One Canowindra High School student is about to trial first hand a new program aimed at overcoming distance and extending students’ capabilities.

Sarah Clunes has been selected in the 12 week i.xtend program from 30 students from across the region.

i.xtend is an online program designed to provide extension and

enrichment opportunities for gifted students.

Students access the program via a Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment), which is basically a virtual learning

environment.

The advancement in technology means facilities now exist to enable rural and regional students to access programs they may never have had the chance to experience in the past.

The Year 7 student, her family and her i.xtend supervising teacher at Canowindra High School, Peta Merchant will attend an Orientation day next Wednesday in Orange where they will find out more about the program.

“Just the nomination process alone for the program is quite high level and involved, so for Sarah to be selected is an achievement in itself,” Ms Merchant said.

“Sarah’s really looking forward to it, and her family too.”

Ms Merchant will supervise Sarah’s work at the school, and at this early stage, she believes it will be in the form of cross-curricular projects and activities.

She will also continue to undertake lessons through her regular timetable at Canowindra High School.

The overall program will then be overseen by education expert Leanne Dixon, at Orange Public School, who is coordinating the program across the region.

For Sarah, her family and Canowindra High School, it’s still early stages, with a lot of questions to be answered next week at the orientation Day, but no less exciting.

“We’ll know a lot more after that day.”