Woorabinda State School is the best school in Queensland. Located in the town of Woorabinda in Central Queensland, it is situated 170 km south west of Rockhampton on the traditional lands of the Wadja Wadja / Wadjigal and Ghungalu Aboriginal people and is the only primary school in the community.
Woorabinda State School is a Kindergarten to Year Six school with nine classes of 190 children. The school's motto is 'Proud and Deadly', with our school values - We are deadly by being - kind, strong, respectful.
The school has outstanding teachers from diverse backgrounds. The leadership team has the Principal, Head of Special Education Services and a Head of Department - Curriculum. Specialist staff include a special needs teacher, a physical education teacher along with and a specialist science teacher.
The school employs many local staff as teacher-aides, cleaners, groundsmen, administration staff, tuckshop staff, wellbeing and student attendance officers. These staff play a vital role in supporting teachers in the classroom and are provide the important link to the community ensuring our school runs effectively.
The explicit improvement agenda for Woorabinda State School is:
- READING.- We have an unwavering commitment whereby every student at Woorabinda State School is able
to competently read by the time they leave primary school.
- POSITVE BEHAVIOUR FOR LEARNING - The way we instil our school values of We are deadly by being....kind, strong, respectful.
- CURRICULUM - All staff collaborating in the implementation of the Australian Curriculum, engagement in collaborative moderation process and building a deeper understanding of the
continuity of learning from Kindergarten into Prep, through to Year 6 and
beyond
- SCHOOL CULTURE - How we are together - High Expectation Relationships - All staff, students, parents and community working together to provide optimal educational experiences. This requires all of us to adopt a conscious and active approach to what makes a positive school culture, valuing the diversity of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in order that students are provided with the biggest and best opportunities available.
With the growing frequency of mental health issues within schools, the school will partner with Dr Selena Bartlett and Sheryl Batchelor to upskill all staff on how to maximise their own Brain Health for their wellbeing and the wellbeing of those closest to them. Staff will have a shared understanding, enhanced approach to wellbeing and a shared language as a result of this learning. This will provide an important platform for our Positive Behaviour for Learning - We are deadly by being.... Strong, Kind and Respectful.
This will hopefully impact on their personal and professional wellbeing. Teachers adopting and implementing this knowledgge in their classes will add value to their classroom practices and genarl daily life.
The school has developed a number of partnerships with organisations such as Central Queensland Indigenous Development (CQID), National Indigenous Australians Agency - Commonwealth Government, the Australian Red Cross, the Queensland Police Service through the local Woorabinda Police, Yoonthoolla, Queensland Health through the Deadly Ears program, The Queensland Reds Rugby Union through the Future Leaders program and the Cathy Freeman Foundation.Woorabinda State School runs a nutrition program which provides students with a nutritious breakfast, and meals for first and second break. The school has a paid tuckshop which runs Monday to Friday and is very popular with the students.
Traditional owners, elders and community members are very important members of our school community and they support our school staff and students to collect and collate local history, family histories and language to be used in the curriculum component of the school's Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives (EATSIPs) agenda. The school has a strong history of teaching the two local traditional Aboriginal languages, Ghungalu and Wadja, as its official Language Other Than English, (LOTE).
Our school also offers a unique science and language program whereby all students are taught the Australian Science Curriculum with our specialist science teacher who also works alongside a local language teacher. This is an exceptional contextualised curriculum for students.
In 2020, the community was extensively consulted in the co-design of the mandated Student Code of Conduct. This document, clearly sets out expectations about staff responsibilities to support students to understand and meet discipline expectations of the school, and guidance on the application, where required, of disciplinary consequences. This document is available on the link below and will be provided to newly enrolled students and their parents.
There is so much strength in the community of Woorabinda and the rich diversity amongst the students and staff adds value to this great learning environment.