Educational excellence is closer than you think. That’s the message Moree Secondary College are hoping to spread to the Moree community and beyond in their brand new promotional video which was launched on Tuesday evening.
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More than 100 people, including current and former students, parents, teachers and community members, gathered at Moree Secondary College’s Albert Street campus for the highly-anticipated launch of the promotional video.
Aimed at changing attitudes and reversing a negative public perception of the school, the video is part of Moree Secondary College P&C committee’s exciting new communications project to showcase the school’s wonderful facilities and encourage more people to send their children to school locally.
“We wanted to highlight that there is a quality education option right here on our doorstep,” P&C president Kelly James said.
“Our long-term goal is to make sure the secondary college is thriving and is supported by the community well into the future.
“Moree Secondary College is the heart of our community, it is a school that has produced outstanding students and some amazingly dedicated teachers.
“This video is something the whole community can be proud of. It is a fantastic reflection of the students and the school and what can be achieved right here in regional Australia. The P&C has three key messages that we’re trying to get across to the Moree community – support the Moree community by supporting Moree Secondary College; grow your children into capable, responsible adults; and Moree Secondary College is a good choice and quality education is closer than you think.”
The P&C’s communications project, led by Ms James and Janelle Montgomery, has been in the works for the majority of this year.
In addition to the video created by Rabbit Hop Films, the project has involved profiles on former students, showcasing what is possible for students to achieve with an education at Moree Secondary College.
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- Where are they now: Ben Mack
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“I often hear that local rural schools can’t deliver education to local students,” Moree Secondary College executive principal Peter Sheargold said.
“And admittedly, we don’t have some of the facilities that other schools have that some kids go away for, but there’s no doubt that we have the expertise. The public verses private debate can rage on around us but everyone has their own opinion and, of course, they’re allowed to, about where they want their child to be educated. All I’d like to say is our teachers are just as educated, just as capable and just as committed to our students as teachers anywhere in the world.
“For many parents there’s an expectation that if they send their kids away for school, they’re going to get more access to the teachers and have more input into their child’s learning, but after 37 years as an educator in our NSW public system, I can honestly say the teachers are just as committed, just as available and just as talented.”
Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall was just one of the guest speakers at the video’s launch.
Mr Marshall congratulated all those involved in the project and encouraged everyone to spread the message that a quality education can be achieved in Moree.
“There’s been a lot of people put a hell of a lot of work into what we’ve just seen tonight and it is absolutely tremendous,” he said.
“This is wonderful and we should share the bejeebus out of it, but most importantly all of us, and particularly myself included, we all have a responsibility going away from this evening to continue to promote and speak highly of Moree Secondary College and educating your children locally regardless.
“I completely respect people that want to make a decision about where to send their children to and if they believe for whatever personal reasons to send their student away, I can respect it, I may not understand it or support it. But if people think for a moment that by choosing to send their child away, they’re doing so with a desire or a belief of getting a superior, quality education, then they are sadly mistaken. They are wrong. Because you have a quality education system right here in this community. And the good news is, we can all contribute to making it better by talking it up, by sharing the message, inviting people in, just as Kelly did, to go and talk to staff, to students, to ex-students.”
Moree mayor Katrina Humphries and director of educational leadership in the Barwon network David Crowe also spoke on the night, reinforcing the message.
“I think tonight we’ve seen living proof that every single one of us should be advterstising this great school, the great campus and the great opportunity that Moree Secondary College offers the children and the future of this town,” Mr Crowe said.
The launch also included a school orientation of the woodwork, metalwork, dance, hospitality and senior learning centre rooms, as well as a chance to talk directly with representatives of the P&C and the teaching fraternal about the educational opportunities that are available in Moree.
Ms Kelly said this is just the beginning, with plenty more planned to continue to showcase this wonderful school to the community.
‘What’s happening at Moree Secondary College for our child is nothing short of brilliant’
The below is part of P&C president Kelly James’ speech on Tuesday evening, detailing her reasons for wanting to promote Moree Secondary College.
“Two years ago when my son was finishing year five, my husband and I knew that we had to make a decision with regards to his secondary schooling,” Kelly James told the crowd.
“Due to low oxygen levels at birth, our son has a vision impairment, cerebral palsy and learning difficulties. He needed to attend a secondary school where he would receive the assistance he needed to achieve the best possible educational outcomes. We explored many options including all of the available local options for secondary schooling and we explored options outside of Moree. This resulted in Jesse actually being accepted into Brisbane Christian College. What were we to do? Could we pack up and move, could we leave our jobs, leave our home, what about our other two children? The logistics of moving were just not going to work for us. We have family here and Moree’s our home.
“Like many of you, I’d heard unsupported stories about Moree Secondary College, lots of, ‘I heard off such and such that this happened, that that happened’, and I was told by many people not to send our son here, with one comment being, ‘he wouldn’t survive’. With a determination to see for myself, I spoke to students, I spoke to other parents, I spoke to staff and I made an appointment at Carol Avenue campus a full year in advance of my son beginning year seven. I toured the school, I toured the facilities, I arranged for my son to have additional orientation days for months prior to the actual term four orientations.
“This year he started year seven with the biggest smile on his face and a sheer determination to learn.
“Our choice was questioned over and over again. We were told by others that they were sending their children away to get a good education. Again, our choice was questioned. Were we staying here so our children can get a bad education?
“We are a community divided about absolutely everything, and although I know we will never agree on everything, I know that we do agree as a community that if we don’t start encouraging growth in our community, growth in our schools and growth across regional NSW, then we will have no future here.
“We are in the grip of one of the biggest droughts in history and parents are struggling to make ends meet but still choosing boarding school as an option, believing it is the only option for their children outside of Moree.
“We have over 1,000 students in the primary schools that feed into Moree Secondary College’s catchment. With those numbers, both campuses of Moree Secondary College should be overflowing with students.
“I am just one parent and I had no idea where to start. How do you convince a community to send more of their children to the local high school? How do you challenge perceptions of a community and what do you introduce to change those perceptions? How do you get people in the community to walk through the gates and take a look? What isn’t the community seeing that this school has? These are the questions that I pondered on my way to my very first P&C meeting. I was elected president at that very meeting and accepted on one condition - that this school be ready for change, the school be ready to promote itself and challenge local attitudes towards the school and educating children locally.
“I cannot say hand on heart that MSC is without problems. There is no school that is. But I can say that quality education and dedicated teaching staff is not a problem here.
“NAPLAN is the dreaded standardised test. It is the bane of my existence at present. In year three, I was told our son could have an exception and not do the test. He did it anyway. When I opened his results in year three, I thought they had made a mistake. There was nothing on the page. Then I looked closer and at the very bottom was a mark. To say I was shattered is an understatement. He had worked so hard, he had tried so hard and what was NAPLAN anyway. I began to loathe it with a passion. I came to resonate with Albert Einstein’s famous quote; “Everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will lead it’s whole life believing to be stupid”.
“His year five results came and we saw a slight improvement. Again, no biggy, who cares, it’s NAPLAN. We know what he can do.
“This year he has gone from strength to strength. The support he has received from the staff and the dedication of some of the teachers to teach him in ways that he understands and learns has been incredible. Any issues we’ve experienced have been immediately addressed and he simply loves being at Moree Secondary College.
“Eight months in and we received the year seven NAPLAN results in the mail. I don’t think I could have rolled my eyes any harder as I opened the envelope. I could have fallen over when I looked at the results. Band four for literature and band five for mathematics. For some of you this might not be much but for us it means that what’s happening at Moree Secondary College for our child is nothing short of brilliant.”