Goondiwindi youth create LINKS with Bougainville school

The Goondiwindi State High School Year 9 classroom is so quiet you could hear a pen drop. The gangly limbs of the teenage boys in the room, usually restless and constantly moving, are uncharacteristically still.

All eyes are fixed on the front of the classroom, where Dinah Ope, a rather dynamic Papua New Guinean, is describing her family connection to a remote village in the mountains on the island of Bougainville.

Du'nara Primary School, where Dinah herself began her education, recently opened four new classrooms, which were built with initial sponsorship of Dinah's family and another family. There are no computers or technology, minimal power, and no vehicle access with students travelling on foot - sometimes for hours - through the jungle to attend.

'I have come a long way from my start at Du'nara,' she tells the mesmerised students.  'Over there education is not compulsory like it is here.  Education is not free. There is no bus to pick you up in the morning.  Everyone at school really wants to be there. Education is a privilege.

'Many of the students who have recently graduated were young men and women in their twenties. These students' education was interrupted by the civil war in our country but they valued their education so much that they came back to school even though they had children and families to support.'

When Dinah asks the students if they would like to initiate a sports equipment drive to help resource Du'nara School, the enthusiastic response from the teenagers is just what Dinah secretly hoped for – not just for the sake of the remote, underprivileged school, but also for the Goondiwindi youth.

At the time of this visit Dinah was undertaking doctoral research at USQ's Faculty of Education. Through conversations during morning tea in the PhD Student Room with fellow doctoral student and part-time Head of Department at Goondiwindi State High School, Sherilyn Lennon, an idea crystallised when both realised they could be of mutual assistance to each other.

As part of her role at the school Sherilyn assists in implementing a new curriculum alternative to a class of Year 9 boys who had lost interest in school by the end of Year 8.

The LINKS project aims to connect learning to students' interests and the world beyond the classroom.  Students' learning is promoted through the use of highly interactive, action-oriented lessons which are designed to connect learning to the real world. Each term the program links the students' Maths, English, Science, and SOSE curriculum through a topic designed specifically to engage the boys. In Term One the topic was Sport.

'One of LINKS' priorities is to build a sense of citizenship and community in the students participating in the program," Sherilyn says. "The philosophy behind this is that in enriching the lives of others, the boys' lives will also be enriched and this is where Dinah was able to assist us so wonderfully.'

Dinah returned to the school at the end of the term to congratulate the boys on the container load of equipment they had collected. She also spoke at a special fund raising business breakfast with former Rugby League Test captain, Gene Miles.

During his visit Gene generously donated two signed and framed State of Origin Queensland jerseys from the 2008 series; one to Du'nara Primary School and one to the LINKS boys.

The partnership, which had its genesis during a casual conversation between two USQ students, is now firmly cemented, with possible visits between schools now being explored.

Media Contact: Madeleine Tiller, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1163 or 0406 937795