Police helping kids have a blast
Once upon a time a frontline Logan police officer joined in with kids playing cricket at a community event, and now a year later she is using the sport to teach young children about self-respect … ‘Howzat!’
Real life may not always be a fairytale, but this terrific yarn of a Loganlea Community Police Beat officer using cricket to make a difference for Waterford West State School students, is certainly one with a happy moral to the story.
It all began when Acting Sergeant Joanne McKinnon, an ‘Adopt-A-Cop’ in primary schools, joined in with kids throwing cricket balls at a blow-up cricket stump last year.
She’d always liked cricket and saw its value for educational purposes, so she went about establishing a collaboration with Queensland Cricket, Waterford West State School and the Queensland Police Service.
The result was an 8-week Cricket Blast program for the school children, which allowed Joanne to also teach them a variety of values and life skills.
‘Throughout the Cricket Blast program I observed the kids’ listening and communication skills increase, they were supportive of their peers, and displayed teamwork in the classroom as well as out on the field in play,’ Joanne says.
She ran the students through thoughtful exercises such as asking them to each answer ‘what makes me special?’.
ABOVE: Children enjoying activities through the Adopt-A-Cop program at Waterford West State School.
‘They think about themselves, what they think they’re good at, and why others think they’re special,’ Joanne says.
‘It is a good, healthy moment for reflection, a moral building exercise and it helps them grow.
‘The children have finished the program with lessons like being kind and respectful is the answer, and that being respectful to yourself is important.
‘It helps children recognise and appreciate the reasons behind behaving well. It’s a bit of “old school” teaching, but I tell them “You only get back, what you put in”.’
The same saying could be applied to Joanne, who has dedicated the past 19 years to policing around Logan, and taken much from the experience.
‘I’ve loved it! The people, the places, the many, many ethnic groups and cultures have all combined to bring an exciting and challenging career for me over the years in the Logan district,’ Joanne says.
‘No matter what my policing day brings my way, the kids always lift me up!’
PHOTO AT TOP: Acting Sergeant Joanne McKinnon with kids at Waterford West State School.