On September 9, 2021, Principal Fleur Watson and Deputy Principal Kali Harris, from the Goodna Special School were guests at out weekly meeting and spoke to us about the great work that the school does for children with special needs. The school covers a large catchment area which includes all of Greater Springfield and is thus an area of interest to the club and members. Members enjoyed a very informative presentation by Fleur and Karli, supported by PowerPoint slides, and we gained a good insight into where Rotary might be able to support the school.
The school encompasses a wide area across 21 suburbs from Redbank Plains, Springfield through to Ipswich. All students have an intellectual disability which includes impaired vision, hearing difficulties as well as physical and mental issues. 20% have an Aboriginal background and the age range is from 4 to 18 years. The school is growing and in the future there will be over 200 students attending.
The school encourages students to feel that they are an important part of the community, and in promoting this, the school has partnerships with Ipswich Jets players who interact with the students as well as family days. Students are provided with skills and a plan to support development and their transition to life after school. Working closely with parents/carers enables individual curriculum plans to support student access to the Australian Curriculum.
While there are many challenges, building student communication skills is a priority at the School, with staff needing to know how the students are feeling and what they may need. Staff work with a team of therapists to embed individualised communication programs into all areas of learning. Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display (PODD) books and IPad apps, Auslan (sign language), communication devices and core word boards are in use around the school to support the success of every student, by facilitating communication. PODD is normally a book or device that contains symbols and words to support communication between people with complex communication needs and their communication partners, whether that's carers, family, friends or support workers.
Having heard of the great work at the school and the needs of students, our members were keen to develop an ongoing relationship with the school.
As a first step President Paul was pleased to present $1000 to Fleur and Karli for the school to use in purchasing some much needed specialised reading books in line with Rotary's literacy program (see photo).
Our next step is to provide physical support in terms of gardening at the school, which will take place over the coming months.
We also aim to help out over the Christmas period and ideas are flowing. So watch this space.