Summary

teach.NSW travelled to the town of Menindee, NSW, to cast a spotlight on the benefits and opportunities of teaching in the Central Darling area. They interviewed Stephanie (‘Steph’), a PDHPE teacher at Menindee Central School, who shared her experience of the benefits of living and working in a rural school community.

Opening Scene

Drone shot of Menindee Bridge at dusk spanning the Darling River. As the camera ascends toward the sky, the words ‘teach.Rural, Central Darling’ appear on screen.

Scene

The scene changes to a school hall interior where we are introduced to Steph, who speaks interview-style to camera.

Stephanie

‘Hi, my name is Steph. I'm a PD/H/PE teacher at Menindee Central School.’

Scene

Brief point-of-view of the camera looking up at the sky from a moving car. Fade to gentle panning shot of the Darling River with trees on either side, a dirt track along the western bank and railway bridge toward the background.

Steph

‘The first thing that attracted me to come out west was the permanency, but in saying that, there's lots of other incentives that brought me out this way.’

Scene

Steph conducting video conference with other teachers. Over-the-shoulder shot of Steph logging in to a Windows laptop.

Steph

‘We get extra professional development days, opportunities for leadership, particularly inside the school where you're required to do lots of things outside of your normal role, which is great.’

Scene

Establishing shot of roadside signpost, which reads ‘Menindee, Central Darling Shire’. Classroom interior, shots of Steph speaking to students seated at tables arranged in rectangular formation.

Steph

‘When I first arrived, I was excited and very nervous.’

Scene

Cut back to Steph speaking interview-style to camera. As she speaks, a Google Map of NSW is displayed on screen with a magnifying glass, which zooms in to show a red pin depicting the location of Menindee.

Steph

‘I'd Googled Menindee on Google Maps and zoomed in on the street that I was living and the school.’

Scene

Close-up shot of a long yellow sign displaying the words ‘Menindee Central School 1990’.

Cut to camera following behind Steph as she walks along a school path. Fade to interior classroom shot of Steph handing out papers to her students, then speaking to them in class.

Steph

‘Walking in, I felt very comfortable and was keen to get right into it.’

Scene

Cut back to Steph speaking interview-style to camera. As she speaks, the scene changes to camera at ground level showing two pairs of walking feet on a concrete surface. Fade to Steph walking with a second person along a residential street.

Steph

‘The community here, and particularly around the school, were very encouraging and embraced me very quickly, which helped ease those nerves and made me feel at home.’

Scene

Cut to exterior shot of school classroom building and covered walkway. A student is walking toward the classroom door. Fade to interior classroom shots of Steph interacting with her students at their desks.

Steph

‘And meeting the kids for the first day was excellent and they were very keen to know who I was and where I was coming from.’

Scene

Interior, staff room. Various shots of Steph and three other teachers sitting at a large rectangular table, laughing and enjoying coffee. Cut to Steph and another teacher looking together at an iPad on the staff room table.

Steph

‘Our staff at Menindee Central School, we have a really big range. We've got long-term experienced teachers of 30 years, to beginning teachers in their first year out, so it's an excellent range in terms of experience, skill set, enthusiasm.’

Scene

Interior classroom shot of Steph interacting with her students at their desks. Cut to closeup of Steph pouring hot water into a coffee mug, then drinking from it. Cut to shot of Steph standing outside a grocery store. She is saying something to someone off-screen.

Steph

‘We get along really, really well, which is awesome, and we have friendships both inside of the school but outside of the school as well, which I really value.’

Scene

Cut back to Steph speaking interview-style to camera. As she speaks, the scene changes to show Steph and two other teachers chatting to one another while sitting at the staff room table. Then cut to various outdoor shots of Steph and her students performing physical exercises and throwing footballs to each other.

Steph

‘So the kind of people that we look for in these remote areas is someone who is definitely flexible. Being able to contribute outside of your faculty or your key learning area is something that we do really try to get, because in a small school you're required to do that little bit more, and in saying that, that's an absolutely awesome opportunity for you to grow as a teacher as well.’

Scene

Camera gently pans across a roadside landscape of scrubs and dry grass just outside of town. A sign by the road depicts a compass, with the words underneath, ‘Welcome to Central Darling Shire’.

As the camera pans, an outline of the state of NSW appears superimposed with a circle depicting the approximate location of Menindee. The words ‘How far can teach.Rural take you? Find out more - www.teach.nsw.edu.au’ appear on screen.

Steph

‘How far can teach.Rural take you?’

Closing Scene

White screen, NSW Government logo. ‘Copyright January 2018, NSW Department of Education. Produced by Branding and Promotions, Human Resources Directorate. Music by Peter Nickalls, courtesy of Shutterstock Inc.’