Natalie Nawrocki is a SEE teacher at Djerriwarrh and her ‘Kim Loves Life’ reader has been selected as a ‘Learn Local Project – Showcasing Innovation in Teaching Practice’. Funded by Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE), this initiative set out to select 8 innovative teaching projects Victoria wide, showcasing projects via YouTube
The reader ‘Kim Loves Life’ aims to raise awareness, educate and inform newly arrived and immigrant women in Victoria about the availability of cancer screening information and services in their local area. The story itself was inspired by true experiences of Djerriwarrh Operations Manager, Anita Cutler.
The Learn Local Showcase recognises the commitment and belief that Natalie, teachers and students have shown in developing the project over a period of 2 years. Natalie first embarked upon the project in 2014 following receipt of a modest grant from Cancer Council Victoria, PapScreen Victoria and BreastScreen Victoria. Working with Djerriwarrh’s Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) teacher and illustrator, Leslie Boonekamp, ‘Kim’s’ character was created and the final reader was progressively shaped through a student and staff feedback panel. In 2015 Djerriwarrh secured a second grant, growing the project to include the ‘Kim Loves Life’ Teacher Activities Resource, developed and collated by SEE teachers, Natalie, Catherine Daniels, Hayrettin Uyar, Amatullah Motakis and Graeme Jensen.
The reader and teaching resources can be downloaded here:
Kim Loves Life – teacher resource
One of Djerriwarrh’s SEE classes has also written and recorded their own song to go with Kim Loves Life. The song and backing tracks can be found on SoundCloud here: