Gowrie Street Primary School Partnered with Shepparton Central Rotary Club

The Gowrie St partnership with Shepparton Central Rotary Club is brokered and supported by Lighthouse and has been running for three years and evolving over time. It started with weekly activities over a term offering Grade six students fun activities to help them to understand the region and the community. It was also building social connections and understanding how to engage with people.  Due to the strong partnership and co-designed nature the following year it changed to expanded fortnightly activities.

“We were thinking ‘it could be more’. So over the years, it evolved from purely being about interactions with people and looking at how to use it to increase access to employment, to help connect kids to jobs out there.”

The program now mixes fun and community activities such as walking the “Flats” to understand the historic Walk off of Cummeragunja Mission by the Aboriginal community.

“Some of the Aboriginal kids had not even been there. It was just a perfect day really, because there were birds that were going in and out of the hollows while the guide was talking about them. We saw a Tiger snake, some kangaroos and we cooked kangaroo tail soup as well.”