EDUCATION

Students given ‘golden’ opportunity

Daniel Shirkie

Home Hill State Primary School celebrates NAIDOC week

Marina Trajkovich

STUDENTS from Home Hill State Primary school fell to hushed silence this week as Jim Gaston, Birri Gubba Juru elder, opened NAIDOC week festivities with a traditional smoking ceremony.

The ceremony and Welcome to Country were followed by a performance by the Juru dancers and activities focused on celebrating and showcasing aspects of local indigenous culture.

Local leaders from the region’s varied Indigenous, and Torres Strait Islander communities led workshops, as groups of students learnt about things from traditional weaving to creating pendants and jewellery making, boomerang throwing and participated in dancing workshops.

There was traditional storytelling and the opportunity to engage with local Indigenous history as part of NAIDOC celebrations, led annually by the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.

Birri Gubba Juru elder James Gaston, who also works with Home Hill State Primary School as part of their ‘adopt a ranger’ program through the Gudjuda Reference Group, says he’s always looking to share indigenous customs and culture.

The smoking ceremony he performed was passed down to him by his own elders in Bowen, used to cleanse an area of bad spirits by burning native plants.

“Every day is NAIDOC to me, and every day is reconciliation to me. A lot of what we do is education in schools like with the smoking ceremony,” says James.

Lynette Zaro, a Burdekin local, shared her Murray Island and Torres Strait Islander heritage with the students.

“The activity I’m doing is colouring in the Torres Strait flag, and I can explain what the colours of the flag stand for.

“I’m telling them about the different animals and our totems. We have eight tribes back in the island, and everybody has a different totem.”

“It’s about sharing with the students where we come from.” A COMBINED cohort of year nine students from Ayr and Home Hill State High Schools have ‘gone for gold’ at a Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy workshop.

Held on June 16, the ‘Breakers.Bots.Build’ workshop invited over 30 students from the two schools to test themselves designing mechanics and using robotics to learn about mining practices with the QMEA, an education focused subsidiary of the Queensland Resources Council.

QRC’s Director of Skills, Education and Diversity Katrina-Lee Jones said students were given a chance to test their problem solving skills as well as find out about intriguing technology.

“Students learned the importance of teamwork, communication and problem solving as well as discovered the technological uses of gold in electronics and medicine,” Ms Jones said.

First hand advice from Mount Carlton mining representatives about the careers and job paths available in the resources sector was also supplied to the students during the workshop, with Ayr State High School Principal Craig Whittred welcoming the focus on science and technology.

“It’s important for students in our regional areas to experience how exciting STEM can be and I know our students enjoy engaging with local industry representatives who share their experiences and mentor the students,” Mr Whittred said.

A second group of twenty students from the same schools were also given a chance to sharpen up their abilities on the job with a workshop aimed at year 11 and 12 students that ran concurrently across June 15 - 17.

With help from industry members from Evolution mining, the students worked together to put theory into practice and develop and build miniature vehicles with functioning headlights, stop lights, indicators and emergency lights.

Principal Wicks: A passion for teaching & sport

Marina Trajkovich

PRINCIPAL of East Ayr State School, Chris Wicks, remembers the first time his P.E. teacher congratulated him at a cross-country carnival and the feeling of admiration that went with it.

This seemingly small occasion sparked what would become a lifelong passion for the then year two student that would carry forward and lead to a dynamic career in teaching.

“For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a school teacher and, in particular, a physical education teacher,” says Chris.

“I can remember being in year two, and my physical education teacher patted me on the back and said ‘well done.’ and I just felt ten foot tall and bulletproof. This is a job where you can make other people feel like that,” he says.

He talks about his various positions between cheering on students at the school’s athletics carnival, dressed in blue to support his house team.

It’s the community-focused events and opportunity to connect with students he loves most about his job.

Initially from Cairns, Chris pursued a career in education, getting his start as a P.E. teacher at Kirwan State School in Townsville, where he worked for ten years.

He’s worked as a curriculum adviser in the state’s regional office overseeing 108 schools in North Queensland and has lived on Palm Island as the head of the state school’s senior campus. The opportunity to become principal of East Ayr came in 2017.

“I’ve always been drawn to organising, leading, and it’s just something that I’ve always done,” says Chris.

“Sometimes in secondary school, teachers aren’t the coolest people there, but in the primary world, the kids just want to know you. They want to relate to you and tell you what they’ve been up to.

“They work really hard for you, and there’s just this magic in a primary school environment that makes making connections so easy.

He compares the school to a farm, where he’s shaping young minds and watching his students grow, providing the opportunities and environment to do so while ensuring a school is always a welcoming place for everyone.

And he’s watched his kids, in year two and three, learn and grow too.

“I’m so excited and proud that they get to be at my school. I think some days they’d be very proud of their dad, and other days they find it highly embarrassing,” says Chris.

When Chris isn’t leading school activities or assisting students, he’s coaching the Burdekin Panthers on the soccer field.

He says his passion for the community doubles in his spare time, and you’ll often find him volunteering with the life-saving surf club, patrolling Alva Beach and helping with the Nippers or spending time with his family.

“Soccer has always been my thing, and athletics and sort of sports of all kinds was a big part of life growing up.

“I really value contribution to the community. It’s an area of my life where people genuinely appreciate your efforts. You get that at the soccer club, and a lot of passion and energy goes into that as well. The weeks are very busy but very rewarding.”

Maidavale State School set to mark 110th anniversary

A new sensory garden and mural will both be unveiled

Daniel Shirkie

MAIDAVALE State School Principal Damien Pressley is eager to wind back the clock and celebrate a history that stretches back to 1910.

The school will celebrate its founding, and every one of the eleven decades in between then and now, at an upcoming celebration set to take place next month.

The school will come together with students past and present at an event held on July 25.

“There’ll be a lot of fun and games and a sausage sizzle for the kids and everyone to enjoy,” Mr Pressley said.

“We’ll also be inviting a lot of former students and staff and volunteers.”

However, some of the actions being undertaken to mark the occasion have taken on new significance, with a centenary mural set to be redecorated and a charitable gift from the Joyful Foundation set to be officially unveiled.

The mural, which was painted to mark the 100 year anniversary in 2010, was created by a former teacher in honour of the school’s history.

“The painting was done by a former teacher, at the time she was teaching and was quite passionate about her arts. She came up with this fantastic idea for the mural. It really pops out of the wall,” Mr Pressley said.

“It’ll be nice to see it redone.”

In service of the mural, the school will be digging through old photos and news clippings that were collected on the centenary in order to place them upon the mural’s ‘timeline’.

“All the spaces on the mural denote a decade, and we’ll decorate each one with photos from years past,” Mr Pressley said.

While the school couldn’t mark the 110 year anniversary last year due to COVID, a gift received from the Joyful Foundation in that time has taken on new life, with a ‘buddy bench’ set to be officially unveiled and form part of a new sensory garden area.

“The bench came courtesy of the Joyful Place, it’s named in honour of a lady Joy Donnellan, she was a very close friend of mine,” Mr Pressley said.

“We have her father coming down, and he’s bringing some of his people from the Joyful charity and there’ll be an unveiling of our own Joyful Place.”

Mrs Donnellan’s father will be on hand to unveil the bench, and will also be marking his 88th birthday alongside the school.

CONNECT NOW:

If you’re a former student, teacher or volunteer and interested in attending the 110 year celebration, please RSVP to Maidavale State School via e-mail at principal@maidavaless. eq.edu.au or by calling 4783 1105.