Menzies Community School (5298)



School Overview



Menzies is situated 130kms north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Following the discovery of gold, the town was proclaimed a municipality in 1895. During the gold rush period Menzies boasted 13 hotels, 3 banks, its own breweries and cordial factories, a Post Office with a staff of 25, a school with 205 pupils, a public library and 4 churches. Menzies School opened its doors in 1897 and the original school building and Head Master's house are still in use today. Following a pattern which has become typical of many gold mining towns, people drifted away and the area declined, however despite these changing fortunes, Menzies has continued to survive. Serving a mining, pastoral and local Aboriginal community, Menzies is the home of Wangkatja people who maintain strong family links to the town and surrounding country. Menzies is also a popular tourist destination with nearby Lake Ballard attracting a range of visitors.

Menzies Community School caters for students from Years K-12. Approximately 110 people live in township of Menzies and in recent times the school's student enrolment has ranged between 15-20 students who are predominantly of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander decent from a diversity of language groups.

The school currently has two primary classes one of which is a dedicated Early Childhood Education room (K-1) and Years 2-6, as well as a high school room in which supervision is provided for students who are enrolled in subjects through the School of Isolated and Distance Education. The school also has a library, along with a small oval and basketball court. In more recent times the Early Childhood Education playground has been further developed with the addition of a playground structure.

Staff along with students and families have worked together to develop a shared vision and accompanying core values which are now embedded within the teaching and learning programs in the school. The process of consultation during the time of developing the vision and values was steeped in providing the opportunity for all staff, students, parents and families in the community to contribute, aiming for a truly shared vision and values. Our vision states: In partnership with our families, Menzies Community School provides a supportive learning place to build students of culture and character who contribute to the world. Along with our vision the associated three core values of; achievement, positivity and honesty permeate all areas of education at Menzies Community School.

Our learning programs are designed to cater for the needs of the students in our unique environment with culturally and contextually responsive opportunities for development on both a social and intellectual level. Our staff focus on the individual needs of each student, closely monitoring progress so as to make data informed judgements in regard to further support and planning. A whole school approach is incorporated in the cycle of teaching, learning and assessment in the core learning areas with particular focus on Mathematics and English Individual Learning Plans. The Two-way Science program has been recently incorporated in to the school curriculum and the Aboriginal Language Program focuses on the Wangkatja language. The Arts are incorporated into the school learning program and a visiting music teacher also facilitates a music program within the school.

We believe that it is important to work collaboratively with families in order to improve their capacity to meet the needs of their children. We use an integrated multi-agency approach to assist families and students, with a strong focus on prevention, assessment and intervention to achieve targeted outcomes for students. We believe that a focus on early childhood development will improve outcomes for students as they move through primary school and following secondary school, transitioning into meaningful training and employment opportunities in their lives.