is going to be so much fun” an excited bunch of kids all murmured.

As the year progressed, Miss Vine saw the little eyes of the Junior School eagerly absorb traditional Indonesian stories and an assortment of Asian Picture Fiction stories. Each week they would ask an abundance of questions with enthusiasm, “Are we going to act out this story like we did last week? What are we going to make from the story this week? How do you say that in Indonesian?”

Then there was the energetic Middle School to educate, enlighten and entertain. Throughout the year Miss Vine kept them on their toes exposing them to the very famous and heartfelt story ‘Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes’; developing their story-telling skills by performing the play “There Are No Tigers In Kalimantan’; refining their research skills by creating their own non-fiction books on either the endangered Sumatran Tiger (hari mau) or Elephant (gajah); and finishing off with some craft and sporting activities.

“Check out my ‘hari mau’ hand puppet, GRRRR” growled Luke from 3K in his best tiger voice.

“That is so cool the way there are two pictures in the one frame,” said Katelyn of 4R as her friend Kimberly continued, “I can’t wait to make my concertina image showing the gajah’s natural environment and its destroyed habitat.”

Lastly, Miss Vine had to tackle the Senior School and turn their perception of the Library into a positive place to come and learn. She thought long and hard about the best ways to engage this challenging group of students.

“I know” she thought to herself “I’ll develop a unit on Indonesian Shadow Puppetry. The kids can learn about the history of ‘wayang kulit’ and the ‘dalang’; then they can write their own modern shadow puppet shows in groups, make their puppets and film their stories! And once they’ve done that why don’t I teach them about the rice growing process and get them to create their own ‘rice paddy’ inspired piece of Asian artwork.”

As Miss Vine and the Senior School students were approaching the end of their ‘Indonesian Shadow Puppetry’, Jemma of 5C approached her and said “Hi Miss Vine, I loved doing the shadow puppets – they were awesome. I loved working with my group and creating our own story. You could let your imagination go wild. The actual puppets looked fantastic at the end and it was fun making them. I can’t wait to start filming and continuing on with the project!”

The year is now coming to a close for Miss Vine and all her talented students who have achieved so much and gained such a beautiful insight into the wonderful world of ‘Asia’. Standing in the middle of the Library, she looks around at all the students’ work that is on display and she smiles to herself – she can be very proud of her teaching this year.

“Listen, Read, Speak, Create, Act & Dance your way into learning” Miss Sarah Vine