Cape York Girl Academy
growing up strong in body, mind, culture and spirit The Cape York Girl Academy supports Indigenous girls to re-engage with, and complete their education by attaining either a Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) or a Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement (QCIA) award. Teenage pregnancy is one of the most common reasons for Cape York girls dropping out of school. Through yarning circles and community consultations, Cape York women asked for a place for girls to finish their schooling, to gain work skills and qualifications, and to grow themselves and their children as future family role models. Girl Academy is Australia’s first boarding school designed for young mothers and their babies, and for girls who have been chronically disengaged from their education. Mothers and babies live together and learn together. Non-mothering students also live and learn at the Girl Academy. All students are supported by caring staff and surrounded by friends and visiting family. Girl Academy is a healing community that nurtures and supports effective and confident mothers, safe and happy children, and young Indigenous women through opportunities for growth, a sense of belonging, and a space to find their voices.
ENROLMENT AND ATTENDANCE TOTAL STUDENTS
22 students have attended Girl Academy
at some point between January–June. At the end of Term 2,
20
students were
enrolled. Girl Academy students come from a range of locations across Cape York, the Torres Strait Islands, Cairns and surrounds, other parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory.
ATTENDANCE HISTORIES
CURRENT ATTENDANCE
Students who typically attend Girl Academy have very poor attendance histories prior to coming to the school. This is true
Over Semester 1, our students have achieved
for the majority of the 22 students who attended this semester.
an average 86% attendance rate. For most of our students, this is a significant move towards reengaging with school after prolonged periods of chronic disengagement. This attendance rate is promising given that most of Semester 1 was spent learning from home—showing a continued commitment to their studies.
HOW DOES GIRL ACADEMY SUPPORT STUDENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN TO LEARN AND GROW? Girl Academy embedded a Social and Emotional Learning program within the school’s academic offering with the aim of nurturing the development of the whole human being. Girl Academy also employs specialist teachers who are responsible for delivering our wellbeing programs. This integrated approach weaves together the following strands of student experience through both the junior and senior years: • Morning Circle (Dadirri1), Culture Circle, Meditative Yoga, Drumming, Music Songlines, Creative Drama, Life Skills, and Sport Activities for junior and senior students. • Junior academic courses: English, Mathematics, History and Social Science (HASS), Science, Technology, Visual Arts and Health and Physical Education (HPE). • Senior academic QCE and Vocational Education and Training courses: English, Mathematics, Visual Arts, Hospitality, Sport and Recreation, Career Education, short course in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages, Certificate II and III courses, and the Duke of Edinburgh International Award (Bronze level). INTENSIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
All students undertake individual, tailored learning plans based on approved Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) syllabi and the Australian Curriculum. All subjects are delivered on site by dedicated Teachers and Teacher Aides. Vocational courses are also available through external providers. Students are, depending on their aptitude and aspirations, working towards either a QCE or QCIA.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY HEALTH AND WELLBEING SUPPORT FOR MUMS AND BABIES
Students and their babies participate in a multidisciplinary health and wellbeing support program to ensure they are happy, healthy and ready to learn. Girl Academy has a dedicated Childcare worker at the school who provides early learning support for the babies while the students attend and engage with their school lessons.
SAFE AND SECURE BOARDING Students and their children live on campus in safe and secure boarding accommodation, supported 24 hours-a-day by our Boarding Coordinator and staff. Our Boarding staff organise activities for the girls outside of class time. In Semester 1, our students were only just settling into the new school year when our ability to conduct excursions was limited by COVID-19 restrictions. Some of our stand-out activities over the years have included excursions to the Cairns Show, Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, and field trips to beaches, markets, and sporting activities.
In March, as remote communities were about to go under strict lockdowns under the Biosecurity Act we implemented a Flexible Learning approach. Our focus during this period was keeping our students healthy and engaged in their education. 1 Dadirri is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness. The word, concept and spiritual practice is from the Ngan’gikurunggurr and Ngen’giwumirri languages of the Aboriginal peoples of the Daly River region, Northern Territory.
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