Exploration Zones
Set out and explore the school
The physical space of Brisbane Independent School is divided into Basecamps, designed for direct instruction, whole class discussions and small group learning, and Exploring spaces, designed to stimulate students to find out how and why things work the way they do.
We have so many exploration zones around the school, from the meditation Stupa to the Chook Pen, but we hope this gives you a taste of the Exploring Spaces:
The Hall
The Hall is where Tai Chi and Ju Jitsu are taught as direct instructional experiences but also the site for games, performances, shows, parades, displays and large scale inquiries.
The Library, Music and Drama Room
The Library is run by parent volunteers and passionate students. It houses the world of books and journals that can carry our students on grand explorations through other lives and times.
The space houses flexible furnishings to allow it to become a Music Room or host Dramatic Performances! The room includes a piano, electric keyboard, an acoustic and electric drum kit, a set of ukuleles and djembe drums, and many more musical instruments and resources.
The Sandpit
The Sandpit is a site for such a diverse range of learning from cake baking, potion creation, gold mining, and early engineering.
The BIS Tree
The BIS tree is the site for mindfulness as well as physical play. Students have to learn all the rules and adhere to them if they want to be able to climb the tree. The tree was planted when the school was offically opened and since then has been shaped over the years to be the perfect climbing tree by decades of BIS kids.
The Veggie Gardens
Annual replanting sees the veggie gardens come back to life as the children explore the process of life from seed to the harvesting of the next generation of seed. The Dolphins in particular champion sustainability, using this as an opportunity to raise some funds when they have an excess harvest. In 2021, they have expanded this garden as budding apiarists, to include two bee hives.
The Food Forest and Orchard
Also known as the Birthday Tree Grove, each year some students will opt to plant a donated fruit tree in the Birthday Grove. BIS students get to select a birthday tradition such as a disco, dress-up day or planting a tree or bush at BIS. We have a beautiful food forest and often have past students coming to visit trees they planted during their tenure at BIS.
The STEAM Lab
STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths lab. Experiences in each of these learning areas naturally intermingle as science experiments are born out of the kitchen and art creations turn into engineering pursuits. Access and supervision changes as the students developmental understanding broadens and they can demonstrate that they can understand and follow the rules of the space.
The Rock River - The Brisbane River
Our scaled Brisbane River is one of the first playground features you see when you enter BIS. It includes a replica of the Story Bridge, designed, built and named for the Craig Family, and the “Brisbane City mud-pit”. This space is often used for wet play on hot days and experiments in water flow, damming and observing ecosystems. When it rains, we get to see the ordinarily dry creek bed in action as the rivers flow, encouraging leaf races between students.
