Kangaroo Island Community Education, the island’s only school, ready to get kids from fire-hit families back to normality
Many Kangaroo Island students spent the holidays volunteering on their campuses that were turned into CFS bases. Now it’s time for their school to look after them again.
Bushfire Support
Don't miss out on the headlines from Bushfire Support. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- One family. Four houses burnt to the ground
- Bushfire support page — recognising our heroes
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription
The ‘thank you’ notes students left on the makeshift beds of CFS volunteers, who used two campuses of Kangaroo Island’s only school as bases, show the community spirit evident in the face of disaster is instilled in even the island’s youngest residents.
Every one of the 180 students at Kangaroo Island Community Education’s Parndana campus, and many from its other branches, were affected by the fires, head of campus Matt Linn says.
Their families lost properties and animals, were directly involved in firefighting, or both.
Many students volunteered in the holidays with catering and bedding for the CFS firefighters who converted their classrooms into dormitories.
Mr Linn says the students were “pretty overwhelmed” by the fact that firefighters had “come from right across Australia to help us in our time of great need”.
The “amazing notes of gratitude” they left on their beds expressed their admiration for the men and women they called heroes.
“It was very much notes of appreciation saying ‘thank you for saving our island’,” he says.
“A lot of them talked about: ‘We know you have been away from your family and we’re so grateful for the sacrifice you’re making for us’.”
Mr Linn says “across the island, everywhere you looked”, KICE students and staff were helping out, not just in the school but in other emergency services bases, such as those set up at sport clubs, and in clothing donation centres.
“We are very proud of our kids because they have been so proactive,” Mr Linn says.
“Our students, with the support of staff, are heavily invested in producing real life solutions to real life problems, and have a strong sense of community and citizenship. This has been highly evident in the past four weeks.
‘Our staff didn’t really have a holiday. That’s the nature of this sort of event. No-one did.”
The spirit that came to the fore in a crisis makes it evident why KICE, which has about 680 students all up, has been named regional school of the year in the Australian Education Awards for the past two years for the way it supports the learning of every child.
Given many students have been displaced from their homes, Mr Linn says it is “crucial” for the school to provide “a sense of normality, routine, and familiarity” for them in their first few weeks back.
“It’s about coming back to a space that’s hopefully as they left it the previous year. For some of these kids there’s not too much else (in their lives) that’s the same.”
That would have been impossible if not for the Australian Defence Force personnel who worked tirelessly to “spruce up” the Parndana campus, which was in a bit of a state because the school groundsmen had been “flat out on the firefighting front”, Mr Linn says.
He says the army did an “incredible” job, doing everything from painting benches to gardening and filling sandpits, to make sure the kids return to the most welcoming environment possible.
New school bus routes are in place to make sure displaced students can be picked up from where they are living with extended family or friends, and free uniforms have been provided to any families in need.
“These kids are super keen to get to school,” Mr Linn says.
“We have extremely good support in place through the Department of Education and other organisations to make sure kids have the (emotional and psychological) support they need.”
While normality is key, the school is also planning a series of “really exciting” surprise activities, some involving local sports clubs, to ensure there are “amazing moments and opportunities” for students throughout the first term.
“Every week or so we’re going to have something organised that’s really special,” Mr Linn says.
Danielle Short, husband Sam and sons Jackson, 12, and Lochlan, 9, have been living with Sam’s parents in Western River after fire destroyed their home north of Gosse.
Mrs Short said the family was “very appreciative of (the school’s) contact and their understanding of what we’ve been through”.
She said the school was “expecting kids to be exhausted” and planned to have bean bags in the office for those who needed to sleep.
Her boys were “really excited to see their friends” again.
Tim and Kate Buck and their children Aiden, 10, and Emily, 8, lost their home 18km west of Parndana and have been living at a property owned by friends at Stokes Bay.
“It’s just going to be good to get some normality back, for (the kids) and for us, to get back to routine,” Mr Buck says about school starting.
“Our kids were away during the fires ... they seem to have handled it fairly well.
“They are fairly excited to get back to that normality and see their friends again.”
The school has been spruiking the achievements of its Year 12 class of 2019. Half of the students who applied for an ATAR ranked in the 90s (the best was 99.6, the average 88.35) and 71 per cent of all grades were As and Bs.