The rain hammered down and the wind howled through the trees on the stormy last Saturday of the school holidays. Dark clouds covered the sky and thunder rumbled in the distance. Inside their cosy pen, the Junior School chickens huddled together, clucking nervously as the rain was seemingly endless.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the gate wide open!
One curious chicken poked her head out of the gate. Then another followed, and another. Before we knew it, the entire flock had made an escape into the muddy, rain-soaked garden of Junior School Kew.
Local Facebook groups were buzzing with concern for the chooks, neighbours were trying to contact anyone they knew with links to Carey staff, messages were pinging and passersby stopped their cars and looked on, unsure of what to do. Upon hearing of the chickens’ plight, and armed with a bowl of cold rice (apparently they like it), my family and I made our way to school to attempt to wrangle the chickens back into their pen.
Thankfully, a chicken whisperer, in the form of Eleanor Burns (Kitchen Garden Co-ordinator) and her daughter, Julia, arrived – they had been alerted to the commotion. With mealworms and encouraging words, Eleanor and Julia successfully enticed our feathered friends back into the safety of their roost.
Once the chickens were safely back in their coop, what stayed with me, in addition to the humour of the afternoon, was the care that gathered around them. Neighbours, passersby, families and staff all became part of a small but meaningful moment of connection – a reminder that community is built through noticing, responding and caring.
We often speak with students about belonging to different communities – their classes, Houses, campuses, cultural communities and many others. Through these connections, children learn that community is something we actively build through the relationships we nurture, the care we show and the way we look out for one another.
What made this small holiday adventure so memorable was the way it revealed a wider Carey community beyond the school gates. The chickens may have caused a little chaos, but they also reminded us that strong communities are built in small moments of shared care, connection and kindness.
Sophie Fisher
Deputy Head of Junior School – Head of Donvale Campus
