Great start to the school year
The Shire of Manjimup is proud to again team with Manjimup Mitre 10 & Retravision to provide resources for underprivileged children in the region allowing them to start school with the basic necessities to help them get the most out of their education, through the "Great Start School Packs" initiative.
Resources for the school packs were sourced by Manjimup Mitre 10 & Retravision through its suppliers Kleenheat Gas, Dulux and Taubmans and included a backpack, lunch box, drink bottle, ruler, pencil case, pencils and a note book. Shire President Paul Omodei said that these are simple but essential provisions. "The start of the school year is often a stressful time for children and they need to be able to settle into their routine without feeling "different" from the other kids. The program provides them with the tools they need to make and equal start and hopefully prevent them from disengaging."
Marlene Butler, Manager of Family Services at Accordwest commented that "AccordWest's staff from the Manjimup Children and Parenting Support Service were able to distribute the 'Great Start' school packs to a number of families. Getting kids to school in the new year can be a costly exercise for parents, so the packs were a great help and were received with delight by the children. Thank you so much to the generous donors and the Shire for making this help available."
The program which initiated in 2015 was open across the entire Shire district, whereby families or children were referred to the Shire of Manjimup by organisations that assist those in need such as the local Churches, Relationships Australia, Anglicare, Manjimup Combined Churches Emergency Relief, and in some cases, by local schools. All referrals were confidential and a representative of each organisation collected the packs from the Shire of Manjimup prior to the start of the school year so that the students had their supplies in time to commence on the first day of term one. "The process was kept discrete because it is about giving kids an equal start, not distinguishing them from the other kids," explained Cr Omodei.
Research shows that disadvantaged students are on average two-three years behind in reading and maths by the time they are 15 years old. It also shows that the reading gap between the lowest and the highest socio-economic status students is equivalent to almost three years of schooling.1 "The name of the program says it all - the hope is that though these children and their families are experiencing some type of disadvantage, they will stay on the path to active participation in their education so they can gain the same out of their schooling as their classmates and reach their full potential," said Cr Omodei.
1Thomson et al, 2011, Challenges for Australian Education: Results from PISA 2009
Source: www.thesmithfamily.com.au
-ENDS-
Authorised by Andrew Campbell, Chief Executive Officer
Contact Sheri Laba, Public Relations Officer
Contact: 9771 7777
Contact for comment: Paul Omodei, Shire PresidentContact: 0448 810 773