Greater Dandenong Children's Forum

Yesterday our 2026 School Leaders attended the City of Greater Dandenong Children’s Forum at Springvale Town Hall with Miss Halliwell. The Forum brought together young people from across the local community to share their ideas, discuss important issues and explore ways to make Greater Dandenong an even better place to live, learn and grow.

Throughout the day, our leaders participated in a range of interactive workshops and creative activities designed to build confidence, develop leadership skills and encourage young people to have a voice in their community. Highlights included an Indigenous hip hop workshop and traditional Māori resilience-building, where students learnt different movements using a Taiaha.

Our School Leaders also connected with students from neighbouring schools, sharing their thoughts and ideas on important topics such as environmental issues, high school concerns and ways to improve our local library. These discussions gave students the opportunity to collaborate, listen to different perspectives and contribute ideas that could help shape the future of the City of Greater Dandenong.

It was a fantastic day filled with learning, collaboration and new friendships, with our leaders embracing the opportunity to have their voices heard. And, of course, the delicious food truck treats were an added bonus!

Below are some reflections from our Student Leaders:

My favourite activity was making the water saving poster because we got to step out of our comfort zone to work with two new people we’ve never met and share our creativity with each other. - Alice 

We went to the library and met new people. We made posters about saving water. ‘Every drop counts' was our slogan. - Kealyn 

My favourite part of the day was the free lunch, ‘cause who doesn’t like free lunch? I got the fish and chips and it was delicious. The fish was crispy, and flavourful, and the chips were salty and great. - Nelson

The freebie that we received from the Children's Forum made my experience feel luxurious. We got a booklet with a certificate, a mini book created by secondary college students with secondary school advice, notepads and complimentary snacks. - Oscar