Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden 

Bianca Tondo 

Garden Specialist

Hello Kingswood Community,

As the seasons shift, so too does our garden. The warmth of summer is slowly giving way to the cooler days of autumn and with this change comes a new chapter for our crops and chickens.

All classes have been busy embracing the rhythm of the garden. 4D students showed wonderful enthusiasm while handling our hens, demonstrating care and responsibility. They estimated the number of eggs collected, helped pull out persistent weeds and planted red cabbage and cauliflower seeds. Although many shared they would prefer planting seedlings they could see and touch, they showed persistence and flexibility by embracing the important first step of sowing seeds.

Meanwhile, 4S students had the exciting task of harvesting summer crops. They picked corn on the cob and zucchini, peeling back the corn husks to determine which were ready to keep and which needed to be composted. Students managed their reactions bravely, even when bugs appeared, showing great courage and managing impulsivity beautifully. The chickens also enjoyed a little supervised run-around, helping them stretch their legs and enjoy the sunshine.

Our senior students have been equally busy. 6C students worked hard to clear the garden beds of our finished summer crops: corn, zucchini, and towering sunflowers. 6F students tackled the cucumber vines and turned over the soil, preparing it for autumn plantings like radish and lettuce. They all needed to draw deeply on persistence and striving for accuracy as garden beds can be tricky to dig once plants have established strong roots!

In hen news, we sadly farewelled one of our older hens. Our feisty hen Pink, with her punky attitude, has been kindly rehomed to Myuna Farm where she will continue to enjoy life. To fill their place, five new young hens have been welcomed into our coop. Although still a little timid, they are slowly settling into their new life at Kingswood. 3B students enjoyed letting the chickens roam under supervision, turning compost, digging garden beds and patting our chickens, demonstrating responsibility and empathy.

Throughout all these changes, students have continued to use Habits of Mind like persisting, thinking flexibly, and finding awe and wonderment in the natural world — whether spotting a bright red mandarin ripening on the tree or feeling proud after a hard day of digging!

A gentle reminder: Please remind students, parents, and carers that our mandarins are being carefully grown for use in kitchen classes this term. We kindly ask that no fruit is picked without permission to ensure our students have enough produce for their learning and cooking experiences.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the SAKG program. As we move deeper into autumn, we look forward to continuing to work together to nurture our garden and care for our animals.

Happy Gardening!