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Well it had finally come the day when we would find out how our cow "Baa Baa Bovine"  would place in the Archibull Prize. We left  Wollongong early for our trip to Homebush  where the presentations were going to take place in "The Stables" in The RM Williams Building.

When we arrived we saw all the finalists and we  were suprised at how big the High School Bulls were and how very creative their designs were.

We were happy to be reunited with our calf Baa Baa Bovine . We had lots of  photos taken and were filmed presenting our Artwork on wool. This was very exciting.

It was now time for the presentations and we were all very nervous as the standard was very high.  

The Awards for "Part A" were given  and Team Gwynneville recieved :      
                                                Best Wool Blog Primary School
                                             GPT Award for Excellence in Recycling and Reusing
                                             Champion Archibull "Program A" - 2nd Place
                                             Champion Archibull Primary

We were very excited about the results and proud of all our hard work. 

We would also like to congratulate all the other schools who participated in the program and recieved awards at the finals ceremony. 

Thank You again to everyone involved with The Archibull Prize for this amazing experience.

Team Gwynneville 
                                    

 
Wow !  What can I say but a Great Big Thank You to everyone who has supported and been a part of The Archibull Prize journey this year at Gwynneville Public School. Our team has worked so hard to complete the artwork and The Blogs. We have enjoyed the whole process of the project and have learnt lots about our classmates along the way.

The following is a list of Acknowledgements of help and support that we have had  throughout the journey of The Archibull Prize:

*The Australian Wool Innovation Ltd for the Excellent Resource Pack that provided 
     us with the information that we used to answer the questions for our blog
*Emily King -  AWI Textile Samples
* Mrs Payne - Gwynneville Public School Principal
*Archibull Commitee for their support throughout the journey
* Gwynneville Public School - Staff, Students and Wider Community
* Animals on The Moove - www.animalsonthemoove.com.au     1500760354
* Illawarra Feltmakers
* Sheep and Cattle Drome Bathurst
* Australia Coast to Coast Country Style    - February 2013
                                                                - September 2013
* The Land -   Thursday September 12, 2013
                     Thursday September 19, 2013
                     Thursday September 26, 2013
* The Story of Wool in  Australia
               Kandinin Group 2010
               Lamb Print Western Australia
* Wool Resource Kit Workbook
* A Peep at Sheep online supporting resources
* Landlearn N.S.W - Supporting Environmental Education in N.S.W Schools
* Landline - www.abc.net.au
                    "Wild Dogs"
* Welder - George Georgeou
* Felter - Simone Hackett
* Knitting and Applique Support - Ros Stewart  / Carolyn
* Models / Teachers - Jenni Eshman and Troy Burns
* Year 6  Gwynneville Public School
* Green Pages Annual Directory 2010
* Patons Classic Styles
* Spotlight Knitting Essentials 2008 Winter Collection
* http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3836155.htm
* http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Previousproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article172003opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2003&num=&view=
* http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/attard.australia

Australian Wool Innovation Resources

 
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Everyone in 6E agrees that our Archie Experience has been lots of fun and we have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the program.
As a group we discussed what we had done, the time period and expectations. Overall there wasn't much that we could suggest to improve the program as we thought it was already really effective.
Here are just a few suggestions that we thought could be considered for future  programs
         * Compete in regions as the program grows
         * Reduce the number of blogs
         * Meeting groups to discuss how schools are going
         *Receive the thumbdrive earlier
         *More space on Thumbdrive for videos
        


 
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Archibull's Name :             Baa Baa Bovine



Food or Fibre Industry featured:       Wool


Who was featured in the making of our Archibull: 

This was a project in which the whole school (teachers and students) were involved. However, the majority of the project was completed by 6E. They learnt new skills during the process such as knitting, crocheting, applique, felting, blanket stitch, all of which can be seen on our finished cow.

Theme:                       Wool - Paddock to Product

Concept:                   Studying wool from the sheep's back to high end fashion 
                                 and how we can promote sustainability by reusing and recycling  
                                 this natural product.

Stylistic Influences: The different textures and forms that wool has and how it can be
                               used. These included:
                                                              * raw and greasy
                                                              * clean and dyed
                                                              * spun
                                                              * yarn - natural and coloured
                                                              * knitting, crochet, applique
                                                              * fabric
                                                              * machine and hand knitting
                                                              * clothing - new and old recycled products


What makes your Archibull unique: 
He is unique in that he represents a variety of techniques used when producing woollen products, demonstrates the stylistic influences listed above as well as providing a visual representation of our theme "Paddock to Product".

 
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Well, the day had finally come it was the day that we would give Archie his name. Many names were suggested, but we just couldn't decide on the right one. Time was slipping away  and deadlines were near. Our Archie naming competition had ended and we still weren't able to agree on a name.

Then Mrs Eshman, our very clever Year 6 teacher, had a name, "Baa Baa Bovine". Well at first many of us weren't sure if it was to be the name of our Archie. But once it was explained that Bovine was a cow we discussed and agreed that this was the perfect name for our Archie, a Sheep / Woolly Cow. 

           So, Gwynneville Public School's Archie has now been officially named
                                               "Baa Baa Bovine"
                           But some of us just can't get past calling him 
                                                     "Archie"

 
Our Journey with Archie began in early May at The Archibull Prize Launch in Kiama. It has been a journey that has had good days, bad days, stressful days, days when we laughed and days when we worked really hard. This is our journey...........Enjoy!!
 
Our team worked like a well oiled machine. The reason why we were able to work so well together was because we were able to work to everyone's strengths or weaknesses.

Our teams Strengths
We were able to 
                    work together
                    hold discussions
                    listen to suggestions
                    follow instructions
                    work to deadlines
                   
Our teams Weaknesses
We needed help with
                   Knitting,crocheting and appliquing
                   welding
                   blog posts

Outside Help 
We did have some help along the way to guide us
                  Mrs Hackett - Felting
                  Mr Georgeou - Welding
                  Mrs Stewart - Knitting, crochet and applique
                  Carolyn - Applique

Our class pulled together to completed this project. It was a pleasure to watch them enjoying each other's company while working together over the past two terms..




                   
                  


 
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As a part of our study of "Wool" we were asked to come up with a song. The following song was produced by four very clever Yr 6 girls. We have it on video for you to enjoy as well as the lyrics so you can sing along.




 Wool Song Lyrics

 Mama told me not to waste my wool, she also said it's really natural.      
        The sheep might stink, but this is what I think, that wool, shhh, is a good material.
                         
           My feet, feet feel so warm, coz I've got woollen socks,
                And my ugg boots really, really rock, yeah!
                And cold, the cold can't get through, coz I am dressed in wool, ohhh.
 
           The cold don't mean a thing I'm not feelin' it coz I have wool to keep me WARM.
            
Mama told me not to waste my wool, I live on a farm and it's really cool.
 The sheep might stink, but this is what I think, that it's really comfortable.
    And wool is really NICE, and it's definitely what you should BUY.
         No matter what they say they can't have it, I wish it would fall from the sky.      
Coz wool is really nice.
            
         I'm running through the shops, to find more woollen socks,
                  We don't need no denim, tights or jeans, yeah!
                  Wool, wool is the air I breathe, I know it sounds crazy, That's me!

       The cold don't mean a thing I'm not feelin' it coz I have wool to keep me WARM.
              
  Mama told me not to waste my wool, she also said it's really natural.
     The sheep might stink, but this is what I think, that it's really comfortable.
       And wool is really NICE, and it's definitely what you should BUY.
   No matter what they say they can't have it, I wish it would fall from the sky.
   Coz wool is really nice.
                                                      
We don't hear no one sayin' HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY.
We don't need no one sayin' HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY.
You'd better keep on walkin', coz this is my rockin'...WOOL!
You'd better keep on walkin', coz this is my fluffy...WOOL!

The cold don't mean a thing I'm not feelin' it coz I have wool to keep me WARM.

Mama told me not to waste my wool, I live on a farm and it's really cool.
The sheep might stink, but this is what I think, that it's really comfortable.
    And wool is really NICE, and it's definitely what you should BUY.
         No matter what they say they can't have it, I wish it would fall from the sky,     

Coz wool is really NICE, and it's definitely what you should BUY.
         No matter what they say they can't have it, I wish it would fall from the sky.
Coz wool is really nice!

 
As much as we have loved being involved in the program there have been many challenges that we have faced along the way. These challenges have made it interseting and have kept us on our toes trying to meet our deadlines.

My first challenge as Program Coordinator was deciding on how I would present our topic "Wool" to the whole schole K - 6. This is when I came up with the idea of a "Winter Woollies Day". My aim for this day was for the whole school to be involved in activities related to wool. From feeding baby lambs to a lunch meal deal lamb Souvlaki. I used this as my starting point , introducing the Archibull Prize to the staff, students and the wider community.


As a Team our first challenge was deciding on how we would present Archie. This was an ongoing process and has continued up until our final stages .

1.    Brainstorm Ideas - In small groups / whole class
2.    Discussion of Ideas -  Talked about what we thought would or wouldn't       

                                          work
3.    Voted on Ideas

Many suggestions were given but after voting was counted we decided that our focus would be on WOOL from the raw product to the fabric we use in clothing and its different forms.

But how were we going to get our message across......

We decided that we would look at the many different ways that we use wool. The raw product, spun wool, felting, knitting, crocheting, finger knitting, french knitting, applique and the many forms that we find wool in different fabrics. So we all put our thinking hats on and discussed our ideas :

        1. Cover our cow with patchwork wool squares incorporating all of the
            processes that we had been learning about.
        2. Decoupage the cows head with words and facts about wool
        3. The cows legs are very individual, each one sending a different message
                 * One leg has the question that we were trying to answer
       
 " What does it  take to Sustainably clothe our community for one day ?"
                 
* A second leg has a leg warmer representing winter woolly clothes
                  * A third leg  has product sample information cards with samples of 
                     woollen fabrics.
                  * The final leg is wrapped in colourful dyed yarn
        4. A wire heading to display our theme "Wrapped in Yarn"  which has been
            done in running writing to look like a strand of wool.
        5. Our cow is grazing on a grass platform. As without the grass our sheep 
            wouldn't be able to grow and produce wool.


Once we'd decided on how we would be decorating our Archie the process of putting it all together was to be also a very challenging process.We started we the squares. Some people were knitting tiny squares, crocheting, french knitting, appliquing and felting. This process was a very slow as we had to demonstrate, attempt and at times redo. But it was rewarding for both the students and myself. As for the children seeing a completed piece of work  that they had made  and me seeing how much fun they were having. This particular stage was very time consuming and stressful trying to get it all to fit together.


Another Challenge that we have had  throughout the whole journey has been the naming of our "Archie". We've had newsletter competitions and discussions in class, but still we couldn't find just the right name to give our "Archie". We wanted something unique, but also conveyed our message. This was something that was still unsolved till the final days of Archie. 


Organising our whole school event "Winter Woolies Day" . This was something that required precision organisation.We had to organise  ten activity  stations,  activities for each group, meal deals, community visitors and animals for display.
This was definitely very challenging and there were small hurdles along the way. Did we have enough food? How were we going to make enough popcorn or fairy floss? But all hurdles were overcome and the day was a huge success.

Technology was something that we wanted to add to our Archie many ideas were discussed. One was to have an iPad/ iPod with Archie showing powerpoint, photos, facts etc. This idea was thrown around for a while but in the end a unanimous decision was made that it was probably too expensive and something that needed to be recharged regularly.


Completing the Blog was probably the most stressful  of all. This was something that I hadn't done before. So at first it was quite daunting and one that I avoided for awhile. I started by using students who knew more about blogs than what I did. We discussed what blogs we could use and chose the one that best suited our needs. Once I was given a demonstration on how to use a blog, my confidence grew and we worked to together to complete all our tasks. I must say it was very challenging, time consuming but I'm grateful as I've learn't and my students have also learn't  a  new skill that we can now use for other projects.

We would have to say that the biggest challenge that has been faced along our journey has been managing our time to get  everything completed - the blog, Archie  and the  organised activities that we completed along the way. 

Our final challenge was How we would transport Baa Baa Bovine to the final judging. He was now a lot bigger then when he first arrived. We considered taking him by train or putting him in the back of a ute. 


Thank You, for giving our school this opportunity as it has been challenging but very rewarding learning lots along the way .
 
                            At Gwynneville we are always up for a challenge!
                   
 
Why is wool the best Textile to use for clothing?

Here are some of the reasons why wool is the best textile to use for clothing 
               * It is an excellent insulator keeping you cool in summer, warm in winter
               * It can be recycled and reused
               *It is mould and mildew resistant
               *It isn a fire retardant
               *It is breatheable
               *It is non allergenic
               *It is soft on your skin making it comfortable to wear
               *It lasts along time
               *It is wrinkle resistant
               *It is natural making it better for the environment
               *It is biodegradable
               *It doesn't soil easily
               *It is durable
               *It absorbs dyes deeply causing them to fade less
               *It Keeps you warm when wet
               *It is a natural and renewable resource
               *It can be made into a range of garments

Synthetic fabrics have become more common in pieces of clothing in the past 30 years   because of our advances in Technology. We are able to make these garments much cheaper than woollen garments therfore the demand is higher for synthetic fibres.

Synthetic fabrics although they are cheap and readily available they don't have the high quality that is associated with wool. Some of the reasons why they arent consired the best fabric for clothing include

              *It is highly flammable and will stick to your skin if it catches on fire
              * It doesnt last for a long time
              *It doesnt allow your skin to breathe
              *It will fade and lose its shape
              *It isnt a regulator of temperature 
              *It will stain easily
              *It isnt natural it is manmade

 

Therefore the qualities of wool make it an excellent choice for clothing in all temperatures and in many styles of vlothing. 











 
             

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