Students who take part in the Panthers on the Prowl program are used to having the likes of Michael Gordon around, but they were also paid a special visit last week from Federal Member for Lindsay, David Bradbury to celebrate the official launch of the Panthers Bytes bus.

Having helped students in Penrith and across western Sydney gain valuable computer skills as well as learning about health and nutrition in a creative way, the fully furnished bus houses laptop computers and travels around to schools in the name of promoting healthy lifestyles.

“Panthers on the Prowl is an institution in our community which I am very proud of and it is a template for what could be achieved right across the country,” Mr Bradbury said.

“Many other clubs have tried things like this, but they have never gotten to the stage, because they have lacked the funding and support of the community.

“The use of this technology to enrich the lives of local students in tremendous and it is a great pleasure to officially launch the Panthers on the Prowl bus.”

Mr Bradbury was also presented with a special ‘Friends of Panthers on the Prowl’ jacket by students from Cambridge Gardens Public School who have taken part in the program for some time.  

“We’ve accessed many of the Panthers on the Prowl programs and we can only see positive benefits for our students,” said Rita Porteous, Principal of Cambridge Gardens Public School.

“All the skills they learn is so fantastic from health and nutrition, to learning from positive role models in the Penrith Panthers players.”

Since starting in 2000, Panthers on the Prowl has enjoyed incredible success with over 11,000 local children taking park and one of its program evaluations was even published in the International Journal of Learning. It is aimed at giving extra support and mentoring to children who need assistance re- engaging in school life by enhancing social skills, improving attitudes and taking a positive approach to learning, through initiatives such as classroom support and sports education.

- Stacey Hicks