Research Method: The simulation town Parlkarra is based on a number of towns in the Pilbara, particularly Paraburdoo and Tom Price. Our first step was to gather information on towns and schools in the Pilbara area, we focused on Paraburdoo, Tom Price and Newman because these towns are located within a small area from each other. The research we did on Paraburdoo, Tom Price and Newman was very detailed and included looking at demography, industry and tourisim of the towns as well as the facilities available. We also made secondary research on towns in the Pilbara region to compare with what we had found out about Paraburdoo, Newman and Tom Price and supplement our overall research. The research into the schools of the area followed the same method, we looked at Paraburdoo Primary School, Tom Price Senior High School, North Tom Price Primary School, Newman Senior High School and South Newman Primary School for information regarding curriculum, programs and staff and student information - the Department of Education Western Australia Schools Online website was also very helpful to collect this information. The majority of our information came from online sources listed in the Bibliography, however, some of the information was gathered through Grace's contact who lives and works in Paraburdoo, as well as my own observations of rural towns and schools in general. Once we had gathered this information, we worked together to determine what each community and schools shared in common. We observed that many of the programs from each schools were similar and focused predominantly on Indigenous education, partnerships with community organisations and ensuring that the students' rural location was not a factor in disadvantaging them. Many of the communities also had things in common, particularly the strong presence of sporting and leisure clubs. Once we had determined what aspects of schools and communities were common in the Pilbara region, we began to discuss how to create our simulation town and school to best reflect this.
Rationale: The simulation town Parlkarra is not designed to reflect any one town, it is a representation of the common elements between various towns in the Pilbara - particularly Paraburdoo, Tom Price and Newman.The community is based predominantly on Paraburdoo and Tom Price and features many of the same facilities that the towns have to offer.Despite the fact that there are no District High Schools in Paraburdoo, Tom Price or Newman, we decided to use a District High School to represent the primary school and junior high school years while still reflecting the fact that many students need to travel to neighbouring communities to complete their education. The programs we decided to feature in our school closely reflect the programs listed in many of the schools we researched in the Pilbara area.
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The simulation town Parlkarra is based on a number of towns in the Pilbara, particularly Paraburdoo and Tom Price. Our first step was to gather information on towns and schools in the Pilbara area, we focused on Paraburdoo, Tom Price and Newman because these towns are located within a small area from each other. The research we did on Paraburdoo, Tom Price and Newman was very detailed and included looking at demography, industry and tourisim of the towns as well as the facilities available. We also made secondary research on towns in the Pilbara region to compare with what we had found out about Paraburdoo, Newman and Tom Price and supplement our overall research. The research into the schools of the area followed the same method, we looked at Paraburdoo Primary School, Tom Price Senior High School, North Tom Price Primary School, Newman Senior High School and South Newman Primary School for information regarding curriculum, programs and staff and student information - the Department of Education Western Australia Schools Online website was also very helpful to collect this information. The majority of our information came from online sources listed in the Bibliography, however, some of the information was gathered through Grace's contact who lives and works in Paraburdoo, as well as my own observations of rural towns and schools in general.
Once we had gathered this information, we worked together to determine what each community and schools shared in common. We observed that many of the programs from each schools were similar and focused predominantly on Indigenous education, partnerships with community organisations and ensuring that the students' rural location was not a factor in disadvantaging them. Many of the communities also had things in common, particularly the strong presence of sporting and leisure clubs. Once we had determined what aspects of schools and communities were common in the Pilbara region, we began to discuss how to create our simulation town and school to best reflect this.
Rationale:
The simulation town Parlkarra is not designed to reflect any one town, it is a representation of the common elements between various towns in the Pilbara - particularly Paraburdoo, Tom Price and Newman.The community is based predominantly on Paraburdoo and Tom Price and features many of the same facilities that the towns have to offer.Despite the fact that there are no District High Schools in Paraburdoo, Tom Price or Newman, we decided to use a District High School to represent the primary school and junior high school years while still reflecting the fact that many students need to travel to neighbouring communities to complete their education. The programs we decided to feature in our school closely reflect the programs listed in many of the schools we researched in the Pilbara area.
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