Archie, Lachy and Lara aren’t your average primary school students.
Key points:
- A rural Victorian primary school has earned national attention for its eccentric – and educational – painted cow sculpture
- Toolomba Primary School was one of over 80 schools nationwide to participate in Dairy Australia’s ‘Picasso Cows’ program
- The program aims to teach Aussie kids about the dairy industry, through art
With their year 5 and 6 peers, they have created a life-size painted cow that has become Dairy Australia’s new mascot.
Toolamba Primary School, about 17 kilometres south of Shepparton, was one of more than 80 schools selected to run Dairy Australia’s ‘Picasso Cows’ program this year.
Since 2009, this national education program has helped Aussie kids learn about dairy, nutrition and sustainable farming – with a paintbrush in hand.
A creative combination
The 10-week program allows schools to choose from three curriculum streams – farm-to-plate, nutrition or sustainability – highlighting different aspects of the dairy industry.
Participating schools receive a life-size fibreglass cow, which students decorate while recording their designs and findings in a learning journal.
Carly Tuhan, the art teacher at Toolamba Primary School, lives on a dairy farm with her husband, and the program immediately piqued her interest.
“I grew up on dairy farm in Katunga, north of Shepparton, so I’ve always had a passion for farming. And when I first heard about the ‘Picasso Cows’ program, I thought it’d be perfect for my art students – many of whom have a dairying background,” she said.
One of them is year 6 student Lachy Sorraghan.
“My dad is a dairy farmer, so I learnt how to milk and look after cows when I was little,” he said.
And year 5 student Archie Brisbane has a similar story.
“Dairy farming has been in my family for generations … that’s why I have a pretty good understanding of agriculture.”
Student-led learning
This inspired Ms Tuhan to focus on the nutritional side of dairy work.
“We spent three weeks learning all about the many vitamins, minerals and nutrients found in dairy products,” she said.
“This helped reinforce how important it is — especially for kids — to get the recommended daily intake to develop strong teeth and bones.”
Ms Tuhan says the students were involved every step of the way.
“At the start, we sat down as a class and decided on the health and nutrition stream because that’s what my students found most fascinating,” she said.
“All the ideas for the design of our cow came from them, and they were so engaged throughout the whole program.”
The students’ creativity and enthusiasm paid off.
Their eye-catching entry, ‘Moolamba’, was selected to represent the Picasso Cow program at last month’s Dairy Australia conference in Moama.
But year 6 student Lara Sawyer is most proud of their cow’s nickname.
“We call her ‘butter buns’, because we painted two packs of butter on her bottom — that might’ve made our cow stand out from all the others.”
Bridging the gap
The program is not just for rural or regional communities.
Jon Hurford, a senior advisor in Dairy Australia’s schools engagement team, says the three streams cater for all types of schools.
“City schools are more likely to choose the farm-to-plate stream, because their kids don’t have that familiarity with agriculture,” he said.
“On the other hand, the students at Toolomba Primary would likely drive past cows and sheep every day, so for them the nutrition or sustainability curriculums are a better fit.”
According to Mr Hurford, education is key to bridging the gap between town and country.
“We do mainly send [fibreglass] cows to major dairy regions, like the Murray and western Victoria as well,” he said.
But by offering these three angles, teachers in both rural and metro communities can really tailor it for their students according to their age and stage.”
Mr Hurford says Toolomba’s entry exemplified this well.
“I guess the cow is the visible thing that will be around at the school for decades or more, and Toolomba stands out for their pop art-inspired design,” he said.
“But they also had the learning journal side of things covered, by documenting what they absorbed about dairy nutrition in their learning journal.”
Ms Tuhan said after returning from Moama, ‘Moolamba’ will have pride of place at the school.
“She’s now sitting in our multi-purpose learning space, but we have plans to move her out onto a sunny patch of grass near the art classroom,” she said.
“That way we can all admire our hard work and remember how cool dairy is!”
