Outback kids at school
Out in the bush, the first day of school is a little bit different writes MADISON SPIRA
Lachie Keogh has his first day of school all mapped out. Waking early in anticipation, he’ll put on his freshly ironed uniform and haul his big backpack over his shoulders.
The four-year-old’s mum Jodie will have put his lunchbox inside, and before he leaves, she’ll give him a kiss on the cheek.
Lachie will no doubt be too excited for tears, but for Jodie the day will be an emotional one: her little boy is now all grown up!
Lachie will head off on his first day holding hands with his big brother Jacob, six, who has promised to show him the ropes. Yet unlike most kids reaching that milestone this year, Lachie won’t sit next to any other new-starters or take part in playground chatter. That’s because his classroom is on a remote 13,552km2 cattle station, and there are only two students: Lachie and his brother.
“I’m really excited to start kindy because I get to wear a uniform and bring a lunchbox to school,” says Lachie, almost tripping over his words with excitement.
Growing up on Innamincka Station in the north-east of South Australia, the boys are being taught by School of the Air (SOA), which helps children in far-flung places get an education without being sent away to boarding school or the family having to move. For kids like the Keogh brothers, whose closest school is 380km away, it’s a lifeline.
“It’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience,” says Jodie, 38, who’s also mum to 18-monthold son Clem.
“Our closest major centre is 750km away. Once a fortnight we get a freight truck up from Adelaide that delivers all the food we require on the station, and once a month the Royal Flying Doctors Service comes to give us a check-up.
“We had to weigh up our options when it came to the boy’s schooling: pack up, move and start over again somewhere else, or try School of the Air,” explains Jodie, who has worked in farming for more than a decade and now
‘One of the things I love about living so far away is my kids are so close’
runs the third-largest cattle station in SA with her husband Nathan, also 38.
Jodie herself was educated in a city school in NSW, and had reservations about SOA.
“I was scared the boys would miss out on being around other kids and making friends. But we soon realised the School of the Air community is like one big family. Although the kids don’t spend every day together, each year at induction week they are introduced to each other and their teachers before they all head off for school camp and Experience Week,” she says.
Three days a week, for 20 minutes at a time, Lachie and Jacob will also get to log on to Webex, an internet-based school system that lets them interact with their teachers and classmates through webcams, interactive whiteboards and slides.
They will also have a one-onone lesson with their teachers via Webex once a week. The rest of their lessons are emailed by their teachers in Port Augusta.
Like many families livingng remotely with youngsterss in Australia, the Keoghs also o employ a governess – knownown as Miss Jess – who lives with them full-time. She supervises the kids with craft and science experiments, and helps tutor them in English, mathss and physical education. Jodie admits thatat learning in isolationn with School of the Air has been challenging ng and testing at times, but she trusts Jacob will help his little brother and teach him the school system.
“One of the things I love about living away from everything is that my kids are so close. They only have each other to play with, so they know each other back to front and inside out. Jacob is the best older brother and I can already tell that he’s going to help Lachie a lot this year,” says Jodie.
“The other day Jacob told me, ‘Mum, I’m so excited for Lachie to start school because it means I’ll finally have someone to sit next to. I won’t be lonely anymore! And I can teach him how to use the computer, show him where everything in the school room is supposed to go, and teach him how to be quiet for the teacher.’”