From the Principal 

From one Preshil kid to another

Quite a lot happens at Blackhall Kalimna when you students are not here. But mostly dogs. Dogs come to school! 

We all know and love Charlie, but there are dogs at school that you’ve not met! There are the ones who come in the evening to romp on the front lawn, and then there’s Gypsy, who comes with Karoline; Gypsy could be Charlie’s sister they are so alike. She has fur growing from between her toes that is so long it looks like fluffy talons. Dogs at Preshil make me reminisce.

When I think back to when I was a kid at Arlington, I always recall the dogs that shared the school. There seemed to be so many! There was Hotdog the stray who would come around and eat our lunches if we hadn’t packed them away properly. There was Boofa the black pointer who belonged in the 10s & 11s with his owner, our teacher Don. And then there was Randy. Not a great name. He was a big white dog with brown spots and a portly belly. He belonged to Mug, and because Mug and Randy lived in the Arlington house, well, Preshil belonged to him.

Randy had not always belonged with Mug and we were helped to understand that he had suffered in his puppyhood before he lived at Arlington. Because of this, he was what Mug called “bothered”. He carried some unhappiness from his puppy days with him always, and that made him seem short tempered. To tell the truth, us kids were pretty scared of him, and we would certainly never have approached him for a cuddle or a pat like we can with Charlie. He wouldn’t have liked that. 

It’s funny nowadays to think that a school full of kids could be a space for a scary dog, but it was. And Mug never tied him up or kept him away from us, even though she knew we might be a bit scared of him. She never apologised for Randy. And he rarely left Mug’s side, he seemed to always be with her. Mug used to come to our meetings and mat time, and Randy would come too. He would flop down on the carpet at her feet, and if you were near him, you might pat him. If you felt brave. Sometimes he would fart, like dogs do, and we were not allowed to giggle. If you did, Mug would give you a very stern look. That wasn’t kind to Randy. He couldn’t help it.

Mug was teaching us to accept Randy, just as he was, and to respect that he might need space and for us to be mindful of that. When I think back, Mug and Randy taught us so much about being a Preshil kid. Randy embodied the Preshil idea that you don’t have to like everyone, but you must love them. We really did not like Randy, but we were always reminded to treat him in a way that showed we cared. That was what we understood, and that is how we all live together at Preshil. Sometimes we don’t get along with each other, but we always show that we care. That’s what makes our school such a special place.

I'm so looking forward to the time when we can be together here, showing that we care in the small ways that really mean so very much.

Cressida Batterham-Wilson

 Interim Principal 

cressida.batterham-wilson@preshil.vic.edu.au