May 17, 2013
A rodeo school will be established at Ficks Crossing after the South Burnett Regional Council signed a lease agreement with the Shaftesbury Centre this week.
Kristian Wale, the CEO of the Brisbane-based charity, addressed council’s monthly meeting on Wednesday to outline the group’s plans.
He told councillors the Shaftesbury Centre specialises in educating disadvantaged children who for various reasons have “dropped through the cracks” of the State’s education system.
The group currently operates a school at Spring Hill that also manufactures skateboards, a trade-focused school at Deception Bay, and a horse therapy program on the Gold Coast.
“Our program at Ficks Crossing will be a rodeo school,” Mr Wale told councillors.
“We are educators and our key priority is literacy and numeracy.
“We’re not necessarily into rodeos ourselves, but the kids attending the school are. So that’s how we plan to get children motivated about schooling.”
Mr Wale said the Centre plans to build “four or five arenas” at Fick’s Crossing and hope to run quarterly events which will draw tourists to the region.
“The Rodeo School will include campdrafting activities,” Mr Wale said.
Mr Chris Andrews has been employed as the school’s principal and will be starting a pilot program with 15 students in July.
Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said the Rodeo School may ultimately employ more than 25 staff, and some of these families had already relocated to the area.
“Council welcomes Shaftesbury’s employees to our region and we appreciate their economic injection into the community,” he said.
“I would also like to thank Council’s Communities department for the work they have done to facilitate Shaftesbury Centre’s move here.”
The Shaftesbury Centre has also come to an arrangement with the Silver Lining Foundation to make use of that organisation’s facilities.
The Foundation operated the Bahun Jal Mono farm next to Fick’s Crossing until 2011 to provide education, work experience and on-the-job training for young people from Cherbourg and the South Burnett.
