The dust has only just settled on The Resilience Project's immersion week in Townsville and the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys' TRP team are hard at work again, planning their next regional school rollout.
This time it's school communities in Cairns and the Tablelands who will have their first introduction to TRP, with around 5,000 students, parents and teachers from nine schools coming together in October.
The Cowboys TRP team – Gayle De La Cruz (project manager dynamo), Ray Thompson (facilitator and man of the people) and Toni Blackmore (admin extraordinaire) are busy pulling together the logistics for 13 presentations across five days in Cairns, from 14-18 October.
This involves coordination with the schools, venues and transport providers including supporting partners Down Under Tours, as well as working with The Resilience Project's team and founder/facilitator Hugh van Cuylenburg, who will present at the sessions.
The week will be followed by the introduction of TRP's digital program in Herberton across six school and community sessions from 21-23 October.
Far North Queensland schools joining the TRP family in 2020 and participating in the Cairns and Tablelands immersion week are Woree State School, Woree State High School, Balaclava State School, Whitfield State School, Cairns West State School, Bentley Park College (Primary & Secondary) and Herberton State School (Primary & Secondary).
Presentations are customised for classes P-12, and also include an informal 'parent night' and professional development for teachers delivering TRP from within their school's curriculum.
TRP Cairns & Tablelands – October visits:
- 9 schools
- 19 presentations over 8 days
- 5,000 students
- Facilitator: Hugh van Cuylenburg
- Hosts: Antonio Winterstein (Cairns), Ray Thompson (Herberton)
Gayle says the lessons learned from TRP can benefit everyone.
"Our partnership with The Resilience Project is enabling us to work with our regional school communities to help build a more resilient and mentally healthy North Queensland," she said.
"The beauty of The Resilience Project is its relevance to all of us, not only in schools.
"Within the club our teams actively use the Gratitude Tree posters and staff have The Resilience Project app on their phones, so it's a universal message.
"We're excited about expanding the project in the Far North and the anticipation from the schools is really building – thanks to everyone for opening their hearts and minds to us."
A huge thank you for bringing the Resilience Project to Townsville. This is such an amazing program that so many of our local kids need and words cannot describe how thankful I am for the opportunity you've provided for my children and I to learn some brilliant strategies in coping with mental health. Our family will benefit immensely from this program.
Lindy
The Resilience Project (TRP), delivered in northern region schools in conjunction with the Cowboys, is an emotionally engaging program providing students, parents and teachers with skills and tools to help them feel happier and improve their overall wellbeing.
The joint program is funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network and will reach 21 schools and around 15,500 students from the start of 2020.