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Remote Schools strategy has come to Cherbourg
by Marcus Priaulx 11 May 2014
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large group of local people have been hired by Cherbourg State School to boost its children’s attendance. First cabs off the rank are teacher aides Allirra Fisher and Lesley Bell and Student Attendance Officers (SAOs) Shantelle Georgetown, Alex Speedy, Corey Sullivan, Keith Walsh, Kathleen Combo and Dean O’Chin. Their roles will include: • Working with parents and carers to get children to school; • Helping with the school bus as well as other fun ways of getting to school; • Assisting classroom teachers with roll call; • Making a daily check on children not attending school; • Visiting homes of children not attending school and places where children “hang out”; • Providing information to parents about their children’s progress; • Supporting parents to identify what assistance is needed to get children to school and where to access
Newly appointed Student Attendance Officers (SAOs) Shantelle Arnold and Alex Speedy love helping children learn. They are pictured with Tahtiyanah Colonel-Fisher, 5, and Rosie Sullivan, 5, at the front and back, Lillian Davidson-Murray, 7, La-Keitha Fisher, 7, Jakira Davidson, 7 and Miajyn Hegarty, 7.
help; • Working with other services in the community so families are getting the help they may need to improve their children’s school attendance; • Liaising with local business such as shops and cafes; • Helping to promote the importance of regular school attendance. The school attendance team will work with the Barambah Parental and Community Engagement Programme (PaCE) and other
organisations to ensure everyone is working together to improve school attendance in Cherbourg. The initiative was formed after Cherbourg State School was given funding and direction as part of the Federal Government’s national Remote Schools Attendance Strategy. The next PaCE Matters will give greater detail on Cherbourg State School’s invigorated campaign to involve more local people with the teaching of the town’s children.
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