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Colo High School

Colo High School

Striving for Excellence

Telephone02 45712011

Emailcolo-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Aboriginal student support

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.

The following programs are offered at Colo High School:

Personalised Learning Plans:

Personalised Learning Plans (PLP) are established and implemented for all indigenous students. The goal is to improve learning outcomes on an individual basis. It is important to note that the plans are a distinct result of cooperation, negotiation and collaboration between students, parents/care-givers, and teachers. Nothing is imposed; there is a strong emphasis upon making the experience as positive and as collaborative as possible. Students own their own learning and achievements.  

Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience:

The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) program provides a dynamic educational program, which gives indigenous high school students the skills, opportunities, belief and confidence to finish school at the same rate as their peers.  AIME also helps indigenous students develop a positive approach to school and thus improve their self- esteem both at school and in the wider community. The students involved in the program will be encouraged to become independent, self-reliant and life-long learners. AIME has proven to significantly improve the chances of indigenous students finishing school and it also connects students with post Year 12 opportunities, including further education and employment.

Our students will travel to Sydney University by bus and be accompanied by two teachers to be involved in the 15 mentoring sessions (provided by trained university mentors) four times throughout the year.

Year 9 students will cover topics like, Aboriginality, respect and pathways to success.

Year 10 students will have access to tutor support; they will be part of a leadership program, build a resume and cover topics such as racism and public speaking.

Year 11 and Year 12 Students will attend leadership and development programs and cover topics such as resilience, balancing life and study, jobs of the future, resume writing that will connect them directly with AIMEs corporate and university partners. The Year 11-12 session will have a strong focus on further education and employment.

Kirinari Roll Call:

The Kirinari Roll Call takes place every morning.  The Hawkesbury Aboriginal Educational Consultative Group supports this initiative.

Kirinari is an Aboriginal word which means learning and the aim of the Kirinari initiative is to work collaboratively with indigenous students and their parents to improve students outcomes in the areas of academic success, attendance and participation at school. The initiative will also educate our indigenous students about Aboriginal culture and history as well as contemporary Aboriginal Australia.

The Kirinari roll call will provide daily opportunities of intensive tuition to enable each child to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. The initiative will also help each child to develop a positive approach to school and thus improve their self- esteem both at school and in the wider community. Students will be encouraged to become independent, self-reliant and life - long learners through discussing such topics as life planning, leadership, making good choices and problem solving. 

Norta Norta:

The Norta Norta Program provides targeted support for Aboriginal students to accelerate progress in student’s achievement. The focus of the program is to provide learning assistance in the key areas of literacy and numeracy to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal students.

Learning assistance is provided to individuals, pairs or small groups of Aboriginal students who have been identified as not meeting the minimum standard in all five of the NAPLAN reporting strands. A tutor is employed to work in-class to support the teacher's work program.

Allowah Day:

Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders students of Colo High School and Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders students from the Hawkesbury district in collaboration with DA Murrytoola Aboriginal Education Consultative Group attend "Allowah Day", a day of togetherness, celebration and connectedness at Cattai National Park.

Students will be involved in playing traditional indigenous games, learn about and participate in Aboriginal painting, go on nature walks with a National Park and Wildlife Ranger to discover some indigenous rock carvings and have the opportunity to discuss their goals and future with some local elders.