Time the RSAS dog becomes a star while helping kids go to school

In Arnhem Land, Time the RSAS dog has been a key in getting local kids excited about school, and becoming a star in the process.

Elizabeth Maymuru and her husband Bruce Marika are School Attendance Officers with the Yirrkala Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS) team, which was introduced by the Australian Government to improve school attendance rates in remote areas. As parents of two school aged children, they know the importance of education and saw the roles as a great opportunity to help Yirrkala’s children fulfil their potential.

Getting local kids to regularly attend school turned out to be easier than Elizabeth and Bruce thought, when they started to take their dog Time around with them, and found that children happily followed him to school.

Elizabeth, a Yolngu woman born in Yirrkala, says that Time has been an important factor in increasing school attendance.

“The kids love Time,” Elizabeth said.

“He gets them excited about going to school. They like to pat him and follow him to school.”

Time now wears a yellow shirt while on duty, matching the yellow shirts worn by School Attendance Officers, and signifying that he is an integral part of the Yirrkala RSAS team.

Time’s workday starts at 7:00am when Elizabeth and Bruce take him for a walk around Yirrkala, checking to ensure that kids are awake and getting ready for school.

“Our dog is very smart and knows that the kids like to follow him, so he leads them to the school and then goes out and gets some more kids,” Bruce said.

Time’s fame grew when a photo of him with visiting Prime Minister Tony Abbott became popular on social media and now visitors to Yirrkala look forward to meeting Time and giving him a friendly pat.

Time, along with Elizabeth and Bruce, likes to keep involved in the lives of the kids and their families even outside school hours.

“Every night at 8:00pm we go to the basketball court and watch the kids play basketball and make sure they all go home to go to bed by 9:30pm,” Elizabeth said.

“The kids also appreciate us being around after school as it shows that we are genuinely interested in them.”

Bruce also takes the opportunity to spread the word about school attendance and the importance of an education.

“I talk to all the dads watching basketball about how important it is for their kids to go to school and how they can encourage their children to attend and do well in school,” Bruce said.

“Kids are always telling me what job they want when they grow up; community worker, Indigenous ranger, teacher, so I make sure the dads’ know what they can do to help their kids reach their goal.”

And rest assured, Time will also continue helping kids reach their goal.