Twenty Kanahooka High School students are all fired up about what their futures could hold after successfully graduating from the NSW Rural Fire Service School Cadet program on Wednesday.
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The students, who range in age from Year 7 to 12, attend the school’s support unit and are the first group of students with learning disabilities to take part in the 10-week cadet program, learning about fire behaviour, firefighting techniques, team work and other life skills.
Kanahooka High School teacher Clayton Rugg said the school approached the RFS about running a modified version of the program as it reflected life skills that they were teaching students. “With a range of ages and disabilities, we wanted it to be interesting and fun, so they’d become engaged in the program,” he said.
“We made adjustments to how much content was being covered in the classroom and how long the students would spend on certain tasks working with the trucks, to maximise the time we had, and to keep them engaged. “It’s helped quite a few of the kids become leaders when they didn’t realise they could be. It’s improved their self esteem and being responsible for engines and machinery has helped their confidence. This is something completely new to our unit and it’s been really successful.” The students were presented with their graduation certificates by NSW RFS Assistant Commissioner Stuart Midgley.