Further Information
- Yamaji wangi
- Recommendations from Sharing Days:
- Successful strategies from schools with Yamaji students include:
- ‘Adopt a school’ program
- This is an opportunity for schools in the region to share successful ideas for supporting Aboriginal students at school. It facilitates partnerships between big and small schools, or between schools with higher and lower Aboriginal student numbers.
- ‘100 days in a row’ program
- Students who attend school for 100 days in a row (excluding funerals and illness) are eligible to win vouchers, a computer or a bike. This initiative was sponsored by the local supermarket.
- Breakfast program
- This is a school breakfast program that encourages school attendance and provides non-staff community members an opportunity to get to know students and staff at school.
- work with parents and carers to address behaviour management issues (e.g. mediation and negotiation, explaining school guidelines and processes)
- Yamaji wangi
- Recommendations from Sharing Days:
- Several Aboriginal staff said their schools used a solid social behaviours approach to teach and promote solid behaviours, such as:
- awarding certificates to students who display appropriate behaviours (encouraging students to nominate other students for these certificates)
- posters made by students describing and illustrating solid behaviours (sets can be made, laminated and used as whole-school resources)
- using assembly items or themes to promote ways the school can be solid
- including tips in the newsletter for parents and carers and students to promote a particular behaviour
- running recess and lunch-time activities to promote a particular behaviour
Defining social behaviours
Recommendations from
- describing acceptable behaviour with the whole class
- peer teaching and group work to help students who struggle with the concepts of acceptable social behaviour
- creating colourful and eye-catching posters as a learning activity to promote student recognition and understanding of acceptable behaviours
- celebrating student work by displaying posters in the library
Asking for ‘help’ and ‘dobbing’
It is important to help students distinguish between ‘asking for help’ and ‘dobbing’. ‘Dobbing’ is when someone deliberately tries to get someone into trouble to get attention, to act helpless, or to make themselves look good. ‘Asking for help’ is when someone has tried to solve the issue with no success and then asks for support.
- ‘Dobbing’ is when a person tries to get attention or to get someone else into trouble. It is important that students know it is always okay to ask for help if they feel they are unable to deal with a situation alone or need help.
