Cattle muster the reward for top Jilkminggan students

Students at remote Jilkminggan School recently received a great reward for their excellent attendance when they visited a cattle station and watched a muster at close range.

Jilkminggan School, 140 kilometres southeast of Katherine in the Northern Territory, had experienced poor attendance for some years and as a result became part of the Australian Government’s Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS) programme.

The programme, where local community members are employed to encourage children to attend school, has helped increase attendance figures at Jilkminggan and it was suggested that a day trip to nearby Warrigundu Station could serve as a reward for students with over ninety per cent attendance rate.

Fourteen students made the trip to the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) leased Warrigundu Station, on the traditional lands of the Alawa people, and witnessed a modern cattle muster, complete with helicopter and stockmen on horseback.

Later, the students toured Warrigundu Station’s facilities, taking time to pose for pictures with the mustering team, and the helicopters used in the operation. The students, excited about what they had seen, eagerly heard about the education and training required to become a helicopter pilot and were encouraged by station staff to work hard at school so they could get the job they wanted.

Jilkminggan School Principal Des Barritt was delighted with the trip.

“It’s a great opportunity to reward these kids,” Des said.

“Their record of attendance during term three has been outstanding. The trip was a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge their efforts.”

More excursions and other incentives, including an on-country programme, are being explored by Jilkminggan School and RSAS staff as they work to improve school attendance levels in the community.