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Opportunity and encouragement are two of the words Debbie and David Eborn use to describe their choice of Gladstone State High School (GSHS) for their three children.
For Debbie it was a natural selection. She did her high school years at GSHS, leaving in junior (the equivalent of Year 10).
“Gladstone High is a tradition for me,” she said. “The school has a long tradition of academic success and if you’re willing to work, they’re willing to support you. And that has been proven with our three.”
The couple’s two oldest children, Emma, 24, and Sam, 19, have left school and gone on to further study. Fifteen-year-old Amy is in Year 10.
“They have had many opportunities – academic, leadership, music and social – and they’ve had the encouragement of staff here to reach their potential,” Debbie said.
“The teachers encourage the children to keep getting better, to keep striving for success, to get the best out of them.
“And the staff are really supportive; their door is always open.”
David said Gladstone State High was a standout choice for their three.
“The school has a good reputation and the decision was partly made around their friendship groups,” he said. “The majority of kids from Clinton go to Gladstone State High.
“We were pretty happy with the programs offered and the range of opportunities available.”
David said their first child Emma had gone through Year 8 in 1999.
“She did very well at school and not just in the academic field,” he said. “As part of the senior student council she looked after a lot of fundraising in Year 12 and was involved in the community side.
“She was also part of the symphonic and concert bands playing bass clarinet.”
Emma studied a science degree at the University of Queensland before returning to Gladstone to study secondary teaching at CQ University.
She said her decision to teach was partly related to her experiences at school and she still feels a connection.
As part of a sustainability group that planned and designed F Block, her time at school left an indelible mark.
“I think the colour scheme was my idea,” she laughs. “But I did enjoy high school.
“The teachers were great, especially the science teachers, and we had plenty of opportunities to get involved.
“I was service captain so I organised the Blood Bank to visit the school and got a team for Relay for Life,” she said. “I was in charge of getting relationships going between the school and the community.”
Sam was also involved in the student council during his student years and was school vice captain.
“I really enjoyed my time here,” he said. “There were lots of learning opportunities and the programs were engaging, designed to provide good outcomes.”
Sam had a gap year working at a retail outlet in Gladstone before going on to study engineering at CQ University.
“He was awarded a scholarship by the Queensland Resources Council and is doing the co-op engineering course at uni,” David said. “The opportunities that GSHS gave him around leadership assisted him in getting that.
“Sam was also a drummer in the school bands and was provided with many opportunities both in leadership and academic roles.”
Youngest daughter Amy is following in her siblings’ footsteps. She plays flute and bass guitar for both the concert and big band and she is also a member of the junior student council.
“I really like it here,” Amy said. “Most of my friends went here and the programs they offer are great.
“I was in the laptop class in Year 8 and 9 where you use a laptop instead of a pen and paper.”
David said the outstanding thing about GSHS was that it changed its programs from year to year, adapting to student needs.
“The programs are all about improving the kids,” he said. “There are always new programs, new opportunities and the staff work with individual students to fit their needs.”
Debbie agreed.
“There is a whole booklet full of courses for Year 11,” she said. “And they prepare you the best they can, providing scaffolding all the way through to support you in your choices.”
And at the end of the day, David said the school celebrated success.
“It’s not just academic or sports success but cultural and leadership and music,” he said. “The little things each student achieves are celebrated in the school newsletter all through the year.”
The Gladstone News Weekly Women’s Festival will be held on Sunday, March 7 at the Gladstone PCYC, to celebrate International Women’s Day.
With the theme of “Everyday Goddess” inspired by the Innovative Resources Everyday Goddess cards, the festival is an opportunity for women in our community to celebrate their diversity and creativity and to recognise the strengths in every woman.
Female artist are being encouraged to get painting and be inspired to exhibit their original art works in the Festival’s Art Exhibition. The art exhibition is open to all women artists over the age of 13 years. The competition has been expanded to four sections and each section will carry prizes to the value of $500.
Internationally renowned artist and art judge Lyn Diefenbach will be creating an art piece on the day, to be auctioned with the profits to be donated to the Women’s Intercultural Network to support the needs of intercultural women in the community.
Funds will be used to develop a range of programs and services targeted at integrating, supporting, building confidence and educating migrant women to take an active role in our community.
Festival goers can look forward to a diverse range of performers onstage, from guest artists Whyte Zebra and Teri Abbot through to the talented young dancers from the PCYC Irish Dancers and Indian community dancers.
Guest speaker Tracey McLean will deliver a fun and enlightening insight into the ideas and principles involved in being an everyday goddess”.
Tracey is the director of Compass Coaching International and draws on her experiences as a personal trainer and life coach.
“One of the things I realised early on in my time as a personal trainer was that any situation in health and fitness depended on the mindset of the person involved,” she said. “Their success was tied to how they felt about themselves, their beliefs and values.”
“I’m also a relationship strategist – if you don’t get on with yourself it is difficult to get on with others.”
Well known local authors, Kathryn Apel, Paulette Flint, and Lynda Taylor will conduct a writer’s panel. The panel will be chaired by Robyn Sheahan-Bright and each speaker will be invited to speak for up to 10 minutes on the ‘Everyday Goddess’ theme. Each author will read an excerpt from her own published work. There is also a short story competition open to all women writers over the age of 16 years Entries close February 25, and more information is available from the Women’s Health Centre.
Women are invited to participate in a unique community art project throughout the day, facilitated by local artist Sheree Dearden. This will consist of over 200 square panels of fabric for people to decorate with words or artwork on the day, to be assembled into “The Goddess Wall” throughout the day.
Sheree said the finished product would be a fantastic momento of the day and a celebration of women.
“It will be visually exciting and as the day goes on the work will start to grow,” she said. “We’ll have bright colours and a variety of art materials, including glitter glue so come along and make your mark.
“It’s not an art competition – it’s about being joyful and expressing yourself.”
The Everyday Goddess Indulgence tent will provide an opportunity for women to relax and enjoy a variety of pampering opportunities, including reiki, massage, skin and beauty care and psychic readings.
There will be over 40 stalls, with something for everyone including fashion, jewellery, home wares, raffles and more.
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