With a motto like “discover, strive, shine”, Woree State School were always going to be a force to be reckoned with in last year’s Try for 5! Challenge.
Not content to just compete against ten other schools in the North Queensland region, they also developed an intra-school competition as extra incentive to help their students understand the importance of regular school attendance.
Woree State School is part of the Try for 5! inter-school attendance challenge presented by the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys and supported by the Australian Government and Regional Express (REX).
As part of the challenge, school attendance is tracked on a leaderboard with prizes awarded to individual students and families as well as an end of year prize for the school that achieves the highest attendance rates.
Leading by example
The school captains ensure they lead by example, and personally love the addition of a football-themed game their class has introduced to support the program’s philosophy.
"In our class, we have an attendance wall where everyone has their name on a footy. We move them from one end of the field to the other each day we are at school. This is a great visual for our class and we love to see all footballs scoring a try at the end of the week," enthused Biem, one of the Woree State School captains.
In addition to school visits, Cowboys players and ambassadors provide support, content and resources to teachers to help keep students motivated and inspired throughout the term.
Report Card Results
Try for 5! isn't just fun and games - the program is having a real impact on student outcomes as well. Woree State School understands why regular attendance is more difficult for some families and provides individual support and assistance along the way.
Woree State School find that having Cowboys as role models championing the Try for 5! program helps give an engaging voice and strengthens the work the school does.
We've had one student whose attendance jumped from 47% to 93%! With this improvement in attendance, we also saw a great improvement in this child’s grades, moving from below average to getting some A’s and B’s.
Mrs Belinda Stephenson Head of Student Engagement
Preparing students for success
Woree State School believe that setting positive habits early into the student's enrolment and providing tailored support makes all the difference.
“ We have a never give up attitude at Woree State School and know that alongside engagement in the classroom, improving attendance rates is a critical step in improving student outcomes”. We appreciate the complex factors that influence students attendance and tailor individualised plans for those who need extra assistance," Mrs Terry Davidson (Principal) said.
While the 2021 Try for 5! competition is just getting started, Woree State School’s stellar results are shining through for another year, with the school percentage already showing an increase, though it’s still anyone’s race.
The Try for 5! program is partnering with 15 schools across North Queensland in 2021 with the support of the Australian Government, Queensland Government, Aon and Regional Express (REX).
Try for 5! schools:
Balaclava State School
Bloomfield River State School
Cairns West State School
Cooktown State School
Doomadgee State School
Garbutt State School
Heatley State School
Sunset State School
Townsville West State School
Townview State School
Vincent State School
Western Cape College – Weipa
Western Cape College – Mapoon
Woree State School
Wulguru State School
