Quorn Area School & Nightcliff Primary School - SA/NT State/Territory Winners
23 October 2010
The SA/NT State/Territory Award Celebration Event was held in Adelaide last night with Quorn Area School (SA) and Nightcliff Primary School (NT) winning their respective State/Territory Award.
In addition to the $50,000 they received as local Impact Award Winners, both schools will receive a further $50,000 towards their school-community partnership and will vie for the title of National Award Winner with other State/Territory winners across Australia. The Schools First National Award Winner will be announced in Sydney on 26 November and will be rewarded with $400,000.
Quorn Area School, near Port Augusta, SA, is in partnership with the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society to provide Year 10-12 students with the opportunity to undertake collaborative building projects, including planning and constructing accommodation quarters for volunteers and students. The program was established in 2000 as part of the Enterprise and Vocational Education program and developed out of a need to offer the students a broader senior school curriculum and future pathways opportunities.
The 'Ride on Track' program has resulted in an enrichment of the curriculum for students, and has helped provide them with clear pathways for life after school. The partnership has not only benefitted the students but also the local community.
NAB Schools First judges assessed this community partnership as being South Australia’s leading example of the student benefits that can be achieved when schools and communities work together.
“This is a well-established partnership where the school and partner work collaboratively on a variety of projects to improve outcomes for students," said Jodi Cryan, Head of NAB Schools First.
"The partnership has helped improve vocational pathways to employment, develop tourism in the area, increase community service, and foster mentoring opportunities."
In Darwin, NT, Nightcliff Primary School work in partnership with the Melaleuca Refugee Centre to run the 'Bridging Cultures in Schools' project which focuses on the professional development of staff to review whole school support structures for children from refugee backgrounds within the classroom and through delivery of small group mentoring programs. Strategies are developed in both organisations to critically address refugee student wellbeing and learning support needs including professional development for staff, counselling and individualised client support and small group mentoring.
The initiative has helped raise awareness within the school and wider community about refugee children and families. Students at the school have benefitted in many ways including educationally, emotionally and mentally.
Judges applauded this as “an effective program which will be used as a model elsewhere”.
To date, NAB Schools First has awarded $10.15 million to 195 Australian schools to support and sustain their effective school-community partnerships. Another $5 million in funding will be available to schools in 2011.
