5 minute read
TSS & Musgrave Hill State School
THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL
MUSGRAVE HILL STATE SCHOOL
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Mrs Frederika Hopwood
Finance and Payroll Officer and Round Square CoordinatorMusgrave
It all started in December 2015, Musgrave Hill State School (MHSS) were here at TSS and we assisted them with the planning and delivery of their school Learn to Swim program. Janice Cole (TSS Swimming) was telling me what a lovely group of students they were. They were so enthusiastic, actively engaging and so thankful for the opportunity to have their lessons at TSS. Particularly for the children with learning difficulties, it gave them the opportunity to shine, and the academic staff attending with them from MHSS had the chance to share in this wonderful sense of achievement.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding MHSS was unable to provide the Learn to Swim programme to all of its students. They could only offer it to the students of Prep to Year 2.
Walking back to my office, I thought there must be something our community can do to assist. I discussed it with my manager, Catherine Pini, and then with Deputy Headmaster, Andy Hawkins, their response was “run with it”.
With the support of the Round Square team and all our boys and staff, we started using our Senior Swimming Carnival BBQ and Free Dress Day as fundraising days to support the Year 3 children to have lessons. The Prep School has also provided us with donations to assist in achieving the total required. We are now also funding Year 4, and by 2020 we aim to fund Years 3-6. It just proves what can be achieved when an amazing community like TSS gets behind a worthwhile project.
Term Three, 2018 saw the next stage in our community involvement during IDEALS Week. A terrific group of our boys assisted at Musgrave State School with reading in class, and building and maintenance work in the grounds. The impact the boys made was impressive – “ their behaviour, enthusiasm, manners and their ability to jump right in and offer assistance was fantastic to witness. Our kids adored them and loved every minute that they were here. The lunchtimes proved especially popular as the boys ventured out onto our oval for several games of soccer! Speaking on behalf of all our staff, we would very much like to thank them for their time and efforts during this week. We would have them back in a heartbeat” said Katie Halsall MHSS.
During this time, our very own Mr Fergus Trevethan (TSS academic staff) was appointed the Manager of The Smith Family Homework Help programme at MHSS. Fergus quickly recruited Ms Leanne Zauner and Mr Lindsay Close (TSS Academic Staff) to assist, each volunteering their time every Wednesday morning before school.
After meeting with the MHSS Headmaster, an area of need identified was a Before School Sports/Agility Program, to encourage identified students to step out of their comfort zone, to help build their confidence and develop physical skills.
Griffith University Sports Science student and TSS Old Boy Ethan Cole volunteered to plan and deliver this programme, assisted by fellow Sports Science student Michaela Chapman. Developing a positive, supportive sense of team through team building exercises was a crucial first step for this programme. Initially focusing on students who actively avoided HPE classes, or who were facing challenges in a social environment, the change we saw in these children was evident in their comments: “It’s nearly Wednesday Miss Halsall, I can’t wait till Wednesday!” “(DM) came to your sessions last year and was begging to come again, his little brother (BM) will be coming this time too!”
The waitlist for the programme grew quickly and the MHSS academic staff remark on how well the children are engaging in the classroom throughout the day as well. To see the developing self-belief in these students simply transform the way they interact and engage each week is inspiring, working with a new group of students each term, the programme has been so successful it has evolved to now work with some of the most athletically talented children at MHSS extending their sport specific athleticism, their ability to review, set goals, reflect, evaluate change and actively apply new skills. They each have an individualised programme.
A technology upgrade at TSS in Term One, 2019, saw an opportunity for MHSS to benefit. The smartboards that would have been disposed of have been put to great use at MHSS, an effective resource they would not have had funding for. Our IT Manager (Mr Richard Humphreys) assisted with the set up.
An exciting new development and leadership activity for TSS boys in Term Two, 2019, has seen the start of the
Big Brother programme. A student mentor partnership, directed by Keith Fennell, between our Senior boys and the Year 4 MHSS students. We have a keen team of academic staff led by Mr Sam Huckstep, working with the TSS boys, teaching them how to use interpersonal skills to build rapport, problem solve and have confidence to engage with MHSS students they do not know. We have been very impressed with how positively the boys have approached this and see great benefits from being involved. The feedback from MHSS has been so positive; “ They simply had ‘the best’ day and can’t thank you enough for the offer of these sessions”.
This is such an exciting and inspiring community relationship to be a part of, it is constantly evolving, involves students and staff from every part of our School (Prep, Senior, Corporate, Academic and Sports) with both TSS and MHSS benefiting. How fortunate are we, that we can offer such an invaluable experience to our TSS boys, an opportunity to apply the values they learn at TSS in a meaningful way, to benefit our wider community.
OLD BOYS’ WEEKEND
