June 18, 2015
There were smiles, tears and hugs on Wednesday as Cherbourg Council bade farewell to journalist Marcus Priaulx and marked the end of the successful Barambah PaCE (Parental and Community Engagement) educational program.
Marcus has been the face of the Cherbourg Shire Council program for the past five years, producing hundreds of inspirational news stories along the way, organising radio and TV campaigns, community newsletters and running a mobile library service.
There have been ups and downs, as Council CEO Warren Collins admitted.
Marcus always lived with the knowledge the next government grant application might be unsuccessful. Sadly, the axe finally fell earlier this year with the news his funding will run out on June 30.
The key to the PaCE program has been parental engagement, and the emphasis of a simple message that parents should send their children to school “every day, on time”.
However, the end of PaCE, doesn’t mean the end of educational encouragement programs at Cherbourg as some other initiatives are about to start – including the long-awaited Clontarf Foundation football academy program – but it won’t be the same without Marcus popping up somewhere with a camera.
South Burnett Online would like to thank Marcus for his support and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.
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Marcus Reflects On His Time With PaCE:
When a little girl chose a puzzle book from the Cherbourg Mobile Library I gave her a friendly warning:
“Some of these may be a little hard for you,” I said, looking at the words “Suitable For Five to Seven-Year-Olds” posted on the front.
“Why’s that?” she said.
“How old are you?” I replied.
“Six,” she said.
“Well, some of these are for older children so they may give you a bit of a challenge. You might need mum or dad to give you a hand.”
“No,” she said confidently. “I’m a bright girl Marcus. I go to school every day.”
(And the angels sung)
“Well,” I thought, “my work is done here” and sadly, for me, it is.
Barambah Parental and Community Engagement (PaCE) will no longer exist as of June 30 but Cherbourg will not be forgotten.
There’s plenty of good stuff coming.
Families as First Teachers, along with a HIPPY program, will help parents teach their children within the home; the Clontarf Foundation will engage children at school; and an Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC) will provide up-to-the-minute technology and library services after school and on weekends.
But having parents encourage their children to chase their dreams is the most important thing a child can have to ensure their future success and happiness.
And the best way to do this is to ensure they get a good night’s sleep every night, eat well and, most importantly, go to school every single day on time.
Former Cherbourg State School principal Chris Sarra is right. Indigenous children can outperform the rest of the nation with their academic results but the road to their success must start at home.
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Education Dreams
One of the highlights of the PaCE program was “Education Dreams”, the development of a series of very effective TV and radio ads accompanied by a special website:
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Reading … The Solution To Just About Everything
Marcus is leaving the PaCE program with a bang … 2000 books are being delivered to Cherbourg and he will be dropping them off to local homes.
They’re being sent by the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation (ALF), which Marcus likened to “a gift from the heavens”.
“I truly believe reading is the key to bonding with your children and giving them a learning ability that will have them thrive in life,” he said.
“I believe if every parent read to their children every day, or opened books and made up stories about the pictures, then most of society’s troubles wouldn’t exist.
“Developing and understanding language is the key to learning.
“Research shows it makes children kinder as they grow up because stories teach them every action has a result and affects the future.”
Marcus said it would be an absolute honour to deliver the ALF books as he had run a mobile library in the community and could see how much the children loved stories.
“I tell everybody ‘If you ever have a bad day come for a trip on my mobile library’,” he said.
“It just lifts your spirits to see the excitement and appreciation children have for the stories.”
Marcus said one mum had told him her little girl had told her “I love Marcus”, but she replied “No you don’t, you just love the stories he brings around.”
He said delivering the books for ALF would be the ultimate way to end his Barambah PaCE program.
Anyone who would like to help the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation with its work should phone (03) 9650-1006.
Well done, Marcus. An amazing body of work over the previous 5 years. I still love the Education Dreams video that plays before the movie at the Cinema. Good luck in your next adventure.