This year, Mullum High School (MHS), looked for a strategy to engage students at school who were disengaged with learning. As teachers, we knew this year was going to be hard, with post-Covid, post-flood, and lots of disruption and distractions as the school is rebuilt.
Deputy Principal, James Clarke, found the link with an established organisation who run the successful program, Hands On Learning.
After learning more about the benefits of the program, the school jumped on board.
The Hands On Learning team guide a select group of students through a practical program, which engages students in a holistic learning experience outside of the classroom. It encourages self-development, personal growth, and respect.
Students learn new skills, leadership, teamwork, and self-discipline, alongside reflective goal setting.
After students learned basic skills with smaller projects earlier in the year, we started work on restoring the track behind the school that follows the river.
River trail opens
Students learned about retaining walls, and discovered ways to make use of natural material to create a rainforest track. Last week, we opened the Rainforest River Trail, with students and their parents. We are aiming to engage parents with the hard work the students have done throughout the year, and celebrate the achievements of their children.
We are now almost three-quarters of the way through the year, and the transformation in this group has been evident, not just in this program, but also in their other classes through the week.
Special thanks to DP James Clarke, teachers Max Tynan and Will Brennan, along with support from Dusty McOnie and Ryan Zietlow. For more info, visit www.handsonlearning.org.au.
♦ Lachlan Humphreys teaches at Mullum High.
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