Partnership Forum review from South Australia - 05/05/10

Michelle Shand writes:

The Schools First Partnership Forums made their way through South Australia in late April, stopping in Adelaide, Port Lincoln and Elizabeth. As with the rest of Australia, these forums were a great success with many enthusiastic and interested members from schools and the community in attendance.

A group of us from Schools First made the trip to South Australia and we thought we'd share our experiences.

05/05/10 - Response from Brooke Tully:

Our start to the South Australian series of Schools First Partnership Forums did not exactly get off the way we had expected. Upon arrival in Adelaide we soon found out that the venue did not have an appropriate cable to allow us to make our AV presentation. Not to be deterred, I hopped in a car belonging to a family member of someone who worked at the venue, and scooted off to the nearest Dick Smith store. Charby and Drew’s good thinking meant I arrived in store with a photo of the AV dashboard and laptop outlets, so the store manager new exactly what I was after. Or so we thought… Upon return to the venue we realised I’d been sold the wrong cord, so off I went back to the store, this time driven by one of our local NAB volunteers, Richard, who didn’t realise his role would entail ferrying me around town! Back at the venue – correct cord in place and AV all fired up – things went really well. It was terrific to be in Adelaide once again as I have been visiting SA quite a bit with Schools First. Despite having lost most of her voice to a dreadful bug earlier in the week, Jan from 2009 Schools First State Impact Award winning school, Windsor Gardens Vocational College, shared some really valuable insights. One thing that stuck in my mind was her recommendation that schools NOT look for the hidden secret in the application process. She explained that in all her years applying for funding, she was convinced of hidden, unwritten requirement when applying for grants. Jan assured guests that the Schools First application process very transparently calls a spade a spade; there is no hidden agenda. On the contrary, there is so much detail explaining the criteria that she recommended schools stick very much to the guidelines and just constantly refer back to them… just like essay writing – what is the question and how does it need to be addressed. It sounds straightforward, but I can imagine the wood is often lost for the trees in processes such as these. It’s great to know this is not perceived to be the case for Schools First.

05/05/10 - Response from Michelle Shand:

The SA Partnership Forum series wrapped up in the suburb of Elizabeth, about an hour drive north of Adelaide. Northern Sound System provided a fantastic central and easily accessible local community venue for the 26 attendees. Once the home of an indoor sport and recreation centre, it now offers the children in the area a range of facilities and programs to be involved in! Paul Stone (a dedicated Schools First Advocate and host) kicked off the evening and invited Nick Champion (Federal MP for Wakefield) to present to the group. Nick is a great supporter for the Schools First program (even tweeting his involvement via social media outlet, Twitter!) and spoke passionately about the impact it can have for disadvantaged areas such as Elizabeth. Fortunately, a representative from one of our 2009 State Award Winning Schools – Patrick Moran from Elizabeth Park Primary School - was in attendance which gave the audience of seven schools and 16 community organisations and local businesses the chance to ask specific questions directly relating to their award winning application. There was a great vibe within the room when any networking and interaction took place. Good luck to all the South Australian schools applying this year!