Emma Webb and Dawn Kades with one of the residents from Tongala Aged Care.
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Tongala Primary School is fostering strong community connections through various outreach programs, helping students develop essential life skills while making a positive contribution to the local area.
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Tongala Primary School principal Rob Hogan said the school had prioritised rebuilding community engagement.
“A big focus for us, last year, was getting our community programs back up and running again,” he said.
The school, which has 145 students, runs several initiatives, including Tuesday afternoon visits to Tongala Aged Care by Year 2 students.
“They play board games, they take schoolwork, they read with the residents and have made friends,” Mr Hogan said.
Year 3 and 4 students have initiated a garden project with the senior citizens centre, growing vegetables for community lunches.
Tongala Primary School Year 3 and 4 students creating garden beds for the Tongala Senior Citizens Club.
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“They have been over and built garden beds and planted veggies and go over each week and look after those,” Mr Hogan said.
These vegetables are then used in the community lunch that the Year 5 and 6 children cook on Wednesdays at the senior citizens centre.
Another successful program involves students working at the local GTS Home Hardware store.
“A group of boys each week head down to the local GTS Home Hardware and work in the store, helping them with deliveries, stocking the shelves and helping serve customers,” Mr Hogan said.
Grade 6 student Lucas Pyke serving customers at the local Home hardware store
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The school also runs two specialised programs: Boys in the Bush, where students assist with farm work and woodcutting; and Girls Empowered, focusing on activities such as self-defence and art projects with the Tongala Street Art group.
Luca Hastie cutting the lawn for a community member as part of the Boys in the Bush program
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“It is all about getting out, being seen and representing the school appropriately,” Mr Hogan said.
“It helps students gain an understanding of how important our community is, so they can be good citizens in our community as well.”
Mr Hogan takes pride in that Tongala Primary School offers a wide range of opportunities for its children.
The school also offers music lessons, a hands-on learning program and has a one-acre environmental garden.
To find out more about Tongala Primary School community activities, visit tongalaps.vic.edu.au or call 5859 0551.
