Student Voice
Aiming Higher Mentoring Program
DARE2B Conference
Along with many other schools, girls involved in the Aiming Higher mentoring program attended the 'Dare 2B' conference in Moorabbin on Thursday 25th of July. The conference featured many workshops that we could attend that had many amazing guest speakers. Inside the main hall, there were different career stands such as a Hospitality and Tourism TAFE course, Monash University, a personal training stand and many others. We were able to go up and talk to those of which interested us. The workshops that we attended altogether were the 'DARE2b Jobs' and 'Create your own adventure' workshop, which consisted of 4 speakers, each all telling their story of how they got to where they are now in terms of their careers. They also gave us advice to always keep moving forward and stay positive. For the last session, we split up in year levels and went to our respective workshops, which included different topics such as securing our first job and interview tips. The very end of the conference was the highlight as we were introduced to the Indigenous Hip Hop Project, who performed for us and they were amazing! They were so talented and full of energy and at the very end of their performance, they asked for some students to get up on stage. We managed to get every single student from our school up on stage to dance with them. It felt so good to be up there altogether with everyone else and not caring about what other people thought. All in all, we had fun while building our confidence and leadership skills.
Written by the Aiming Higher Mentoring Program Girls.
Whole School Assembly
Whole school Assemblies
At CESC we have structured our whole school assemblies to be centred on our student successes and achievements. As part of every assembly we have an acknowledgement of the land upon which we meet as a show of respect to the indigenous peoples of this land. Every assembly is student led and organised with the support of the student voice leader and the SRC. Every assembly this year has featured a performance from the performing arts faculty that have really displayed the talents of many of our students. Ms Strickland addresses the school reflecting on the positives of the term and Mr Allender reveals RGAR points achievements, individual points leaders and house point’s tallies. Different faculties present their successes to the school. Our next assembly will take place on Wear It Purple day 29th August 2019. Parents and guardians are invited to join us in acknowledging our students achievements.
Waad Salih
School Captain
SRC President
High Resolves and Videos for Change
The first session of High resolves centred on identifying the needs and wants of all human beings as well as focusing on the major issues that concern Australians. Tom Marks introduced the program where we had to be outsiders from another planet looking in and trying to understand how humans create, live and communicate. As aliens were had to look at various aspects of human life like eating, sleeping working, bathing and education.
During the first half of the lesson, we focused on how different resources were distributed across the world and the standards in communities in different parts of the world. This particular activity help us to identify that not everyone around the world has access to basic needs such as safe and clean water and food, adequate infrastructure (housing, toilets), legal rights and much more. We also learned that while individuals in underdeveloped countries are subjected to lack of access to basic needs, there is a portion of developed countries where communities experience this. Through the use of facts and statistics, we were able to identify that in Australia equity is not achieved for all people.
The second half of the session focused on issues that impact young Australians. This was done through an exercise in which we had to identify the causes of major issues. We were able to identify that for every issue there is a root cause that then leads to other issues. For example, homelessness is an extremely big issue that effects Australian youth. Through group work, we identified that one of the root causes of homelessness is domestic violence and we gained an understanding that this can lead to a cycle of violence, increased suicide rates and fewer employment opportunities.
High Resolves: Videos for Change
In the second session we had the opportunity to meet as a group with Tom Marks to discuss issues impacting Australian Youth. Students from year 7 to 12 were invited to participate in this session by signing up.
This session focused on the program ‘Videos for Change’, where young students have the opportunity to voice our opinion on issues that we are passionate about. For example, issues like climate change, substance abuse, refugee rights and lots more! To identify the issues we would like to focus on, we were asked to walk around to different tables that had different issues and choose the one that they were most passionate about. This was extremely beneficial because it enabled students of different ages to come together and contribute to equal discussion about different topics. After forming the groups, we were asked to create a 1-minute video outlining the root causes and consequences of our chosen issue. This was to ensure that the video was short, sharp and straight to the point. Videos attract and captivate individuals on a large scale because they can be shared locally, nationally and eventually worldwide. The main goal of this program is to give youth a voice and inform them that the future of this country is in their hands. These videos are entered into a competition that is running all around Australia and the winners are awarded with prizes and having their video shown nationally on ‘The Project.’
Other activities conducted during the session included Tom reading out statements and students identifying whether they agree, disagree or unsure. This allowed everyone in the room to identify differing and unique thought processes that can exist in a group of people. We also had a chance to explain why we agreed/disagreed, helping a lot of students to understand that people around them have similar views and morals to them and this led to more detailed discussions.
Overall, High Resolves and the programs/activities that they have incorporated have given students the opportunity to voice their opinion and feel like they are a part of the community. This is extremely important because when the young citizens are valued and accepted, they are more likely to work together as a team to make their community a better place for everyone. Thank you to Ms Hassan for giving the students of CESC an amazing opportunity to have our opinions heard and valued.
Grace Tibusious
School Captain
SRC Vice President
Youth leadership programs: Parliamentary Advisory Committee
On the 29 July 2019, School Captain and SRC Vice President Grace Tibusious and Year 12 student representative and House captain Tyson Magila, took part in a parliamentary advisory committee to be contributors to discussion about government grants for youth leadership programs. One focus of this committee is promoting the Victorian Values Statement to young people around the state and providing resources for youth workers and youth organisations to engage young people with these values. Additionally, another important focus is to engage young people in citizenship and leadership. The committee was made up by passionate individuals and organisations committed to increasing student voice and equipping young people with the skills to effect positive change. It was a great experience for students at CESC to have the opportunity to be equal contributors to discussions about youth engagement programs.
Tyson Magila
Year 12 Student year level leader
House Captain