Write it Right
The Write it Right Program is a Stage 4 program for Aboriginal students. The program has been running at FGHS since 2013 and aims to improve student writing skills and connection with Aboriginal culture and identity.
Participating students visit Murrook Culture Centre every fortnight and undertake activities that explore their culture. These activities have included planting and propagating local plants, learning how to locate fresh water, fishing and cooking using traditional methods, researching Aboriginal people of note, learning about their family trees and many, many others. The following week students attend an intensive writing workshop in our school's Aboriginal Education Room where the activities from Murrook are used as stimulus for writing.
The focus of the writing workshops is the structure and language style of text types. An example is learning how to throw a boomerang at Murrook and then using that knowledge to write a procedure text. The writing workshop focuses on the concept – word to sentence to paragraph to whole text and always begins with a yarn about the previous week's activity and is followed by a model of the text type show to students and then collaborative writing supported by an English teacher.
We are committed to closing the achievement gap for Aboriginal students. We know that we need to learn about, nurture and value the cultural identity of our Aboriginal students in order to assist them to be successful learners.
We welcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family members, parents and community members to our school so that we can get to know each other, learn about the local Aboriginal community and develop shared goals and plans for Aboriginal students.
Junior Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG)
The Junior AECG is the representative group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at Francis Greenway High School. This student body meet monthly to discuss current issues in Aboriginal Education, promote and embed Aboriginal culture and form an integral part of the school and wider community. The students that are involved in this leadership group have been elected by their peers and are trusted to put forward important ideas to create a safe and respectful learning environment in order for all students to succeed.
All Aboriginal students are invited and encouraged to nominate themselves or one of their peers to be elected for the leadership group. Being a member of the Junior AECG provides students with opportunities to develop their communication skills and confidence through high involvement in meetings, speaking at assemblies and presenting to the wider community on their role in the school. Furthermore, the leadership role creates a mentorship for younger peers and partner primary schools to allow leaders to develop their ability to be a positive role model.
Members of this group are also often included in the Maitland Local AECG which comprises of elected members as well as Principals, Deputy Principals, Assistant Principals and leaders in Aboriginal Education from all schools in the Maitland area. The exposure to these meetings intends to demonstrate the importance of the role students play at the school level, as well as how Aboriginal Education is being managed from a community perspective. The Junior AECG is a proud member of the Maitland Local AECG and often the President will visit the scheduled meetings to communicate important information to students.
The Junior AECG at FGHS has assisted the wider community on several occasions as they attend cultural events with partner primary schools such as NAIDOC Week, Sorry Day and Reconciliation Day. They utilise their leadership skills at these events and guide cultural workshops for students. The group has further been a platform for visitors from high schools in the area who have not yet set up a Junior AECG to model for them the process and benefits of having this leadership group.
The final meeting each year is set up as a General Meeting where elections take place for the following year. The delegates for 2021 are;
- President – Kalari Beitsch
- Vice President – Killara Drew
- Secretary – Sky Delaney
- Vice Secretary - Jyerell Wilson-Wells