COLLIE RIVER VALLEY BULLETIN, MARCH 16, 2023 5
Learning Club helping local students achieve
WILLING HELPERS: Premier Coal’s Steve Plaskett, Learning Club co-ordinator Peg Todhunter, Marie Hunter and Michael Francis are ready for a session at The Smith Family Learning Club educational support program.
PREMIER Coal employees have been volunteering their time and skills to help students participating in the Learning Club at Wilson Park Primary School. Learning Club, which is run by The Smith Family, is an educational support program run weekly at the school. It aims to enhance students’ learning and development skills by getting access to volunteer tutors for one-on-one learning support outside of school. Students work through homework and learning blocks. Learning for Life Collie and Bunbury program co-ordinator Diane Blount said offering learning opportunities outside of school hours can positively influence educational and personal outcomes. “Disadvantaged students can miss out on out of school programs as they are often too costly for families with limited financial means,” she said. “It’s fantastic to see how much the
students gain from these sessions as well as the volunteers. “We all have the common goal of helping children get the most out of their education and create a better future.” Mrs Blount said the Premier Coal team’s support was most appreciated. Learning Club is for both primary and secondary school students for the development of academic skills, such as homework, numeracy, and literacy. Premier Coal operations manager Braedon Gaske was more than happy for his team to lend a hand. “Ensuring students in our community get the best education they can is one of our key priorities as a large employer in Collie,” he said. “We have been volunteering at the Learning Club for many years and recognise the life-changing opportunity they provide to students. “We are thrilled to help the future leaders in our community.”
AMAROO Primary School is experiencing its highest attendance levels in five years. As of Monday, overall school attendance is at 92.4 percent, just over the state government expectation of 90 percent. Principal Ben Rätz said the school has
grams at the school, such as structured play. “Many students find school a lot more 'fun' and engaging than it has been in the past, thus boosting attendance,” he said. “Secondly we have strengthened our processes to follow up students who are
absent from school, increasing accountability for parents and communication between home and the school.” He added that in the past five years, three years had been heavily affected by COVID-19. “Some of the spikes and dips need to be read with that in mind,” he said.
Attendance up at Amaroo not managed to get past 89 per cent “for many years”. “Authorised attendance is at 87 percent and 70.3 per cent of students are attending 90 per cent of the time or more,” he said. Mr Rätz said he attributes the great start to the year to engagement pro-
312L TOP MOUNT REFRIGERATOR
375L TOP MOUNT REFRIGERATOR
503L TOP MOUNT REFRIGERATOR
