Back to School Day

We all know community life is complex, but if we all work together to instil the value of education and support families to get their children to school, higher levels of attendance can be achieved.

A great example of working together is Back to School Day, which has become an institution across the Tiwi Islands. On the first day of the school term, children, families, community members and organisations meet at designated locations, dress up in yellow shirts and paraphernalia and walk to the schools for a big community breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches.

This year’s event was held in April with children, families and organisations all joining in. The high level of engagement in all communities is a testament to value placed on education. In Wurrumiyanga, the MCPS drone was used to record the event, and footage can be viewed on the MCPS Facebook page.

Special thanks to Brenda Ryle and Trevor Wilson for organising the event, and to Chris Handicott, Meagan Taylor and Floyd Brooks for cooking our delicious BBQ bacon and egg sandwiches.

Our Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS) staff are known as ‘Yellow Shirts’. Yellow Shirts work hard to encourage and support students to attend school on time every day.

Pictured: Hardworking Yellow Shirts (L-R) Ronald Tipungwuti, Raphael Poantimilui, Dulcie Tipungwuti and Jocelyn Tipungwuti.