Wellbeing

Aboriginal Education

Parafield Gardens High School has over 50 Aboriginal students from years 8 to 12. We have an Aboriginal Secondary Education Transition Officer (ASETO), an Aboriginal Education Teacher (AET) and an Aboriginal Education Coordinator (AEC) who work with the students closely in and out of the classroom to encourage and assist our Aboriginal students through their education. Parafield Gardens High School has a high SACE completion with 95.35% in 2017. In 2017 Aboriginal Education achieved 100% SACE completion.

Homework Centre

We operate a homework centre for all Aboriginal students every Wednesday after school. The primary aim of the Learning Hub is to encourage improved levels of outcomes (both academic and non-academic) for our Aboriginal students. Students that attend the Learning Hub are offered 1:1 support and small group support on both summative and formative assessment. Some students attend for a quiet place to complete work, others attend for further assistance with their studies. Student?s that attend are provided with nutritious food and drink when attending.

Celebrating Culture

Every year we have an assembly for NAIDOC week. This assembly has been a great opportunity to share Aboriginal culture with the whole school which has then lead into a lunch time sharing of traditional foods amongst the students. We encourage all students to celebrate who they are and we take part in numerous cultural events throughout the year. In addition, a major project is completed by Aboriginal students that show school pride through their Aboriginal culture. During reconciliation week, the Multicultural committee and Student Representative Council students and staff work closely together and share culture and life experiences.

Community Partnerships

We have actively involved outside organisations to come in to the school to support staff, students and families to overcome any barriers towards education and have very successful outcomes based on this approach. The Aboriginal Education room is open every Monday morning from 8:30am-9:30am to all parents to come in and chat with the Aboriginal Education team and discuss their students learning. Parafield Gardens High School also uses this time as well as Home Group?s for outside organisations such as the Work About Centre to come in and assist students gaining qualifications and employment. The Aboriginal Education team work closely with the Work About Centre for students who wish to obtain their drivers licence or would like to experience some work experience in a potential career path.

Individual Learning Plans

We complete Individual Learning Plans (ILP's) for all Aboriginal students on a semester basis. The purpose of these plans is for the students to set goals for their own learning and also to for them to identify for themselves areas which they think they could improve in order to stay engaged in their learning. We also identify any barriers to learning and attendance, as well as the student?s strengths and ways to improve when completing the ILP. The ILP?s are reviewed on a semester basis and an Aboriginal parent night is held every term for signing and reviewing of the ILP?s.

SACE Aboriginal Student Pathways

Throughout the year students are presented with a magnitude amount of opportunities to travel interstate and locally to a variety of universities to experience the tertiary education lifestyle. For students looking at a trade pathway there is the opportunity of up to 40days work experience with a variety of organisations.

South Australian Aboriginal Sport Training Academy (SAASTA)

Parafield Gardens High School is involved in the South Australian Aboriginal Sport Training Academy that is hosted at Valley View Secondary School. The Inner-North SAASTA is comprised of surrounding schools and involves students who meet their key performance indicators (KPI?s). SAASTA utilise sport, in particular AFL, as a vehicle to engage Aboriginal students in their learning. Students are given the opportunity to be involved in elite sporting academies (AFL, Netball, and Basketball). Each student will be offered the chance to complete recognised TAFE certifications such as Cert III in Sport and Recreation and Cert III in Fitness.