In a move to promote a focus on active travel, Acacia Ridge State School has combined its Active School Travel (AST), Wellbeing, and Positive Behaviour for Learning Committees to form the PAW (Positive, Active, Wellbeing) Committee. By combining these specialist staff teams, the school can address a number of issues with a wide range of expertise and improved idea sharing.
Being a smaller school with fewer staff, combining the teams has streamlined how programs are promoted which has resulted in more participation in active travel activities. What’s more, resources are shared, interest is generated, and the work load is lessened!
The Acacia Ridge PAW committee meets once a fortnight for an hour. A staff member from each year level represents their teaching cohort, plus teacher aides, YMCA (after hours program) and any other interested staff members, including the Principal or Deputy Principal. Each meeting starts with celebrations and finishes with actions to be made within agreed timeframes.
To encourage student engagement, the student’s AST committee meets every Monday lunchtime to look at calendar items, plan events and determine who is collecting AST data for the week or presenting at school assembly. This information is taken back to the PAW team who help with logistics and resourcing. Teachers report the students are becoming more independent and believe their new committee structure is PAW-some!