Local schools and early learning centres in Moreton Bay are set to receive a boost of school equipment with the return of Woolworths popular Earn & Learn program.
The program helps schools and early learning centres obtain a variety of educational resources, including sporting, mathematics, arts, science and technology equipment.
This year, Woolworths is also introducing a ‘Remote Schools Program’ initiative which gives Aussie schools, who are more than 100km from a Woolworths store, the ability to benefit from Earn & Learn.
Woolworths stores in Moreton Bay Operations Manager Robert Draper said; “We’re really excited to welcome the return of Earn & Learn and do our bit for schools and early learning centres in Moreton Bay by helping to provide them with much needed equipment.
“Everytime the program runs, we see the whole community rally together to collect the Earn & Learn stickers which can help make a real difference to Moreton Bay children’s education.
“This year we hope to help even the most remote of schools so we’re encouraging our customers who may not be collecting stickers for their local school to place their stickers in the yellow Remote Aussie schools box in store.”
Since 2011, Woolworths has supplied over $50 million dollars worth of educational resources to schools and early learning centres around the country. The last time the program ran, schools received 300,000 pieces of new equipment to help Australian students further their learning journey.
To coincide with the return of the program, Woolworths commissioned the Earn & Learn Changing Classrooms Report. It found that three quarters of Aussie school kids don’t know what an overhead projector is and two thirds can’t identify a floppy disk. Other key findings from students included:
Nine out of 10 kids don’t know what a library stamp card is
91% of kids believe teachers were stricter in previous generations
61% of kids believe school would have been more boring back then
Four out of five kids claim they’re smarter than when their parents were at school
The study also highlighted just how much the physical classroom has changed with parents equally baffled by STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) items that are now commonplace in many Australian classrooms.
Key findings from parents include:
96% unable to identify a sphero, a popular robotics toy
More than 8 in 10 (83%) were not able to recognise a 3D printer
100% of parents were not able to recognise a USB Microscope
However, standing the test of time, are classic playground games. Children of today are still enjoying the same pastimes of their parent’s generation, such as handball, footy, clapping games and cartwheels during recess.
Modern Teaching Aids, a company that has been providing teaching supplies since 1956, Chief Operating Officer, Matthew Arecco said; “The Woolworths Earn & Learn Changing Classroom Report serves to highlight just how much school has changed and resources have evolved over the past three decades, yet the one constant is kids’ curiosity to learn.
“Parents can see a lot of change since they were at school. In particular, they have seen a flood of access to information through technology, combined with changing skills and resources required to prepare kids for the future.
“What’s brilliant to see is that kids nowadays love school because of the interactive hands-on learning they are exposed to.
“Through the Woolworths Earn & Learn program, Moreton Bay schools and learning centres can positively benefit and redeem resources that will inspire a world of learning, play and possibility.”
To learn more about how you can earn equipment for your school, visit woolworths.com.au/earnandlearn