FIRST-TIME visitors see the table-tennis table, musical instruments, and graffiti-style art on the wall and know that this is not a conventional classroom.
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Stay a while, and visitors soon realise that learning is not achieved in the conventional way here.
Welcome to the inaugural Reconnect Class of Morisset High School.
“It’s a diverse curriculum, and we’re meeting all of the outcomes, but in a different way,” explains Reconnect teacher Natalie Hilder.
The class was formed to offer nominated year 9 boys who weren’t responding positively to mainstream classes an alternative way of learning and an alternative environment in which to do it.
The class comprises 10 boys, most with Aboriginal ancestry.
“We’re trying to help the boys to reconnect with their education, to get them learning and wanting to come to school,” Mrs Hilder said.
Some of the boys were nominated for the class because of poor school attendance, behavioural issues and suspensions, or because they simply hadn’t felt engaged by learning in mainstream classes.
Mrs Hilder said while the Reconnect Class had a strong focus on numeracy and literacy, there was an increased physicality that permeated much of what the boys do.
The major key learning areas are covered - maths, English, science, personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE) and human society and its environment (HSIE) – but visits to the gym, the football field, and manual labour in the school grounds are a vital part of the daily schedule.
“The theory suggests that boys are active, so we’ll go to the gym every day, or play football, or work in the garden,” Mrs Hilder said.
The theory is that some boys simply need to move about more than others.
“We’ve seen the results [from the exercising]. The boys are much more settled when doing their classroom work,” Mrs Hilder said.
So a typical day in the Reconnect Class might involve some numeracy and literacy lessons in the morning, some physical activity in the middle of the day, then more classroom time in the afternoon.
The Reconnect Class’s approach to English studies is unconventional, too.
Forget labouring over Shakespeare or George Orwell. As a literacy task this week, Mrs Hilder had her class focus on the second State of Origin rugby league match.
The exercise involved assessing the team lists, the players’ positions, and the language around the sport.
“It’s about choosing something that appeals to them,” Mrs Hilder said.
The boys also play an active role in manual projects in the school grounds.
Under the tutelage of the school general assistant Nick Steel, they learn about and participate in jobs such as gardening, stump removal, painting and simple construction projects.
Wednesday is the “Men’s Business” and cultural day, when Mrs Hilder takes a back seat while the boys are taught by Rodney Groves.
Guest speakers, including police officers and health professionals talk with the boys, and excursions are organised to reward good behaviour.
It’s a mix that appeals to students such as Cherokee Townsend, 14.
“I feel like it’s a good class, and it’s helping us,” Cherokee said.
He enjoys the physical challenges offered in the Reconnect Class, and appreciates Mrs Hilder’s approach to teaching.
“The teacher doesn’t get on your nerves. It’s fun, and we go to the gym a lot.”
When he finishes school, Cherokee hopes to earn a contract with a National Rugby League (NRL) club.
In the meantime he hopes to play junior representative rugby league at Harold Matthews and SG Ball level.
“And if I don’t get a contract with an NRL club I’d like to be a carpenter or a scaffolder,” he said.
Mrs Hilder said her wish for the boys was simple: “I just want to see them develop into motivated young men who are passionate about what they do.”
The school is yet to make a decision on what will happen to the class next year. The boys might simply return to mainstream classes for year 10.
But Mrs Hilder said the class was proving a success by any measure: the boys’ results in numeracy and literacy had improved; their attendance rates were much better; the incidence of troublesome behaviour was down; and their classroom task completion rates were on the way up.
“The boys all really enjoy coming to school now. They have a better attitude to their learning so that they can work independently on tasks,” she said.
“I think we’ve created a caring environment that promotes positivity. It’s not conventional, but it works.”