Education Update - Nick Johnstone

EDUCATION UPDATE

with NICK JOHNSTONE

FROM BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGE

HOW PARENTS CAN SUPPORT THEIR CHILD’S LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

Starting early with literacy skill development is essential. The role of the parent is key in both the modelling of reading and the time spent with your child reading to and with them. This article will highlight some recent data in this area, some suggestions for parents and the positive impact of reading skills on academic achievement and school enjoyment. In recent years, digital literacy has improved dramatically with parents and their children, but regretfully basic literacy skills of children have decreased, with Australian Early Development Census showing that children in kindergarten are at most risk; the data shows that since 2018, 17.4% of children are now “developmentally at risk or vulnerable” as compared to 2018 when the data indicated only 15.6%. The data suggests a correlation between early literacy practices in care and at home. The good news is that it is never too late to start. For young children (1-4 years), nursery rhymes are especially helpful for language and early literacy development. Playing audiobooks or reading aloud at home will significantly increase the amount of language your child hears. Other tools include labelling objects in your home - chairs, doors, windows, and other everyday items - and referencing these words with the object. This can show the importance of language, reading, and writing. Help your child build background knowledge on a topic. Interaction is important, too - speaking with your children about everyday experiences, showing your child pictures, and telling them stories will improve their exposure to words and language. Ask your child’s preschool teacher what is happening in the classroom, and add value to your discussions with your child at home. Lastly, make a library visit part of your weekend routine - immerse them in stories, read to them often, and teach them to love books. Positive literacy experiences make the rest of their schooling experience more enjoyable - it is worth the investment in your time. For older children (4-12 years), play word games, talk about word meanings, and point out interesting or new words when reading together. Read together at night as part of the bedtime routine. Ask questions before, during, and after reading aloud. This can help your child focus attention on the ideas in the story. Before reading, look at the book cover and talk about what might happen in the story. During reading, ask what questions they have about the story. After reading, talk about what happened. Check for understanding and then talk about their ideas and summations. This is a wonderful opportunity to share a story with them about your childhood experiences. Children love hearing about “the olden days”. For teens (13-18), engage in conversations, offer a literacy-rich environment, and be a strong role model for reading. Talk about school, magazines, or current events. Ask them what they are reading and discuss the books. Have a lot of age-appropriate and grade-level reading material around your home. Model good literacy behaviour by reading regularly yourself. Many males gravitate towards information books or biographies. This should be encouraged but it is worth reading young adult fiction as well as this will expose them to social situations that they will encounter in their own lives as well as a variety of writing styles and authors that will support their own writing. Once again, the library is a great place to visit to browse and to discuss authors. City and school librarians are a wonderful resource often untapped by our modern society. It comes as no great surprise that multitudes of studies reveal significant positive relationships between children’s reading habits and student academic performance. Other studies also suggest that this relationship has a positive correlation with engagement and enjoyment at school for many children. So, whether striving for academic excellence, engagement with the world around you, or a break from ‘screen time’, head to the library or bookshop, or even to your bookshelf at home, and take some time to read today.

GUMBAYNGGIRR

G I I N G A N A

FREEDOM SCHOOL

Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School in Coffs Harbour opened its doors this year and is the first bilingual school of an Aboriginal language to be established in NSW.

We spoke to Clark Webb, acting Principal and CEO of Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation, all about the school and what their plans are moving forward into the future.

Hi Clark. Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School is now up and running, what is your role with the school?

Giinagay, I’m the CEO of Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation (BMNAC) which is the proprietor of Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School (GGFS). I’m also the Acting Principal of GGFS with a focus on Gumbaynggirr language teaching.

Can you tell us a bit about the concept for the school and what it’s all about?

Basically, the mainstream education system has been failing Aboriginal children for too long. Therefore, GGFS is all about viewing our culture as a strength and then utilising this strength to educate our children.

Every day our children now attend a school that respects and celebrates their culture and immerses them in Gumbaynggirr worldview through the teaching of language and connecting them with country, Elders and knowledgeable people.

Who has been involved in turning the idea for the school into a reality?

The development of our school really started before our lifetime. From the early 1900s many Gumbaynggirr Elders began recording language with linguists and researchers and this work continued throughout the 20th Century. We are of the opinion that these Elders had the foresight to record their language knowing that one day they’ll become really valuable.

In the 1980s a group of Elders became very distressed with the decline in the number of young people speaking their language and decided that action was needed. These Elders began pooling their pension so they could employ researchers to find the recordings of their Old People, record themselves and teach their language. This was the beginning of Muurrbay Language and Culture Cooperative who have since done amazing work including language teaching and the production of three versions of the Gumbaynggirr Dictionary and Dreaming Stories book.

Therefore, GGFS is a continuation of the hard work and passion of a number of Gumbaynggirr Elders over the last century.

GGFS is also the culmination of hard work in more recent times by BMNAC partners including Kulai Aboriginal Preschool (now a bilingual early childhood education centre), TAFE NSW (premises), Hanes and Paul Ramsay

Foundation whose partnership has allowed us to implement a unique staffing structure to support GGFS as a truly bilingual school.

As the proprietor of the school, BMNAC’s board and staff have been absolutely instrumental in the establishment of GGFS. It has been a massive undertaking, which would not be possible without a truck load of passion and expertise. And we look forward to continuing our work.

The Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation talk about ‘two paths strong’, can you explain this expression and what it means to those involved with the GGFS?

For a long, long time our Elders have impressed upon us the importance of being bularri muurlay nyanggan – two path strong. What they want is for our children to know and be proud of who they are as Aboriginal people and get the best possible education at the same time. Basically, Gumbaynggirr daari – strong in culture and strong in education.

And the equation is very simple: Goori children who are connected to their culture do well at school.

This is the thinking that drives GGFS.

How will you be incorporating Gumbaynggirr language and culture into

OUR GOAL

FOR OUR lessons? GRADUATES IS Gumbaynggirr THAT THEY WALK TALL WITH language is taught every day and weaved throughout all Key DIGNITY KNOWING Learning Areas (KLAs). THAT THEIR A lot of lessons CULTURE IS THEIR are conducted On POWER. Wajaarr (Country) which brings about deeper cultural understandings and relevance of KLAs. For example, when on country our children learn stories, the plant and animal species and sites associated with each story. They therefore are learning language, culture, geography, mathematics and science all at the same time.

What have the enrolments been like and what age groups can attend?

We are very humbled to have the trust of parents who have enrolled their children at our school, especially in 2022 as a school like GGFS has never been established in NSW before. It is therefore our responsibility to repay this faith by providing and nurturing the best learning environment possible and ensuring that, when they leave school, the world is our children’s oyster. In 2022 we are open to kindergarten to year 2. In 2023 we’ll add years 3 and 4. It is then our goal to continually grow our school by each stage every year to accommodate K-12 by 2030. We place a strong focus and emphasis on

CLARK WEBB

the engagement of parents, grandparents and carers in the education of their children and therefore require parents to learn Gumbaynggirr so they can continue their language journey with their children at home.

What are your plans and hopes for the school heading into the future?

It is our plan to build a purpose-built school that allows for enrolments from K-12 by 2030. At the same time we need to be training more language teachers and classroom teachers with the view to having the ability to deliver all KLA learning content in Gumbaynggirr language.

Our goal for our graduates is that they walk tall with dignity knowing that their culture is their power. They are highly proficient Gumbaynggirr speakers whose high quality education means that they have the skills and confidence to obtain any job or career they would like to pursue.

ESSENTIAL A R O M A S

KEY EMPLOYMENT

So, what is Essential Aromas Cleaning Services? Essential Aromas are a team of professional cleaners in the Coffs Harbour region and are committed to delivering the best cleaning services in the area. We set ourselves apart from other cleaning companies by taking our cleaning to the next level in efficiency and quality. We strive to bring you the best results possible, time and time again, down to the slightest out-of-the-way details. Rather than coming in and completing a general tidy-up, we focus on deep cleaning practices in an organised way to ensure every part of your home or business is always looking its finest. If you’re after domestic or commercial cleaning services, get in touch with our team today and make us your number one choice for your cleaning needs. Let’s talk about staff. I’m excited to talk about our staff, well I call them a team, call it clichéd but a team is a group of individuals working together to achieve their goal – and that’s just what we do at Essential Aromas, we achieve goals, and our team of 20 are some of the most dedicated and hardworking people I have had the pleasure to work alongside. At Essential Aromas we strongly believe in equal opportunity for all, this was demonstrated We caught up with Owner and Manager Mel from Essential Aromas Cleaning Services about her busy cleaning business.

when I first approached Key Employment, a Disability Employment Service around 3 years ago. We now have placed several amazing and talented people into our team as we have grown into a very successful business. We have a mixed group of ages and skillsets and every one of the team bring something unique, and I really think that’s why we all work so well together. I am proud that Essential Aromas provides opportunities for people with disability and believe every person should have access to the same employment opportunities in the local community.

What supports do Key Employment

provide? Key Employment consultant Matthew visits us regularly, and if there is ever an issue he is there to help. Sometimes when employing new staff there are some wrinkles to iron out, and Matt has supported several staff in that settling-in period. Whether it’s uniform costs or other supports, Matt and Key Employment have been a fundamental part of this process. Key Employment has also assisted us with some very generous wage subsidies to lower our business overheads, and as a small business, this is imperative to our continuous growth and success.

Would you consider hiring a person with disability through Key Employment again?

Come on, ask a harder question! Absolutely, 100%, Yes. Working with Matt and Key Employment has been natural, Matt understands the uniqueness of our business, he hasn’t just placed someone, he has been here to maintain regular contact, any issue big or small, he has been here to guide us through. I would personally recommend Key Employment to any local business owners out there looking to employ dedicated staff, just like we have. Just call Matt on (02) 6691 9999 and he will be happy to talk to you about the variety of services Key Employment offer.

Highlights of

Archie Simmonds

Congratulations to Archie Simmonds (9) who won gold at the NSW State Judo Championships in his division U55 seniors boys category. This is the second gold for Archie at State Judo competitions!

BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGE FACEBOOK

Harry Campbell

Harry Campbell from Bishop Druitt College did really well at the PSSA Primary Schools Sports Association. He was in 6 events and made the finals in all but 1 event. 11th in the 50m freestyle. 9th in the 200 Individual Medley. 8th in the 50m backstroke. 6th in the 100m freestyle. 3rd in the 50m butterfly. 1st in the all-age relay. Harry is off to Nationals in August.

Tehani Badke

What a great weekend at Warrumbungle Eventing Coonabarabran. Tehani Badke, Year 7 Bishop Druitt College Equestrian Member with her horse Dublin Lights consolidated their partnership with a win in the sub junior 60. Tehani is required to do a show jumping round, dressage test and cross country course in order to win the title. A huge congratulations Tehani on a successful weekend. On Saturday 9 April, Coffs Harbour Swim Club held its annual presentation day. This season saw 191 swimmers from the Coffs Coast participate, including 34 Bishop Druitt College students. Téo Eggeling (1), Jonah Donald (2), Archer Jordan (2), Markus Matthews (2), Indiana Eggeling (3), Evangeline Sutton (3), Stella Jephcott (4), Eden Campbell (4), Lachlan Zemaitis (4), Harry Campbell (6), Alannah Zemaitis (7), Taj Butcher (8), Riley Burgess (8), Toby Alford (9), and Nick Alford (11) all received trophies for their performance throughout the season. Major awards were received by Sofia Bravo (5) - Rookie of the Year, Nick Alford (11) - Spirit of Anzac Award, Indiana Eggeling (3) - Overall Female Pointscore Champion and Téo Eggeling (1) - Overall Male Pointscore Champion.

Coffs Harbour Swim Club

Harper McIntosh has been surfing since he was five years old and is part of the Sawtell Boardriders. He always performs well in local comps and is super passionate about surfing and having a good time with his mates at our beautiful local beaches.

focus_interview

HARPER McIntosh

Hey Harper, we hear you shred in the surf and are a familiar face on the beaches of Sawtell, but for those who don’t know you could you please introduce yourself?

I’m 12 years old and I surf Sawtell most days, mainly mornings with Dad before I go to school. I started surfing when I was 5 years old, Dad took me down all the time and pushed me onto waves at the island when I first started. Island is still one of my favourite breaks.

How and when did surfing go from a fun after school activity, to a sport you put all your time and energy into?

Surfing has and always will be fun for me, I try not to take it too seriously, but I do like to compete in all the comps around the area, which does get pretty competitive. I love going into the Sawtell Boardriders comps because all my mates are there and we like to have fun but also try and beat each other as well.

When you’re not in the water what do you enjoy doing with your time?

I love going fishing on the jetski with Dad. We go out ski fishing at Sawtell and down to Bundagen. We also go down to Mylestom and go skurfing and tubing behind the jetski, it’s just like surfing but you get pulled along by the ski. I also like to skate at the local skateparks with my mates.

What do you most enjoy about surfing?

I love surfing with my mates and having a laugh, we surf most mornings together and have so much fun.

Are you competing at the moment and how are you going in comps?

I took my age I am doing Sawtell group out last Boardriders every month year but didn’t quite which is my favourite get there this year. I comp to compete in. I got knocked out in think I am coming 2nd the Semi finals which I was happy with at the moment, the winner gets crowned at the end of the year and because there were gets a brand new board. some really good I went in the Barney surfers this year. Miller comp last month. I took my age group out last year but didn’t quite get there this year. I got knocked out in the Semi finals which I was happy with because there were some really good surfers this year.

You’re certainly dedicated and committed to your sport. What type of training is involved?

Sawtell Boardriders have made a group called the “Grom Academy”, we get filmed every Thursday morning so we can look at footage and look at things to work on. The Grom Academy also does cool training sessions for us like, boxing, stretching and strength workouts with Luke from Newbreed Fitness. Also every month the day before boardriders, Samba Man, a really cool surfing coach, comes and videos us for the day and works on our technique. Another cool thing we do with Pam, one of my mate’s mum, is controlled breathing in the pool... she helps us with our breath which helps us to be able to hold our breath if we get wiped out and get held down in big waves.

What is it like being a part of a team like Sawtell Boardriders?

Sawtell Boardriders is sooo good, we have so much fun every month. You get to hang with your mates and make new friends. Heaps of families have joined this year, so it’s going to be a really fun year!

Who is your inspiration in the surfing world?

Ethan Ewing, because when I was younger on a holiday at North Straddie where he is from, I got to surf with him and I loved his surfing. He rips… I hope he wins the world title this year.

What are your dreams for the future?

My dream is to surf forever. I would love to go overseas and be a surf guide on an island with pumping waves.

Thanks Harper.

NARU

S U R F

GATHERING

The Naru Surf Gathering was started in the 1990’s by Eric Mercy, and was reborn in 2017 by his children Amber and James who wanted to honour his memory and mark 20 years since his passing. We spoke to Amber about why this annual surf gathering is important to her and how she hopes it will benefit the community.

Hi Amber. Can you tell us about Naru Surf Gathering and how it all started?

Naru has been around since the 1990’s – Naru Surf Gathering was rekindled in 2017 to mark 20 years since my father Eric Mercy had passed away. My brother, James, and I wanted to do something to honour his memory. We were quite young when Dad passed so we did not have the capacity to run something like Naru. We really wanted to get the Community together to connect, enjoy the ocean and get some surfing in as well. We love to get everyone together for a family friendly event.

How long has it been running for?

This year will be our 6th Year of the Gathering, we unfortunately had to cancel the event a few days before we were scheduled to run in 2021 which was really disheartening. We’re really looking forward to getting everyone here on Gumbaynggirr Country this year to connect after a few years of being isolated in many ways. Naru is derived from the word Ngaarlu which means water in Gumbaynggirr, Dad (Eric) chose this name in the 1990’s. The logo we use is the original that

The Ocean can was drawn by Artist assist in creating a positive Jeremy ‘Mudjai’ Devitt but this year we also had a new logo drawn mindset and lifestyle up by Otis Carey that so it’s important for we will use alongside me to pass that on to the original for our other people that shirts and merchandise. might otherwise not After a bit of a break, get the opportunity. why did you decide

to bring it back?

We believe the Ocean is healing in so many ways, we wanted to a) get our Community out in the water together b) honour the memory of our Dad and shine a light on mental health awareness.

We wanted to a) get our Community out in the water together b) honour the memory of our Dad and shine a light on mental health awareness.

I personally know how much Surfing and the Ocean can assist in creating a positive mindset and lifestyle so it’s important for me to pass that on to other people that might otherwise not get the opportunity.

What are the events like on the day?

They’re typically a blur (haha) for our Naru Team. The day starts super early – before the sun rises – we have a bunch of amazing people who give their time to setting up the site. First Heats are usually out in the water at 7am on the dot. We have bacon and egg rolls cooking thanks to Woolworths, coffee brewing in the Nyanggan Gapi Coffee Van, jumping castles, Galambila/Ready Mob usually set up a tent for people to come do health checks and more. The whole site is usually buzzing with activity, kids playing footy on the beach, lots of action to watch in the water too. We usually wrap it up right before sunset and have our presentation right there on the beach where we hand out trophies and prizes to finalists.

Who typically attends the event and where does everyone come from?

We have people travel to the event from Western Australia and South Australia. It’s amazing to connect with everyone from all around the country. We have a variety of spectators on the beach and at the event too we get to meet and connect with so many people.

You’ve come up for an award recently, can you tell us about that?

We’re finalists at the Indigenous Governance Awards which is a part of Reconciliation Week/Reconciliation Australia. It’s a fantastic opportunity and we really look forward to the networking and connecting that we will get to do when we attend the Awards in Sydney in June. Fingers crossed for a good result but either way we are just happy to be finalists.

The Naru Gathering event raises funds for charity, where are the funds going this year?

We wanted to do a people’s choice this year, so we have 13YARN – the first national crisis support line for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping, Warrina Womens Refuge, and Naru Goori Groms running Community days here locally.

We have people What are your hopes travel to the event from Western for the future of the competition and where do you see it going? Australia and South We love the idea of Australia. It’s growth and expansion amazing to connect – we really value the with everyone from ability to connect on a all around the deeper level at our event country. with everyone. We hope to continue to grow and support the next generation of Indigenous Surfers that will hopefully use the Ocean as a source of wellbeing, health and happiness.

light Gleams of

When he fled his home in Burundi, a small country in central Africa, Dieudonne (Dious) Ininahazwe was just a young boy of seven. Civil war drove his family to the neighbouring country of Tanzania, where they lived in a refugee camp for 13 years. After being granted a humanitarian visa, Dious arrived in Coffs Harbour to begin a new life.

The first years in his new home were challenging. “Although we felt physically safe, that we didn’t have to worry about war or being attacked and things like that, we didn’t really have any connection or understanding of where we were. What life should look like at that stage was very confusing. I had a lot of difficulties because I didn’t speak English and we had no connections,” he recalls.

“But Australia has some good people and we made friends. I studied an English program at a community college before redoing my final high school years. It was quite embarrassing to say the least, as I was 21 going into Year 11, but I didn’t care too much because I had a goal to build myself up and give myself a second chance,” Dious said.

Dious continued to upskill. First he worked in schools as a support teacher for children from diverse backgrounds, and then he moved into community work to support refugees in Coffs Harbour.

“Working as a support teacher, I saw the way refugee kids are treated in schools was very different. They may initially have language difficulties so they were given easier lessons or exercises to do, but rather than motivating them to work harder, they would just use it as an excuse not to try. What they needed was to be shown the steps to get to where the other kids were.

“I felt the support I could offer in this situation was not adequate. So I made an appointment with a career adviser at Southern Cross and spoke to them about what I wanted to do. This was the first time I had ever heard about psychology,” he said.

Dious enrolled in a Bachelor of Psychological Science and Honours year at Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour campus. It proved to be a lifechanging experience as he developed the skills to work with complex cases and began the pathway to registration as a clinical psychologist. “The psychology team at Southern Cross University was fantastic because even as different and unique as I was, I always felt included, respected and accepted. I remember many times having a coffee with my lecturer. It’s quite a unique experience to

I remember many times having a coffee with my lecturer. It’s quite a unique experience to know a lecturer can actually spare a minute just to sit with you and talk.

know a lecturer can actually spare a minute just to sit with you and talk,” Dious said.

“It was also lovely being at a small university because the class sizes are small, so there is always time to ask questions and get support. Every teacher I interacted with had the aspiration of wanting me to succeed, which made all the difference.”

“Psychology is one of those disciplines that’s a lifelong learning and that’s the humbling part of it. The more you know, or you learn, the more you realise there is to learn.”

Dious now works as a therapeutic specialist for Life Without Barriers, providing psychological intervention for children in care and psychosocial education for their carers.

He visits families in their homes and works with them to provide a safe and comfortable space for children in the foster care system.

“The traditional way of doing therapy, where the child is dropped off at your office for their appointment is not as effective as actually working with the whole family in the home as a way of improving the quality of life for that young person. Because the responsibility doesn’t just sit with the child to be the one to grow and change,” Dious said.

“It’s a very challenging job, but extremely rewarding. I feel really privileged to be able to work directly with kids, but at the same time also influence their environment by working with their carer. I try to develop their understanding of the child’s background and how their experience of neglect and abuse may have affected their capacity to regulate emotions, or to communicate their needs in a healthy manner. This helps the carer to understand and respond to the child

I feel really privileged to be able to work directly with kids, but at the same time also influence positively rather than reactively,” he said. their environment “I think my background has given me by working with tremendous resilience, to understand that their carer. yes, you’re going to face difficulties, but it’s a problem-solving process. No matter how big the problem is, you just need to stick with it. Like climbing a mountain, you don’t just jump to the top, you take one step at a time. The important thing is not to give up. “The most rewarding part of the job is when I can see there is a positive trend in my client’s life, where there are those gleams of light and that young person is starting to have hope for a better future.” Learn more about studying psychological science at Southern Cross University: https:// www.scu.edu.au/study-at-scu/health/ psychological-science/