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During
2001 Dusseldorp Skills Forum was invited by Indigenous Festivals
Australia Ltd - Croc Festival to pilot an activity that would enhance
the Croc Festival's activities. The pilot became known as Croc
Skills - Boughton Oval Project.
Croc
Skills, Moree, 2001, was designed, managed and sponsored by Dusseldorp
Skills Forum with the support of Indigenous Festivals Australia
Ltd - Croc Festival.
What
is Croc Festival?
Moree
Croc Festival has been held at Boughton Oval for the past three
years. The annual Croc Festival is a celebration of youth culture
and brings together indigenous and non—indigenous students
from schools located within Moree and from remote locations within
Northern New South Wales to learn, listen and demonstrate their
talents in a spirit of reconciliation.
The
two day Croc Festival involves performing arts, sports, a health
expo and a careers market. This year approximately 1, 400 students
from about 42 schools came to the Croc Festival in Moree. The students
were from primary schools and high schools; including Public schools,
Catholic Education schools and Independent schools.
Most
of the Croc Festival activities, including the evening performances,
the Careers Market and most of the Sports Clinics, are held at Boughton
Oval. Located within the oval complex are an outdoor netball court
and an indoor basketball court.
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What
is Croc Skills?
Croc
Skills is about enhancing the Croc Festival by showing another dimension
of skills and learning.
Teams
of students demonstrate the skills and knowledge they have gained
through school and show how, with specific training, they can create
a desirable, long lasting outcome for the community and build a
potential career base for themselves.
The
aims of Croc Skills are:
to
provide the teams of students with exposure to possible career
paths and an understanding of how they can achieve their goals;
to
provide other students attending Croc Festival with exposure
to a practical demonstration of work skills from their peers.
Choosing
the Project
Community
consultation identified that:
- the
inaugural Croc Skills project should be located alongside the
Careers Market at Boughton Oval
- an
appropriate Croc Skills project for this location would be to
construct 4 park tables and benches where no amenities existed.
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It
was crucial that the design of the park tables and benches not only
meet council regulations but also be easily constructed within the
2 days of the Croc Festival by young people of limited, basic skill
level.
As
Croc Skills was a new project it was decided that the 4 Moree schools
(Courallie High School, Moree Christian Community School, Moree
Technology High School and St Philomena’s School) be approached
to field teams of four students.
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Preparing
the Teams
Schools
— Each school was provided with preliminary information as
well as copies of student information, including the ‘Training
and Project Specifications’ manual. Throughout the two
months prior to the Croc Skills event, the schools were also provided
with ongoing liaison with the Project Manager and the Event Manager.
Copies of the Croc Skills Schedule were also given to the schools
for distribution to both students and parents.
Students
—
All four schools approached agreed to field a team of 4 students.
The students were recruited either through a process of self-selection,
peer selection or teacher nomination. Indigenous and non—indigenous,
male and female students ranging in age from 13 to 15 years were
sourced from students typically identified as ‘at risk’
of dropping out of school.
Two
months prior to the event the teams attended an introductory briefing
session held at each school by the Project Manager of Croc Skills.
Each team then attended 2 x half day training sessions provided
by Moree College of TAFE. Each team also had the ongoing support
of a nominated liaison teacher from their school.
TAFE
— Moree College of TAFE provided a teacher for the 2 x half
day training sessions for the students.
Resourcing
the Project
TAFE
- Moree College of TAFE provided tools, equipment and some
materials for the students to use during the project. Moree College
of TAFE was also very generous in providing transportation of the
tools, equipment, and materials to and from the Croc Skills site.
Council
—
Moree Plains Shire Council were extremely generous in providing
staff support and advice to the Croc Skills Team. The Council:
-
laid the concrete slabs for the 4 park tables and benches
-
provided parking and site access during the Croc Festival
-
enclosed the Croc Skills site with safety mesh
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approved the design of the project as meeting council safety
standards
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provided access to the indoor basketball court for the overnight
storage of tools, equipment and the actual park tables and benches.
Sponsors
—
Two local businesses kindly supplied milled timber ‘at cost’
and paint for no cost.
Mentors
—
Besides the Project Manager of Croc Skills, mentors and trainers
were sourced from the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Tamworth
College of TAFE — Horticultural Department and Nindethana Aboriginal
Corporation.
Community
Organisations —
The community organisations assisted with the identification of
the schools and students and also played a critical role in identifying
the most useful activity that would be of be of lasting benefit
to the community.
Dusseldorp
Skills Forum
—
Provided two people (one, a volunteer on a part-time basis), to
project manage, design and implement Croc Skills. Their tasks included:
-
project design
-
securing partners
-
sponsorship
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consulting with council representatives
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organising training sessions
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skill development of the students
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ongoing liaison with schools and students
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media liaison
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organising meals, refreshments and accommodation
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providing transport to the students
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ensuring security of the tools, materials and equipment
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ensuring insurance of participants
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resourcing a First Aid Kit
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creating marketing materials — Handout, Banner, T-shirts,
Press Release
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organising and "MC - ing" the Celebration.
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