Access keys | Skip to primary navigation | Skip to secondary navigation | Skip to content | Skip to footer |

• Home
• Students
• Parents and carers
• International students
• Schools and educators
• School holidays
• Directories
• Jobs
• About us

• Leadership
• Bandscales
• Cultural Awareness
  • The Local Story
  • It's Everyone's Business
  • The Big Picture
• Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools (EATSIPS)
  • What is EATSIPS?
  • Professional Development
  • Success Stories
    • Woodridge State High School Story
    • Upper Coomera State College Story
    • The Harristown Story
    • Brisbane School Of Distance Education Story
  • Resources

Woodridge State High School Story

• The Context
• Key People
• The Approach
• The Future

The Context

• Woodridge State High School is located in the suburb of Woodridge in Logan City. The school has 820 students 77 of them identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. The school itself has many diverse cultures which is a clear reflection of the diversity of the local community.
• There are 80 Staff members at the school. There are 2 Aboriginal ITAS tutors, one Torres Strait Island ITAS tutor, two non-indigenous ITAS Tutor as well as one Aboriginal teacher aide. There are three Aboriginal teachers and an Aboriginal Community Education Councillor (CEC).

The school is currently participating in Five different programs to help our Indigenous students.

• The ITAS Program is federally funded through the Department of Education Science and Training. [Monday to Friday during school hours]
• The Leroy Loggins Program running from the beginning of 2007 funded by the Sporting Chance Program by the federal government. [Once a week after school]
• The Horticultural Program/Indigenous Native Plants. [Term 2 until the end of the year, one day a week]
• The Bulkairi Kazil homework/cultural studies and sports program(Bulkairi is Bundjalung language meaning Coming together, Kazil is Western Islands language meaning piccaninnies) The schools cultural Touch team Bulkairi Kazil [formerly known as Bulkairi Jarjums] trains and plays throughout the whole year culminating in a representative team that is selected on attendance, commitment, skills and
• Trad Games is written into the PE curriculum across all year levels and a 6 week introductory course is presented to all refugee students in all year levels.

^ Top of page

Key People

1 Principal, 1 Community Education Counsellor, 1 Teacher Aide, 3 Aboriginal ITAS tutors, 1 Torres Strait Islander ITAS tutor and 2 Non-indigenous ITAS tutors, Leroy Loggins, 3 Aboriginal Teachers, 1 Homework centre co-ordinator, 1 Horticultural/Special Education Teacher, 1 Music teacher, 2 Trad Games facilitators.

ITAS program
Faith Green (CEC), Justin Green (Teacher Aide), ITAS tutor), Pamela Namok (ITAS tutor), Jenice Naden (ITAS tutor), Michael Orcher (ITAS Tutor), Shae Robinson (ITAS Tutor), and Jennifer Waters (ITAS Tutor).

Leroy Loggins Program
John Norfolk (Acting Principal), Faith Green CEC, Mark Kennedy (PE, SOSE Teacher), Waylon Orcher (Past student) acts as assistant facilitator, Justin Green (Teacher Aide), Pamela Namok (ITAS tutor, Homework centre co-ordinator), Jenice Naden (ITAS tutor), Michael Orcher (ITAS tutor, past student).

Horticultural Program/Indigenous Native Plants
Jackie Haywood (SEU teacher and Horticultural teacher), Faith Green (CEC)

The Bulkairi Kazil homework/cultural studies and sports program
Mark Kennedy (Teacher), Justin Green (Teacher Aide, ITAS tutor), Pamela Namok (ITAS tutor), Jenice Naden (ITAS tutor), Michael Orcher (ITAS Tutor, Mentor), Shae Robinson (ITAS Tutor), and Jennifer Waters (ITAS Tutor)

Trad Games
Will Audley (Music teacher, Trad games facilitator), Justin Green (Teacher Aide, Trad games facilitator).

^ Top of page

The Approach

The HOD'S meet with the CEC twice a term to go over Indigenous perspectives and where and how they can be embedded within their KLA's.

Teachers' schedule meetings four times a term with the CEC to go over their unit overviews and look at how those embedded perspectives can be best informed presented and taught.

The process at the beginning of 2006 was to start building relationships throughout the year between the teachers and the students. We looked at what type of events and programs that would help our students and teachers interact more with each other and start building those relationships from there. Teachers would be invited to our regular meetings with our Aboriginal staff and Aboriginal students and then from there they became involved in our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school camps. On a wider school community basis we began planning large scale events throughout the year, such as a Reconciliation Night, Staff and students lunchtime activities and one off touch footy challenges between local police, community and school students. In 2006 funding was available to bring on board two ITAS tutors that would assist our students in their studies.

The focus

What are your school's focus and the project aims? What models did you use?

The school's main focus was to help students improve their grades and attendance. The ITAS program and the Leroy Loggins Program were about providing the students with training, and skills to enable them to establish a strong support base for each other emotionally, socially and culturally.

ITAS Tutoring:

• Tutoring individual students in the subjects that they are struggling in the most.
• Prevents students falling behind in their school work
• Preventing the students becoming too overwhelmed with school.
• Encourage students to come to school where they know there is help available.
• Assisting students to excel in subjects they are confident in and building on their self awareness and self esteem.

Leroy Loggins Basketball Academy:

• Fun activities
• Team building
• Assistance with school work
• Increase school attendance
• Healthy Choice Workshops

Crossing Cultures Workshop (Hidden History)

• PD for the teachers and IEW
• Pupil Free day Presentation for all staff at Woodridge SHS
• Year 8 students Term 1 workshops

Trad games:

• Behaviour management
• Teamwork/Co-operation
• Self discipline

The Results

Working together consistently as a team with Indigenous and Non-Indigenous educators, Elders, students and community has contributed to the success of all our projects and programmes.

The ongoing and inclusive consultation with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations has been an important key point in helping to implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives within the whole school context and within our curriculum planning. The teachers see our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities' involvement as an important and crucial part in the facilitation of their knowledge's within the classroom settings. Woodridge State High has an on-going commitment to improving all our students and staffs understandings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples past, present and future. One of the keys to our ongoing success is the human resource factor and the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff that are currently employed at the school.

Quotes:

Shae Robinson - "The embedding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in schools does work when you work together as a whole team and then you see the results and how it has an effect on all involved".

^ Top of page

The Future

It is very sustainable when you have the key people involved like; the Elders, Aboriginal and Torres Islander community members, Non Indigenous students and staff. We intend to keep doing what is best in terms of consistency and that for all involved having a positive and happy attitude in delivering our shared history well into the future

^ Top of page

Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy | Access keys | Other languages

© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2008.

Queensland Government