Main Curriculum Focus: Design Technologies and Sustainability.
Cross-curricular Links: This interdisciplinary journey brings together Humanities, Science, Maths, English, Design Technologies, and the Arts, empowering students to become informed, ethical, and creative global citizens.
Our big question for the project was: What impact does fast fashion have on people and the planet, and how can we make more sustainable choices?
Context
Year 4 students at Subiaco Primary School were highly receptive to the Creative Schools Program. They approached every activity and task with curiosity and enthusiasm, fully immersing themselves in the learning process. Two selectively non-speaking students in the class were supported to participate meaningfully. Students demonstrated a strong awareness of global issues, drawing on their experiences as well-travelled and informed young learners.
Jennie, the STEM teacher at Subiaco Primary School, brings a wealth of teaching experience across a range of contexts and demographics, including international, rural, and metropolitan settings. Her breadth of experience strongly supported the implementation of the program and the learning outcomes for students.
Project Overview
The students immersed themselves in the world of fast fashion and textile waste through a rich, hands-on, project-based learning experience. Given the many layers and potential directions of the project, the teacher and creative intentionally began by tuning into students’ interests and curiosities, using these as a guiding framework for their inquiry.
The project was launched with a practical, real-world entry point. Students examined the wardrobe of an average three-year-old, sorting clothing by type and hanging each item on a classroom washing line. Whiteboards placed beneath each garment enabled students to tally and compare items, laying the groundwork for students to inventory their own wardrobes at home.
Once personal data was collected and collated, students calculated the total volume of clothing (11 m³) and translated this information into class graphs and visual representations. A large, graffiti-covered pile of boxes—later used as a prop in their films—helped make the data tangible. This authentic mathematics connection allowed students to extrapolate their findings and consider how much clothing might exist, and eventually be discarded, across the entire school community. From here, students were challenged to investigate the social and environmental impacts of fast fashion on both people and the planet.
To share their learning, students produced a creative video incorporating movement and dance to raise awareness about textile waste and fast fashion. The films responded directly to their own questions and highlighted the messages they felt were most important to communicate. Piles of clothing transformed into landscapes, boxes layered with graffiti statements and reflections, moving bodies, and ominous fabric creatures came together to create powerful visual narratives.
Students also explored the origins and life cycles of different fabrics, comparing natural and synthetic fibres. This inquiry naturally led into conversations about upcycling and mending. How can we be creative with the clothes we already own? How might we give them a second life? What could they become?
A student suggested transforming their teacher’s old overalls, and the class collaboratively redesigned and reimagined them into a Book Week costume inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Students also wove fabric scraps into tennis-racket looms, creating imaginative underwater creatures from discarded textiles.
The project culminated in a Design and Technologies challenge where students upcycled fabric into doorstoppers, which they sold at the Subiaco Farmers Market. Proceeds were donated to Telethon, a cause deeply connected to their community through the Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House. On market day, the students were exceptional—selling 80 doorstoppers in just two and a half hours and raising $1,860. This authentic community connection and real-world impact made the learning deeply meaningful for students.
How did we make the curriculum come alive?
We gave the curriculum dimension — making it tangible, dynamic, and open to questioning. Through movement, making, and dialogue, students were invited into an active conversation with ideas once they were informed. By explicitly linking the project to the UN Sustainable Development Goals — particularly SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production — students were able to situate their learning within a real-world context. This helped them recognise their connection to the curriculum, their relationships to others, and their role as informed, responsible stewards of knowledge, resources, and future change.
How did we make the 5 Habits of Learning come alive?
Each session intentionally wove the 5 Habits of Learning into the activities - students worked on developing their skills in being - collaborative, inquisitive, persistent, imaginative and disciplined. For reflection, students completed a weekly practice in which they coloured a bunting triangle in their journals to represent the habit they felt they had engaged with most during that session. At the conclusion of the program, this ongoing reflection became a full Creative Schools journey: students used the accumulated bunting colours to inform the design of their final reflection snakes. Created from leftover materials from our time together, each snake visually traces an individual student’s learning journey. Following the length of the snake reveals the habits students reflected on across the program, while the head of the snake represents the habit they felt they had grown in the most. These snakes will now slither home with students as a lasting reminder of our shared creative journey — and of the habits they can continue to practise well beyond the classroom.
How did we activate student voice and learner agency?
Jennie had already thoughtfully orchestrated a classroom environment that actively encouraged student voice and learner agency. The Creative Schools program was able to flourish within this strong foundation. Initial brainstorming sessions invited students to share their ideas and curiosities, which were then meaningfully integrated into the project design. As the project evolved, students continued to contribute new ideas about what could be explored, created, and made, ensuring the learning remained responsive, student-led, and deeply engaging.
How did you develop creative and critical thinking skills in the students?
Creative and critical thinking skills were developed through consistent opportunities for students to practise and apply them. Students were challenged when appropriate and empowered to use the 5 Habits of Learning as tools for growth. They were encouraged to approach ideas in unexpected ways, experimenting with alternative modes of thinking and expression. For example, instead of writing questions, students explored how to draw a question or ask it from the perspective of a different object. These strategies supported flexible thinking, curiosity, and deeper engagement with ideas.
How did the project link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production - The Fast Fashion Creative Schools project directly addressed SDG 12 by supporting students to investigate the full life cycle of clothing — from production and consumption to disposal. Through hands-on inquiry, students examined how clothing choices impact people and the planet, encouraging more mindful decision-making about what they buy, wear, reuse, and discard. By designing and creating upcycled fabric doorstoppers, students modelled sustainable design practices and demonstrated how creative thinking can reduce waste and extend the life of materials.
SDG 13: Climate Action - The project also aligned strongly with SDG 13 by helping students understand the role of the fashion industry in contributing to carbon emissions, pollution, and landfill waste. Through research, making, and creative storytelling, students explored how everyday choices can influence environmental outcomes. By linking science, design, and creative expression, the project empowered students to take climate action at a local level, developing sustainable habits and practical solutions that contribute to broader environmental change.
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT?
Students:
"Having the market day, using what the school was already doing, and giving the kids a real sense of purpose—not just fundraising—was powerful. They wanted their labels on the doorstops to share a message. They really wanted to feel empowered about these big issues. At first, I worried the content was too heavy, but I don’t think it was. These kids are changemakers. Given the school’s demographic, a lot of them will go on to be lawyers, politicians, CEOs. They come from privilege, and it’s important to empower them to think about others through charitable giving and to think about the wider impact of what they do. That can make a really big difference—and they’re never going to forget this project. They absolutely loved Creative Schools and what it’s given them. In terms of engagement, every single student opted in. There were no passengers. This was a safe space where you couldn’t really fail. Twenty-seven of them had never touched a sewing machine before, but they all came up with their own ideas. Every single piece was unique. Even my really quiet, non-verbal students who sometimes don’t engage in collaborative activities found a natural way in through creativity. This is a different kind of professional learning—it’s long-term, and you get to apply it in your own classroom, with your own students. It’s a privilege, honestly. I definitely feel challenged, in a good way. I’m constantly thinking about how to tie this back to the curriculum. For example, yesterday we were asking conceptual questions, but we also needed to teach students the scale of textile waste, so I pre-taught some of the curriculum before Tanya came in. That meant regular Zoom calls to make sure we were aligned, and the kids had the knowledge they needed to move forward during their Creative Schools session
I bring the digital tech and curriculum knowledge, and Tanya brings these wild and creative ideas—she’s sending me pictures of tennis rackets! I’ve always been considered a creative teacher, but I realise now I’ve come at it more from a STEM perspective. The artistic side of creativity was a gap for me. This project is really helping to fill that gap, and I’m loving that.” (Jennie Richardson Teacher)
“Creative Schools makes me feel happy—because if you have an argument in class, Creative Schools helps us build friendships. If you struggle in class—like I do with maths—it helps. I struggle a lot in maths, but I like doing Maths the Creative Schools way. I also struggle with English, writing, and reading. I have dyslexia and dysgraphia, so learning is hard. This has made learning a lot more fun.” (Student)
“It’s helping me. If you don’t understand something—like in maths—we actually made it in a way that made more sense. At home I usually have craft stuff. In art, you’re often told what to do and have to copy a picture. But in Creative Schools, we get to imagine and do it the way we want to.” (Student)
“Creative Schools has definitely helped me with maths. I also feel like I’m getting to know everyone in the class a bit better. I can look around the room and understand what people are thinking by looking at what they’re writing and drawing.” (Student)
“I learnt so much and am so thankful for the opportunity to be able to work so closely with Jennie. It was tremendously inspiring to see her dedication to the students as individuals. She truly challenges them all to be responsible for their own learning, creatively interweaving excitement into tasks. Each group separation had a thoughtfilled organisation to them (e.g. coloured lanyard, pick sticks). Her ability to continuously make decisions, manage the classroom, and genuinely care for their futures was so inspiring. I found I was constantly amazed by her latest creative game that she had begun in her classroom. I felt both challenged and empowered by her and our conversations together. It was such a gift, and I am taking new skills in communication to encourage learner agency and voice home to my two daughters. I find Creative Schools so terrifying before that first session, it challenges me to be brave, be out of my comfort zone and be ok with the unknown. I have done it twice now, and both times have been incredibly different, but both I have left inspired to create, to persist, to collaborate, to challenge myself to be disciplined and to be inquisitive of the world around me. ” (Tanya Rodin - Creative Practitioner)
School Leadership: “A key part of our business plan at Subiaco Primary School is to lift more students into the "exceeding" category. We have many strong students, but we want to stretch them even further using Bloom’s Taxonomy and other high-level thinking tools. At the same time, Creative Schools gives other students—especially those who don’t always thrive in traditional settings—a different entry point into learning. It’s more hands-on, more creative, and it allows them to access learning through a different lens. That’s a powerful motivator for many of our kids. I also know how invested our community is—they are always willing to support the school. So when students hold a stall at the farmers market, it’s more than just a class project—it engages parents and the wider public too. And that ties into preparing our students for the future. We know from the OECD reports that the jobs our children will have don’t even exist yet, and they’ll need these creative, critical thinking and collaborative capabilities to thrive. We’re also very focused on philanthropy. We’ve supported Telethon this year—our kids even got interviewed on TV. In connection with Creative Schools, we’re planning another farmers market stall where students will sell badges and magnets, and donate the profits to Telethon. Jennie’s class has been looking at sustainability, including how much clothing they own, and collecting items to donate. Gemma’s class is creating books—the tape on the carpet shows the full layout of their story structures! The kids absolutely love it, and the teachers love it too.” (Heather McNeil - Principal)
“It’s been incredibly inspiring to have Subiaco Primary involved in the Creative Schools initiative. I’m impressed by how seamlessly the Five Habits of Learning: imagination, inquisitive, collaboration, persistence and discipline - have been integrated into the curriculum. Observing our students develop these key skills, both creatively and academically, has enriched their learning experience in meaningful ways. It’s exciting to think about how these habits will be shared throughout the school, fostering deeper engagement and inspiring students to feel both challenged and motivated...highly recommended!” (Rina Foti - Deputy Principal)
"During the doorstop creation weeks, several parents volunteered their time to support students in learning to sew using sewing machines. Each parent shared how enthusiastic their child had been about the Creative Schools program, highlighting the positive impact the project was having both in the classroom and at home." Parent
“I think there’s a lot of pressure right now for schools to focus heavily on explicit teaching, and yes, that has its place—but it can’t be everything. Kids need creativity. They need to be able to express ideas, collaborate, and think outside the box. That’s what employers are looking for. If all we’re doing is preparing them for standardised testing, then we’re missing the point. Creativity deserves to hold its place alongside explicit teaching. We need to give it a bigger voice." ( Jennie Richardson - Teacher)
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