Meeting with secondary students at Normanton School, 5 October 1999 - notes
Approximately 11 students, both boys and girls, attended. They discussed a range of issues relating to their schooling and their hopes for the future.
General
"Education here is not too good. We are way behind other schools."
School retention
"There are plenty of kids who leave school early, around Year 9. Their parents don't make them stay at school. Some of the boys go and work on the stations. Some of the girls go and have babies."
Subject choice
"We need more choice of subjects."
"They should have more subjects like drama and graphics."
"Girls should be given more encouragement to do rural studies and manual arts."
"There are no classes in Aboriginal culture."
"We would like more opportunities for learning music at school. including more instruments and more time allowed for music classes."
"I would like to learn more about art. "
Teachers
"We need more teachers."
"Teachers should try to become more a part of the community."
School facilities
"The school needs more science equipment and more sports equipment."
"We would like lockers for all high school students, new cricket bats, less gravel on the sport field and more grass."
"They should have cheaper food at the tuckshop."
"We need more water pressure in the taps at school."
Sport
"There are not many sporting activities to choose from at school."
"The school needs more science equipment and more sports equipment."
"We need better sport facilities at school - goal posts, gloves for soft ball and baseball and soccer nets."
"It would be good if we had more inter-school sports."
"There is not enough sport for girls."
"Most of the sporting activities at school are geared toward the boys. They get all the good sport excursions. The boys get to go to Mt Isa and all sorts of places. The girls have been to Doomadgee and a few other places."
"If girls want to start a team in one of their sports, it is hard to find someone to coach them."
Technology
"We need more computers in the classroom."
Fighting and other problems at school
"If you have a problem at school, there are not many people you can talk to. There is a lady who comes to the school to talk to students but she is only here sometimes. Most of the time you talk to your mum or to a friend, or maybe to a teacher you can trust."
"If I feel unsafe or something is wrong, I feel that I could take my problem to the school principal and he would take it seriously. He would listen and try to help me but I would have to have a case."
"At some of the city schools, kids are able to get alcohol and drugs."
School excursions
"I would like more opportunities to go away on school trips and excursions."
"The school organises work experience excursions for us although there have not been as many as we would like. There have been trips to Mt Isa, Cairns and Townsville. The money for these trips comes from fund-raising activities like discos."
Years 11-12 and future plans
"It's hard for kids who go away to complete Years 11 and 12, because they are behind many of the other students. Sometimes they are able to catch up but they have to work very hard."
"I'd like to go away for Years 11 and 12. I don't think I would get homesick." [Most of the students]
"Normanton is home. Even if I go away for Years 11 and 12 would like to come back here to live." [Most of the students]
"I would like to go to university." [2 students]
"I don't think I will finish Year 12." [1 student]
"I hope I will be able to get a job when I leave school."
Last updated 2 December 2001.
