Enterprise Learning.

Enterprise Learning. Nangiloc/Colignan & District Primary School Kulkyne Way, Nangiloc, VIC VIC VictorVIC Victoria (State of Australia)VIC VictoryVIC Victim (police slang)VIC VicinityVIC VicarVIC VicarageVIC Virtual Information Center (APAN)3494 Enterprise Learning Project Nangiloc/Colignan Primary School A Juicy Tale about the Citrus Industry The Nangiloc/Colignan Primary School is located 45kms south ofMildura, has an enrolment of 80 pupils and is surrounded by citrusblocks (farms) 90% of our pupils reside on citrus farms and it is themajor industry in the area. The school is classed as rural and remoteand our nearest neighbouring school is 45km away. Total population ofNangiloc is 900 and the settlement consist of a shop, hardware store ahall and a recreation reserve as so the school is a major focus of thecommunity. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The school has always been proactive in developing life skills, andengaging the children in the operation of the school. Pupils in grade 4,5 & 6 have run the canteen for the past 20 years. Recently thisprocess became more formal and a company (Fundz Inc) was established.Fundz Inc has a company meeting every Friday. Each of the 8 subcommittees prepare a report related to their assigned task. This wasonce completed on a small pin board but we now have slide shows andvideos projected onto an interactive white board. The whole process isgeared at a real life financial learning experience. A visit from the Country Education Project revealed the opportunityfor our school to become involved in a Nation Wide Project entitled"Enterprize Learning." Our school was to identify a projectand to then develop wide links with the community and industry. As weare surrounded by citrus, oranges became our focus. We wanted thechildren to gain a greater appreciation of the citrus industry and toalso examine what can be created from the many oranges, which arediscarded dis��card?v. dis��card��ed, dis��card��ing, dis��cardsv.tr.1. To throw away; reject.2. a. To throw out (a playing card) from one's hand.b. as waste. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The purchase of a commercial juicing machine was achievable thanksto funding from the Country Education Programme. The children could nowproduce fresh orange juice to sell at the canteen and to their families.The machine was also advertised for hire. The children were beginning togenerate income from, what once was, waste. They were also exploringhealth/hygiene, packaging, advertising and storage issues. Ourproduction of juice was greater than demand. What else can we do? Theschool canteen sold icy poles, so why not replace these with 100% frozencitrus juice. This was the birth of a new product "Slurpeez."A commercial sink was installed and a weekly production lineestablished. The children launched their special product on Oct. 26th2006. Guests included Eddie Warhurst (Mayor of Mildura), Robert Mansell Robert Mansell was the Superintendent between the years of 1876 and 1878 of the South Eastern Railway in the United Kingdom. (Chairman of Citrus Board) and local media. The project was now becoming self funding. We could now start ourplans to examine the journey of the orange from tree to supermarketshelf. To achieve such an ambitious plan would involve making contactswith a variety of organisations and industry groups. Thus far, theproject has the total support and praise of the Murray Valley CitrusBoard, SOS SOS,code letters of the international distress signal. The signal is expressed in International Morse code as … — — — … (three dots, three dashes, three dots). citrus, Mildura Co-Op, Coles Supermarket, Melbourne CitrusCommittee, Mildura Rural City Council, Melbourne Market Authority,Addamo Packers and local growers. The response has been overwhelming, with many of the aboveproviding financial and other support in kind. The doors have beenopened for us to further develop this incredible learning experience.The children have now actually visited a local farm and physically picka bin of oranges. They will have tracked that bin to a local packinghouse A packing house is a facility where fruit is received and processed prior to distribution to market.Bulk fruit (such as apples, oranges, pears, and the like) is delivered to the plant via trucks or wagons, where it is dumped into receiving bins and sorted for quality and (SOS Citrus). There, have observed the fruit being graded andpacked for shipment direct to Coles or the Footscray Market. Thechildren have travelled into Mildura to visit the Mildura Co-Op. Here,the fruit is packed for export, while in Mildura they will also visit alocal juice company and Sandalwood sandalwood,name for several fragrant tropical woods, especially for Santalum album, an evergreen partially parasitic tree either native to India or introduced there centuries ago. Packers, who also pre-pack for ColesSupermarkets Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Coles Group. With over 740 stores nationally[1] and more than 92,000 employees[2] , Coles currently has second-largest market share behind Woolworths Supermarkets. . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Melbourne was our next stop. While in Melbourne we experienced theFootscray Wholesale Market, visit a Coles Warehouse, and Addamo Packerswho pre-pack fruit and vegies for Coles and Woolworths. The journey wascompleted when the children finally saw the fruit as it is picked up andtaken to the register by the consumer. The children actually gave awayfruit and told their story to consumers in a major supermarket inMelbourne. During this entire programme the children carried with them theirOrange Buddy. This was an actual orange given to them on the very firstday (picking day). The orange was given a full medical to check itscondition, size, grading etc on day one and again periodically duringthe proceeding weeks. The orange actually generated many questions to beanswered by children. The children reflected on the process from theorange's perspective. For example: * What is happening to me? * Where are they taking me? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 2007 we were invited by the Mildura Citrus Board to display andsell our Slurpeez on their stand at the Mildura Show. We were awardedthe Best Exhibit in the Pavilion and Best Agricultural Display at theShow. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In conclusion, this is a very unique and exciting project. It ispossibly the first enterprise learning project, which has a focus on thecitrus industry, conducted by primary school age pupils. The programmehas been documented and used as a model for other schools. It hasreceived recognition from national and local TV, radio, newspapers andmagazines. The children have presented their work at the CEP CEPcongenital erythropoietic porphyria. CEPabbr.congenital erythropoietic porphyria stateconference. Its potential to teach our young students "lifeskills" is extremely powerful. It has enriched their understandingin so many ways. The enthusiasm and support that it has alreadygenerated is amazing a��maze?v. a��mazed, a��maz��ing, a��maz��esv.tr.1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise.2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex.v.intr. . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It has become an embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. part of our schools curriculum andculture. We are often referred to as "The Orange School" a tagwe are proud of.