Governessing Carlton Hill style
Host: Carlton Hill
Written by Alice – Governess, Carlton Hills Station.
It’s early in the morning, 6am, I’ve got poddies to feed and school work to prepare for Beatrix and Archie before picking them up at 8am for their school day.
I’m currently feeding six poddies which have come in from Stockcamp, they are fed a milk supplement morning and afternoon, as well as pellets and hay; the kids enjoy helping in the afternoons.
Milk bar kids.
Because of our close proximity to Katherine in the NT, even though we’re in Western Australia, we do schooling through Katherine School of the Air (KSOTA). At the start of each term a parcel of booklets and needed equipment arrives in the mail, with a term’s worth of school work separated into weeks and then further into days to make it a lot easier for me. Throughout the term the school will send out anything extra we ever need such as books for school and enjoyment.
School room.
By 9:30am we’ve had a busy morning doing daily skills and reading and it’s time for Smoko. We go down to the kitchen and Raq, our Cook, has lots of delicious food options to keep us going. After a short break with all of the station staff we are ready to walk back up to the schoolroom to fit some more work in before IDL at 10:30.
Yummy smoko.
IDL is an interactive class on the computer between the teacher and all the students at each of their locations using a camera and microphone. IDL allows the teacher to teach their subject and the students to have a virtual school lesson and interact with the other people in their year. On Fridays IDL is an assembly and the whole school tunes in, announcements are made, and awards are given like any other school.
We complete the Maths and English activities for the day and then it is lunchtime! I have my lunchbreak from 12:30-2:00 with the station staff, while the kids go up to their house to eat. It is usually spent eating and chatting about what everyone has been doing in their day. By 2pm after a long break, Beatrix, Archie, and I head back up to the classroom for an hour left of the school day. This segment of the day is a different topic every day of the week; these topics are usually done for a term before moving onto something new. They particularly enjoy the afternoon part of school as it is the fun topics such as science, art, and PE.
School camp fun.
Next we head down to the house, for some afternoon tea and a quick break before we are back outside for afternoon activities. At the station there are so many different fun things for Beatrix and Archie to do, some of their favourites include going horse riding on their horses Dusty and Jill or a big bike ride followed by a cooling swim. If the weather isn’t great or we are looking for an inside activity the kids are very keen on cooking, which is great to provide afternoon-tea snacks; homemade ice blocks and muesli slice are always a winner!
After school cooking.
Ready to ride.
Later we all go and feed the poddies before bath time and I finish for the day.
Coming up next week is long anticipated school camp which the kids are dying to go to. The kids have been talking about it for weeks . . . We are in the final planning stages now, getting our swags organised, clothes, camp chairs, toiletries, and extra food goodies for the long drive!
We all drive up to Bachelor, which is an hour south of Darwin NT, approximately 800km from Carlton Hill Station! Beatrix and Archie get to see their school friends and teachers for the first time this year so there will be lots of fun activities and time with friends. It will also be a great chance for me to meet and socialise with the other governesses, get advice, and make lasting friendships. I’m looking forward to camp and the rest of the year!
Cheers, Alice