By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Dandenong North Primary School’s vast, unique achievements have been celebrated in award-winning films.
Principal Kevin Mackay, who is set to retire at the end of 2022, met with film-maker Amel Tresnjic at the 2017 premiere of a doco Singfest, which featured the school and eight others in the region.
The film earned 18 international film awards.
Since then, they have collaborated on heart-affirming films set at the school such as The Reading Factory, Talk for Life and the upcoming Giving Back.
“Amel has been lucky to have us, to access the subject matter that goes to people’s hearts,” Mr Mackay says.
“And we’ve been lucky to have him – Amel is a genius, he’s a fantastic film-maker.”
Mr Mackay had approached the film-maker to make a blueprint of the school’s “bespoke” programs that targeted its disadvantaged communities.
Such as its “reading factory” literacy intervention program, which inspired variations at other schools in Australia and the world.
The program churned through 180 kids a day in 20 minute bursts, leading Mr Mackay to label it as a “reading factory” – the name of one of the films.
“It was like shift work.”
Talk for Life documented the school’s English As An Additional Language program – the only three-phase program of its type in Australia.
It was conceived by assistant principal Jenny Mackay, who is married to Kevin and also retiring this year.
The EAL program has also led to an Afghanistan mothers group, which is extending to Dandenong High School families.
It provides sessions on hand-writing, creating picture books, mathematics and advice on how to navigate life and processes in Australia.
The school includes families from 50 diverse backgrounds. Of the 790 students, 250 have Afghanistan-based backgrounds.
Many had fled Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last year.
“It’s a great thing that your school can make a great difference to people who had had a shocking start to life,” Ms Mackay says.
“They get their childhood back.”
For newly arrived families – whose kin are mainly thousands of miles away – the school is like a “second family”, Ms Mackay says.
The school employs liaison officers for Afghanistan and African communities.
“Parents view the school as a hub for them,” Ms Mackay says.
“It’s not just education but a connection to a community.”
Mr Tresnjic’s upcoming film Getting Back features some of the 13 former students that have been inspired to return to Dandenong North Primary as teachers.
Several credit Mr Mackay as the reason that they became teachers.
“It’s all us, not just me,” Mr Mackay says. “We’re just a fabulous team.”
Mr Tresnjic recently told Star News that the returned teachers recognised the “strong impact their own teachers had in becoming who they are”.
His films on the school “remind us that helping others generates a strong sense of inner happiness.
“We have had a few viewers express how the films inspired them to pursue teaching, which is amazing.”
Mr Mackay is a “hero”, a “visionary who truly understand the needs, not only of students, but also their staff and overall community”, Mr Tresnjic says.
He dedicated his life to “helping the disadvantaged build successful careers, and most importantly set a high standard for virtues in the community.”
