Narrabri branch of ADFAS earns a national honour

It is a special acknowledgement for ADFAS Narrabri to be the recent recipient of a national award from the Association of ADFAS, the 2021 Pauline Hopkins Cup, for its 2020 Young Arts project.

The Narrabri branch of ADFAS is one of 38 arts societies in Australia and it is delighted with the win.

In early 2020 the committee invited Bellata Public School to be the recipients of its annual sponsorship program, ADFAS Young Arts.
Bellata School principal Robyn Bishop was thrilled for the school to be nominated.

Robyn had already applied to Dairy Australia to be part of a ‘Picasso Cow’ project when she received the news, and the funding was a welcome contribution which covered the entire project from start to finish.

Dairy Australia works in conjunction with the Department of Education to provide a curriculum-based program which teaches children all about the nutritional value of dairy foods together with renewable energy resources used by many Australian dairy farms.

As well as in-class education, the children were treated to a visit from local Georgia Kirkby and learnt all about the care of dairy cows with the help of Blossom and her five-day-old calf.

The artistic part of the program saw a life-size fibreglass model of a cow delivered to the school by Dairy Australia.

She was promptly given a name, Lazy Daisy, a hat and a bell.

The children, with a little help from their teachers, researched design ideas and duly set about painting the model.

The end result is a beautifully painted and educational depiction of the dairy industry.

Chairman of ADFAS Narrabri Anne Boehm, said the committee was delighted to be able to sponsor such a fun and novel project.

“We can only be involved with the Young Arts scheme because of the generosity of our ADFAS members who donate to our organisation, which in turn supports the youth of our local district.

“Winning this award is a great result for the ADFAS community”.

The Pauline Hopkins Cup is awarded annually by the association of ADFAS to a society which has sponsored a particularly innovative Young Arts endeavour in its local district.

Each year, ADFAS societies across Australia donate to schools, community groups or individual students.

Recipients can range from pre-schoolers to tertiary students.

ADFAS Young Arts scholarships embrace student participation across the arts, including literature, music, photography, sculpture, dance, theatre and fine arts.

Pauline Hopkins is a UK representative of NADFAS and was a regular visitor to Australia.

In 2008 Pauline donated a silver presentation cup in recognition of the contribution ADFAS societies make to young arts in their communities.

“I am so very proud of the fabulous effort our students and staff put into ‘Lazy Daisy’,” Mrs Bishop said.

“She is now a spectacular feature within our school grounds.

“I would encourage anyone driving through Bellata to take a slight detour to have a look at the fabulous work all of our students put into making her look so beautiful, she can be easily viewed from the street.

“We are very grateful to ADFAS which chose Bellata Public School to be the recipients of the grant in 2020.

“It just goes to show what fabulous opportunities exist for small schools as all students can be included in all opportunities.”