Maningrida College attracting more students

It’s been a strong start for the school year at Maningrida College with attendance and enrolments on the rise.

At the beginning of 2023, enrolments were sitting at a respectable 494, but by the end of Week 4 there was an increase to 578 enrolled students.

“But even more pleasing is the fact that 59 of these students have attended 90-100% of school days since Week 2,” said Principal Petrina Hayward.

Ms Hayward has attributed the attendance rise to a range of family events and activities supported by the school that have focussed on the school and the students.

“Friday mornings are dedicated to pancake breakfasts and the school invites students and their families, community members and organisations to join them for a yummy pancake and fruit salad breakfast,” she said.

In Week 3 Maningrida College held its inaugural Family Picnic Day, which brought students, families and school staff together to enjoy Buffalo Spaghetti Bolognese and listen to live music from a local community band.

“These sorts of events help our students concentrate on their school life and how to be good school citizens,” Ms Hayward said. 

There have been lots of activities since the start of the school year that have been specially designed to keep student’s interest high, including special assemblies to acknowledge top attending students, dance competitions, school family photos and rather different Footy Colours Day where the students caught up with the Sydney Swans over Zoom.

“Meeting the Swans was a big hit and we are now going to have to think outside the box to come up with something special next term,” Ms Hayward said.

Another excursion that was very popular was when the Year 5 and 6 students went to the BAC nursery in Maningrida to learn about the properties and distinctions of bush tucker – like the fact that it only grows in wet season because of how much water each plant requires to grow.

The kids drew pictures of the different types of bush foods, which will help them to identify them when they are on country engaging in the Learning on Country program.

“Our attendance rates are still high even with Term 1 coming to a close in two weeks, and I want to congratulate our students, their families and the Remote School Attendance Strategy Team for putting education first,” Ms Hayward said.