November 23, 2014
by Marcus Priaulx
Barambah PaCE
Lornetta West sings and dances around her home on a regular basis … it’s a sign the Year 4 Cherbourg State School student loves learning.
She is yet to miss a day of class this year and has rarely missed one throughout her school life.
Lornetta used to spend six months in Palm Island with her mum Dyella and the remainder of the year with her father Garth Simpson in Cherbourg but would always go to class.
This year she has spent all of her schooling in Cherbourg as her parents didn’t want to disrupt her.
Garth, 46, is the school’s Parent of Term 3 and believes things are much better for students today.
“I found school hard myself but I kept on training and doing stuff; doing TAFE and working,” the owner-operator of Barambah Driving School said.
While Garth found many doors of opportunity were shut due to his leaving school early he kept working and training and moving forward with life.
He now encourages Lornetta to pursue her dreams and believes being educated will make it easier for her to achieve them.
“If she does something well I give her praise. Not to be big-headed but to be humble and feel good about herself,” he said.
“That’s why she’s always singing.”
Cherbourg State School’s Year 4 won the class attendance award for the second Term running. In Term II it had a greater than 89 per cent attendance rate and last term it had an attendance rate of 92 per cent.
