This former teacher hits the road on some school visits - 01/06/10

Sharon Clerke writes:

I was given the opportunity to travel to Brisbane and Sydney to present at the Partnership Forums, and I was able to visit some of the winning schools in NSW and Queensland. Being an ex-teacher, I loved going into the schools, meeting teachers and students in so many different settings and seeing for myself what fantastic partnerships these schools have developed.

Working closely with Josh and Stuart too was rewarding and it was nice being chauffeured about Sydney. We really covered a lot of miles!

Aspley Special School

My first stop in Brisbane was Aspley Special School where I met Chris Lassig, the Principal. What a dynamo he is. No wonder the school buzzes. He is a real hands-on Principal and his tireless efforts are responsible for the school being able to operate its recycling centre and the café so successfully.

I was shown around the recycling centre, where about 30 volunteers from the community come in each day to work, was given a tour of the café and the new verandah and taken to see the new dual cab ute that has been purchased with the Schools First award funding.

The students all have physical disabilities or learning difficulties but clearly love their work at the school. A very rewarding visit.

Maroochydore State School

I met Kevin Briggs and Julie Weir at Maroochydore State School. The school deals with the social and emotional issues of students and their families.

By the smiles on the faces of the children, I could see that the program is obviously working. Kevin knows every single one of them and works hard with many of the local organisations to do his best to make their time at school a positive and happy one.

Cherbourg State School

It was a long drive to Cherbourg State School but well worth it and I felt privileged to be invited into this indigenous community.

The new Principal, Jenni Graham, was pleased to see another member of the Schools First team visit so soon with Brooke and Charby recently visiting.

The Library was amazing and all of the books that have been produced by the children are on display.

I had a bit of time before the film teacher, Tania, was ready and I was invited down to the Ration Shed, a museum set up by the elders of the community where the students' books are on sale. I met Sandra, one of the women responsible for setting up the museum.

Back at the school, Tania was showing a group of Year 5 students how the next book will be filmed. Each book is filmed and put onto a DVD. They have won awards with some of them and Jenni gave me two DVDs to keep.

Thornbury High School in Melbourne has a website where schools can show their films, so I gave Jenni Paul Van Eden’s email address. Keep an eye out for these films - they are truly amazing and it is great that schools are able to share their ideas.

Wondai State School

Wondai State School is half an hour down the road from Cherbourg. Ruth Miller, the Principal, showed me around the school and the huge garden. They also have smaller gardens closer to the class rooms where students are able to come out at various times during the day.

I watched a Year 3 class dig, weed and water enthusiastically. We listened with straight faces to their serious discussions about how much water to use and when a weed is not a weed. Ruth campaigns vigorously in the local community for grants, funding and support and there is a festival happening in Wondai next week that originated at the school and is now part of the culture in the town.

Lucas Heights Community School

We seemed to be a long way out of Sydney but we finally made it to Lucas Heights. Julie Rogers had organised a welcoming party and there was a huge sign out the front of the school. We felt very important.

We were escorted to the science room and met three of the science students who are involved in the program. The girls spoke about the program and about how much they now like science – especially microbiology. All three of them are heading towards a scientific career.

The three girls and Julie joined us at the forum at Bankstown Sports Club on Wednesday night and spoke to the audience about what they have gained from the program being developed at Lucas Heights.

Robert Townson High School

We headed out to Raby to Robert Townson High School. Kim Chapman was full of praise for Schools First and could not thank us enough for the award funding. She introduced us to Cindy, the social worker they are now able to afford as a result of winning an award in 2009.

The school won their award for the welfare programs that operate in the school and the partnerships with many organisations, but it was their coffee shop that we were impressed by. Jan said there wasn’t room on the application to even mention this!

The school has a large number of students with special needs; there are some with cerebral palsy, some with learning difficulties and many deaf students. The café operates on Tuesdays and the students have their Life Skills classes there.

There were some very enthusiastic baristas and dish washers. We were served cappuccino and cake at the tables with parents, some teachers and a group of primary students who came to visit. There was a jewellery stall and other students playing guitars. It did not seem as if we were in a school at all!

William Clark College

William Clark College is a Christian school on the outskirts of Sydney. All of the Year 8 students complete two terms of service learning and we watched one class construct possum dreys and another class told us how their discussions with the local council were holding up their environmental program. We were surveyed by the students to discover what we know about possums. They are all engaged in various programs in the local community.

Northern Beaches Secondary College (Cromer Campus)

At the first forum in West Ryde, we met two representatives from the NSW Pacific Islander organisation who have started up homework programs in a number of schools. They are very keen to start up other programs in more schools because of the success they have had at Cromer Campus.

The homework program runs after school so we missed out on seeing it in action but we met the acting Principal who showed us around the Library and gave us an insight into the students and the program.

Josh, Stuart and I enjoyed Sydney, even though it seemed to rain all day. The forums were full each night and we were pleased to see people sharing ideas, passing around business cards and even organising meetings over dinner. All in all, a huge success.