On Friday the 26^th of November, Gladstone High School was proud to host our first ever Aust Drive Youth Driver Awareness Program in partnership with the Australian Driving Institute. A lot of organisation went into the day; this included arranging road closures, collecting participants, organising sponsorship, notifying emergency services and catering for the day. 21 participants took part in the event, with many of them being L Platers who also required a supervising adult to attend. The majority of participants were students in Years 10 to 12 from Gladstone High School; however, we also had a number of students from Booleroo Centre District School and some community members join the session too. 

The students enjoyed the practical nature of the course where they learned skills such as braking techniques and how to avoid/reduce the impact of collisions with wildlife. They also spent a fair bit of time undertaking activities where they drove around cones to develop steering skills and explored the impact of sudden braking on a dirt road. Feedback from the day was that it was extremely valuable and many adults reported learning something themselves too. Students also found it to be a great way to add to their driving hours, with one student commenting, “I’m glad I learned the driving techniques and strategies they taught us – I just hope I never find myself in a situation where I have to use them!” 

The event also created a valuable opportunity for Miss Edge’s Year 10 Home Economics class to undertake some catering. As part of their ‘Work Effectively with Others’ module for the Certificate 1 in Hospitality, they worked both as a class and within small groups to put together morning tea and lunch for everyone at the event. The class put together some delicious menu items and worked extremely well on the day to ensure that the event was a success – Miss Edge was extremely impressed with their initiative, attitude, work ethic and willingness to step up and help others around them. People attending the event also enjoyed the food, which further enhanced the experience of the day. 

We would like to thank everyone who participated on the day and all the parents who also came along to supervise Learner Drivers. Thank you to the Australian Driving Institute for reaching out to our school to offer us this opportunity, and for making the trip up to work with our students – we hope we can continue this partnership in future. Thank you to the Year 10 Home Ec class for ensuring everyone was well fed, and to the council for allowing us to close a road to undertake the activities on. Finally, a huge thank you to the Rotary Club of Port Pirie, the Rocky River Lions Club and an anonymous donor, who generously sponsored the event to ensure the cost of participation was as low as possible; we really appreciate this! 

Senior School Coordinator - Jacqui Egde