Marika works at Pia Wadjarri Remote Community School in Western Australia, about 300km inland and a seven hour drive from Perth. The only way to access the community itself is via one dirt road which is a 2.5 hour drive. She teaches Indigenous students from Kinder through to Year 4 - a job she loves because she finds that she learns just as much from the kids as they learn from her (she also loves that they call her Nanna!). On teaching in remote communities Marika says, “I love it, it’s more than a job, it’s a lifestyle.

Living with First Nations people - it's so different to what you know. I have a real appreciation and respect for the culture".

One of the challenges Marika experiences is that her kids have a hard time adjusting from their home environment to school. “They have problems sitting and listening, which impacts on their learning, because they’re used to being independent”. ​​

”They've got great motor skills - better than any other kids. They can take initiative and do a lot, but when it comes to learning it’s like we're putting a square peg in a round hole. It doesn't fit because the way they learn is totally foreign to the way we teach.”

As well as this, Marika says that many of the kids also have trauma issues. Teaching emotional regulation is a huge part of Marika’s job, as well as making sure that what she’s teaching is curriculum aligned.

Cool.org’s Bluey resources are ones that Marika says ticks all the boxes. Her students already love Bluey and bringing these lessons into the classroom has meant that she can engage her kids in a way that really resonates with them.