School: Sapphire Coast Anglican College, Pambula Campus
Partner: Mariner Park Retirement Centre (Anglicare)
Located on the far south coast of NSW in a bush setting, Sapphire Coast Anglican College is geographically isolated from any major city or town centre and is part of the National Government’s Country Areas Program. The school has a current enrolment of 70 students in four classes spanning Kindergarten to Grade 6.
Staff had observed that with parents in the area increasingly working longer hours and having less time to parent their children, students were developing lower social and language skills than expected and spending more time with their peers than with their parents. This had led to children developing negative social behaviours and an expectation that they would not have to give themselves in the service of others.
In wanting to address such behavioural issues, Sapphire Coast Anglican College found a willing partner in Mariner Park Retirement Centre, which had its own needs to address. The centre has found that elderly residents are no longer accessing quality time with family or friends as often as desired, with family often busy with their own lives or living too far away. It was suggested by the centre that meaningful visits from schools would improve the self-esteem of residents and their quality of life through mental stimulation, love and respect.
In early 2008, school staff met with representatives from the retirement centre to establish meaningful and authentic ways to work together. The program to date has involved sharing stories and schoolwork between the Centre residents and school children, as well as presenting performances and song, giving of gifts and even a visit to the school by one partner organisation. This has led to positive responses from the children and elderly residents alike, with both benefiting from the encouraging and stimulating relationship.
Through these efforts, it is expected that students will be more open to giving themselves and their time in the service of others, and will open their eyes to the wealth of experiences the elderly residents have to offer. Students have been fascinated by the stories and historical aspects of the lives the Centre residents have been willing to share, and gained valuable understanding, leadership skills and social skills through the interactions.
Parents are kept informed of what is happening within the partnership via a newsletter as well as letters sent home to parents, and are always welcome to accompany children on the visits. A ‘Grand Friends Day’ was also held at the school, which was very successful and further underlined the community spirit and positive tone achieved by the project.
The major stumbling block to further development of the program has been lack of funds and the award money available through the Schools First Award will go a long way to further enhancing the positive steps made by this community-minded program.
