SCRIBE ONLINE - Issue 4 by Cam Allen Design

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ISSUE 4

2013

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The H2H Effect Ambassadors of Hope SCRIBE Issue 4

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ON THE COVER 7-year-old student, Stevolla Mwazi is in the pre-unit class at the Mama Paulina School of Hope. She thoroughly enjoyed her time with the H2H team on their visit to Kenya early in 2013, in particular, the amount of photos that were taken of her!

88 INTRODUCTIONS 4 CONTENTS 7

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

SCRIBE CULTURE 8

AMBASSADORS OF HOPE

The H2H (Help2Hope) team share their passion and insights into what was a truly ground-breaking, as well as personally grounding exercise when they ventured to the remote village of Mukuro, Kenya in January 2013 to commence the further development of the Mama Paulina School of Hope for under-privileged children...

17 AN AUTHOR’S JOURNEY Young Perth writer, Claire Merchant shares her literacy journey with SCRIBE and how she came to publish her first book, ‘Mistry by Moonlight’...

22 SEQTA – FOR SCHOOLS WHO VALUE A TEACHER’S TIME SEQTA Software is an all-in-one web application that gives schools a superior way of managing all aspects of the teaching and learning process. It works. Find out how you can apply it to your school...

26 REDUCE, RENEW, REGENERATE At South Fremantle Senior High School a new interpretation of Education’s Three Rs was created to incorporate their vision of becoming Australia’s first accredited Carbon Neutral School: providing an environmentally sustainable education for their students and practicing what they preach by integrating those Three Rs into the psyche of their school community. This is an inspirational story of how

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a West Australian High School has paved the way for more schools to follow their path in creating the future stewards of our planet…

32 TEACHING BEYOND BELIEF In this extract from her new eBook, Maggie Dent explores the scientifically-proven point that a student’s core beliefs or perceptions about school have direct impact on their learning and their behaviour. No matter how competent a teacher you are, there will always be a new challenge in teaching your subject to a new class who views the world in an entirely different manner to you...

34 DISCONNECTING TO RECONNECT Constant connectivity is both a blessing and a curse of the 21st Century. Using the digital age to our advantage requires balance and responsibility. Doug Loader discusses the implications of modern technology and the necessity for Digital Fair Use Policies to be developed in our homes and in schools...

37 CURTIN UNIVERSITY – EMBRACING THE EMERGENCE OF ONLINE UNIVERSITY COURSES Thanks to the rapid advancement of the Internet and other digital technologies, Education has, like so many other industries, gone through a period of rapid change over the past decade. Curtin University is one of the first Universities in Australia to embrace one of the most radical changes in Tertiary Education today – Online University Courses...

42 RONAN’S ESCAPE Winner of 10 international film awards, Ronan’s Escape is a stunning short film set in the rural wheat belt of Western Australia that provides a candid insight into the life of Ronan, a 14-year-old boy who’s been bullied at school his whole life. Writer and Director AJ Carter challenges our perceptions and experiences with bullying...

70 48 YOUNG LEADERS GIVEN THE GIFT OF VOICE

66 THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Over 6,500 Upper Secondary students and over 15,000 Upper Primary students and their Teachers attended the annual National Young Leaders’ Day in Perth, March 2013 – a Halogen Foundation-inspired event aimed at inspiring and influencing a generation of young people to lead themselves and others well…

Lynwood Senior High School has made Sustainability a core focus in the development of a positive school culture and a means of engaging students of different abilities in their daily learning. Head of Curriculum, Jo Willesee shares the school’s sustainability vision...

52 WHAT’S YOUR DIGITAL LEGACY? Tenille Bentley is the founder of the Global Good Foundation and Founder/Managing Director of Socialite Media. In this article Tenille talks about holistic approaches to marketing, with a specific focus on the digital customer...

56 RISING FROM THE ASHES – ONE SCHOOL, ONE COMMUNITY It was to be Peter Thatcher’s first year as Principal at Roleystone Community College. However, tragedy struck on New Year’s eve. This is an account of how a community rallied to rise from the ashes; ignited by a spark of inspiration to build a new school with a vision formed from respect, challenge and community contributions. Lionel Cranenburgh investigates the nature of this amazing change...

61 MUSIC-MAKING TOGETHER UK born and Melbourne-based educator, Gillian Lee shares her Musical Journey with SCRIBE Magazine. Founder of The Rhythm Tree, Gillian offers young children and their parents a creative educational program that nurtures their natural love of music...

70 PAPER FACTS! 28-year-old Renee Pilkington runs a circus and aerial spectacle-based company called Fliptease which she established in 2006. In addition to its commercial activities, Fliptease has a social objective to run Youth Circus Programs called Access Circus...

74 NO TOUCH V POSITIVE TOUCH Primary School Educator, Anne Elston believes we need to flip the mindset from “No touch” to one of “Positive Touch” in the classroom by introducing peer-to-peer massage. The MISP (Massage in Schools Program) is having some wonderful results on students’ behaviour, self-esteem and emotional health...

76 BRITISH BEYOND BOUNDARIES British International Schools are renowned for the high quality of their education. The popularity of British Education at university and school levels is often due to the fame and academic excellence of Oxford, Cambridge, Eton, Harrow and Winchester. Lionel Cranenburgh visited the British International School in Phuket to learn how it is flying the flag for British quality education using the ‘Learning to Learn’ model and brain-centred learning...

64 THE RECEPTIONIST RULZ! The Masked Educator presents this satirical, yet honest look at the role of the Receptionist in our schools. He gives insight and, hopefully, a deeper appreciation for the oftentimes-underrated role our smiling school Receptionist endures… SCRIBE Issue 4

26 48 80 STORYLINES FESTIVAL – CELEBRATING LITERATURE AND THE NARRATIVE ARTS A wonderful line-up of talented writers and educators, enthusing and exciting students with creative stories, debates and interactive sessions on everything from Australia’s Light Horse Brigades to The Shakespeare Sessions (Rapping the Bard) and MUCH more, were just some of the literary delights conveyed to West Australian students and staff who attended the 2013 All Saints’ College recent Storylines Festival…

84 CONNECTING CROSS CAMPUS The last three years has proven to be a compelling time for the implementation of technology in the classroom with the intersection of an increase in funding along with falling costs. SCRIBE partner Winthrop Australia help to provide schools with a comprehensive wireless roll out plan aligned to their budgets…

86 THE LANGUAGE OF RESILIENT FAMILIES Parenting expert, Michael Grose talks about the need for children and parents in resilient families to tune ino the needs of each other. He presents to our readers, 10 examples of the language or resilience, the coping skills each reflects and the types of situations they are applicable...

88 THE WORLD’S TOP ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS AND CHANGEMAKERS ADDRESS THE GREENEST SCHOOL ON EARTH Bali’s Green School’s first High School graduating class, the Class of 2013, recently received messages from some of the world’s top environmental leaders. Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Richard Branson, Bill McKibben, Bob Brown, Paul Hawken, Michael Franti, Daryl Hannah, Ben Cohen and others sent video and written messages to congratulate and inspire the graduates at their commencement ceremony in Bali in June 2013... 6

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94 WAY OUT WEST Joel Smoker’s book, ‘Way Out West’ will make you want to explore the remote areas of our wonderful state. An Art Teacher at Ocean Reef Senior High School, Joel has been drawing for more than 20 Years. Joel uses his book as a reference when showing students how to not only appreciate our beautiful land, but how to capture it through a variety of art techniques...

98 H2H – A HOME AWAY FROM HOME SCRIBE Director Cam Allen talks about his philanthropic challenges in setting up the Heart2Hope Inc. and how his time in Kenya has positively impacted on his own lifejourney...

103 TECHNOLOGY 4 TEACHERS Information Technology specialist Brad Tyrrell provides insights into the latest information technology available for educators...the SCRIBE Team also share their favourites...

108 SCRIBE FORUM A Forum for everything ‘Education!’ Have your say and let us know what you are thinking! If you have any interesting stories, send them in and be in with the chance to receive cool prizes! We love email and social media, chances are if you post something we like, we will share it with our readers...

110 SCRIBE CONTRIBUTORS

PUBLISHING & DESIGN Solace Design

EDITORS Cam Allen, Karen Reid

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS/RESEARCHERS Cam Allen, Karen Reid, Katie Thiveos, Cassie Worssam, Karen Fox, Jane Ashcroft, Mark Pynn, Claire Merchant, Geri Hardy, Maggie Dent, Doug Loader, Dr Lina Pellicione, Dr Sharon Davies, Val Morey, Polly Farmer, Tracy Bennett, Tammy Riley, A.J. Carter, The Halogen Foundation Staff, Tenille Bentley, Lionel Cranenburg, Gillian Lee, The Masked Educator, Gary Anderson, Jo Willesee, Renee Pilkington, Anne Elston, Carmen Myler, Felicity Walker, Geoff Otterman, Michael Grose, Joel Smoker, Brad Tyrell, Joseph Oloo

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY Solace Design, Cam Allen, Leigh Maisey, Mark Pynn, Cassie Worssam, Katie Thiveos, Smooth Motion Media Group, Ilkka K, Roleystone Community College, Lionel Cranenburgh, Manda Ford (Kwerk Photography), Alf Sorbello, Widi (Green School), Jonathan Tjandra, Johannes Reinhart, Pepper Poppins, VJzoo, Kate Wilson Events

SALES & MARKETING scribe@scribemagazine.com.au SCRIBE Magazine is proudly published by Solace Design. ABN 73 463 974 859 (Solace Design) SCRIBE MAGAZINE PO BOX 3072 Myaree LPO WA 6154 Tel: 08 9330 5374 Fax: 08 9264 8230 Email: scribe@scribemagazine.com.au Web: www.scribemagazine.com.au Digital Copy formatted by Realview. SCRIBE Magazine is electronically distributed to registered Primary and Secondary Schools in Western Australia (Public, Private, Independent), Australian educational suppliers and service providers and tertiary institutions throughout Australia. Every endeavour is made to ensure the contents of this magazine are correct at the time of print. The publisher does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed by contributing writers. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Images and written material submitted for SCRIBE Magazine are sent at the owner’s risk, and while every care is taken, Solace Design will not accept any liability for lost, stolen, damaged or misused material. The publisher reserves the right to modify editorial and advertisement content. All images are used on the understanding that appropriate compliance and permissions with current privacy legislation has been obtained by represented schools and businesses prior to digital release.

The Help2Hope foundation team with the staff and teachers of the Mama Paulina School of Hope. The inaugural H2H Quest was an awe-inspiring trip which was a culmination of successful fundraising, commitment and a passion to improve education for young poeple in Kenya.

elcome to Issue 4 of SCRIBE Magazine, the 5th Issue and the official relaunch of SCRIBE as a digital publication!

Producing this edition has been a challenging and time-consuming journey but the excitement of our ‘digital conversion’ has opened up many exciting opportunities, ideas and amazing initiatives: this rebrand is certainly going to bring new life to education in Australia and abroad! We have sourced some amazing writers covering equally exciting topics that will appeal to a variety of readers. As our first ‘interactive’ digital magazine, we will be offering this edition FREE in 2013. We have 4 iPad Mini’s to giveaway to our existing subscribers and anyone that subscribes before the end of November. (Go to Page 75 for more details, you definitely need to be in it to win it!) Our ‘new and improved’ subscription program will be revealed in February 2014 and the support from our readers in the lead-up will ensure SCRIBE Magazine continues to grow and improve. In the meantime, you can go to the SCRIBE Magazine website, subscribe for 12 months and be eligible for one of our prizes. Issue 4 is diverse, it really is difficult to know where to begin. As a digital magazine, we encourage you to explore all topics, as we have catered for all tastes and have included a whole heap of interactivity for your reading experience. Throughout this edition you will be prompted to explore an array of interactive features, videos and new directions in communications. When you see the following symbol, this is a prompt for you to open the video for more in-depth information and features. We hope you like what we have prepared for you! We are also opening up unique ‘advertising possibilities’ to those businesses that service schools, universities and the people that make education come to life! Check out the SEQTA Video on the bottom of Page 24 and see how we are bringing educational advertising to life! SCRIBE has been well-received since inception and we now put the digital medium to the test with our readers. You now have more accessibility to SCRIBE Magazine and feel free to use this publication as a resource for your own educational endeavours. We hope you enjoy Issue 4. CAM ALLEN – DIRECTOR

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Ambassadors of Hope

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THE SCRIBE MAGAZINE H2H (HELP2HOPE) TEAM SHARE THEIR PASSION AND INSIGHTS INTO WHAT WAS A TRULY GROUND-BREAKING, AS WELL AS PERSONALLY GROUNDING EXERCISE. IN JANUARY 2013 THEY VENTURED TO THE REMOTE VILLAGE OF MUKURO, KENYA, TO COMMENCE THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAMA PAULINA SCHOOL OF HOPE , A PRIMARY SCHOOL OF UNDER-PRIVILEGED CHILDREN. THIS IS AN INSPIRATIONAL READ WHICH WE HOPE WILL TOUCH YOUR HEARTS AND ENCOURAGE YOUR SCHOOL, BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY TO BECOME INVOLVED IN HELPING CREATE A FULL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE FOR THE CHILDREN OF MUKURO…

he Mama Paulina School of Hope is an independent (poverty-stricken) Primary School located close to the border of Tanzania and Kenya in a remote village named Mukuro. After an initial visit in early 2012, Cam Allen and Joseph Oloo (Director and Founder of the School) formulated a plan to create the H2H Quest, a fundraising initiative inviting likeminded individuals to sacrifice 6 months of their life, in order for each to raise a target amount of money within their school, business or social communities. By the end of December 2012, six hard-working selected individuals were committed to raise a sufficient amount of money for the initial two-week venture to the school in January 2013. This quest was not only a grounding and groundbreaking exercise, it created a sense of understanding between two very different cultures.

fter meeting Joseph in 2011, learning about the work of his late Grandmother, Paulina Okello who worked selflessly giving assistance to underprivileged children in the area, we were both determined to do everything in our power to continue her work to change the life course of the poverty-stricken children who attended the School. The families pay nominal fees, the children are fed twice a day (an effective incentive for them to attend school) and are educated by a dedicated team of teachers who are paid a bare minimum wage, yet are unbelievably passionate about their commitment to the school and the children whom they educate. The H2H trip was the end result of months of fundraising, which allowed us as individuals to take action, direct development programs and building activities within the school that ultimately will make life easier for the community; giving the children and those supporting them greater opportunities for the future. Our work to date is just the very beginning. We are already well into fundraising initiatives for 2013/2014 in order to continue with our goal

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of ensuring this remote community becomes self-sustaining. We are also in the initial stages of arranging a return trip in 2014 and urge like-minded individuals to join us, encourage schools, groups and businesses to support us and be part of one of the most rewarding challenges you could be involved in. Enjoy reading on as the H2H Team share their experiences throughout the H2H Quest. CAM ALLEN

clearly remember the moment 3 years ago when I was lying on my couch feeling sorry for myself, suffering from a major back injury. While channel surfing, I stumbled across a documentary on ‘Habitat for Humanity’. This good news story was about former US President Jimmy Carter’s ‘New Orleans Build Project’ – 100 homes built and funded by volunteers for victims of Hurricane Katrina. I felt inspired. It was at that point that I made a promise to myself that when I was healthy I would commit financially and volunteer my time. One year later I travelled to Pokhara in Nepal with ‘Habitat for Humanity Australia’ to build a home for a poor Nepalese family.

My promise didn’t end there. I was hooked and have made it a personal goal every 1-2 years to get involved in a cause. Not only do these experiences allow me to travel to new destinations, immerse myself in different cultures and make global connections, but through these endeavours I can help bestow opportunities for those less fortunate than myself. The same opportunities that I take for granted; housing, quality education, health services, nourishment, clean water and community infrastructure, all gifts of living in an amazing country and being born into my family circumstance. When I tell people about my involvement in such projects the most common responses range from “Are you crazy? Why waste your time and money?” to “It must be so rewarding to know you are making a difference”. I laugh at the first but to be honest I find the negative comments uncomfortable and at times cringe-worthy. This is the furthest thing from my mind. I don’t do it to make myself “feel good” or to “make a difference”. I do this to help provide the same opportunities afforded to me. I first heard about the Mama Paulina School of Hope from Cam Allen. Cam and I started our teaching career together many years ago and when he put the call out for individuals to get involved in this service learning experience I instantly knew I had to get involved.

Before we set foot on Kenyan soil we had the mammoth task of fundraising for the projects we had committed to. My main fundraising effort was baking sweet and savoury treats on a weekly basis and selling them to the generous staff of Servite College. My family and friends also contributed whole-heartedly, however, the most impressive fundraisers were the Year 10 Italian and Economics students at Servite College. They organised a cake stall during Italian Week and sausage sizzle during Market Day. These efforts contributed $900 towards the Mama Paulina School of Hope. We landed in Nairobi, Kenya and were met by Joseph Oloo, the Director of the Mama Paulina School of Hope. Our conditions in the school compound were tough. We were living on a construction site – the half built Heart2Hope House where I was immediately pushed out of my comfort zone! No running water, no electricity, no contact with the outside world, squat toilets and a mattress on a damp floor. Yet, despite all the negatives, what this home had was wonderful hospitality from Joseph, his wife Jemima and all the support staff. To strengthen the Kenyan/Australian bond I was able to secure an Australian and Indigenous flag from the Hon. Louise Pratt a Senator for Western Australia and thanks must also be given to Margaret Quirk MLA the Member for Girrawheen for providing a Western Australian flag. On special occasions these flags will fly proudly with the school and Kenyan flags in the memorial wall, which has now become the heart of the school. In addition, we also created large blackboards for each classroom and taught the students how to play frisbee, the Hokey Pokey, tunnel ball, duck duck goose and other playground favourites. It was amazing to see their big smiles and hear their excitement and laughter. We were building relations, building community and breaking down barriers of difference.

The most profound moment for me was sewing buttons and mending the students’ uniforms. We sat inside one of the classrooms and one by one called up each student. This one to one contact was special. Many of the uniforms were in very poor condition and it was through our efforts that we were able to restore the students’ pride in themselves and in their school. The few hours we spent inside one of the classrooms gave me invaluable insight into what it was like to learn as a student at this school. No electricity, poor lighting and ventilation. I was hot and I found it difficult to concentrate. How on earth could students learn under these conditions? This put everything into perspective for me. I am so thankful to have been educated in Australia, to work in a well-resourced school and am a lucky teacher to have a classroom environment conducive to learning. The Help to Hope Quest team worked tirelessly everyday under the hot Kenyan sun. There was blood, sweat and, at times tears amongst our team. We were driven by the fact that every child has the right to a decent, quality education. We instantly bonded and jelled as a group. I am so blessed to have shared this unique experience with them. Tom, Basil and Marvin were our “Mukuro Angels”. They are three beautiful Kenyan souls who are also on the same page as us Aussies, equally giving their time and effort to be part of the quest. These unique young men were a highlight of our trip. I personally thank them for their honesty and for sharing their culture, life experiences, ideas and answering my 1001 questions about Kenya. The Help to Hope Quest was a success. We achieved what we set out to do and more. My commitment to this project didn’t end when I stepped back on Australian soil. My pledge to the Mama Paulina School of Hope is long term. Such a pledge is vital to ensure that this school delivers quality education for

those less fortunate. Furthermore, as a team our ideas, collaboration and good management of resources and funds will guarantee the school’s sustainability. I’ve had the chance to share my experience and photos with many individuals upon my return to Australia. I’ve openly talked about my involvement in the Help to Hope Quest with the students at Servite College. I have spoken at Retreat Days and linked my experiences within my Society & Environment lessons. I have relished the looks on students’ faces when I tell them about the living conditions and show them photos of the local housing, the limited resources, the classrooms and the schoolyard. These looks are of surprise, shock, and disbelief that on the other side of the world students are educated in and people live in these environments. After the shock value I’ve asked my students to take in their surroundings and have invited them to: 1. Appreciate how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to learn and be given a quality education; 2. To be proud of the fact that they come to a great and well-resourced school; 3. Be thankful that they live in such an amazing country; 4. Contemplate how they too as young individuals can live out the charisms of the Servite Order of Community and Service to others. I know I certainly do. The Help to Hope Quest was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I look forward to the prospect of heading back to Kenya in the future. KATIE THIVEOS

Joseph and the H2H team discuss the structure of the Heart of the School Memorial.

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first heard about The Mama Paulina School of Hope from Joseph when I was on Safari in Kenya in 2011. Hearing Joseph talk about the school was inspirational: He was someone who understood the importance of education and community development to improve the world and lives of future generations. I am passionate about preventative health and am currently half way through a Graduate Diploma in International Public Health. This study has further fuelled my passion about community-driven activities that address the broader social determinants of health, such as education, to achieve the health outcomes needed in developing countries. After coming back from Kenya in 2011 I kept in touch with Joseph over the Internet and told him how keen my partner Mark and I were to come back to Kenya to visit the school – Joseph said, “I do hope you are coming on the Help to Hope Quest”. Joseph put me in touch with Cam Allen and after chatting with Cam over the phone I knew this trip was perfect. To visit Joseph and his family, help the School, travel with like-minded people and support the sustainability of a community-driven project was exciting to say the least. Mark and I were both overwhelmed by the fantastic support we received from our family and friends to raise money for the school. Mukuro is a beautiful place and visiting the school was a fantastic experience – the hospitality from Joseph’s family and the community was just amazing, I have made friends for a lifetime. The Mukuro Musketeers (AKA Tom, Marvin and Basil) took fantastic care of us, joining us each day to work on the construction of the classroom. They played a vital part in our connection with the community by being both our language and cultural translators! They quickly got a crash course in Australian humour and I don’t think I have laughed so much in my life! The community were curious about our presence at first, but over time more and more community members joined the working party or came to wish us well. The trip really highlighted for me how many things I know I’m lucky to have access to, but still take for granted in Australia: clean running water, sanitation, collection of rubbish, good quality roads, reliable electricity and the list goes on! The nearest town was only 13 km away but took over 1 hour by car because the quality of the roads are so bad. The other big difference was how responsible these children had to be, they may walk up to

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2 hours through dense vegetation to get themselves and their younger siblings to the school when they are only 6-yearsold! There were so many highlights during this trip. Firstly for me as a dietitian seeing the feeding program was great. The children all receive a cup of porridge in the morning and most days they also receive a lunch usually a dish of corn and beans or other vegetables. A teacher told me the feeding program was an important reason why parents send their children to the school knowing they will receive 2 meals. Secondly, taking turns in teaching games from Australia and Kenya was a big highlight for me. We taught the children the ‘Hokey Pokey’ and ‘Duck-Duck Goose’, while they taught us a traditional dance. I will never forget finding the teachers in the staff room having a great time laughing and practicing the moves to the Hokey Pokey – such fun! The children were fascinated by us and it was quite amusing to see how quickly a circle of children would surround us whenever we sat down for a break! The children had me in hysterics one day when I had sat down all hot and sweaty and was suddenly surrounded by a group of five girls. The girls all took it in turns to try on my hat while they tried to restyle my terribly sweaty hat hair. This really was just the beginning for me: helping to build the outdoor classroom was a fantastic way to get to know the community and find out what they think is needed, as well as learn about their way of life. The next step Joseph and I have discussed is trying to increase access to basic health services for the school community. The fact that this project is community-owned and community-driven is vital to its success. It is important to me that these children see there are people on the other side of the world who care about their future and

who strive for a world of equity where everyone has access to quality education. CASSIE WORSSAM

n 2012 many of my closest friends and family started working extremely hard with me to raise the funds once I decided to embark on the H2H Quest. I felt a huge obligation to work as hard as I could because so many people attended our organized functions, bought raffle tickets, donated money and helped me in numerous ways, trusting me to make sure the money was used appropriately. Here are some of the most vivid memories for me of the recent trip to Mukuro: •

Joseph and his family were very friendly and welcoming, treating us to beautiful local food; this was a surprise to me as I had anticipated we would not be eating much during our stay, we were spoilt! The Heart2Hope House was larger than I expected but I now see that this is a long-term investment for the school and a home away from home for likeminded individuals who can assist the school in the future;

•

Whilst spending time with the students at the school, Jane and I didn’t know what to do with the particular group of kids we were given so we thought of the ‘Hokey Pokey’, it was definitely one of the highlights seeing 60 children attempt it, especially when one of our chaperones, Tom, continued to hum the tune over the course of our stay, he couldn’t get it out of his head;

•

It was upsetting to see the state of the children’s clothing but I was glad that we spent a few days repairing and patching up the damaged garments as best we could. This has inspired me to sell Cadbury chocolates in 2013 so that I can raise enough funds to assist in purchasing new uniforms for the children;

The H2H Quest was a very emotional yet rewarding time for me personally and I must admit it has been difficult adapting back into my day-to-day life. We take so many things for granted in life, an experience like Kenya gives a sense of clarity about what is truly important!

Staying behind with Cam when the other team members went into town was a memorable day. We had big plans of doing additional work at the school but our attention was diverted to a few of the workers and family members who required firstaid. We also visited the house of one of the school workers, which was extremely small (Think the size of an average bathroom), and we were taken back by how proud he was of his home particularly as he had built it himself;

I had a mixture of nerves and excitement in the lead up to this big adventure, but honestly it wasn’t until I arrived at the airport that I truly realized I was heading off to Kenya, Africa. After many years of having an inner desire to help those less fortunate, particularly through education, I finally had the chance to fulfill my dream.

•

Walking up Mount Mukuro as a group, absolutely one of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen;

•

The sunsets each night were beautiful. Sitting outside by the fire and watching the stars and lightning on the horizon;

•

Painting new blackboards for the classrooms;

•

The visit to the fishing village on Lake Victoria was a wonderful experience; the ride in the hand-carved fishing boat was fun, although I was a little concerned with the water coming through the cracks in the wood;

•

Wherever we went people seemed happy to see us, I never felt unsafe throughout my time in Mukuro.

KAREN FOX

The 24 hours that followed were a blur, not surprisingly considering there were some 16 hours flying time and a further 6 hours in transit. We finally made it to Nairobi and met Joseph Oloo – the heart, soul and Director of the Mama Paulina School of Hope. This was the moment I had been waiting for! After months of staring at his massive smile (through photos and emails) I finally got to give this beautiful man a hug and lock eyes with him. From the start, it was obvious this was going to be a TRULY AMAZING experience. We spent a wonderful (and interesting!) night in Nairobi, with Joseph, his wife Jemima, and family members, Marvin and Basil playing host to us. Providing us with shelter, food in our bellies and plenty of comical moments we finally drifted off to sleep. Excitement was in the air the next day – for me personally, I could not get in the mini van fast enough!! I wanted to get on the road and see these gorgeous children we had been focusing on all this time in our fundraising efforts!

We reached Mukuro just before dark and finally saw the school in all its simple glory. You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. By this stage, the group had already well and truly started sharing stories about their own lives back home, where they were in life and how they came to be in Kenya. We had begun a bonding process that would become stronger than any of us could have imagined. The following days in Mukuro saw us helping the qualified tradesman build an outdoor classroom of epic proportions and later, a flag pole and memorial for the Brick donation plaques. We spent time meeting with the children and the teachers, precious memories I will never forget. The children blew me away. Their little faces were always filled with grins and smiles, but often with trepidation or even fear – what are these Muzungo’s doing here? Why are they appearing to help us? The main aspect that struck me was that they all had beautiful manners, spoke articulately and more importantly, cared for each other and their siblings so lovingly. They played as a group and really looked out for each other. As well as the endless laughter and crazy behaviour amongst our team (I literally have never laughed so hard and so often in my life), my favourite moment was when we started sewing each individual child’s uniforms back together. Many of them had barely threads hanging from their little bodies, many without buttons or buttonholes. It was one of the simplest things we did for them and the least cost involved by far, but I believe it was one of the most important moments of the trip. Not only did it allow us to connect one-on-one with each child as they stood before us, it made them feel special, loved and unique. Of course each child was just so incredibly humble and giggled their way through us trying not to poke and prod their bellies as we attempted to stitch the clothing still hanging on them. Sometimes I laughed so hard with them at the spectacle we were making of ourselves and sometimes I sat their silently letting tears run down my cheek hoping they wouldn’t see.

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We made an enormous amount of progress, the outdoor classroom was close to completion and the memorial was built and just waiting on a final render to secure the plaques. We managed to get new blackboards in the classrooms, stock the school with essential stationery and books, buy fruit trees to be planted in the school yard, get the electricity close to completion for the Heart 2 Hope House and the classrooms. With such a small timeframe it was difficult to see all projects through in person, but the work that had been done prior to our arrival was quite simply astounding. The fields of corn, water tanks supplying the school children with probably the only fresh

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water they get to drink during the day, a feeding program of porridge delivered to each child during the school day and much, much more.

what Joseph was doing at his school and knowing how important education is to improve quality of life I knew this was something I wanted to be involved with.

This project has opened my eyes to the daily plight of children and adults alike. It has also shown me of course that we have so much, yet still feel deprived and our children are incredibly lucky to have won that life lottery draw of being born into such a prosperous and thriving country – it is simply the luck of the draw. I will continue to see the end of this project along to its fruition and probably many more thereafter. I have tried to explain how I feel to many people since I’ve been back, but it’s tough to explain. I guess, when all is said and done, I just feel blessed.

We kept in contact with Joseph and had discussed coming to the school, but made no concrete plans and then in mid-2012 I heard about the Help 2 Hope Quest. This was an ideal opportunity for us to visit the school and make a difference with other like-minded people from Australia. We contacted Cam and signed up immediately.

JANE ASHCROFT

first met Joseph in 2011 while in Africa on Safari. At that time Joseph was working as a Cook on Safari’s. It was then that I heard about the Mama Paulina School of Hope. During previous overseas travel I had often thought that there was more I should be doing to help those less fortunate than myself, but I’d never managed to find something that struck a chord with me. Hearing about

Fundraising in Australia leading up to the trip was time-consuming and at times hard work, but our goal of raising money for the school and it’s students kept us motivated. Our friends and family were very supportive and without their help we would not have been able to raise the money we did for the school. I’d spoken to Cam a couple of times and had no contact with Karen, Jane or Katie prior to the trip so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Fortunately, the other members of the group were a great bunch and we soon became friends on the trip and worked well as a team. Each member brought their own range of knowledge and experience, which was great – a diverse range of views helps for a great outcome.

Upon arriving at Mukuro and seeing the school and our accommodation the reality of what we were doing hit. The school and facilities were very basic and I was amazed to see how little the children had in terms of materials and yet how happy and excited they were. Everyone at Joseph’s house and in the school were incredibly welcoming and made us feel right at home.

It wasn’t all hard work of course – we had to have some R & R as well. I enjoyed going to Lake Victoria and visiting local fishing villages, I always find it interesting to see how other people live around the world and how similar or different their lives are to ours in Australia. Everywhere we went, the local people were friendly and the children in particular were fascinated by us.

We were desperate to get started on the classroom and to achieve as much as we could but we had to be patient while we planned our activities and the classroom. Within a few days however, the classroom started to take shape and I was excited by what we were doing.

My time at Mukuro passed very quickly and to be honest I would have loved to stay for another week or two to do more to help and to spend more time with the kids but all good things have to end! I had a fantastic time with a great group of people and have created memories I will cherish. I’ve travelled to a number of countries around the world on holiday but this was the first time I lived in the community rather than as a tourist and it was a wonderful experience. To be able to live with a local family in a remote part of Kenya while helping out the local community is a truly rewarding experience and one I would honestly recommend to anyone (as long as they’re willing to ‘rough-it’ a little!)

We could see our actions and endeavours improving the lives of all the students around us. I could also see how the community appreciated our input – not just the money we had raised to get the project happening, but also the fact that we had travelled all the way from Australia to support their school and their community. The team really worked hard to achieve as much as we could, along with the work on the classroom we helped repair children’s uniforms, purchased supplies and constructed new blackboards. We all wanted to do anything we could in the time we had to improve the school and the lives of the students.

can give them. We are so unbelievably lucky in Australia and we should do what we can to share our good fortune with others who aren’t as lucky as we are. MARK PYNN

I know I’ll be back to Mukuro and will want to continue to help the school. I believe improving access to quality of education is the key to improving quality of life and the kids at the Mama Paulina School of Hope deserve all the help we

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ite See our webrsary for full itine

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An Authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Journey By Claire Merchant

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Claire Merchant talks to a Year 11 English Literature class at Corpus Christi College in Term Three 2013.

WRITING HAS ALWAYS HAD A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY LIFE. I MADE PICTURE BOOKS WHEN I WAS SEVEN, I BEGAN KEEPING A JOURNAL WHEN I WAS NINE, AND I STARTED WRITING SHORT STORIES WHEN I WAS ELEVEN. WHEN I WAS THIRTEEN, THEY GOT A BIT LONGER AND BY THE TIME I’D REACHED FOURTEEN, I HAD A COLLECTION OF FRAGMENTED STORIES AND A THREAD OF CHARACTERS IN MY MIDST...

’ve always wanted to be in the Dewey Decimal System. Maybe I never really thought it was possible for a small town girl from Perth to make it happen but it was fun to dream. When I was fifteen and in Year 10 at Corpus Christi College, I started a story about High School which was really just a way for me to live out the High School experience I knew I never would (I tended to keep a relatively uneventful, wall-flower type existence). I never used to tell people that I wrote stories because living in a dream world wasn’t something I wanted to advertise. Peers would ask questions and some would judge so it was something I generally just avoided drawing attention to. Regardless, I loved creating scenarios and stories for my characters but I was almost convinced that one day I’d have to grow out of it. I secretly hoped I wouldn’t but I didn’t think it was possible for anything to ever come of it. So I told myself that once I’d finished that first High School story that I would stop writing and focus on other things. I sometimes think that this was the reason that the story took me seven years to finally finish. I put the High School story aside and began dreaming up other stories and

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after I’d finished my first one at around nineteen, I took a shot at trying to get it published with Australian publishers. Nothing came of it so I kept writing for my own amusement and as I finished the novel-length stories, began sending them all to my childhood friend Elysia, who seemed to enjoy them and encourage me to keep trying to publish them. I took the compliment but didn’t bother trying because I still didn’t think they were up to par. But as a more years passed and I finished more and more books, between my studies in Arts and Education, I began taking more risks with the characters and incorporated different styles into the stories like writing song lyrics for a musicthemed novel and poetry for others. By now I had created a world for my characters I know as “South Coast” which was like an alterna-Perth – more glamour and prestige but still relatively small and isolated, and filled with hope and solace. South Coast was a place where people came to find something – whether that was a better version of themselves, a dream or a purpose. My characters became a part of my life as if they were friends who had commissioned me to scribe their stories, my imagination seemed to overflow from my mind onto the page and writing became more than a hobby to me, it became a passion that was as necessary

and as vital as breathing. If I didn’t have the outlet, the stories I have swimming around in my mind would destroy my sanity more than the belief from others that I was just wasting my time with it. I began drawing more on my own experiences, morphing places that I’d visited, like Sydney, America, Paris and Italy to into my world and into the city of South Coast. Early on I’d made the conscious decision to only use each name once so it allowed me to let the characters walk through each other’s stories even after their story had ended. In 2011 after returning from a trip to Italy, I decided to write a story based on some of my life-changing experiences (mixed with a bit of fantasy) and wrote ‘Mistry by Moonlight’. It took me about six months to write after taking my usual approach of research, planning, penning and became my eleventh completed story. It was this story that would eventually be the reason for my name to be in print on a global scale. After finishing Mistry, I returned with more zealous to try and get my stories published. I set up a tumblr site to post quotes from my books (clairemmerchant. tumblr.com), followed a bunch of publishers on twitter (@sailorclaire), and searched for publishers, setting alarms to remember to submit my manuscripts in

MY CHARACTERS BECAME A PART OF MY LIFE AS IF THEY WERE FRIENDS WHO HAD COMMISSIONED ME TO SCRIBE THEIR STORIES, MY IMAGINATION SEEMED TO OVERFLOW FROM MY MIND ONTO THE PAGE AND WRITING BECAME MORE THAN A HOBBY TO ME, IT BECAME A PASSION THAT WAS AS NECESSARY AND AS VITAL AS BREATHING.

times that fit their submission guidelines. It’s a lot tougher to get noticed in the publishing world as an unsolicited author (without an agent) but to me, getting an agent seemed like too much of an expense considering I was still a bit nervous that if I got someone professional to read my stories that they would tell me to rewrite them or change bits.

story was so unrealistic because writing had always been something I’ve loved doing if even as a hobby. To date, aside from the one I’ve had published, I have finished another thirteen (including that initial High School story which finished up in three parts and over 500 plainly written pages), and have two more ideas currently in production.

By luck and chance in September 2012, I stumbled across an independent publisher based in Cambridge, UK, called Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie and sent them some chapters of ‘Mistry by Moonlight’ for consideration. A couple of weeks later they requested my full manuscript and after that, I waited in silent hope for further word as the weeks passed.

Being able to share my stories with the world is almost indescribable and to have people come up to me and talk to me about characters I created is the most incredible thing.

It was a couple of months later when my Nonna asked me what had come of it that I mustered the courage to email them – and thank goodness that I did. It turned out that my passion and persistence paid off and days after I’d sent the full manuscript, they had sent a proposal contract out that hadn’t reached me. After my prompt, it was resent and upon my acceptance, production could begin. I didn’t know what to expect in the publishing process but I was extremely lucky to have such an understanding and supportive team to work throughout the whole course. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would and after two sets of proofs, the graphics department designing the cover and the final signoffs, ‘Mistry by Moonlight’ was ready to print in a little over four months.

A couple of years ago, after I’d graduated from my second university qualification, my mum asked me what I wanted to do for a job if I could do anything in the world. I remember telling her that if I could pick, I’d be an author, get my books published and be able to keep writing. At the time, she’d looked at me, smiled sympathetically and replied soothingly: “Yes Claire, but what’s your ‘Plan B’ if that doesn’t work out?” I didn’t have an answer for her. I still don’t.

I think back now and I realise that the promise I made to myself that I’d stop writing once I’d finished that first

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Capturing School Moments

The all-in-one web application with everything needed to manage teaching and learning. Lesson planning and LMS

Assessment and reporting

Tracking progress against outcomes, mapping school syllabus and complying with government requirements just got a whole lot easier.

Because SEQTA is one platform that holds all your school data, running reports and accessing information is a breeze.

Attendance and pastoral care Teachers see everything they need to know about each student on one screen, ensuring students receive a consistent and supportive experience of school.

Communication with parents SEQTA's web portal allows parents to access information whenever they want, on any device they are using, without any extra work from teachers.

Teach more. Know more. Stress less. solutions@seqta.com.au | www.seqta.com.au | 1300 473 782 SCRIBE Issue 4

SEQTA

For Schools who value a Teacher’s Time

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA ARE EXPLORING THE INTERNET’S POWER TO DELIVER LEARNING IN NEW WAYS. CAM ALLEN EXPLAINS...

tudents today are the connected generation; they habitually use mobile devices to socialize, to access information to actively engage with content anywhere, anytime. Through the internet, students have access to a staggering amount of information and create content in ways well beyond what our paper-based generation are used to. The internet is, inescapably, becoming the dominant infrastructure for knowledge, radically changing the relationship between student and teacher; learning is now unbridled from previous constraints of time, location and expertise. It’s not sensible to use technology to embellish old ways of doing things – this just increases the costs without necessarily adding value. So when Catholic Schools in Western Australia saw the opportunity to replace their old disparate software systems with SEQTA Software, the world’s first fully integrated

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learning management couldn’t resist.

system,

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collaboratively and globally thanks to SEQTA’s innovative technology.

SEQTA enables schools to manage their student attendance, student welfare, lesson planning, curriculum mapping, marking and academic reporting while engaging parents and students in an interactive supportive community. By bringing together multiple information sources into one easy-to-use interface, SEQTA liberates teachers from labourintensive, disparate and fragmented software or paper-based systems.

SEQTA provides the most powerful analysis and pastoral care tracking system available. Whether you want to identify patterns of behaviour, prepare for a parent interview, determine students who are at risk, identify staff who may need support, track levels, determine who deserves a reward, or analyse cohort behavior, the comprehensive tool set is there! SEQTA gives you a 360° view of individuals, groups or even the whole school.

SEQTA works across four levels, supporting Teachers, Administrators, Parents and students.

ANALYSIS AND ACTION SEQTA is creating an environment where teachers can continuously and almost instantaneously monitor and evaluate student progression in class; a learning space where students can work

The Student Summary screen in Teachers’ Assistant brings everything together. As Sandra Hortin from Lake Joondalup Baptist explains, “If the Heads of House receive a phone call from a parent, they have all of the latest pastoral care, academic, and attendance information right there as well as any medical information, student plans,

custody information, and parent contact details. Even a note entered by a teacher a few minutes earlier is there. The Student Summary screen saves having to run around or email teachers and gives them the complete, up-to-date picture in less than 30 seconds.”

ATTENDANCE AND PASTORAL CARE Pastoral care and student welfare are critical to school life, but managing personal relationships with hundreds of students can be a challenge. Imagine your teachers being able to see everything they need to know about each student on one screen. SEQTA ensures students receive a consistent and supportive experience of school. Using a real time interface, period by period or half-day roll system, SEQTA gives teachers the feel of a traditional roll but with incredible enhancements. Like a traditional roll, you can instantly see patterns of non-attendance. But with SEQTA you can also see known absences in advance, integrate music and tutor lessons and because your assessment dates are known, automatically cross reference attendance with assessments, making it simple to see students who have patterns of non-attendance on assessment days. Attendance details can be automatically transferred to academic reports, not only in the traditional ‘days absent’ form, but also attendance statistics for each of the child’s classes. Government compliance is made easy with direct file exports available for key agencies such as DEEWR.

LESSON PLANNING AND LMS Create your teaching programmes and share them with other classes. You now have the ability to Drop and drag to move your lessons and weeks to meet your specific timetable and schedule. Create your teaching programmes and copy/share them with other classes. Tracking progress against outcomes, mapping school syllabus and complying with government requirements is a lot easier with SEQTA’s integrated components. You don’t need any word processing skills to produce professional-looking programs and course outlines mapped to the syllabus. Writing teaching/learning programs is easier and quicker than it has ever been. Program lesson-by-lesson, week-by-week, in blocks or in modules. Assessments are linked into the program, and resources, such as documents, presentations, movies, and websites are embedded. Create and share dynamic online content, embed videos, images, formulae, documents and electronic files – no technical skills are required. Communicate with other teachers, students and parents in a highly collaborative, safe and monitored social media-like school ecosystem. SEQTA goes beyond just content delivery and management.

ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING Because SEQTA is one platform that holds all your school data, running reports is easy. Once you have set up your lesson plan and scheduled your assessments, you then enter student results right into SEQTA, so that extracting this information and sharing it takes only one or two clicks.

Fill out a simple pro-forma and your assessments are written and your marks book is automatically updated, ready to accept marks. “Have I created an assessment that clashes with other classes?” Easily fixed with the assessment calendar. All teachers access the same calendar, so you can plan out your assessments effectively. A powerful yet easy-to-use marks book is fully integrated with syllabus, lessons, assignments, timetable, attendance and academic reports. And yes, you can mark in levels, numerical scores, percentages, letter grades, VET competencies, International Baccalaureate, mixed grades and numerics...whatever you need, SEQTA can handle. Teachers can build their report information over the full term or semester rather then in a rushed end of semester, pressure-cooker environment. This makes reports more accurate and reflective of a child’s performance over the term or semester, plus reduces the amount of stress during ‘reports time’. Furthermore, a student’s progress can be monitored by teachers and parents in real time through out the year, and can even be compared historically. SEQTA makes student results transparent and accessible.

COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS This is one of the easiest to use aspects of SEQTA. Important data about a child’s progress, attendance, timetable, academic performance, work submissions and school reports already exist in SEQTA so it is as simple as ticking a box and make that available for parents. This saves on printing bills and does something good for the environment by replacing paper diaries with SEQTA coneqt.

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CREATE YOUR TEACHING PROGRAMMES AND SHARE THEM WITH OTHER CLASSES. YOU NOW HAVE THE ABILITY TO DROP AND DRAG TO MOVE YOUR LESSONS AND WEEKS TO MEET YOUR SPECIFIC TIMETABLE AND SCHEDULE.

information it will automatically flow to the people who need to know, wherever they are. This means more time and ultimately, less stress. SEQTA comes with everything you need to manage teaching and learning in a school, providing transparency of data, putting actionable information into the hands of teachers and admin staff to develop student/ parent awareness, identify intervention needs, meet compliance requirements and profile comprehensive online learning functionality. The SEQTA suite comes with fully integrated training and support, when you sign up with SEQTA Software, you’re entering into a relationship with a company that has a proven track record of providing outstanding service and support to its clients.

TESTIMONIALS SEQTA (coneqt-p) keeps parents involved in their child’s education, allowing them to understand what is happening at school, in all aspects, without any extra work from teachers or school admin!

FOR PARENTS •

View children’s timetables

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Pastoral care overview

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Unexplained absences

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Children’s attendance history

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Homework details of upcoming assessments

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Children’s assessment submissions

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Assessment results and comments

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School notices view school documents

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View children’s lessons including web links, documents, videos, images, and other resources.

FOR STUDENTS •

View timetables

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View homework

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View dynamic online lessons including web-links, documents, videos, images and other resources

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School notices

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Complete assessments online

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Submit documents for assessment

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View assessment results and comments

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Participate in forum conversations

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Interact with teachers in ‘Live Class’ View online messages from teachers

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View submitted work (portfolio)

SEQTA is super easy-to-use and is refreshingly intuitive. Imagine only having to learn one piece of software to complete all your day-to-day tasks. Relax knowing that when you enter

“I have really appreciated the support provided in the implementation of SEQTA. Not only do their staff know their products, they also have an excellent understanding of how they can best be implemented. Their professional input has been of great value.” Clayton Massey, Deputy Headmaster Guildford Grammar School “After seeing the attendance records and the Teachers’ Assistant attendance system, the auditor commented that this was the best live attendance system he had seen in a school. He was not only impressed by the system itself, but also said that this was the first time he had audited a school that had all of its absences resolved for the day of the audit.” Tony Severin, Assistant Principal, Carey Baptist College For more information, contact the SEQTA team. solutions@seqta.com.au

For Over 19 years, the iAwards has become the premier technology awards platform in Australia delivering the most comprehensive awards program which recognises the achievements and innovation made in ICT across all facets of the economy. In 2013, SEQTA received the WAiTTA Merit and were the National iAwards winner in the Education Category.

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EmbroidMe Joondalup, Myaree & Victoria Park We are your one-stop branded uniform suppliers for your school and sports teams. From your uniform, leaversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; jackets and sportswear to branded products and badges, we supply and brand to your needs. With extensive experience servicing WA schools, we deliver quality results with exceptional and reliable service. More than just a supplier, we work closely with you to achieve your desired result. Our dedicated team make the order process friendly and straight forward. Using state of the art embroidery and printing methods, the result proudly promotes your school for all the right reasons. Orders can be placed via email, telephone or through our website. We can even deliver the order to you once complete. However if you would like to pay us a visit we would love to see you in one of our convenient locations. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Reduce, Renew, Regenerate... THE THREE RS (AS IN THE LETTER R) REFER TO THE FOUNDATIONS OF BASIC SKILLS-ORIENTED EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITHIN SCHOOLS: READING, WRITING AND ARITHMETIC. AT SOUTH FREMANTLE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THESE THREE RS HAS BEEN CREATED TO INCORPORATE THEIR VISION OF BECOMING AUSTRALIA’S FIRST ACCREDITED CARBON NEUTRAL SCHOOL: PROVIDING AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION FOR THEIR STUDENTS, PRACTICING WHAT THEY PREACH BY INTEGRATING THOSE THREE RS INTO THE PSYCHE OF THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITY. THIS IS AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF HOW A WEST AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL HAS PAVED THE WAY FOR MORE SCHOOLS TO FOLLOW THEIR PATH IN CREATING FUTURE STEWARDS OF OUR PLANET...

outh Fremantle Senior High School is a fully inclusive, Public Senior High School located within the Port City of Fremantle that draws on a rich marine and maritime environment, as well as a vibrant, artistic and environmentallyaware community. It was precisely this community that was the catalyst for the school deciding to initiate something unique; something that would capture the imagination of a community passionate about the environment and that would engage students and transform the school into a lively neighbourhood hub. Undertaking an approach to teaching and learning which helped foster understanding about environmental

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issues at a grass roots level, making a constructive contribution through positive ideas and activities aimed at addressing these issues, the school offers three Approved Specialist Programs in Music, Marine Studies and Baseball and provides an Autism Unit with specialist staff to a range of vocational and university entrance courses. With around 325 students from Years 8 to 12 and an Aboriginal population of 8%, South Fremantle Senior High School are part of a collaboration of 5 Secondary Schools that enable Years 11 and 12 students to access a broader range of study courses at the highest level, but the community wanted the school to

do something much more: and so ‘The Carbon Neutral Project’ was conceived. Initially a partnership was formed between the school, Bendigo Community Bank, local councillors and community members – the Carbon Neutral Working Party – with the goal of assisting the school to neutralise its greenhouse gas emissions. The key objective was to become the first Carbon Neutral High School in Australia by applying the following Three Rs: Reduce, Renew, Regenerate. REDUCE their current energy usage: achieved with two strategies: the first was behavioural change, where staff and

students take responsibility to reduce energy and water use, as well as reducing waste; the second, retro-fitting with improved technologies. RENEW by using renewable energy: solar power and purchasing green power. REGENERATE (Sequestration): Tree planting – trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce carbon (i.e. wood) and oxygen. Reducing their fossil fuel use, implementing renewable energy projects and regenerating the landscape through tree planting, this approach would be to develop community partnerships and develop a ‘whole-school’ approach to encourage students to apply their learning in meaningful ways within the school and the community. The theme of sustainability has been and continues to be a major unifying aspect of the school and its broader community. On 4 May 2012 South Fremantle Senior High School were informed by Low Carbon Australia that they were officially accredited as the First Carbon Neutral School in the country. This was an extremely proud moment that was aptly celebrated with a superb Whole School

ceremony attended by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard who came to look at the Carbon Neutral Project. The former PM visited on a previous occasion to unveil the solar panels. She also visited in 2011 to hold a Community Cabinet at the school. The visit in 2012 was her 3rd visit to the school. Following that prestigious award, SFSHS became finalists in the following 3 categories of the National United Nations World Environment Day Awards: Environmental School Award; Sustainability Education Award and Sustainability Leadership Award, winning the Sustainability Leadership Award for small and medium-sized organisations. They were also State winners of the National Australia Bank – Impact Award, receiving $30,000 in awards funding from NAB Schools First for their outstanding community partnerships with Curtin University Sustainability Policy Unit, Bendigo Community Bank and HotRock.

The school partnered with three diverse groups to become a leading school in sustainability initiatives and have influenced policy-makers to foster sustainable practices. Curtin University students assisted with sustainability projects and provided action research; HotRock worked with the school to develop gardens and a seed nursery, curriculum materials, professional development and mentoring of teachers; Bendigo Community Bank provided some funding for their Carbon Neutral Project. The partnership was formed with the goal of assisting the school to become the first Carbon Neutral High School in Australia. The school has become a living laboratory to test and research various ways of decarbonising schools and providing real-life examples that can be used to

THE THEME OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR UNIFYING ASPECT OF THE SCHOOL AND ITS BROADER COMMUNITY.

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a Centre for Environment & Life Science after exploring the nature of their work. The Bendigo Community Bank recently made a television advertisement at SFSHS based on the Carbon Neutral Project.

ABOVE: CARBON NEUTRAL WORKING PARTY: Samantha Hall and Vanessa Rauland (Directors Simply Carbon and Curtin University PhD candidates), Geri Hardy (Principal South Fremantle SHS), Dr Stephanie Jennings, Kathy Anketell (Carbon Neutral Program Director South Fremantle SHS), Ingrid Jansen-Neeling (The Word Farm and formerly HotRock), Roseanne Donaldson (Former staff member South Fremantle SHS), Professor Peter Newman (John Curtin Distinguished Professor of Sustainability, Director | Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Research and Graduate Studies | Faculty of Humanities), Jan Newman.

demonstrate realistic ways for improving operations in government schools. Head of NAB Schools First, Rebecca Sherwill, said “the quality of this year’s applicants was very strong making this winner an exceptionally inspiring example for other schools in the area and around Australia.” “NAB Schools First received over 750 applications from genuinely exceptional school-community partnerships around Australia. The quality of these partnerships, their originality and their ability to address their specific students’ needs and opportunities is outstanding. It was extremely difficult for our judges to select this year’s winners, and that is what makes the award win by South Fremantle Senior High School such a great achievement,” said Ms Sherwill.

Another accolade acquired in 2012 was the overall winner of the Western Australian Environment Awards, as well as the Environmental Education and Communication Award. To be nominated for this award takes a great deal of commitment, passion, drive and innovation to develop and implement. It was noted that South Fremantle Senior High School was a leader in its commitment to environmental education and communication and is a standout on a National scale because of its prominent position as Australia’s first carbon-neutral school.

Their work to develop a school-wide pedagogy reflecting the school vision statement, “Navigating Sustainable Futures”, reflects their commitment to an environmentally sustainable society. Staff, students and parents have embraced this direction. Every Sunday morning the P&C hosts the Growers Green Farmers Markets on the expansive front lawns of the school that is attended by hundreds of supportive locals! This school has not only become a lively hub, but is achieving sustainability goals beyond their wildest dreams, while producing a generation of environmentally-aware and informed students who understand the crucial need for sustainability within our environments. What can your school do to reduce its carbon footprint on our planet?

SFSHS have shared their Carbon Neutral story with individual schools and the education system through the media and as a result are inspiring other schools; one particular High School is becoming

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Curtin’s Humanities postgraduate Curtin’s Humanities postgraduate courses are for those who think bigger. courses are for those who think bigger. With a comprehensive range of courses and research programs spanning from Human Rights to Art and Design, With a comprehensive rangedegree of courses research programs spanning frombig. Human Rights to Art and the Design, a postgraduate Humanities fromand Curtin can help you start something If you’re ready to take next a postgraduate Humanities degree from Curtin can help you start something big. If you’re ready to take the next step in your career, add to your skillset, or want to delve into an area you are passionate about, you’ll be sure to step your career, ﬁ nd aincourse to suitadd you.to your skillset, or want to delve into an area you are passionate about, you’ll be sure to ﬁnd a course to suit you. You’ll combine practicality and industry focus with innovation and creativity, and be taught by industry experts, You’ll combine practicality industry focus with innovation and creativity, and be taught by industry experts, with several courses offeredand online and during evenings. with several courses offered online and during evenings. Visit curtin.edu.au/humanities-postgrad for our full range of postgrad courses. Start something big today and Visit curtin.edu.au/humanities-postgrad for our full range of postgrad courses. Start something big today and make tomorrow better. make tomorrow better. Architecture & Planning | Project Management | Education | Information Studies Architecture & Planning | Project | Information Media, Culture & Creative Arts | Management Design & Art | |Education International & Policy Studies Media, Culture & Creative Arts | Design & Art | International & Policy Studies

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Teaching Beyond Belief IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HER NEW EBOOK, MAGGIE DENT EXPLORES THE SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN POINT THAT A STUDENT’S CORE BELIEFS OR PERCEPTIONS ABOUT SCHOOL HAVE DIRECT IMPACT ON THEIR LEARNING AND THEIR BEHAVIOUR. NO MATTER HOW COMPETENT A TEACHER YOU ARE, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEW CHALLENGE IN TEACHING YOUR SUBJECT TO A NEW CLASS WHO VIEWS THE WORLD IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MANNER TO YOU... deeply held belief or perception that an individual has formed as a result of an experience that was emotionally significant. “An emotionally powerful concept (EPC) is one that creates significant changes in the body including the brain structures that map the body and influence the thinking.” – John Joseph, Learning with the Brain in Mind (2003). EPCs can be positive and support learning, or negative and create an avoidance of learning. Thinking influences behaviour and the cycle from the invisible EPC to behaviour can then happen in a nano-second in front of your eyes in your classroom. In NLP, the understanding is that every experience we have is interpreted as a consequence of previous experiences, cultural influences, language, attitudes and things called meta programs. This is amazing when you think that Dr Bruce Lipton in his book, Biology of Belief, wrote that babies’ and toddlers’ brains download everything they hear and see from TV – even when they may appear to not be paying attention. That means all the violent images and stories on the news and other adult programs are downloaded into their memory banks and being turned into core beliefs and concepts.

ne thing I have long believed – and now had scientifically validated through amazing work in neuroplasticity – is that the mind has incredible power to create our reality, but also that it’s never too late to change our minds and our beliefs about who we are and what we can achieve in life. This has major impact in the classroom.

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Let’s start with the wonderful simplicity of Australian teacher and inspiring speaker John Joseph and his view on student learning. Essentially Joseph contends that a student’s core concepts about schooling impact on their learning and behaviour. Basically, everyone has their own core beliefs, called concepts. A concept is a

Our responses to environmental stimuli are indeed controlled by perceptions, but not all our learned perceptions are accurate. Yes perception controls biology but as we have seen these perceptions can be true or false. Therefore we would be more accurate to refer to these controlling perceptions as beliefs … BIOLOGY CONTROLS BELIEF. This is exactly what John Joseph was writing about too. For example, students who come from a home environment that sees school as a negative thing and that teachers are a part of something

FROM ALL OF THIS RESEARCH, WE CAN SEE THAT NO MATTER HOW COMPETENT YOU ARE AS A TEACHER, YOU HAVE A CLASS FULL OF DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS WHO SEE THE WORLD VERY DIFFERENTLY TO YOU, WHO HAVE INVISIBLE CONCEPTS AND MINDSETS THAT WILL BE HELPING OR HINDERING YOUR BEST EFFORTS, AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS BURIED

Now you can see why exceptional teachers have such power in changing lives! We have all been emotionally frozen by powerful experiences early in life. I have never sung publicly since I was asked to leave the Primary School choir when I was just seven years of age. “Research has shown there is a 90% correlation between the concepts students hold and their perceived ability to learn within the school system.” – Dr Tony Townsend, Professor of Education Monash University

WITHIN THEIR BUSY MINDS!

Psychologist and researcher Dr Carol Dweck recently explored what influences our potential success.

toxic and unpleasant will come to your classroom with core beliefs that inhibit all of your best plans to help them shine!

She found that rather than it being about ability, success was more tied to what people believed about why they had failed. If we believe we fail because we are dumb, we limit any future attempts at growing in ability. If we think: “I failed because I didn’t understand the question or I didn’t work hard enough” – then that means we can fix that and possibly succeed next time.

Bruce Lipton also showed the cells in our body can only do one thing – focus on growth or protection – in order to ensure survival. Children who are experiencing frequent stress will have increased illness because the adrenal hormones will directly suppress the immune system to conserve energy supplies in order to survive their stressful experience. This also means that students who live in threatening environments at home will find it hard to learn, as their mind and thus all their cells are in protection mode. This is why Daniel Goleman’s quote is so true: “Happy, calm children learn best.” Safe classroom cultures with teachers who form positive relationships with students create the most powerful forces for exceptional learning to occur. Indeed in many studies the three factors that are seen as the most significant ones that create improved academic outcomes for students are: 1. High-quality teachers 2. Engaging and relevant curriculums 3. Positive parental involvement. Notice that benchmark testing has been seen to NOT improve educational outcomes in the UK and USA. When schools have had improvements as a result of identifying problems following a benchmark test, it is because there have been accompanying changes in one or more of the factors listed above. Testing alone will never lift grades.

and you have no idea what is buried within their busy minds! Even if you have taught the same subject or year level for years, when a new class appears in your life, it is a completely unique experience. So before we explore how to change negative concepts that hinder learning, we need to explore how to connect to a new group of amazingly interesting human beings. The only self-fulfilling prophecies we want to see in our classrooms are that everyone can learn and grow positively – and that a love of learning is a gift we want to give every student! Maggie Dent is an author, educator and speaker dedicated to quietly changing lives through common sense wisdom. This is an extract from her new ebook (released June 2013), ‘Dare to Be An Exceptional Teacher’, now available from her website for download for $18. The book is a 46pp guide for busy teachers to help them become even more effective, competent and exceptional.

Dweck says we create flexible (growth) or fixed mindsets – the more flexible, the better our chances of success in school and life. Students for whom performance is paramount want to look smart even if it means not learning a thing in the process. For them each task is a challenge to their self-image – and each setback becomes a personal threat. So they pursue activities at which they are sure they will shine – and avoid the sorts of experiences necessary to grow and flourish. Students with learning goals on the other hand, take necessary risks and don’t worry about failure because each mistake is a chance to learn = achievement goal theory. – Dr Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

http://www.maggiedent.com/content/ dare-be-exceptionalteacher-ebook

As exceptional teachers, our role is to keep it learning-focused and valuefocused, rather than success-focused. From all of this research, we can see that no matter how competent you are as a teacher, you have a class full of different individuals who see the world very differently to you, who have invisible concepts and mindsets that will be helping or hindering your best efforts,

SCRIBE Issue 4

Disconnecting to Reconnect?

CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY IS BOTH A BLESSING AND A CURSE OF THE 21ST CENTURY. USING THE DIGITAL AGE TO OUR ADVANTAGE REQUIRES BALANCE AND RESPONSIBILITY. DOUG LOADER DISCUSSES THE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND THE NECESSITY FOR DIGITAL FAIR USE POLICIES TO BE DEVELOPED IN OUR HOMES AND SCHOOLS... Students need stringent guidelines and boundaries and my experience shows that most respond very well to the instructions they are given, some value the trust instilled in them and proceed to utilise an education full of diverse opportunities. One implication of a digitally-driven school (and a big concern of mine) is the sheer amount of time consumed by personal devices – especially as computers reduce in size and connectivity options expand.

reating a Digital Fair Use Policy for your school, which preserves authentic teaching while utilising the full potential of modern technology, is a precarious task which carries large implications. Many schools throughout WA are finding themselves in a position where students are armed with modern devices that empower students so much that some teachers are feeling an overwhelming sense of despair. Parents find themselves navigating a type of teenage angst never known before. An awkward adolescence, made worse by an affiliation with newfangled technology resulting in a type of popularity contest conducted in an online world...a stage where one is judged by friends and peers. It is this unknown space occupied by precarious social tools like Snapchat, Ask.fm and Facebook, which have the potential to leave our students seriously exposed. As a school we go to great lengths to protect student records and personal details and in a blink of an eye of all this can be undone by one misguided student.

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Schools are encouraged to utilise technology in a way that can transform education, and in every case there is overwhelming evidence that this is happening. However, the task of effective Professional Development for both teacher and parent is often skimmed over, and “shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted” is a term that springs to mind a little too often. It is easy to liken a tablet device to a Pandora’s box, holding both incredible curiosity, while also having the potential for catastrophic mischief. The Greek myth goes on to describe; at the bottom of Pandora’s box lies the Spirit of Hope called Elpis. This comparison does bear considerable verity. As school management purchase new digital tools, they must prepare for undesirable outcomes. There is hope however, at the bottom of Pandora’s Box in plain sight for all to see; it lies in the preparation and up-skilling of staff and parents. Some solutions are in the form of “Guided Access” and “Restrictions” which in the iPad’s case, are never more than 2 clicks away.

In December 2012 I visited my hometown of London and did some travel by train while there. I was impressed to see “Quiet Carriage” sections marked clearly with signs and enforced by both ticket inspectors and fellow passengers. These Quiet Carriages clearly indicate that mobile phones, music players and other electronic devices are not to be used. In a similar way both libraries and museums practice similar restrictions. What I find interesting is not the enforcement of such rules but what the rules imply. As I travelled through the carriages of this train into a non-quiet carriage, I was met with row upon row of passengers with headphones glued to their ears and others deep in conversation on their phones. Some were watching movies and others browsing the Internet. It occurred to me that the default for our generation is to be constantly connected. Connected to the web, to media and to each other. We actually need to be instructed when to switch off! This idea of constant connectivity is reinforced by research completed by an American company, the Kaiser Family Foundation. The KFF have been studying media use in the lives of eightto 18-year-old Americans for 10 years. Over that time, three reports have been published. “Media use” was described as

a combination of television, video games, listening to music, reading printed text and using a computer. The results showed an increase in the “average amount of time spent with media in a typical day” from 7 hours 29 minutes in 1999 to 10 hours 45 minutes in 2009. Just to re-cap, young people in 2009 were accessing digital media for over 10 hours per day. This does include multi-tasking (i.e. watching television while browsing Facebook), but it really does ring alarm bells for me as I develop a new Digital Fair Use Policy for my school.

criticism, we may need to ask our students to “disconnect”. Only when needed, or when instructed by the teacher/parent, should students be expected to reach for their devices. It is important that the ‘Quiet Carriage’ becomes the norm once again, especially in schools.

IT IS THIS UNKNOWN SPACE OCCUPIED BY PRECARIOUS SOCIAL TOOLS LIKE SNAPCHAT, TWITTER AND FACEBOOK THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO LEAVE

DOUG LOADER

OUR STUDENTS SERIOUSLY EXPOSED.

The report (available at www.KFF.org) goes on to state: “Youth who spend more time with media report lower grades and lower levels of personal contentment.” The implications of this saturation of young peoples lives and minds is as yet unknown. I am concerned, however, that if we are to develop our students into authentic and critical thinkers, such intense immersion in a Google-queried world may not be heading the right direction. In order to create something original, without the fear of influence or

Less technology integration... More curriculum enhancement.

Teacher Professional Development

iSupport Learning are pioneers in the world of education technology. We provide workshops introducing and progessing the implementation of the iPad and Apple Mac.

www.iSupport.com.au

Doug Loader 0433 230 743

SCRIBE Issue 4

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Solace Design

School marketing strategies including;

layouts for magazines, special event branding and school

Curtin University Embracing the emergence of Online University Courses... THANKS TO THE RAPID ADVANCEMENT OF THE INTERNET AND OTHER DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, EDUCATION HAS, LIKE SO MANY OTHER INDUSTRIES, GONE THROUGH A PERIOD OF RAPID CHANGE OVER THE PAST DECADE. CURTIN UNIVERSITY IS ONE OF THE FIRST UNIVERSITIES IN AUSTRALIA TO EMBRACE ONE OF THE MOST RADICAL CHANGES IN TERTIARY EDUCATION TODAY – ONLINE UNIVERSITY COURSES...

e have seen laptops become a staple in the classroom and email becoming our preferred method of written communication. Educational apps have become popular tools in the early-learning sector, and webcams allow a classroom in Perth to interact with those in a classroom on the other side of the globe. Yet perhaps one of the most interesting and radical changes is the emergence of online university courses. The School of Education at Curtin University has been preparing professionals for practice in a wide range of education-related fields since 1974. It is known throughout Australia for the quality of its programs, excellent teaching and the success of its graduates. It was also quick to recognize the advantages that online course delivery offered to both students and teaching staff, becoming one of the first universities in Australia to offer their reputable courses fully online.

The School has a long history of delivering courses that utilise a number of different modes including traditional face-to-face, distance education, and online. Currently, students wanting to blend all three of these learning environments take up many of the faceto-face Education programs at Curtin. In 2008 the School of Education proposed to introduce a Bachelor of Education (Primary Education) course through Open Universities Australia (OUA), with the aim of commencing in 2009. This proposal was positively received by OUA as they had sought the addition of a Bachelor of Education, particularly in Primary, to its academic offering for quite some time. Anecdotally, it was noted as easily the most requested program by students contacting OUA’s Student Advisor team and on OUA’s online discussion groups. This was a good indication to OUA that the market demand for such a program was high. The market appeal of the Bachelor

of Education (Primary) was further supported by OUA as there was no other comparable online course in Australia. In 2009 the School of Education began rolling out the course by introducing four first year units in Study Period 1. There were a total of 783 unit enrolments with 10 tutors. In 2010 the School also introduced the Bachelor of Education, Early Childhood Education. In 2012, Study Period 3, there were over 11,000 unit enrolments across 24 units and a total of 112 tutors. Each undergraduate education degree course consists of 29 units, which is equivalent to four full-time years of study. Each course comprises of disciplinespecific curriculum and pedagogical studies, general education studies and professional experience. The resources provided in each unit reflect a rich variety of perspectives and demonstrate social, cultural and gender inclusivity.

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We have probably all had to justify our decision to study online and have faced some prejudice about the value or worth of an online degree. However, with fantastic internship reports and the many great employment opportunities that have presented themselves to us already – I feel we proved our worth beyond doubt. On behalf of the graduates I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of the Curtin team who not only provided this opportunity but also guided us through our learning journeys. That’s everyone from coordinators to tutors and admin staff alike. We were spoilt along the way with responses posted within hours (and sometimes minutes) of questions being asked, seven days per week! We know that you all put in hours far exceeding those that the job description called for. It has been a privilege to work with, and learn from you all. We’re honoured to share this milestone with you.” Tracy Bennett graduated in the most recent cohort and attended the main Graduation ceremony at Curtin University. Tracy achieved the prestigious honour of being included on the Vice-Chancellor’s List, an award given to very few students.

Curtin Tutors Polly Farmer (foreground) and Geraldine Lane (background)

The shared online learning activities establish communities of learning, cater for a variety of different learning styles, offer equal opportunity for students to participate in discussions and reflect real life application of the theory. Each Curtin undergraduate education degree offered through OUA culminates in a 10-week final placement where the student takes full responsibility for the children in their care.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ON CAMPUS AND ONLINE Open Universities Australia (OUA) offers fully online programs from 20 academic providers across Australia. The units are offered over four 12-week study periods each year. In curriculum and content, the Primary and Early Childhood Degree Courses offered fully online are similar to traditional programs and require a comparable number of hours to complete as attending courses offered face-to-face. Fully online teacher preparation programs give equal access

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to tertiary study for students across Australia’s broadly distributed population centres and regional areas. Open access also allows students to overcome the traditional barriers of university education such as time, distance or entry-level requirements. GRADUATES PERSPECTIVE OUA WEBSITE ARTICLE; Tammy Riley was a member of the first ever student cohort to graduate from the online degree course who travelled to Perth with 11 other OUA graduates to receive her degree at the mid-year Graduation ceremony. Tammy volunteered to present a speech of thanks on behalf of the students, at the morning tea saying: “I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that we are very proud to be Curtin’s first graduates of the Bachelor of Education studied 100% online. With determination, motivation, discipline and commitment we have earned our degrees and we will take these valuables qualities with us into our teaching careers.

“I know that many people describe the opportunity to study through Open Universities as the vehicle that made their dreams come true. I’m not sure that it was quite like that for me. Having not fared exceptionally well at High School, the possibility of securing a degree was something that I never even dared myself to dream about. It was a possibility I simply never contemplated. For years I carried the weight of my prior educational outcomes as an indicator that I may not be particularly clever. After having the opportunity to do some relief Teacher Aid work at the local school following the birth of my last child, I decided that, whilst I had been quite successful in my previous career, I really wanted to follow my heart and work with children. I made a quick phone call to OUA to speak to someone about studying towards a Certificate IV or the likes that might make me more employable as a Teacher Aid. The gentleman on the phone indicated that my time would be better spent studying for my Bachelor of Education. I laughed! Didn’t he know that I was really not that clever? 24 hours later I was enrolled. The process was so simple but I was petrified. What if I couldn’t do it? What if I failed? What if someone realised I wasn’t clever enough to be there? How on earth would I do this and care for my children who were (at that time) only 1, 3 and 5 years old?

Early on in my studies a friend gently encouraged me by telling me that I had a choice to make. I could study every night for four years OR I could watch television every night for the next four years. At the end of that time I could either say I had watched a lot of television OR I had earned a degree. I decided to give it a go, prepared for failure, should it occur. The flexibility of online study meant that I could be the mother I wanted to be to the three little people who meant the world to me while also investing in securing the future I wanted for myself. I never had to miss a Sports Day, an Easter Bonnet Parade, a Christmas performance or give up the chance to help in the classroom. I really did get to have my cake and eat it too. While my nights were full of i-lectures, textbooks and web searches, my days could still be devoted to those that I loved. I always feared that perhaps online study would not be as highly regarded as studying on-campus but Curtin University provided the best quality tutors to lead us through this journey – tutors who left no doubt in my mind that we were being moulded and trained just as highly as any on-campus student. These men and women were devoted, passionate, knowledgeable and most importantly, understanding of the isolation that might arise from studying alone. They worked hard to ensure that we were listened to

THE FLEXIBILITY OF ONLINE STUDY MEANT THAT I COULD BE THE MOTHER I WANTED TO BE TO THE THREE LITTLE PEOPLE WHO MEANT THE WORLD TO ME WHILE ALSO INVESTING IN SECURING THE FUTURE I WANTED FOR MYSELF. I NEVER HAD TO MISS A SPORTS DAY, AN EASTER BONNET PARADE, A CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE OR GIVE UP THE CHANCE TO HELP IN THE CLASSROOM. and supported every step of the way – making themselves contactable at hours that any normal tutor would never consider. We were pushed to our limits and pressed to display our understanding in a variety of ways. Add to this, the development of some amazing online friends and really, it became a recipe for success. On that most special of nights, as I awaited my name being announced at graduation, I thought I could not feel prouder of myself regarding my achievements. Waiting to be publicly acknowledged and presented to the world as a graduate was a thrill I thought I would never experience. As they announced my name and I heard, for the first time, that I had been included on the Vice Chancellor’s List, I felt something

new ... I felt proud. Not proud of my kids, my family or anything else, but proud of myself. This was an honour, a privilege I had not even once considered. After all, I wasn’t that clever, was I? To anyone contemplating study through OUA – those who think they can’t do it – I say, don’t EVER underestimate the power of your passion. My passion for what I was learning inspired me to achieve something I didn’t think I was capable of. OUA and Curtin University helped me realise something that was beyond the extremes of my dreams. I didn’t only get a Bachelor of Education from the last 4 years – I made amazing friends and I developed a belief in myself that was never there before. And this was all achieved from the other end of a computer.”

Course Coordinators Sharon Davies (left) and Val Morey (right)

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FROM A TUTOR’S PERSPECTIVE Polly Farmer has been a tutor in the online program since its inception in 2009 and shares her thoughts on teaching in an online environment: “Higher education is undergoing significant change. Moving away from the bricks and mortar on-campus experience many universities are now offering blended courses where units, lectures or tutorials are available online, or in the case of Open Universities Australia; whole degrees. The shift within Australian Universities to online learning, whilst providing wonderful learning opportunities for an increasingly diverse cohort of students does present a challenge in how they support their students in an online environment. The change from face-to-face teaching to online learning requires a reconceptualisation of the role of support mechanisms for students and in turn has implications for the professional development of academic staff (Hicks, Reid, & George, 1999). Teaching in an online environment can be challenging at times; however, advances in technology and professional development on facilitating online learning have certainly made it easier to interact with students who may be all over the world. Some ways in which I try and build rapport with my students are: •

•

Using Blackboard Collaborate at the beginning of the Study Period to introduce the unit and the topics that will be covered. Similar sessions are held before assessments are due. Student feedback on these sessions has been positive and queries posted on the Discussion Board are significantly reduced; Providing feedback on students’ individual weekly posts, as well as general feedback at the end of the week. In the personal feedback I often try and ask a question about the student’s response in the hope to ignite some discussion on the topic;

Tutor Geraldine Lane and honorary tutor and guide dog Iris.

•

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I consistently ask students to ‘check in’ after they have received their first assignment mark back to ensure they are ok with their mark and feedback and are planning on continuing with the unit.

•

• • •

Encourage students to expand and build on comments; Compose a synthesis statement at the end of the discussion i.e. weekly feedback; Encourage students to “think outside the box”; Offer new ideas; Remain neutral.

Further to this it is important to be consistent and available to the students.

There are several ways in which tutors can support students in their online learning. Some of these include: •

•

Possibly having a non-course related thread where students can discuss personal triumphs such as the birth of a child, purchase of a new house etc. A discussion devoted to informal conversations can lead to the collegiality of the group and substitutes the coffee break friendships that develop in oncampus classes.

•

I email students who are consistently engaged on the Discussion Board and personally thank them for their commitment to their studies and willingness to assist others;

•

Like me, many of the students enrolled in OUA are busy parents who are often working with numerous commitments. The wonderful thing about OUA is that the courses offered allow students to manage their own timetable in terms of when they check their emails, complete their weekly tasks and read the unit related material. As a tutor it is important to make sure you are flexible with when the students post their weekly tasks, not mandating certain times or dates. In saying that, you do need to have some clear guidelines and expectations of when you would expect things to be completed. Some ways in which I contribute to the flexibility of the learning environment are:

•

Student helpline and support officers Solina Sapsford (left) and Dani Paciente (right)

In the general weekly feedback I also use student’s names and quote their work – this encourages students to post their weekly tasks as they are being publicly acknowledged for their work;

• • •

Making sure they plan topics well in advance; Set a tone that encourages students to communicate; Reinforce early attempts at participation; Model expected behaviour; Ask open-ended questions; Synthesise responses and themes;

• • •

Offering different times and dates for the Black Board Collaborate sessions; Providing students with 7 days to complete their weekly task; Being consistent and fair with Assessment extensions; If possible offering students the option of an e-book for their unit text.

I have found students enrolled in the OUA courses to be highly committed to their studies. Learning online is often more difficult as it requires dedication and self-discipline and can allow for procrastination, however the standard of assignments received and number of discussions occurring on the BB sites suggest that students are conscientious and committed to their dream of becoming a teacher. Having not worked in a classroom environment for several years now, I love the fact that working in OUA has allowed me to remain connected with the current changes in education and provided me with an opportunity to collaborate with professionals who are at the forefront of educational change. The ability to essentially choose your own hours and not be committed to 9 to 5 has many benefits, especially for a working parent.”

at a time convenient for them. These courses therefore represent an extremely valuable addition to the range of options available to tertiary students of today. Extract from OUA Website Article; Graduates set milestone for online education: Being the first to complete Curtin University’s Bachelor of Education (Primary) through Open Universities Australia (OUA), they prove that it’s possible to become qualified for a practical career such as teaching, after studying online.

“Online education has come a long way in the past ten years, and whereas practical disciplines like education used to shy away from any form of learning model other than face-to-face, it’s clear that students across all disciplines can now receive a high quality, rigorous, practically-oriented degree through online study. This is a reflection of the amount of innovation that Open Universities Australia and its partner providers are making into online learning outcomes for as many Australians as possible. We are very proud of these graduates, and we are very proud of Curtin University,” says Mr Wappett.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHING PROFESSIONALS The opportunity to teach online in the OUA program can present as an ideal career development move for many teaching professionals. Many highly experienced and well-qualified teachers may be seeking to expand their professional practice into the online or tertiary environment, while seeking some flexibility in their working arrangements. Tutors in the program range across all demographics but have one thing in common: a commitment to the effective support of pre-service teachers and to the delivery of a high-quality program that is accessible to all. Most tutors will have a wealth of stories from students that are testament to the students’ appreciation of the opportunity they have had to pursue their (often long-held) goal to become a teacher. In this environment as in any other learning situation, it is the individual teacher that can really make a difference. If you are interested in finding out more about these teaching opportunities, please email: hum-edrecruitment@curtin.edu.au

CHOICE OF STUDY MODE Fully-online tertiary education such as the Bachelor of Education (Primary) and Bachelor of Education (Early childhood) degree courses offered by Curtin University through OUA provide increased access and corresponding opportunities that can result in enormous personal, social and economic benefits. Ultimately, providing students the flexibility to choose the study mode that fits with their lifestyle enables them to be able to complete their tertiary education

Traditionally, it is thought that practical degrees such as a Bachelor of Education are only suitable to on-campus students. In this case, OUA and Curtin University have now demonstrated that online learning can provide the same enriching, quality education to a broad range of students. The high calibre of the graduating OUA students has impressed both academics and professionals within the industry. Val Morey, Course Coordinator of the Bachelor of Education (Primary) at Curtin University said the practical degree was successfully delivered online with little differentiation between on-campus students and those who studied online. “These OUA students were required to test their theoretical knowledge in classrooms just as their on-campus counterparts. “We are very excited to have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the schools where our students completed their internships. Principals and mentor teachers were impressed in terms of the theoretical knowledge and understanding our students possess, as well as their competence with lesson planning,” says Ms Morey.

Tammy Riley, mother of two from Adelaide is one of the students who will successfully graduate on Sunday after four years of study. Although she lived just minutes away from a university campus, working full time and caring for two children meant she never entertained the thought of fulfilling her study dreams. Online study was a clear choice and provided her with the same high quality education she may have missed oncampus. “I feel extremely confident that the knowledge gained during my degree has equipped me well for my first teaching role. I don’t think sitting in a lecture theatre would have prepared me any better than the online environment did. “I feel very confident that I am a quality candidate when applying for roles now and in the future,” says Mrs Riley. CONTRIBUTORS Dr Lina Pelliccione (Staff), Dr Sharon Davies (Staff), Val Morey (Staff), Polly Farmer (Staff), Tracy Bennett (Graduate), Tammy Riley (Graduate)

According to OUA CEO, Paul Wappett, these online Curtin University graduates are every bit as motivated, as resourceful, and as talented as students from more traditional learning models.

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Ronan’s Escape WINNER OF 10 INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDS, RONAN’S ESCAPE IS A STUNNING SHORT FILM SET IN THE RURAL WHEAT BELT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA THAT PROVIDES A CANDID INSIGHT INTO THE LIFE OF RONAN, A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO HAS BEEN BULLIED AT SCHOOL HIS WHOLE LIFE. WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY A.J. CARTER, A DIRECTOR, PRODUCER & CINEMATOGRAPHER BY TRADE. A.J. STARTED WORK IN TELEVISION AT THE AGE OF JUST 16 AS ASSISTANT PRODUCER FOR THE CHANNEL 7 KIDS SHOW ‘A*MAZING’ HOSTED BY JAMES SHERRY, MAKING HIM THE YOUNGEST PERSON IN AUSTRALIA EVER TO FILL SUCH A POSITION. HAVING WORKED AT EVERY MAJOR TELEVISION STATION IN PERTH (2, 7, 9 & 10) SHOOTING NEWS, CURRENT AFFAIRS, SPORTS & LIFESTYLE PROGRAMS, A.J THEN STARTED FREELANCE CAMERA, RIGGING MANAGEMENT & PRODUCTION LOGISTICS WORK FOR GLOBAL TELEVISION. AT THE AGE OF 18, A.J. HAD SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVED ON SCREEN CREDITS IN OVER 200 TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS. SCRIBE CAUGHT UP WITH A.J. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIS WORK AND THE FILMING OF RONAN’S ESCAPE IN WA’S WHEAT BELT…

How did you come up with and develop the idea for Ronan’s Escape? Ronan’s Escape was a short film I wrote several years ago. It was based on a vision I had one evening after I stumbled across a never-released song titled, ‘The First Kiss’ by The Veronica’s. The song is solely instrumental which allows for a completely individual interpretation of the harmonies. I was mesmerized by the tune and must have listened to it dozens of times that evening and somehow, over the space of 5 hours, this script just developed in front of me. It started out as scribbles on a piece of scrap paper and eventuated into a 14-page script. I have always been inspired by music. I could easily write an entire screenplay based on the influences of music. What have you gained from the experience of filming Ronan’s Escape? Ronan’s Escape has been an amazing experience to be a part of. I think the biggest challenge in the film for me as a director was venturing to the unknown in working with such young actors. So

much of their performance is reliant on the director communicating well enough with the child so they understand fully what emotions and challenges their character is facing in the scenes. To do this, sometimes you need to develop your own unique ways of relating to the actor on their level and devise your own ‘system’ for communication that is workable on their maturity level. To successfully assist an actor in becoming their character on screen is a completely different system with an adult actor as to a young and inexperienced teenage actor. You need to dig deeper and probe past or current experiences, which are close to them so they can ‘feel’ what their character is going through. There were times on set where I would not allow David – who plays Ronan – to associate with the other student actors. I wanted him to sit by himself in between takes and eat lunch by himself so he genuinely felt like he was an outcast, which proved to be very helpful. You just need to adapt, not only from actor to actor but for the different age groups you’re working with. ‘Never work with animals or kids’ is

a general saying in the industry because there is always an uncontrollable variable inherent with both, but with Ronan’s Escape we had both. What are some of the highlights of working with this cast and crew? The cast and crew on Ronan’s Escape were amazing. For starters, nobody was there because they were being paid or it was ‘just another job’. Almost our entire crew who came on board were there voluntarily and because one way or another they could directly relate to the story in the script and felt their work on the film would help tell a story that needed to be told. What makes Ronan’s escape stand out as a short film? I think what makes Ronan’s Escape so different to other short films on the circuit is the film’s unique ability to form a personal relationship with everyone who watches it. It’s not a love story or a war film from which people’s emotions can be poked and prodded based on

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a single event or relationship, it’s a film about a subject which everyone one of us can relate to. You were either a bully, were bullied or were someone who stood by, watched and did nothing and this film submerses you in each of those situations on a personal level. Whether you can relate as a 14-year-old child currently dealing with bullying on a dayto-day basis at school, or a 50-year-old man whose mind is sent back 35 years to his school days. EVERYONE is somehow emotionally entwined within the story of this film and I think that is quite unique to have such a vast array of people who can connect with the story and characters at some level. How is a film like Ronan’s Escape important to Western Australia, and more specifically Perth? When I was originally writing the script, I could think of no other country or location I wanted the film to take place, Western Australia was always going to be where we shot. Imagine shooting in a dusty town 2 hours out of the most remote capital city in the world in the wheat belt of Western Australia, on a farm with no power, with a film camera, very little budget and a busload of school kids. You cannot even develop or grade the film stock here in Perth after you have finished shooting, you must express courier all the film stock in cooler containers to Sydney to have it processed. The whole idea of doing a short film of this magnitude in Western Australia was by no means an easy feat, but we made it happen under the harshest of conditions and we are all better filmmakers because of it. Both Director of Photography David Lemay and myself wanted a harsh rural feel to the film, almost with ‘aged’ light and the Australian wheat belt gave us that look. In addition to the fantastic financial support we had from Screen West and multiple independent investors, we have had such a wonderful response from the surrounding local communities of Boddington, Guildford and Helena Valley. Every school that volunteered

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their services to us were most excited at the prospect of seeing a ‘real’ film being made locally. Many of the schools we worked with offered facilities, sporting equipment, buses and even their own media students to use at our disposal. During the process of making the movie, Smooth Motion Films led by the film’s producer, Brad Major, have actually become quite involved with local community projects and we did several workshops in Narrogin to give the young members of the community a chance to see how films are made. In addition to highlighting the issues of bullying, we wanted to give something else back to the community and local film making workshops were a great way to show school kids in rural communities a possible career path they had otherwise deemed unreachable.

The devastating effects of bullying is the underlying message and forms the backbone of this narrative. It’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster with a notably controversial ending, but it’s a story I am extremely proud to have told… it needed to be told.

Summarise the film in your own words for the audience:

Have you had any personal experiences with bullying and youth suicide? What is the aim of the film’s message? The ending is quite controversial; can you tell us why you chose to end the film this way?

Ronan is a young boy growing up in a rural West Australian town. He is the social outcast of the school and has been for years. He sits alone at lunch and is always last to be included in any teams for sports or various school projects. We follow Ronan through the various activities of his every day school lifeone that is typical for a student bullied a school. At the beginning of the film we join Ronan sitting alone in the lunch yard when a bully finds the opportunity to indulge in his favourite past time, this being humiliating Ronan. After lunch, Ronan attends gym class, followed by the daily bus trip home, both of which see Ronan endure the gravity of what it’s like to not be popular at school. On this particular day, Ronan having enough of the bullying decides to make an unscheduled stop just short of his house. Against better judgment, the bus driver lets Ronan off and he makes his way through a wheat field and to the only place he can escape his daily tormenta majestic Australian gum tree proudly standing atop a windswept hill.

Why do you see the content of the film, as such an important issue/why is it important to bring the content to light? Ronan’s Escape is a close and personal story to the producers as we have all at some stage fallen subject to the films’ core theme of bullying. While not all of us have been bullied at school we have felt its impact even in the workforce as adults meaning the consequences of bullying are much further reaching than most would acknowledge.

I think I was lucky in my schooling years. I went to a private, all boys’ school that did have an anti-bullying campaign, but at the end of the day there is only so much teachers and parents can do. Bullies are smart but they are also cowards, they don’t push other kids around in front of parents and teachers, so a lot goes unseen without any action from the parents or teachers who are reliant on the victim actually speaking up. I myself was never the victim of constant bullying. I was kind of the kid who didn’t care too much for what was going on at school and was more interested in making films! I was however, as most of us are, subject to random verbal attacks throughout my schooling life and the odd kid giving me a hard time, but nothing major. I am guilty of watching many of my school peers bullied and admit that I didn’t do anything about it. I think it’s too easy to watch it happen to other kids and not intervene with the fear of the bullies turning on you.

The subconscious motive behind the controversial ending of Ronan’s Escape is derived from my guilt of not doing anything at school. Bullying happens every second of the day in every corner of the world both at schools and in the work place. The only way we’re going to combat the situation is hitting home hard with a real story with real repercussions and with not ‘sugar coating’ the ending. The subject is dealt with too lightly in schools and I always intended from the beginning to have a controversial and REAL ending to the film otherwise there was no point in making it. Too many educational videos on bullying and even films associated with bullying present the audience with that happy ending they forever crave, but that’s just not how it is in the real world. It’s amazing how much inspiration for Ronan’s Escape we received after our research into bullying uncovered hundreds of cases in Australia alone where suicide was the final instalment of a tormented child’s life affected by bullying. It’s about time a film like Ronan’s Escape utilized the ‘shock’ factor to showcase how serious bullying is and what affect it can have on the victims.

EVERY PERSON WHO WATCHES RONAN’S ESCAPE WILL FORM THEIR OWN PERSONAL OPINIONS ON THE STORY BASED ON THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL REFLECTIONS FROM THEIR OWN PAST EXPERIENCES – NOT MANY FILMS DO THAT.

What is something that will make potential audiences want to watch? Ronan’s Escape is a story told as accurately and as raw is it gets. The script has not been enhanced or modified to meet the stereotypical Hollywood ending that Hollywood and most audiences demand. It’s the truth – as graphic and disturbing as it is. If you want to tell a story to an audience with the intent of conveying a message or changing people’s views on a topic, why would you mess with the ending? That’s the whole

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problem about bullying in the schoolyard and the workforce; everyone tends to dumb down what’s really going on – ‘oh it’s a phase, silly kids, they grow out of it’ etc. Ronan’s life was testament to how this kind of attitude is becoming less and less acceptable with society. If kids as young as 12 are killing themselves, it doesn’t take a scientist to realise this is a major problem in nearly every school in the world which needs some serious addressing. The best way to start is acknowledge the problem and this film does just that by hitting home hard with the audience about the repercussions of school bullying. We didn’t make the film to win awards at festivals, we made it to tell a story, highlight a problem and provoke audience discussion on the subject of bullying. We have only just begun our world wide festival circuit to screen the film to as many eyes around the world as possible and we’ve been very lucky that the first international film festival we were accepted into, we won Best Short Film! (Sedon International Film Festival). Did you ever think it would be as popular as it has? The film has become an online phenomenon! No! It’s been an absolutely incredible response. This is not a one hit wonder 2-minute comedy sketch that had its day and disappeared, it’s a serious, 16-minute dramatic film which has captured an incredible audience and now fan base. Even during filming, as we locked away shot after shot into the film camera, we knew and felt we had something special. But it wasn’t until we sat down with 340 other audience members/critics etc. at the premiere screening at Hoyts and watched the reactions of the audience that we really knew it. Connecting with an audience is a very difficult task to achieve, even more so when it’s a short film and you have only 16 minutes to do it in. After we ran the film for a year through the film festival circuit, I decided to release it for free online via YouTube. (There are nearly 1 million hits on it as of September 2013) There is a huge market in schools for this film to be used as an educational tool; however there are millions of students and children around the world whose schools will never screen the film. I didn’t want the film to be limited only to those schools who had the foresight to use it as an educational tool, I wanted the film to be available to every child in the world to view, no matter their background, social status, religious beliefs or race. In the first year the film averaged between 1500-3000 views a day. We have received hundreds of emails from children, parents, teachers and even

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entire school classes from every corner of the world so we know it’s getting out there and having an impact on people. You just need to scroll through the thousands of comments on the YouTube page to see how much this film is truly affecting people and raising awareness of school bullying. We’ve even had comments online from real life school bullies who have openly admitted to being a bully but they never understood how badly they were affecting peoples’ lives until watching the film. Some have even vowed to never bully again. To have this incredible impact on so many young people around the world, many whose stories we will never see or hear, is just an incredible experience. We are now currently in the works to take the film one step further and are building an Anti-Bullying DVD educational kit. The dream of having the film accompany a well written curriculum and screened in schools all over Australia, USA and the world is becoming a reality. We are working with world renowned anti-bullying expert Dr. Claudio V. Cerullo and www.TeachAntiBullying.com as we speak. They have analyzed the film and have produced an incredible curriculum which accompanies the film and turns Ronan’s Escape into a very powerful educational tool. It’s very streamlined, and easy for teachers to screen the film and orchestrate an extremely effective anti-bullying discussion within the confines of a single classroom time slot. And because the curriculum begins with the screening of the film, it grabs every student’s attention right from the beginning. It’s something every school should look at including in their antibullying campaigns and has the potential to save lives. We aim to begin rolling out the kit towards the end of 2013. We will have information up at www. RonansEscape.com when it is available. The film was very well received at the film festivals around the world, what are some of the more notable awards and experiences you’ve had?

The film made its way through a year on the film festival circuit and did extremely well. We all joked that Ronan’s Escape has been “the little film that could”. We screened at a total of 19 International film festivals, were nominated for 13 awards of which we won 10, including multiple Best Film awards. In truth, every award Ronan’s Escape brought home for our crew was equally as special. It gave me so much joy to report back the wins to our 100+ volunteer crew members who made the film possible and show them how much difference they had made; to validate their belief and dedication to the film and myself right from the start. One of the most important was the Australian Cinematographer Society (ACS) award or Best Cinematography. My Director of Photography David LeMay worked relentlessly under our tough time and budget constraints to make sure the film was shot and delivered beautifully, and it was important his efforts were acknowledged on a critically acclaimed level. But if I had to choose one, the most notable award for me personally was winning Best Short Film at the 17th Annual Sedona International Film Festival. It was the very first award we had won for Ronan’s Escape just 7 days into our festival circuit, and my first award as a writer/director. What are you doing now? On the business side, I have now formed a new company ‘Smooth Motion Media Group’(www.smoothmotion.com) based out of Hollywood, California that harbours two production companies, Dark Arts Entertainment, which will produce our feature films, and Primordial Entertainment which runs our television division. I also locked my first feature film called ‘Prisoner Zero’. It’s a crime thriller set in Mexico with a very intricately layered script with lots of twists and turns. It’s actually quite the opposite of Ronan’s Escape! We are scheduled to

go into production in 2014. I am also in development for two other feature films, and we are in final negotiations now for our first U.S television show too. Exciting times ahead! FINAL WORD Ronan’s Escape was a mammoth collaborative, which was only made possible because more than 170 crew members donated their time to work on the film. The nature of the script and it’s unique screenplay which somewhat defies traditional storytelling techniques, secured many of the crew to be a part of this film. However, it was also the sheer relentless drive inherent in W.A filmmakers, which was the real key to putting the script onto the big screen. This film was not just made to convey a very important message, or solely to provoke discussion around a topical theme; it was also made to test us as filmmakers under one of the harshest filming climates in the world and with limited resources. Perth is by definition, the most remote capital city in the world, then, travel a further 2.5 hours out of the city and into the wheat belt of Boddington where more than half of the film was shot on location. Take with you more than 40 teenage school kids as extras and try and feed them, throw into the mix a few

eskies with ice to keep the film stock cool in 38 degree weather and you have Ronan’s Escape. This film enabled more than 170 Western Australian film makers the chance to work on a traditional film set, shoot real film and be a part of a production that wasn’t filled with HD cameras, replay monitors & hard drives. In this new world of High Definition cameras which have mostly replaced the traditions of shooting on film, it’s becoming less and less often that film makers, especially in Western Australia, enjoy moments of

silence graced only with the gentle flicker of film passing through the camera on set. But Ronan’s Escape afforded many of those moments. CONTRIBUTORS: A.J Carter

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Young Leaders

given the gift of Voice...

OVER 6,500 UPPER SECONDARY STUDENTS (YEARS 10-12) AND OVER 15,000 UPPER PRIMARY STUDENTS (YEARS 5-7) AND THEIR TEACHERS/PRINCIPALS ATTENDED THE ANNUAL NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS’ DAY ACROSS NOVEMBER 2012 AND MARCH 2013 – A HALOGEN FOUNDATION EVENT WITH THE PURPOSE OF INSPIRING AND INFLUENCING A GENERATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO LEAD THEMSELVES AND OTHERS WELL…

he National Young Leaders’ Day is one of Australia’s most significant events for young people and is the main activity for the Halogen Foundation whose mission is to inspire and influence a generation of young people to lead themselves and others well. The event series is held across Australia every year for Primary and Secondary students with over 300,000 people having attended these events since the inaugural National Young Leaders’ Day was held in NSW during 1997. The audience is a closely proportionate mix of Government, Catholic and Independent schools from metro and regional areas. Schools select the attending students as individuals who have been seen to possess leadership potential or have aptitude to be leaders amongst their school or wider community. These annual events are held nationally, taking place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The West Australian Secondary Students’ event was held on 14 March at the Perth Convention Centre followed by the Primary Students’ event the following day. The Primary event saw a total of 1736 students and teachers participate, with the Secondary event having 586 students and teachers take part in a day that was both inspiring and memorable.

THE PROGRAM Students who attend The National Young Leaders’ Day are challenged to develop their leadership potential with a key characteristic in mind: that their motivation for leading is driven by the needs of others, not just their own. Through a program of keynote speakers and leadership insights, students are encouraged to undertake some meaningful self-reflection. By listening to the personal stories of recognised leaders in a variety of fields, they are able to receive different perspectives on what it means to ‘lead well’ and are

encouraged to think about this concept within the framework of their own lives. “The National Young Leaders’ Day truly gives young people the chance to see what is possible,” says Principal of Morley Senior High School, Gay Fortune who brought 50 students to the Secondary event in 2013. The atmosphere created by the program provides an open environment for students to freely ask questions directly of the presenting speakers. The program also features multi-media presentations and fun interactive activities that encourage student discussion and engagement.

AIMS •

Inspire students to make a positive contribution to their school;

•

Motivate students to be great leaders in their area of influence;

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Empower students to seek out opportunities to develop their skills and potential according to their personal strengths and passions;

•

Promote the value of inspirational and positive role models as examples

to others, by exposing students to a diverse range of leaders and their views on leadership; •

Educate students on the mechanics of leadership and influence by providing ‘light bulb moments’ for those students who are in the process of deciphering their concept of self. The Halogen Foundation promotes a model of leadership that emphasises achieving goals on behalf of others as well as those of the individual;

•

Connect students from different schools across their State and provide an interactive environment that encourages the development of supportive relationships and networks;

•

It also aims to start making a positive difference in their own school community and beyond and instill in them, the feeling that they have the power to positively influence people and circumstances around them.

Giving young people a voice is something Halogen is focused on trying to develop going forward, which is the driving force behind the development of the ‘10,000 Ideas initiative’.

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NEXT EVENT DATES The next events to be held for WA Schools are: • The National Young Leaders’ Day for Primary Schools – 21st March 2014. • The National Young Leaders’ Day for Secondary Schools – 24th March 2014. Go to www.halogenfoundation.org for more information.

THE ATMOSPHERE CREATED BY THE PROGRAM PROVIDES AN OPEN ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS TO FREELY ASK QUESTIONS DIRECTLY OF THE PRESENTING SPEAKERS; LEARNING FROM THEIR REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES.

10,000 IDEAS INITIATIVE The 10,000 Ideas initiative is the brainchild of the Halogen Foundation, active since 2010. It takes the form of a film project, which aims to capture the combined thoughts of students and how they would make the world different. The attending students are generally filmed during the breaks in the program and are given this opportunity to voice their thoughts. The results of these short films are a powerful picture of this generation’s concerns for the future, as well as an encouraging vision of their desire to change it for the better. “Motivating students to take up leadership responsibility in their schools and community is only half the task. Supporting student leaders to enable their success back at school is vital, something that many of our attending teachers do exceptionally well. If more students knew what was possible when they apply positive influence among their peers, then I believe many more of them would seek out the opportunity and also the required help to make their ideas happen,” says Halogen Foundation Director Mike Martin.

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On seeing so many inspiring concepts brought to the screen, the Halogen Foundation decided to raise the stakes of this initiative in 2012, offering support to students who wish to further develop their leadership potential by turning their ideas for positive change into action. At the beginning of 2014, Halogen will give 10 young people the opportunity to attend a week-long Leadership Program, gaining access to mentorship with the hope that they will be able to come back to share their journey on the Halogen platform at future National Young Leaders’ Days. “We are really looking forward to incorporating more stories from successful student leaders into the event program this year,” says Martin. Participation in 10,000 Ideas is limited to those students who attend The National Young Leaders’ Day for Secondary Schools. You can view some of the 10,000 Ideas short films here: www.halogen.org.au/ page/10000-ideas

THE PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, COLIN BARNETT My warmest congratulations to you, our young leaders, who have been selected to participate in The National Young Leaders’ Day. Your selection to attend this important event shows that others see in you the potential to serve your school and your community, both now and into the future. I hope this conference will provide you with a unique opportunity to explore your potential, alongside other exceptional young people from Western Australia. It is most important that we nurture and support our young people so that you can lead the State into the future. This conference will develop some of the skills that will help you to assist others, including your capacity to set goals, work in teams, speak in public, and solve problems. Please, seize the opportunity that this conference presents and learn from it as much as you possibly can! I am sure that The National Young Leaders’ Day will be an enjoyable experience that you will never forget.

THE HALOGEN FOUNDATION Photo’s by Ilkka K (http://ilkkakadala. com/) and Solace Design (http://www. solacedesign.com)

(BELOW) Australian Hockeyroos Olympic goalkeeper, Toni Cronk shared her story of determination and success as a top level sportswoman.

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Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your

Digital Legacy? By Tenille Bentley

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TENILLE BENTLEY IS THE FOUNDER OF THE GLOBAL GOOD FOUNDATION AND FOUNDER/MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SOCIALITE MEDIA. TENILLE WAS PRESENTED THE AUSTRALIAN LEADERSHIP AWARD 2013 FOR DIGITAL MEDIA AND PHILANTHROPY, AS WELL AS THE TOP 30 UNDER 30 AUSTRALIAN LEADING ENTREPRENEURS OF THE YEAR FOR HER WORK WITH THE GLOBAL GOOD FOUNDATION BY THE PRIME MINISTER,AND WAS AWARDED STATE FINALIST IN THE TELSTRA BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR. TENILLE HAS BEEN A TRUE CREATOR OF HER OWN DESTINY; HER JOURNEY BEGAN WITH NO QUALIFICATIONS AND STARTED HER CAREER AS A RECEPTIONIST! NOW SHE IS A HIGHLY RESPECTED AND NATIONALLY SOUGHT AFTER AUTHORITY IN NEW MEDIA, ENTREPRENEURIALISM AND PHILANTHROPY...

f someone told you 10 years ago that we would freely sign up for a medium that utilises all our information for market research and later monetization, and we would provide content to this research on a daily basis – in fact we would spend 1.6 hours on average per day providing free market research information so we can be advertised to? What would you say? Crazy right? Welcome to the Social Media Universe …Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram and the list goes on. This is exactly what they are used for, yes, we obviously have our personal gain from spending all this time on the space…but have you considered what your ‘digital legacy’ is going to be? Posting that drunken image of you and your friends on your “perceived” personal social media page has suddenly cost you more than that drink, it may cost you the potential of scoring that job you were always wanting. Why? Because you have a digital legacy that can now affect your career choices. Gone are the days when you can spruce up a resume to sound great, social media allows your potential employer to now check in on the ‘real’ you vs the ‘I am a great asset to your company’ pitch. Personal and business lines in social media are blurred, even though it is your personal account, you are now the kid in the playground wondering why someone took your LCM bar when you weren’t looking, because every time you press that send button you are creating the building blocks to your personal brand and don’t be fooled, big brother is watching. Remaining authentic is still important but it’s the balance of purposefully deciding what your “personal” windows will be and sticking to that as your digital legacy. For example you share information about your favourite pets, going out to dinners with friends, the arts or favourite bands. So I can hear your brain ticking over now…oh no what images have I put out there in the digital world? I would suggest a review of your tagged photo’s

and especially the thumbnail images that you have on your profiles. But I can also hear you saying…but this is my personal page why should I be changing it? The more important question you should be asking yourself is “How important is my personal brand to me?” It was very prevalent to me the importance of the personal brand when I met with a contact of mine that I had a business relationship with on social media…when I met with her she said, ‘well before I met you in person, I felt like I already knew you…and I thought – how can I sum you up – well you like the arts, music, your dogs, social media, philanthropy and your family.’ This was exactly the level of personal branding I had always put out there and without an effort she already had summed me up, which made the face to face meeting that much more personal.

The power of social media is proven to me on a daily basis, I pioneered the social media agency model in Australia, worked on more than 200 verticals in the social media space on a corporate level and worked on global social media campaigns and national social advertising studies. One of our clients started their journey with my organisation Socialite Media www.socialitemedia.com.au they needed someone to manage their social media pages for them and effectively grow their online asset for them and get them in touch with the international students to let them know about their College. Today we have daily requests about the College, with other students on the community page that already attend being willingly advocates for the College and making statements like “it’s great here you should try it” as a result we receive regular bookings of new

international students directly through Facebook. The most common concern, at Board level and also at the operational level is “risk management”. They say “What if someone says something negative about us? We don’t really want to let someone get on our page and sabotage our page” and to that I respond “I would hate to break it to you, but they are going to say it anyway, and they will more than likely say it on Facebook/Twitter. So wouldn’t you want to have the best chance to mitigate your risk so you don’t become one of “those” PR disasters that you see on the news. The only way to mitigate your risk is to manage it, or contain it, within an environment that you can have an element of control over.” The bad news PR disasters you see in the media is usually a direct result of poor planning and no real crisis management plan in place. It’s going to be very similar to how you would manage a crisis offline, only it’s a lot quicker online, so you need to be at the ready and it can be turned around in 24 hours instead of dragging on for weeks. I have worked with some of the most highly regulated industries and all of this is manageable, it comes down to effective engagement plans and execution plans backed up by a crisis management strategy, obviously there’s a lot more to it than that, but fundamentally these are the things that act as a good foundation for a solid social/digital media strategy. Contrary to what people think, and I do risk losing business with this approach, however, I am a big advocate of traditional advertising, it’s holistic. You can’t invest everything into social media, you need to balance it throughout all your marketing strategies to get a complete result, it’s like only putting on half a face of make up and walking out the door – what happened to the hair? The other half of the face and in some cases the clothes? Without any of these you’d just look a bit weird and probably not get the desired attention you wanted. I explain social media as the “fish net” in the entire marketing strategy, because it effectively catches the companies

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community members into an online asset that you can then continually engage with “in between” their purchasing cycles. We haven’t had the opportunity to have this at our fingertips before. I believe there needs to be a holistic approach to the marketing…and find how you can find those touch points in traditional and digital, how they can cross over and knowing as much as you can about your digital customer before you jump in.

TENILLE BENTLEY Tenille started her philanthropic journey in June 2007 with a vision that was simple; to ensure children in domestic violence receive the support they need so they don’t go on to repeat the cycle. This effectively breaks the generational cyclic nature of domestic violence, with almost 80% of children going on to repeat the cycle. With Tenille being one of those children, this vision grew rapidly and is receiving recognition globally and helping children around Australia on a daily basis through evidence-based programs for children aged 8-12-yearsold.

From the early age of 21, Tenille had an impressive track record in property investing, by 24 she had her first ‘entrepreneurial seizure’ whilst working in a senior position in the oil and gas industry and underground coal gasification. She kicked it off by building three businesses within the first year of her entrepreneurial life. Her recent company has seen her build one of the largest Social Media agencies in under 2 years consisting of over 35 staff with a turnover of 1.5M and managing some of the largest brands in Australia on social media.

She completed her Australian Institute of Directors qualification and is the Director of The Global Good Foundation board, The Director on the Socialite Holdings Pty Ltd board, she has also completed a term on the iinet board, a publicly listed ASX 200 company.

Founder and dedicated crazy person Tenille Bentley is going to be climbing Mt Everest to raise funds and awareness for The Global Good Foundation – a charity that is dedicated to setting a global standard on the rehabilitation of people impacted by domestic violence. The funds raised go towards The Global Good Foundation’s upcoming projects ‘Teen Camps’, ‘Children Camps’ and also ‘The Global Good Friendship Games’- a flagship initiative. To find out how to help, go to Tenille’s Blog http://tenillebentley.com/blog/ where she will be documenting her entire journey. Becoming a corporate sponsor is a great opportunity to gain community exposure over the next 6 months and support a very important community topic.

Contact tenille@ggf.org.au or visit www.ggf.org.au for more information.

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Rising from the Ashes One School, One Community...

2010 WAS TO BE PETER THATCHER’S FIRST YEAR AS PRINCIPAL AT ROLEYSTONE COMMUNITY COLLEGE. HOWEVER, TRAGEDY STRUCK ON NEW YEAR’S EVE. THIS IS AN ACCOUNT OF HOW A COMMUNITY RALLIED TO RISE FROM THE ASHES; IGNITED BY A SPARK OF INSPIRATION TO BUILD A NEW SCHOOL WITH A VISION FORMED FROM RESPECT, CHALLENGE AND COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS. LIONEL CRANENBURGH INVESTIGATES THE NATURE OF THIS AMAZING CHANGE.

t was a call that no Principal wants to receive. The newly appointed Principal to Roleystone Community College, who was about to take up his new post in 2010, was in a state of disbelief as he was told that a mysterious fire had destroyed his school library and essential technology. Peter Thatcher had been specially appointed as Principal to bring together a community that had been split by factions and rebuild it under the uniting vision of ‘One School, One Community’. His task was to amalgamate a Primary and Secondary School that worked on different sites, where parents sent their children after Primary Graduation to other schools instead of their local Secondary School. The fire destroyed the Library including essential technology for administration and teaching purposes at a cost of over one-and-a-half million dollars. It was a sickening blow, like an omen that should have brought staff and parents to their knees. Instead, it was the spark that ignited community spirit leading parents and the community to rebuild in ways that no one would have thought possible.

Raeburn to generate a new identity with opportunities for developing positive relationships, pastoral care, staff and student leadership,” he said. A significant move, rare for Government Schools, was for Peter to timetable staff so that Year 7 students and Primary Staff became part of the Secondary Campus. Carrie Thatcher, Associate Principal, and expert in Primary Education, was recruited to provide leadership due to her long-standing reputation for innovation that had won her recognition in WA schools. The husband-and-wife team, both trained in Muay Thai Martial Arts, brought its physical and mental discipline to combat the forces that confronted the community, using skills from a sport that is known as ‘the art of eight weapons’ when accepting the challenge. “It offered challenges and opportunities for Secondary and Primary Staff to plan together, share their resources and work as a team in ways where they learned from one another,” she said.

“The Year 7 students have access to Secondary Teachers and our Primary Staff are able to see what students will learn in later years so that we can introduce greater rigour early into courses”. Carrie said that the school had been recognised by the Department of Education and the Professional Learning Institute as an institution that was able to provide teacher development in the area of Year 7 transition by modelling superior practice. Each student belongs to the same class group every year and receives tuition from specialist Secondary teachers supported by Primary colleagues. Year 7 students have already started showing greater autonomy in their learning and 92% moved from Primary to Secondary in 2012 that reversed a negative trend. The jewel in the crown, undoubtedly, is recognition that Roleystone Community College is probably the only specialist school in WA to have a film and television curriculum pathway, Years 8-10, winning awards and acclaim from experienced professionals in the field.

Peter said that he didn’t wait until the shock of the fire had worn off but immediately led parents in harnessing their spirit to rebuild their community culture. He organised Primary and Secondary Staff, for the first time, to meet for a visioning day where, under the banner of ‘Rules of Engagement,’ the two staffs united to develop a collective vision, values and business plan that reflected a new motto, ‘Respect, Challenge and Contribute’. “I had to have a mandate from the community to take us forward and consulted widely through surveys, meetings, worked with committees, planned with the School Council and parent bodies to develop a clear direction, with priorities and a business plan,” Peter said. “We developed a House system named after historical families of Roleystone, Chevin, Croyden, Peet and

Principal Peter Thatcher and wife Carrie keep fit together with Muay Thai.

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Events such as an annual filming event on location at New Norcia, the Roley Oscars and Armadale Film Festival are opportunities for students to showcase a variety of media skills and students work long hours through the holidays to perfect their skills. It has led to considerable success when students won the best advertisement in primary and secondary sections in a Smarter than Smoking Young Directors Festival with the commercial being screened at Armadale Grand Cinema. Steve Jodrell, Director of Theatre, Film and TV, with credits such as ‘The Buck’s Party’, ‘Shame’ and the TV movie ‘Tudawali’, said that he was amazed and delighted to watch the high levels of craftsmanship that students showed from scripting and camera work, to acting and special effects in their projects aimed at live audiences in the community. Guided by a team led by Associate Principals, Phil Springett and Andrew Pheasant, the students have an amazing repertoire of authentic activities that include screen acting, directing, producing, editing and a range of associated activities with the benefit of a purpose-built million dollar editing suite adjoining an industry standard studio.

Rather than look at their own challenges, a team of Roleystone College Indonesian language teachers have engaged students in learning about their nearest neighbours and planned a visit to an Indonesian school on a cultural exchange to improve their understanding of Asian culture. Vice Principal, Chris Walsh, explained that the College worked using a hub model with other Primary Schools

ABOVE: Associate Principal Phil Springett guides students to set up a film set using art lighting arranged by Denson Baker. The students are Chris Heavey, Jayden Turpin, Mia Hyde, Brindsley King, Hannah Solomon and Shania Brown. ABOVE: Photo courtesy Daniel Holliday, Roleystone Community College

and that activities in Indonesian were integrated with film and television so that students could have a holistic learning experience combining many aspects of learning, both functional and creative, at home or abroad. “Our language teachers organised a dance group from Sydney to work with students and perform for them. As a result of some wonderful, authentic activities, we have had previously disengaged students electing to be part of the Indonesian Language Program,” she said.

“This is the first year that we have a cohort of students completing three continuous years of film and television and it has given them a chance to learn from professionals in the industry like Denson Baker of ‘Red Dog’ fame and ‘The Black Balloon’,” Phil said. “I would like to see a few of our students get into the industry and others to be role models for our students so that boys and girls can see where they can get to if they want”. 58

SCRIBE Issue 4

Ibu Agnes for Osh5one explains the art of making Mie Goreng.

differentiated curriculum for disengaged students and they find that working in the garden has a calming effect on them,” he said. Mr Huisman, who coordinates the College’s Rock and Water Program, said that the Horticultural Program enabled students to apply physical and social skills gained from the program to reduce conflict or bullying. The community has painful memories of the Roleystone-Kelmscott holocaust, just two years ago, in which 72 homes were destroyed, cited as the ‘worst single fire event house loss in WA history’ by FESA’s report and described by some media as looking like a ‘war zone’. Peter Thatcher has prepared his school for battle by developing a bushfire emergency plan with school wardens trained to take their part using FESA’s guidelines.

Bringing children and their parents to participate together in activities after school is one of the surest ways to develop commitment and respect between parents, teachers and students. Vicki Sallur, a staff member and parent at the College, described the enthusiasm with which parents and students worked once a week after school in a program called ‘Artsmartz’ experimenting with clay, painting, craft and drawing to pursue their interests in art. ‘The Grow Project’, a schoolcommunity enterprise, has had profound impact in bringing community, business, teachers and students together with a view to promoting sustainability and ultimately achieve the college goal of having its own unique kitchen garden where students can prepare meals from

produce that they grow in a purposebuilt classroom. Paul Huisman, a long-serving teacher at the College and one of its visionary super-staff, described how the school’s present garden had been transformed from a paved bicycle area with the help of expert horticulturists, parents, staff and students. “We have vegetables and fruit trees, chickens and aquaponics with a variety of fish that is part of an exciting project,” Paul said. “A group of boys, known as the ‘Garden Boys’, has spent a lot of time preparing the garden and, one day, we hope to raise sufficient funds to have a kitchen attached to it where students can cook meals. We have developed a

His staff and students have been drilled to handle an emergency through closure and lockdown measures. Like the legendary phoenix bird he sees his school as having risen from the ashes – and he plans to keep it that way. LIONEL CRANENBURGH Lionel Cranenburgh is a journalisteducator, career consultant and mediator, including CEO of a training company, ‘Shannon Quest’, for school administrators, teachers and lead teachers. Photos courtesy Rolystone Community College and Lionel Cranenburgh.

RANGE OF PUBLISHERS

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Campion Can tailor books, eBooks and combination bundles to meet the individual needs of your school. We source resources from all major Australian publishers including: • Oxford University Press • Cambridge University Press • Nelson Cengage Australia • Macmillan • Pearson • Jacaranda • Pascal/Blake • TIC * Plus many more.

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SCRIBE Issue 4

Schools are our Speciality...

navigating to successful, sustaina 2

Student Ministry

Principal’s Report

OUR COMMUNITY AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.

F A I T H E X CE

LLE

TO BE HIS DISCIPLES, WE SEEK TO IMITATE THE HIS FATHER’S WILL, AS ST PAUL EXALTS IN THE PHILIPPIANS; “IN YOUR MIND, BE THE SAME AS CHRIST JESUS.” (2: 1 – 11)

This Year of Grace invites all to recognise God’s grace, His life that dwells within us. Ministry at Corpus Christi is a mission to change, to transform our world and ourselves. This is nurtured through Liturgies, school prayers, reflection days and retreats. Undertaking Caritas and Vinnies activities foster social justice and the need to respond to Christ’s call to serve the poor and marginalised. Preparing students for youth ministry leadership roles have being implemented within the curriculum this year in Middle School and will continue in the future. The Sacramental life of the College enables the community to celebrate God’s grace of healing and receiving the gift of divine life so we can reflect the

THE COLLEGE IS A CATHOLIC COMMUNITY AND IS ENRICHED BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR HOUSE PATRONS AND ACTIVITIES LINKED TO THEM.

image of Christ to others. Senior students who have been inducted as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion give witness to all with their commitment. The College is a Catholic community and is enriched by the spirit of our House Patrons and activities linked to them. Students are encouraged to recognize and emulate the faith and courage evident in their lives. The College acknowledges and offers its appreciation to the support of Fr Terry Raj, our Chaplain, the Priests of our parishes and the Pallottine community at Rossmoyne. The selfless commitment of staff to the many ministry and service activities and to those who witness to faith daily in the classroom, truly demonstrate the unique vocation to live the mission of the Church. The College has been blessed and inspired this year.

YEARBOOK 2012

YEARBOOK

2012

KOLBE CATHOLIC COLLEGE

outh Fremantle Senior High School students, staff and parents celebrated a special assembly dedicated to remembering the importance of ANZAC Day.

It was with great pleasure to have our special guest Colonel Michael Page assist with the placing of the wreath at the base of the Australian flag. The assembly ceremony included ANZAC readings from both an Australian and Turkish view

Ashleigh Taylor (Head Girl), Colonel Michael Page, Ger

Kind Regards, GERI HARDY PRINCIPAL

Your Child Needs to Have an Attendance Rate of 90% or Better

Year 8 students have had a marvellous introduction to the school this term after experiencing that wonderful camp at Point Walter and are now making good headway through their academic programs at school. I have been impressed with the friendliness of these students, their general demeanour around the school and the way they have settled into their classes this term. I look forward to seeing these students all do well at the end of first Semester.

KOLBE CATHOLIC COLLEGE

COLLEGE

I wish all families a Happy Easter, restful and enjoyable school holidays for students and I look forward to working with you all again in Term 2.

Term 1 is often a time of adjustment for students in Year 11 as they learn to balance the many demands of different teachers and develop homework and study timetables. Developing good habits now will stand students in good stead for the duration of their senior schooling years and all students are encouraged to make sure they do an appropriate amount of study and homework each night.

Mr Simon Keane Director of Ministry

Dowling Street, Rockingham Western Australia 6168 Phone: (61 8) 9592 1500 Fax: (61 8) 9592 2933 Email: info@kolbe.wa.edu.au Web: www.kolbe.wa.edu.au

Well done and thank you to my wonderful P&C members, Linda Kwok, Kathy Anketell, Sam Dunbar, Jacquie Boyes, Sonia Martinez, Lindy Frayne, David McFarlane and others who assisted with this lovely evening.

I am very pleased to hear from my staff that students have generally started the year very well. Year 11 and 12 students wanting to pursue university entry are deeply involved in their studies, learning to juggle the many assignments and homework which is a routine part of these courses.

KOLBE CATHOLIC COLLEGE • YEARBOOK 2012

hroughout the year students are encouraged to participate in many faith formation activities which are based upon peer-to-peer ministry, service learning and for the first time in 2012, an immersion experience. These opportunities offer students the opportunity to witness their calling to be truly Christian disciples.

CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE

HUMBLE SERVICE OF JESUS CHRIST IN DOING

music provided by our Year 12 students Ellie Partridge and Billy Dana, set in the beautiful Sunken Garden was a real treat for the families who attended.

s I write this article the rain is starting to fall and I must say it is very welcome after another very hot summer. Students are also enjoying the cooler conditions in classrooms and around the school.

ANZAC Ceremony

THE COLLEGE’S NAME AND MOTTO DEFINE

A child is considered to be “at education risk” if their attendance is less than 90%. If a child has one day off school a week, over 5 years they will have missed a whole year of school.

With the onset of cooler weather we are hoping that the new school uniform jackets which are a very smart combination of grey and red, will be available by the end of the term or at least by the commencement of Term 2.

Having an attendance rate of 90% or below seriously affects a child’s chances of being successful at school and impacts their chances of having a successful life.

If the new jackets are not available at the start of Term 2 students are encouraged to wear their previous green/black jackets or a subdued colour whilst they wait to purchase the new jackets. Once these arrive, with the old jackets they will be the only school uniform jackets students will be allowed to wear.

I would appreciate families working with us to ensure that their child’s attendance is treated seriously; that absences are only for genuine reasons of ill health and that if families need assistance from us in this matter that our staff are contacted early.

Girls are reminded that leggings are not to be worn alone as they are considered as underwear. If these are worn they must be worn under school trouser or school skirts.

I understand that at times students may need to be absent from school for other reasons and this should be discussed with the school in order to support students while absent.

As the community is very supportive of students wearing school uniform I greatly appreciate the help of parents and guardians in ensuring that students are dressed in uniform for school.

The Director General, Department of Education issued a statement to school principals that parents should be informed that attendance of children at school is a priority and must be improved overall. It is not acceptable for students to be taken out of school to be taken on holiday.

Next term I am looking forward to the opening of our Trade Training Centre – official hand-over has not yet occurred – so we are hoping that this will be soon!

Please contact the Manager Student Services Ms Sue Haskett, Deputy Principal Mr Neil Freckelton (Years 8, 9) or Deputy Principal Mr Chris Fraser (Year 10-12) if you require support or need to discuss your child’s attendance at school.

The P&C hosted a wonderful function for students and their families last Thursday evening. Wood-fired pizza, beer and wine and beautiful

anza

Parent Teacher Interview

arent Teacher interviews will be held in Week 3 of Term 2. This will be on Tuesday 8 May from 1.00pm to 6.00pm. This will result in an early close on that day.

Students will be dismissed at the end of period three, 12.17pm. Please make appropriate arrangement with your child. Normal bus services will not be available at that time. Under extenuating circumstances arrangement

can be made with the school to supervise some students

INTER-HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL

he 2012 Inter-House Cross Country Carnival, held on Monday 2 April 2012 was a whole school gathering, where student leaders began the day with prayer and outlined the instructions of the event with a very creative video presentation.

The annual Inter-House War Cry competition was tightly contested soon after the formalities, with Xavier lifting the roof with their own rendition of the Maori Haka, to take home the win.

he house lights are dimmed, the overture begins, there is much excitement as the full

house settles in to witness the very first whole school musical in the brand new auditorium, the RNDM

Running conditions were favourable for competitors and there were several outstanding individual efforts and times, particularly from our middle school students. The atmosphere was buzzing at the finish line as all of the Houses lined the oval to cheer on their fellow teammates. The results were as follows:

Performing Arts Centre at Sacred Heart College. This year’s musical The Wiz was a huge production, and turned out to be a great success. The Wiz journey began with the lengthy audition process in December 2011, but the real work began

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9

in Week One of Term One this year. The rehearsal period was highly demanding for everyone involved, cast, crew, band, staff and parents who stepped in and helped with costumes and scenery. Every week had us learning a new song

Runner-Up

Champion

Runner-Up

Champion

(Female)

(Male)

Emily Cooper Emily Temby Bella Scarrott

Ashlee Glands Kali Houlihan Avalon Browne

Amin Longolio Brett Wood Matthew Yeates Madeleine Hills Tyron Mulholland Bradley McGowan Jacob Goodrick

Darragh Nagle Josh Ellis Matthew Ramsden

Year 10 Sophie Garbin Shayne Solin Stefano Spissu Year 11 Cady Jorgensen Alison Kimberley Bradley Walsh Year 12 Ella Solin Mikala Falconer Jordan Hicks The House Spirit Award was awarded to Loyola House who had the highest number of competitors who finished the 2.8km track in less than 25 minutes.

and its choreography, as well as rehearsing a new scene. In the meantime, the leads were required to rehearse during the week before and after school on a regular basis. During the second week of the Term One holidays we rehearsed all day to polish the production. This well-organised preparation ensured that when the

The overall point score at the end of the Carnival was extremely close but there can only be one champion on the day. Congratulations were extended to Loyola House for winning the Champion House shield as well as the Spirit shield in 2012.

time came for opening night there were no doubts that we had created a spectacular performance. As Cultural Captains we were both very proud of the success of

Our Carnival would not have had the success if not for the excellent support of the College staff, PE Team, and student helpers. Their contributions are well appreciated by our community.

The Wiz and appreciate the support received from the entire school community. It was such a wonderful opportunity offeredSCHOOL by Sacred ST DENIS Heart, and we are so privileged to have been given this experience.

2 Orchid Street, Joondanna WA 6060

A huge thank you must go to Blue Chip Timing and the outstanding work that they do in their live results keeping for our Carnival.

To all those involved in The Wiz, particularly Miss Wills, Mr Martino,

Telephone: 9242 3422 Miss Polglaze, Mr Christian, Mr Neal, Mrs Fraser, staff and parents,

Fax: 9242 3423 Email: admin@stdenis.wa.edu.au

we thank you for your time and effort in contributing to this amazing

Mr Rick Bunn Acting Head of HPE

experience. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Amberley Speak and Katherine O’Neill

St Denis School Yearbook 2012

Cultural Captains 2012

ver 2500 participants ran in the ACC Cross-Country event held at Alderbury Reserve in Perry Lakes on Thursday 31 May.

The Kolbe Catholic College Cross-Country team had been training hard twice a week for 6 weeks leading up to the carnival. Kolbe College continues to improve every year and 2012 was no exception. This year the team’s goal was to achieve a result better than 11th place, where they finished in 2011. The team achieved this and was placed 9th overall out of 56 schools. This is an outstanding achievement and all runners can be very proud of their efforts. All runners completed the course within the required time of 19 minutes (3km female course) and 23 minutes (4km male course). A huge congratulations goes to Matthew Ramsden (Yr 9) who won his race. This is an incredible result as Matthew competed against at least 300 participants in his race. Other runners who excelled on the day included Ashlee Glands – Yr 7 (11th), Josh Ellis – Yr 8 (7th), Kali Houlihan – Yr 8 (21st), Shayne Solin – Yr 10 (11th) and Mikala Falconer – Yr 12 (4th) A special thank you to all staff that assisted with before school training sessions and who attended the ACC Carnival. An extra special thank you must be extended to Miss Erica Chisholm and Mr Noburo Hagiwara for their overall coordination of the team. We look forward to next year!

Eccentrics Ball

Mel Maria Catholic Primary School

mary School

Eccentrics’ Ball

SACRED HEART COLLEGE

SPORT

RNDM 150th Anniversary

Eccentrics Ball

12 ORT 20 n November, Deputy Principal Leo Di Gregorio, Vietnam

were welcomed in new lands, who maste

Mission Coordinator John Sullivan and their wives Leanne and

adapted to new cultures, and who, in spite

Rosalie, had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam to represent

and hardships, established missions whi

the College at the Jubilee celebrations of the RNDM Order.

countries today.

They joined Congregational leaders from some 16 countries

The invitation extended to the Col

across the globe including Sr Madeleine Barlow from Australia

celebration is a sign of the importance

and worldwide head of the RNDM Congregation Sr Maureen

between Sacred Heart and the RNDM Vietna

McBride, who is based in Rome. The Vietnamese Sisters from

Leo, Leanne, John and Rosalie were hon

all the convents around the country made the journey to the

and thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful fest

motherhouse at Thu Duc, which made for a special day!

of the Sisters.

The day began with Mass celebrated by Cardinal Jean

courage of our ancestors, to give thanks to

priests and was attended by around 1500 guests. Following

have accompanied us in our work, those

Mass all enjoyed a delicious lunch and were entertained by the

us in our ministry. It is a time to learn fro

and treasure what we have learned, and to

On this day of the closing of the Jubilee Year, Sr Maureen

enjoy the justice, peace and security for wh long.”

Maureen described the Order’s founder, Euphrasie Barbier,

Maure

as ‘a small woman of profound faith, extraordinary courage,

pioneering RNDM women who travelled to remote places and 85 75

YEARBOOKS • SCHOOL MEDIA • EDUCATION DESIGN phone 08 9330 5374 fax 08 9264 8230 email info@solacedesign.com web www.solacedesign.com

SCRIBE Issue 4

future, to imagine and to shape a better

McBride and the Vietnamese Congregational Leader, Sr Tuyet Mau, reflected on 150 years of the RNDM Order. Sr

breadth of vision, and a heart for the world!’ She honoured the

“A Jubilee is a time to reflect back in

Baptiste Pham Minh Mân, two Archbishops and over 100

young Sisters and Aspirants who performed a concert.

Music-Making Together... I SAY THIS WITHOUT HESITATION; “I HAVE THE BEST JOB IN WORLD.” I LOVE MUSIC AND I LOVE WORKING WITH YOUNG FAMILIES. SURE, I’VE HAD THE OCCASIONAL BAD DAY (USUALLY ON ADMIN DAYS DURING TAX TIME), BUT ALMOST NEVER ON THE DAYS I’M WORKING AT MY CENTRE. MY JOB IS TO FACILITATE JOYFUL FAMILY MUSIC-MAKING EXPERIENCES WHERE BOTH ADULTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN FEEL FREE TO SING, DANCE AND MAKE MUSIC (OR NOT IF THEY CHOOSE). WHAT COULD BE BETTER? GILLIAN LEE, FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL AT THE RHYTHM TREE IN MELBOURNE SHARES HER MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH YOU...

y music education may have been a little like yours; split between; formal instruction – music lessons teaching musical concepts, hours of practising scales and pieces to perform at organised events and competitions Informal experiences – listening to my parents’ 60’s and 70’s music collection (with a bit of Country and Western thrown in) then singing into a hair brush as I bopped along in front of the mirror, joining my parents as they danced and sang at family gatherings, making up songs and dance routines with my sister and cousins during family visits and attending live gigs at local clubs. For me there were TWO types of music in my life; one was a bit boring (but legitimate), performance-based (and judged) and the other exhilarating, creative, joyful and spontaneous.

I knew which one I preferred. About 14 years ago, when I started teaching early years music (after being a Primary School teacher for 10 years), I thought I had discovered my calling. I set up my own business running fun, music classes for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds...up to 6-year-olds. Once children reached the ripe old age of 3, parents dropped them at the door and we did all sorts of ‘child-centred’ activities which taught rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics and other musical concepts for 45 minutes and then they went home. Looking back on it, I realise that this method did not suit everyone (my youngest child would have climbed the walls had he been expected to do organised activities for 45 minutes at this young age), parents only ever got to share the experience when they came at

the end of term for our ‘Open’ class and the sheer exhilaration of spontaneous musical expression, (which I loved as a child), was still missing. About 5 years ago, during an internet search, I stumbled upon a US Parents’ Forum talking about this ‘amazing family music program’ where ‘whole families can participate in the same class’ and ‘individual learning styles are respected’. Apparently it is so good that ‘even musos take their kids there.’ At long last I had found a quality music program for young children that linked to the exciting and creative experiences that nurtured my life-long love of music. My two types of music came together in a method aptly named Music Together®. http://www.musictogether. com SCRIBE Issue 4

Whilst the nearest teacher training workshop at that time was in Japan, I was sure it would be worth the trip…and it most definitely was. And so my journey with ‘Music Together’ and my new company ‘The Rhythm Tree’ began. Now instead of parents leaving their children at the door, I run music classes for the whole family. Instead of teaching musical concepts, I offer experiences. Music Together works on the principal that ‘all children are musical’. Many people mistakenly believe that only a talented few are musical. In fact, when given a supportive music environment, children learn to sing and dance as naturally as they learn to walk and talk. How is this possible you might ask? Children learn differently than adults. They learn instinctively and constantly. They teach themselves through imitation and play, through being immersed in their environment, and through

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every interaction with adults and older children. The family-like setting of Music Together’s mixed-age classes enables siblings to attend together, creating an ideal learning environment where infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers can freely participate at their own levels. I now find myself the ‘lightning rod’ for a beautiful community. Daily I share with parents and grandparents the joy of their children and grandchildren, young parents who are often learning what it is to share the world with their little people. We share jokes and stories and sing and dance. In some countries Kindergartens and Nurseries use Music Together as an effective way to develop their feeder communities. At the end of each year I sometimes wish I had this option. Saying good bye to families can be hard. I am one of a growing number of Music Together Teachers. Whilst there are only 3 of us in Australia at the moment the Music Together approach to early childhood music is taught worldwide at more than fifty teacher trainings per

MUSIC TOGETHER WORKS ON THE PRINCIPAL THAT ‘ALL CHILDREN ARE MUSICAL’. MANY PEOPLE MISTAKENLY BELIEVE THAT ONLY A TALENTED FEW ARE MUSICAL. IN FACT, WHEN GIVEN A SUPPORTIVE MUSIC ENVIRONMENT, CHILDREN LEARN TO SING AND DANCE AS NATURALLY AS THEY LEARN TO WALK AND TALK. year. Licensed Music Together teachers currently teach children in parent-child and Pre-School classes in approximately 2000 communities in over 20 countries. In addition, many teachers trained by Music Together apply the curriculum and philosophy in Pre-Schools and Childcare Centres. Music Together teachers world-wide, are drawn from teachers musicians, actors, dancers, music therapists, parents, and educators. No formal academic degrees are required.

RARE OPPORTUNITY Music Together recently ran their teacher training course in Australia for the first time, offering a three-day Workshop at CERES Environmental Park in Melbourne.

learned Music Together’s researchbased approach to teaching music and movement to children of ages birth, through kindergarten. Early childhood music demonstration classes took place each day of the workshop, teaching children and their parents using the Music Together curriculum. Completing this unique form of training ensures individuals are qualified to teach Music Together Parent-Child or Pre-School classes. These classes are taught at either an existing Music Together centre; at a Kindergarten or Day Care Centre (Once a license to run classes has been applied for),or teachers have the option opneing their own Music Together Centre and running classes there.

For more information Visit http://www.musictogether.com/ to preview the courses offered worldwide. You can also contact Gillian Lee on 03 9878 9341 or email gillian@ therhythmtree.com.au or via the website www.rhythmtree.com.au to find out more about music education for your children!

GILLIAN LEE IMAGES: Manda Ford – Kwerk Photography. Gillian Lee is the founder and Principal at The Rhythm Tree in Melbourne. Gillian is an experienced Primary School teacher, Early Year’s Music teacher, consultant and adviser and is both a licenced Music Together teacher and Centre Director. Gillian also guest lectures at NMIT University and is a mother of three.

This teacher training was open to anyone desiring an overview of music development. Workshop participants

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The Receptionist THIS SATIRICAL, YET HONEST LOOK AT THE ROLE OF THE RECEPTIONIST IN OUR SCHOOLS GIVES INSIGHT AND, HOPEFULLY, A DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR THE OFTENTIMES-UNDERRATED ROLE OUR SMILING SCHOOL RECEPTIONIST ENDURES…

he Receptionist is an enigmatic figure within the High School environment. The all-knowing, ever-smiling figure at the front of the school gives the impression that she is merely the gatekeeper of the much larger machine that lies behind her. Yet, organised to within an inch of her life, she is the oil that keeps the cogs lubricated and working in sync, so much so that without her, that machine would rust up, slow down, and eventually grind to an inglorious halt.

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Rulz

She is the first port of call for anyone within the school community who requires anything remotely administrative. Regardless of how disorganised you are when it comes to the details of your requirements, she always seems to have the answers you’re after. She is wise beyond her qualifications, the gaffer tape for all problems within and beyond her jurisdiction and the buffer between conflicting parties too shallow, stubborn or unprofessional to submit to the art of diplomacy.

All this is done with a smile upon her face. How can a simple Receptionist (forgive me, Receptionists – I do not wish to offend) be more organised than the staff for whom she cares, be more knowledgeable than the hierarchy for whom she toils and be more patient than the parents with whom she shares her maternal nature? Receptionists are grossly underrated and underappreciated. To the majority

of the teaching staff, she is nothing more than a glorified personal assistant employed to take care of their every administrative whim. Teachers of varying degrees of efficiency rely on the Receptionist for a myriad of causes. They ask her to contact parents to inform them of the excursion that will be returning to school later than expected. They ask her to collect a student’s work when they’ve lost all patience with the teenager, because, after all, the teacher’s time is more valuable than either the student’s or the Receptionist’s! They ask her to distribute handouts which should have been handed out earlier that day in class, but for reasons unknown, the photocopier was on the blink, so the teacher in question was unable to be as organised as he/she expects his/her students to be. When the said photocopier is having trouble keeping up with the day-today demands of the paper mill that masquerades as an educational facility, who do the teachers call for to put things right? That’s right, our friend – the Receptionist! Again, she does it all with a patient smile, and a “thank you” to boot. To the students of the school, she is the face of the school discipline policy, handing out the punishments which the leadership – in their wisdom – have devised, yet are too busy, backward or inept to enforce.

undoubtedly applied without the mother’s knowledge sometime between breakfast and the first bell. Dabbing away at the student’s powdered cheeks and painted eyelids, the receptionist is subjected to all manner of foreign languages usually reserved for a Tarantino film, or worse, the playground at lunchtime. Yet, it is all affably rebuffed with her dutiful smile and pleasant demeanour. To the parents of the students, she’s merely the voice on the other end of the phone that must listen to their whingeing, their excuses and their criticisms of the education system and everyone involved in it. She calls parents of truants and listens politely to their stammered excuses because they’re too embarrassed, proud or ignorant to acknowledge their child’s shortcomings. She is forced to listen to the lamentations of the parent whose son has been unjustly dealt with after yet another cyber-bullying issue. Despite not having the slightest idea about Spacebook or MyFace, she is compelled to nod and agree as parents offer their non-expert perspective on the negative effects of social media, and how if the school had never agreed to this whole one-to-one laptop thing these kinds of problems would never exist in our society.

Oh, and on the really lucky days, she may even get to speak to some of these parents face-to-face when they have to come and collect their child from the sick bay. On these very special occasions, she is privy to the source of some of the insufferable behaviour she’s subjected to by the students on a day-to-day basis. No pleasantries are exchanged and all courtesies are ignored. The parents just want their child in the car, then at home in bed, so they can get on with whatever they need to get on with. There’s no time to be wasted chatting to a mere Receptionist. Oh, if only they knew. The patience of the earth. The wisdom of Ghandi. The geniality of Dick Smith. And at the end of the day, she goes home without receiving so much as a ‘farewell’, ‘good evening’ or ‘thanks for your work’. Because usually, she’s the last one to leave, with a smile upon her face!

THE MASKED EDUCATOR Illustrations: Stephen Smythe

She has to face up to the student who has been sent out of class for being a disruptive influence on his peers. When asked why he’s here, he responds obnoxiously, “Dunno,” with not so much as a cursory glance sideways towards our pleasant administrator who’s just trying to get the job done. Students who arrive to school late are generally asked to sign in at the front office. She’s heard them all, every excuse this side of Officeworks. The late buses, the sick siblings and the broken alarm clocks. They all make an appearance most mornings, and when these excuses are dismissed with nothing more than an apologetic smile and a request to attend a lunch time detention, the teenage wrath is hers to endure. She also helps the student who has arrived at school with too much make up on her face to remove the mask that was

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OUR SCHOOL HAS THE ONLY SPECIALIST ACADEMIC PROGRAM IN THE STATE ENDORSED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, WHICH IS A CROSS-CURRICULAR APPROACH IN RAISING THE AWARENESS OF THE ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY. 66

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The Ecological Footprint.. IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS LYNWOOD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL HAS MADE PHENOMENAL PROGRESS IN THE EDUCATION OF SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION. IT BOASTS MANY ACHIEVEMENTS, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS RAISING SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONSCIOUSNESS REGARDING THE SUSTAINABILITY DEBATE. THE SCHOOL HAS A MULTIFACETED DESIGN THAT EMBEDS SUSTAINABILITY IN THEIR CURRICULUM, ENABLING THEM TO LEAD THE WAY IN A MYRIAD OF ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS...

he commencement of Lynwood Senior High School’s journey into Sustainability and Environmental education began with what they call the ‘curriculum bookends.’ The first bookend caters to the passionate and academically-able student who will lead tomorrow’s understanding of environmental and sustainability issues. In order to achieve this they put in place the only Specialist Academic Program in the State, which has been endorsed by the Department of Education and is a crosscurricular approach to raising awareness of the ecological and social importance of Sustainability. This program is called Environment and Life Sciences (EaLS) and these classes are the flagship for Sustainability within the school. Students undertake special testing to be selected into the EaLS program and, once selected, become involved in a range of environmental activities such as biodiversity audits, water wise work, revegetation of the local creek. In addition, this year students designed and constructed a Wetlands on the school grounds. The School was a recipient of a BP Grant which assisted in completing a successful project.

centre of what students do on a daily basis, focusing on the development of self-esteem, as well as academic achievement through practical learning and environmental projects. These students have developed and maintain a large organic garden through a partnership with “Hotrock*” and are currently working on the construction of an aquaponics/hydroponics centre as the result of a $50,000 NAB grant. These

projects enable authentic and practical learning to occur. Students completing their Senior School studies in the LEAF program also work towards a Certificate II in Horticulture and have a 100% West Australian Certificate of Education achievement rate. These specialist programs have been highly visible, deliberately engaging all students within the school.

The Year 9 EaLS students were invited by Curtin University to be involved in their Engineering in Schools Project. Students will research a developing country, identify a problem and design an engineering solution to fix the problem. The focus of this program is to look at engineering from a sustainability perspective, thereby challenging the students thinking and problem-solving skills. This partnership is one of many that have been developed with LSHS, providing students with an endless stream of encouragement, at the same time as supporting the school’s direction and vision. The second bookend to the commencement of this journey was the establishment of an engagement program for Senior School students called the Lynwood Environment and Academic Flexibility (LEAF) class. This program places the environment at the

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SUSTAINABILITY WEEK ALSO ALLOWS US TO CONNECT WITH OUR MANY ENVIRONMENTAL PARTNERS PROVIDING THEM WITH A FORUM TO PROMOTE THE IMPORTANT WORK THEY DO. Lynwood now has a student-led environment group formed in 2012 by interested and passionate students. The L.E.S.S committee (Lynwood’s Environmental Sustainability Students) meet weekly to increase the awareness of issues within the school itself. Last year they undertook a waste audit, the results of which sees students now developing a waste plan and policy to go towards LSHS’s Waste Wise accreditation. They are also undertaking leadership training as part of the Clean School Program to reduce litter within the local environment. L.E.S.S’s part played in developing a Whole School understanding toward Water Wise planning resulted in LSHS being recognised as the Western Australian Water Wise School for 2012. Staff are regularly involved in professional learning based on Sustainability and as an AuSSI* school we regularly engage with their resources. At the start of this year the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) assisted in delivering workshops that addressed the Australian Curriculum. This important partnership ensures our staff have access to leaders in the field of sustainable education and most importantly links all aspects of our school’s Business Plan and vision to the broader community via the common language of education. Lynwood Senior High School also engages in a range of innovative activities throughout the year that culminate in a Whole School Sustainability Week, highlighting the ongoing work completed within Learning Areas focused around Education for Sustainability, as well as school-based sustainable practices. Sustainability Week also allows them 68

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to connect with many environmental partners providing them with a forum to promote the important work they do. This multi-faceted and multi-level approach has enabled LSHS to brand itself as ‘A Centre for Environment and Life Sciences’ as well as promote its individuality within the wider education community. The school’s commitment to the environment and provision of a unique and engaging curriculum has been rewarded by the grants received, the strong partnerships formed and the recent success in two prestigious awards: In the Environmental Education category of the Western Australian Environment Awards, LSHS received a ‘Highly Commended’ and as the WA Water Awards received first place as the Water Wise School of the year in 2012. The school has made Sustainability a core focus in the development of a positive school culture, as well as a means of engaging students of different abilities in their daily learning and is now recognised as a school that walks the talk in this vitally important area of education for our children’s future. Lynwood Senior High School continues to be innovative in its approach in

providing authentic learning experiences for its students and has a very busy and exciting year ahead. For more information regarding the Specialist Program – Environment and Life Sciences, or any other aspect of the school’s sustainability focus please contact Jo Willesee, Head of Curriculum on 9354 0600 or Joanne.Reilly@education.wa.edu.au CONTRIBUTORS: Gary Anderson (Principal) and Jo Willesee (Head of Curriculum) Photo’s courtesy of Water Corporation – Waterwise Program. *HotRock provides funding to partner high schools that want to make empowering Education for Sustainability a priority within their curriculum and practice. *The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI)

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Paper Facts! 70

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28-YEAR-OLD RENEE PILKINGTON RUNS A CIRCUS AND AERIAL SPECTACLE-BASED COMPANY CALLED FLIPTEASE WHICH SHE ESTABLISHED IN 2006. IN ADDITION TO ITS COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES, FLIPTEASE HAS A SOCIAL AND INSPIRING OBJECTIVE TO RUN YOUTH CIRCUS PROGRAMS... ACCESS CIRCUS!

have pieces of paper saying I went to Murdoch Business School, that I am an advanced licensed rigger, that I can operate elevated work platforms, have a license to perform high risk work, and that I trained acrobatics in China. My CV says I’ve worked as a performer, producer, director and coach all around the world. But what I actually do doesn’t exist on paper.

China, and clocking up nearly $10,000 worth of hospital expenses. Thank you Dad, and eventually travel insurance! Everything that could have gone wrong did. Health, money, people, business... all at the same time, and at the worst possible moment. Yet somehow I still survived, thanks to backup plans and asking for help. This is one of the costs of having adventures.

Last week, it was managing a tank full of mermaids at the Perth Fringe Festival. A month earlier it was hanging trapeze artists off a chandelier. Before that it was drinking champagne out of a bath tub suspended six meters in the air. Even before that it was coaching more than 100 kids in red dirt in the middle of nowhere. Somehow I have become the person to go to if you want something not of this world; something which requires a combination of high-risk activities and an aesthetic that is hard to fake.

Flash back to age 13, where I still could barely tell my right from my left. I was and am still the clumsiest person you could probably meet. I wasn’t great at school, and I struggled to get the marks needed to get into university. In contrast to that, I was always climbing the walls. I’m naturally curious, and more

than anything I like to learn and talk to people (often to the horror of former partners, family and friends). It’s meant that I have had to work a lot harder and a little smarter than everyone else to get the same results. I learnt Pythagorean theory with my Dad via two screwdrivers in the ground and a tape measure, because the concepts on paper made no sense to me. The hidden chocolates in the garden provided a great incentive for an 11-yearold though... Fast-forward and I still use the same tools and traits to teach my students and staff. This has been a song, a pattern, or even outright bribery at times to make

When I was asked to write something about having a creative career, I flinched. I never defined myself as having one. Definitely not according to what I have on paper. The thing that started it all was saying yes. Saying yes to do and try things that sounded adventurous, then trouble shooting every possible scenario of what could go wrong (and having the paperwork in order). My parents drilled this into me at a very early age. You have to plan for all the outcomes, in all facets of life, business, professional and personal. This came in more useful than I could ever have expected. Case in point being a memory: lying alone in intensive care in a Beijing Hospital bed on a heart monitor and a drip feed after contracting a stomach virus on my first training trip to mainland

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myself or the student enjoy the things that otherwise would not always be fun or make sense. This last point was personally very important for Chinese style flexibility training. Years on I am still reaping the rewards of what was an incredibly painful experience. My tricks and training have changed a little recently. There has been a refocus; on directing children’s shows like ‘Splat!’, public entertainment projects like this year’s new year’s eve celebrations in Northbridge, or last year’s reveal of the City of Perth’s new Labyrinth. For me a creative career is not about the facts on paper. It’s about applying what I have learned, and using the experiences that I gain every time I use those skills. It means constantly falling down, and finding yourself somewhere unexpected. Discovering you’ve made something that you didn’t intend to, but still somehow works, and in lots of cases is better than what you started out with and if that sometimes means winding up drinking a glass of champagne suspended in a bath tub six meters above the ground, count me in. RENEE PILKINGTON Photography: Johannes Reinhart, Pepper Poppins, VJzoo, Kate Wilson Events

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FOR ME A CREATIVE CAREER IS NOT ABOUT THE FACTS ON PAPER. ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ABOUT APPLYING WHAT I HAVE LEARNED, AND USING THE EXPERIENCES THAT I GAIN EVERY TIME I USE THOSE SKILLS.

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health and self-esteem are all clearly noted and make that time worthwhile. Children’s concentration and learning also improve, which makes this a doubly effective use of time.

No Touch

Positive Touch

By Anne Elston

here has been much media coverage recently of violent behaviour amongst schoolchildren as young as five and six and, while the statistics are alarming, we have little choice but to try our best to keep the peace in the classroom and playground. Many schools have adopted a “no touch” policy in the hope that this will give children less opportunity to get physical with one another. This approach is not only unrealistic it is also unnatural, especially when dealing with children who have an assortment of different needs. More often than not these children get lumped into the mainstream school system with inadequate support, and are misunderstood by their peers, which can lead to trouble. We need to flip the mindset from “no touch” to one of “positive touch”.

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Through the Massage in Schools Program (MISP), we bring positive touch into the classroom through peer–to-peer massage (where children must make eye contact and ask permission prior to giving/receiving massage). These children are not only learning first-hand about respect, empathy and boundaries, they are also getting a really hands-on lesson in social development. And I strongly believe that this is not a part of the new Australian Curriculum that kids can learn through a worksheet. When MISP is employed and practised for approximately 15 minutes a day, a dramatic difference in the social setting of the classroom takes place. I know many teachers would baulk at trying to find time in an already overcrowded curriculum but the improvements in children’s behaviour, inter-social relationships, emotional

As a teacher for over 30 years, and having practised as a school massage instructor for the past decade, I have seen these benefits play out time and time again in dozens of schools across the UK and Australia. Studies of this technique done in Sweden have shown that among other things, levels of aggression, anxiety and stress were lowered in children. Children functioned better in groups and psychosomatic illnesses were fewer. Further research in Sweden, involving 8,000 teachers who were trained in peer massage, showed students participating in massage became calmer and less aggressive, could concentrate more easily, developed more empathy and demonstrated the ability to say ‘no’ to unwanted physical contact. Using massage in the classroom addresses curriculum outcomes for personal, social, emotional and health education by developing positive communication, inclusion of children of all abilities and addressing the ethos of self-respect. Children who have additional educational needs can especially benefit from daily massage sessions. Children diagnosed with ADHD find out what ‘calm’ feels like, and their concentration span increases for a significant period immediately after massage.

I KNOW MANY TEACHERS WOULD BAULK AT TRYING TO FIND TIME IN AN ALREADY OVERCROWDED CURRICULUM BUT THE IMPROVEMENTS IN CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOUR, INTER-SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND SELF-ESTEEM ARE ALL CLEARLY NOTED AND MAKE THAT TIME WORTHWHILE. They and children on the autism spectrum can benefit greatly from working with their peers. Such children are often outsiders within the classroom and positive peer work in massage can include them more in the class group. The calming effect it has on students also serves as a class management tool for teachers. And notably, it becomes a strategy that the children themselves employ to rectify disagreements within their peer groups. With so many external stresses that are increasing with each generation, we cannot expect the problems of bullying, violence and adolescent suicide to remedy themselves. This is especially true if we continue to tread the “no touch” pathway where all tactile communication between children is discouraged. And in a society where so much communication, indeed so much of life, is now experienced through screens, we need to grasp every opportunity we can to teach our children about real relationships, real empathy and real touch.

an unfortunate truth that if we do not teach children appropriate boundaries as well as what “positive touch” is then what hope do they have to figure it out on their own? Learning massage is a simple gift for life that I strongly believe is worth giving to our children. Anne Elston has over 30 years experience as a Primary School teacher in the UK and Australia. She joined the Massage in Schools Program in 2003, becoming a certified International Trainer in 2005. Anne moved to Australia in 2005 and pioneered the program in Tasmania. She continues to train instructors as the program grows, now with 150 instructors nationwide. http://massageinschools.com.au.

We need an all-round healthy, handson approach in our schools that addresses these social issues and many more. It is

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British Beyond Boundaries BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS ARE RENOWNED FOR THE HIGH QUALITY OF THEIR EDUCATION. THE POPULARITY OF BRITISH EDUCATION AT UNIVERSITY AND SCHOOL LEVELS IS OFTEN DUE TO THE FAME AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE OF OXFORD, CAMBRIDGE, ETON, HARROW AND WINCHESTER. LIONEL CRANENBURGH VISITED THE BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN PHUKET TO LEARN HOW IT IS FLYING THE FLAG FOR BRITISH QUALITY EDUCATION USING THE ‘LEARNING TO LEARN’ MODEL AND BRAIN-CENTRED LEARNING.

ush forests, rugged mountains and the romantic blue waters of Phuket’s Phang Nga Bay form an exotic location for a British school. Strange as it might seem, this is the location of the British International School, Phuket, set on 15 hectares of prime land with its façade a replica of Dulwich College, South London, where my nephew studied. The school changed its name to British International School but people could be forgiven for believing that Dulwich College, founded in 1619, had been transported to tropical Thailand. If British education has achieved worldwide reputation for quality, that the British Council says is worth more to UK exports than the automotive industry, some credit must go to BIS’ newly-appointed Headmaster, Neil Richards, MBE and Head of Primary Peter Ferrier, with their staff, for flying the UK curriculum flag in Phuket to build students into leaders of tomorrow. 76

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The school had its first enrolment of 59 students in 2000 and today has grown to 900 students with about 400 in the primary section of the school. It has two swimming pools used by national swimming teams, a multi-purpose indoor sports centre, six tennis courts and the same number of football fields. Neil leads his school with a passion that surfaces when he speaks, reflected partly by an educational symbol. The idea of education being a three-legged stool, with each leg representing the inter-connected roles that child, parent and community must play, is supported by his notion of a fourth leg – teaching that is based on contemporary research. “I am firmly of the opinion that every school should be a learning community, with each child being educated by the school, home and community,” he said. “Part of my role in leading our commitment to ‘learning about learning’ is to introduce teachers to

the psychological, educational and neurological research that we need to know when we are dealing with students. “Research suggests that children’s brains are not fixed organs but developing all the time. It is important for us to convince each child that his/her abilities can change and that everyone has the power to change.” When sharing his vision for change with the community, Neil explained that the core skill of the 21st century was one of understanding the learning process and applying it to a variety of experiences in a technologically challenging world. An important part of the BIS change process, of introducing an international curriculum, is the development of a new International Learning Centre at the school, in 2012, with the purpose of enabling teachers to conduct research that is relevant to the school. Already 47 teachers from the Thai community have attended a course at the ILC on teaching

English in a Thai school and there are plans for parents to use the Centre to model life-long learning for their children. To deliver a consistent message that brain-related research should drive professional learning, BIS has partnered with Focus Education Asia (FEA). The school uses this global organization that works with schools and corporations, to provide the latest information about brain compatible learning and life-long learning. BIS has worked with FEA on programs that encourage the development of attributes such as curiosity, creativity and critical thinking. One person described FEA as the ‘heartbeat’ of the school that kept the focus on learning about learning, with everyone getting the same message at school and then responding to it. BIS offers the University of Cambridge International Examination with progression from Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Secondary, Cambridge Secondary 2 and Cambridge Advanced. It offers the National Curriculum for England in Primary years with the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and International Baccalaureate Diploma for Secondary students.

ABOVE: Lionel Cranenburgh (centre) with Head of Primary Peter Ferrier (Left) and BIS Headmaster Neil Richards (Right). BELOW: BIS students enjoy one of the many water sports on offer at the School.

The IGCSE encourages enquiry-based learning with written, oral and practical tests providing students with a mix of external examinations and course work. The courses are conducted by teachers that have been trained using the University of Cambridge standards, or possess suitable experience in marking course work following a UK national model. Each year BIS produces graduates that distinguish themselves and have been accepted to universities in 14 different countries including Imperial College, Cambridge University, the London School of Economics, Nottingham, Liverpool or Glasgow Universities completing postgraduate and doctoral studies. In 2011 Maria Isabelle Becker, from BIS, graduated first in the world for Art Design (IGCSE) being recognised by the Cambridge Examination Board as an outstanding artist. Her fellow student, Popthum Lawtongkum, graduated as Thailand’s top IGCSE student in Environmental Management, receiving recognition for versatility and dedication to excellence. “We had better learn how to give rather than take. We could start at something simple like the three Rs, Reduce, Re-use and Re-cycle. One person can change a lot, but with everyone together, the change is bound to be something SCRIBE Issue 4

NEIL LEADS HIS SCHOOL WITH A PASSION THAT SURFACES WHEN HE SPEAKS, REFLECTED PARTLY BY AN EDUCATIONAL SYMBOL. THE IDEA OF EDUCATION BEING A THREE-LEGGED STOOL, WITH EACH LEG REPRESENTING THE INTER-CONNECTED ROLES THAT CHILD, PARENT AND COMMUNITY MUST PLAY, IS SUPPORTED BY HIS NOTION OF A FOURTH LEG – TEACHING THAT IS BASED ON CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH.

ABOVE: A View of the British International School, Phuket. (Photo courtesy of BIS), BELOW: Lionel and wife Claudette experience their first elephant trek through a Thai forest.

spectacular,” Popthum Lawtongkum said at an interview.

Kalim and Karon, created for older students to pursue mature interests. Boarders have numerous activities including jungle trekking, coastal walks, beach cleaning, Gibbon Rehabilitation, teaching English to Thai children and Inter-House competitions that combine fun with social service.

BIS believes community service and academic achievement are equally important. It is a belief reflected in the school’s Creative Action Service (CAS) where sores of misfortune are tended by diligent care shown by young people. International Baccalaureate CAS students initiate fun activities for Phuket’s orphans caused by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami where 280,000 people died. They construct facilities for the Burmese Camp School, nearby, so that less fortunate children can have an education. Once again, as part of the Life Home Project, CAS students produce dozens of creative gift cards for 22 children and 25 adults at the LHP shelter to show that they care for them and want to make their lives happier. Each week CAS students work as trainee shipwrights, constructing a Schooner IXDOS, spurred by the vision of providing quality health-care to remote areas of South-East Asia. Upon completion, the schooner will sail with a doctor, pastor and teacher to Papua New Guinea providing health care to PNG including those from other remote areas. BIS caters to children aged between 18 months and 18 years. The balance of fun, play and intentional teaching in the Early Years is evident from a description by a Year 1 teacher of her visit to Phuket’s Butterfly Garden. She describes how her Science lesson was transformed into a spectacle of colour, discovery and sci-fi where facts about the life cycle of a butterfly were blended with creative writing, showing what insects would do if they assumed human form. 78

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For older students the fun element also permeates the curriculum as, having some of the world’s most picturesque beaches, they learn surfing, paddling, board handling and how to read breaking waves. After one session with an instructor, students ride the waves without assistance, perhaps dreaming of being a world champion like John Florence, Kelly Slater or Mick Fanning. Boarders get more than a home away from home as the school’s 100 boarding students form part of four houses separated by age and gender. Each house contains a networked computer room, cable TV with numerous channels to access, pool tables and sporting facilities to mention just a few attractions. There is an Intern Programme where graduates from Loughborough University in Leicestershire including the London College of Music and Dramatic Arts, coach students engaging them in activities that will create a rich learning environment. A team of dedicated staff also provides pastoral care for boarders. The quintessential English invention of the House System operates with dedicated senior boys’ and girls’ houses,

There are English Summer Camps using English immersion techniques for teaching English, including Sports and Adventure Camps during the holidays with four weeks of action to tempt any child. BIS’ teachers and staff have won national recognition for their efforts resulting in Thailand’s Prime Minister’s Export Award as the ‘Best Service Provider in International Education 2010’ and ‘Outstanding Facilities and Curriculum Development’ the same year from the World Education and Kidscovery Expo. Writing in the Guardian newspaper, British journalist, Mike Baker, argued that overseas students might feel that they are not getting value for their money, as far as a British education is concerned, and could be tempted to look to other countries such as Australia and North America as alternatives countries for study. Based on the quality of education offered by BIS his concerns seem unnecessary. LIONEL CRANENBURGH

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Storylines Festival 2013 Celebrating Literature and the Narrative Arts

A WONDERFUL LINE UP OF TALENTED WRITERS AND EDUCATORS, ENTHUSING AND EXCITING STUDENTS WITH CREATIVE STORIES, DEBATES AND INTERACTIVE SESSIONS ON EVERYTHING FROM AUSTRALIA’S LIGHT HORSE BRIGADES TO THE SHAKESPEARE SESSIONS (RAPPING THE BARD) AND MUCH MORE, WERE JUST SOME OF THE LITERARY DELIGHTS CONVEYED TO WEST AUSTRALIAN STUDENTS AND STAFF WHO ATTENDED THE 2013 ALL SAINTS’ COLLEGE STORYLINES FESTIVAL…..

any memorable moments were created for those students and staff from across WA (both rural and metropolitan Secondary and Primary Schools) who attended the 2013 Storylines Festival at All Saints’ College, Perth. (Sponsored by Campion Education) Now in its twelfth year, the festival is an annual celebration of literature and the narrative arts, providing a unique opportunity for young people to gather together and experience the magic of discovering stories. An important and ancient socialising ritual, storytelling in all its forms brings hope, wonder, empathy and joy to life.

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This year some thirty Australian writers, poets, illustrators, critics and filmmakers shared their love of language and communication, their passions, inspirations and creative journeys with over 3000 WA students. This unique and intensive festival experience gave students an opportunity to explore how a variety of professional adults search for meaning and understanding themselves. It also enabled students to play with their own forms of self-expression through workshops, discussion and dialogue. Chaired by inimitable Australian satirist and cultural commentator Rod Quantock, this year’s Great Debate provided students with a compelling example of debating at its best; a thought-provoking and hilarious exploration of ideas through

coherent, well-structured and clearly articulated arguments. All Saints’ Centre for Performing Arts had filled to its 410 seat capacity, and the atmosphere in the auditorium was electric as the affirmative team took their seats alongside a very cool and confident negative team. As the respective lines of argument unfolded, the topic that ‘Apathy is the Enemy’ clearly resonated with the audience who spontaneously applauded and cheered at regular intervals. While both teams presented compelling cases, the negative team was awarded victory after Rod Quantock called for an audience applause-o-meter adjudication.

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STORYLINES FESTIVAL CREATES THE EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPATING IN SOMETHING GOOD THAT IS MUCH BIGGER THAN US; IMPARTING THE MOST POWERFUL AND AUTHENTIC FORM OF LEARNING...

language, stories and culture collective The Wirlomin Project – all receiving shout-outs in student feedback forms. In 2013 All Saints’ College also chose to raise funds through Storylines in support of the wonderful work done by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). Believing every child should have the opportunity to experience the pleasure of reading and exploring books, they plan on building a long and rewarding association with the ILF. In March 2014 (27 & 28), Storylines Festival again invites WA students and teachers to consider being part of this worthwhile event that is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

It seems that the negative team members’ opening battle rap, and philosophical musings about the liberating enlightenment of Buddhist detachment appealed to Gen Y’s cynical sense of humour particularly supported (as it was) with the negative team’s deliciously apathetic body language. At one point, it appeared that the affirmative team (writers Alice Pung and Tim Baker, musician/rapper and teacher Charlie the Educator), had fallen asleep during the opposition’s presentation! But Pung’s succinct rebuttal of the affirmative team’s argument destroyed that theory. Pung then went on to deliver an unexpectedly hilarious summarising argument which incorporated a revisionist analysis of 82

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Mahatma Gandhi as an ambivalent statesman with little to no interest in his appetite OR dress sense! Without a doubt there was something for everyone at this year’s Festival and among the many highlights, students made several honourable mentions: acclaimed young adult author Kate Constable, environmental educator and activist Jason Kimberley, writer, lawyer and teacher Alice Pung, comedian, satirist and environmentalist Rod Quantock, Brisbane hip hop artist, lead singer of the Winnie Coopers and Shakespeare enthusiast Charlie the Educator, local young adult author and winner of the 2012 Text prize AJ Betts, and Indigenous

As a school, All Saints’ College is proud to be able to provide its students and the wider WA schools community with inspiring, thought-provoking, lifeaffirming festival experiences as they have done over the past 12 years and will continue to do in years to come. With several notable presenters already on-board, 2014 Storylines promises, as always to be an invaluable and unforgettable literary experience. You can join the festival mailing list, by sending an email with the subject line Storylines Newsletter to felicity.walker@ allsaints.wa.edu.au Check out the All Saints’ College website for full program details on 11 November 2013. FELICITY WALKER

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Connecting Cross Campus THE LAST THREE YEARS HAS PROVEN TO BE A COMPELLING TIME FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM WITH THE INTERSECTION OF AN INCREASE IN FUNDING ALONG WITH FALLING COSTS. WINTHROP AUSTRALIA HELPS PROVIDE SCHOOLS WITH COMPREHENSIVE IT SOLUTIONS ALIGNED TO THEIR BUDGETS...

he federal government’s National Secondary Schools Computer Fund (NSSCF) saw the introduction of large numbers of notebook computers into High Schools across the State. The majority of these were deployed in a 1:1 model meaning that students were free to take the devices home. The success of this model has also had a knock-on effect with many Primary Schools implementing Parent Funded 1:1 Notebook and iPad Programs. For many schools the world of ‘lab computing’ is something of a distant memory with this shift towards mobility. The thought of introducing such large numbers of mobile devices seems daunting at first, however, with the right implementation these fears can be put to rest. While teacher training is probably the most important factor to achieving a successful mobile device deployment in a school, there are two important technical components required as well; defining a Standard Operating Environment (SOE) image and robust wireless.

Standard Operating Environment The 1:1 approach to deployment, where a student is almost wholly responsible for the notebook or iPad, reduces the level of IT support required by removing the time taken dealing with IT issues. Students are given a device with an SOE image pre-installed. This image contains the operating system, settings and software required for use in the classroom as well as at home. On notebooks, students can be assigned either an Administrator account, where they are free to change settings and install software, or a standard account where they need permission to change any system level settings. A Parent account can also be configured which allows parental controls to be applied to the student account. If a problem occurs the device can simply and quickly be returned to its original condition by reapplying the SOE.

In the past it was common to build a single SOE image that could be used across a number of computer models that would be used for the lifetime of the computers. Recently this has proven inflexible given the faster release schedules of hardware manufacturers and the tendency of schools to purchase small batches of machines throughout the year which renders any older SOE image incompatible with the newer hardware. Winthrop Australia has addressed this problem by producing a modular SOE deployment solution that only requires updating the components to support a new model. For example, newly released Apple computer models ship with newer hardware features that require a specific operating system release. Winthrop’s solution allows schools to simply update the deployment solution to include new operating system releases without a complete rebuild of the SOE image.

Figure 1 - Winthrop Australia Healing Drive Solution By deploying the notebooks with an SOE image they are effectively preconfigured for use. This represents a known good state, which is guaranteed to work within the school environment (i.e. connect to wireless, internet, file shares and printers). If a student tampers with the state of the computer rendering it non-functional it can be returned to the original state simply by re-imaging the device. In many schools this is a process that is performed by the students themselves through the use of a healing drive; a thumb drive containing the SOE image and some imaging software. (See Figure 1) In most cases the machine is backed up and running in around 10 minutes. If re-imaging the computer doesn’t get it working again you can be certain that the issue is most likely a hardware problem, which will require either a warranty or insurance repair.

Wireless While a notebook or iPad can function as a stand-alone device, students benefit greatly from the ability to collaborate, research on the Internet and submit work which can only be achieved when

the device is connected to a network. There are many competing offerings for wireless networking from vendors such as Cisco, Meraki and Ruckus. The most compelling wireless solution for schools is called micro-cellular architecture. Micro-cellular architecture involves placing wireless access points at the point of need in such a way to ensure adequate coverage while allowing for future expansion of the network. The rule of thumb is that one wireless access point can provide excellent coverage for up to thirty devices. As most class sizes have around 30 students one access point would be required per classroom. In situations where a trolley of machines may be shared between two rooms then one access point located near the adjoining wall between those rooms will typically be adequate. There is no need to waste school funds by blanketing an entire school campus with wireless. Many schools may introduce a notebook or iPad program initially within a single cohort so the wireless only needs to serve this small number of users. The advantage of wireless being provisioned in a microcellular architecture is that wireless access points can be added as the number of wireless devices grows, e.g. if a new cohort is added to the notebook or iPad program then extra access points can be added to support those devices. Access points can also be moved if users and their devices are relocated to another building within the campus. Another benefit to this style of network configuration is the ability to target “black spots”, i.e. areas where wireless coverage is inadequate due to the distance to the nearest wireless access point or challenging environments such as an area with a metal roof which reduces the effectiveness of the wireless signal. These problems can be overcome through a wireless site survey to determine the number and location of access points required to solve the problem. Winthrop Australia can provide schools with a comprehensive plan to roll wireless out across the campus in stages to align with schools’ budgets. To learn more, please contact the Winthrop Education Team: 6488 2777.

GEOFF OTTERMAN Geoff Otterman is the Professional Services Manager Winthrop Australia. Artwork: Solace Design SCRIBE Issue 4

The Language of Resilient Families

By Michael Grose

hildren and adults in resilient families tune into the needs of each other, choosing situation-specific language, rather than simply regurgitating generalised ‘feel-good’ or ‘get-on-withit’ platitudes. Resilient families develop their own words and phrases to help each other get through the inevitable tough times that each person experiences. The language of resilience generally refers to coping strategies such as empathy, humour and acceptance.

Following are 10 examples of the language of resilience, the coping skills each reflects and the types of situations where they are applicable. “Come on, laugh it off.” STRATEGY: Humour GOOD FOR: Kids who experience disappointment, failure and even loss. Humour is a great coping strategy and a powerful tool for resilience as it heightens feelings of control. Some children and young people will naturally crack jokes or make fun of seemingly serious situations. This is a fantastic way to release stress and handle feelings of helplessness. As a parent you may need to lighten up tense situations by introducing humour of your own, which is something that many dads do really well. “Don’t let this spoil everything.” STRATEGY: Containing thinking. GOOD FOR: Kids who feel overwhelmed; Kids who experience rejection; Perfectionists. The ability to compartmentalise bad events and keep them from affecting all areas of life is a powerful coping skill. Sportspeople, politicians and others who work in the public arena need to be adept at it. When something unpleasant happens during recess, for example, kids need to park their thinking about that event so they can get on with the rest of the day. The ability to compartmentalise thinking is a fantastic life skill kids can learn within their family. “Let’s take a break.” STRATEGY: Distraction GOOD FOR: Kids experiencing stressful situations; Kids who think too much; Kids with busy lives. When kids are troubled by events or spend too much time brooding it helps to do something to get their minds off things for a time. Playing games, spending time together, watching some

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TV, going out – are all good distracters for worried, anxious or stressed kids. Selfdistraction is healthy, providing some welcome perspective. It also prevents kids from replaying awful experiences in their heads, blowing them out of proportion. “Who have you spoken to about this?” STRATEGY: Seeking help. GOOD FOR: Kids who experience bullying and social problems; Handling all types of personal worries. Resilient people seek solace in the company of others when they experience difficulty. That’s why social connection is such a strong preventative strategy for young people. The promotion of helpseeking behaviours is one of the best coping strategies of all. Even if kids don’t overtly talk about what’s bothering them, it can be immensely reassuring to spend time around others who are empathetic, understanding and willing to listen and help. “I know it looks bad now but you will get through this.” STRATEGY: Offering hope. GOOD FOR: Kids experiencing loss, bullying, change or extreme disappointment. There are times when parents can do nothing else but keep their children’s chins up and encourage them when life doesn’t go their way. Being the ‘hope’ person can be hard work, that’s why parents need to be supported by resilient people and workplaces too. It helps to be mindful that a child or young person’s resilience is nurtured by the presence of at least one supportive adult. You may have to be that person! “What can you learn from this so it doesn’t happen next time?” STRATEGY: Positive reframing. GOOD FOR: Kids who make mistakes, let others down or experience personal disappointment.

RESILIENT FAMILIES DEVELOP THEIR OWN WORDS AND PHRASES TO HELP EACH OTHER GET THROUGH THE INEVITABLE TOUGH TIMES THAT EACH PERSON EXPERIENCES. THE LANGUAGE OF RESILIENCE GENERALLY REFERS TO COPING STRATEGIES SUCH AS EMPATHY, HUMOUR AND ACCEPTANCE.

One of the common attributes of optimistic people is their ability to find a learning, or look for a message, in difficult or negative situations. Parents can help kids reframe events to help them see things differently. For instance, rather than regarding a public speaking opportunity as problematic and a chance to look foolish it’s better to reframe it as a challenge and a chance to shine. It also helps when parents model reframing so kids see you changing how you view seemingly negative or worrying situations. “Don’t worry – relax and see what happens!” STRATEGY: Acceptance GOOD FOR: Kids who worry about exams or performing poorly in any endeavour; Pessimists. If you’ve ever been driving to an important event only to be stuck in traffic then you would know that there are some situations you just can’t control. The only way to cope is to accept what’s happening because worrying and fretting won’t get you anywhere. Similarly, parents with a resilience mindset can help kids understand what’s worth worrying about and what’s not, and that some things won’t change no matter how much kids fret or beat themselves up! “This isn’t the end of the world” STRATEGY: Maintaining perspective. GOOD FOR: Kids who catastrophise or blow things out of proportion.

While most of us catastrophise at times, jumping to the worst possible conclusion, it is a habit that only exaggerates anxiety. When kids constantly think the worst case scenario, challenge their views. “Yes, you could end up not knowing anyone at camp but you won’t be the only one. Besides you’ll probably end up making new friends like you generally do.” “You could be right. But have you thought about… ” STRATEGY: Flexible thinking GOOD FOR: Kids who catastrophise; Experience extreme feelings; Who exaggerate. Many children and young people talk in extremes – ‘awesome’, ‘the best’, ‘the worst’ and ‘gross’ roll off their tongues easily these days. Unfortunately, their extreme language leads to extreme emotional responses. Develop the habit of winding back their language by introducing shades of grey, rather than black and white. Replace “I’m furious” with “I’m annoyed”. “It’s an absolute disaster” with “It’s a pain”. “I can’t stand it” with “I don’t like it”. Realistic language leads to realistic thinking, which helps kids handle many ordinary situations that they have blown out of proportion.

constant rejection or always narrowly missing being picked for a team. They can be overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. Action is often the best remedy. Help them take the first step forward. Set some goals. Make some plans. Identify the first step and hold their hand while they take it. Taking action is a quality shared by resilient communities, organisations and individuals.

BRING RESILIENCE INTO YOUR EVERY DAY LANGUAGE Resilient parents focus on building children’s and young people’s strengths for the future, while helping them cope with the present difficulties and challenges they experience.

“What can we do about this?”

The key to promoting resilience lies in the language that parents use. My challenge for parents is to make resilience an integral part of your family’s proprietary language. You’ll know you have succeeded if your children as adults remind you, when they hear any complaints or whinges from you in your dotage, to ‘hang in there’, ‘this too will pass’ and ‘find the funny side’. Granted they may be phrases you don’t want to hear, but at least you know that you’ve drummed into your kids some important core messages that have stayed for life.

STRATEGY: Taking action. GOOD FOR: Kids who mope; Who experience disappointment; Who feel inadequate.

Get your Kids’ Chores & Responsibilities Kit when you subscribe to Happy Kids, Michael’s FREE weekly parenting guide at:

Kids can sometimes feel overwhelmed by events such as constant failure,

parentingideas.com.au

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The World’s Top Environmental leaders and changemakers address the Greenest School on Earth... GREEN SCHOOL IS AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN BALI, INDONESIA WHOSE MISSION IS TO BE THE #1 MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION IN THE WORLD. WITH STRIKING BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE AND A SOLAR-POWERED, SELF-SUSTAINING CAMPUS THAT SPANS 20 ACRES, THE SCHOOL HAS ATTRACTED OVER 300 PRE-SCHOOL THROUGH TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES SEEKING A UNIQUE, NATURE-BASED, STUDENT-CENTERED EDUCATION...

ALI’S Green School’s first High School graduating class, the Class of 2013, has recently received messages from some of the world’s top environmental leaders. Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Richard Branson, Bill McKibben, Bob Brown, Paul Hawken, Michael Franti, Daryl Hannah, Ben Cohen, and others sent video and written messages to congratulate and inspire the graduates at their commencement ceremony in Bali...Here are some of the words of wisdom shared with Green School’s Class of 2013:

Entrepreneur and author Paul Hawken: “What you, the Class of 2013, are called to do is lead. Leadership is not about creating followers but about creating possibilities for those you serve.” Philanthropist and co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ben Cohen: “Follow your heart. Do what gives you a sense of meaning and joy…When you find a path that you want to keep walking down, keep walking. Or blaze your own.” Actress and environmental activist Daryl Hannah: "As the first graduating class of the Bali Green School, you hold

in your hands the unique opportunity to…create a more harmonious, just, and healthy world!" Musician and social activist Michael Franti: “Be your best, serve the greater good, and rock out wherever you are!” Green School in Bali, Indonesia, is the inaugural winner of the prestigious “Greenest School on Earth” Award from the Center for Green Schools at the US Green Building Council, opened in 2008. 2013 marks the first year the school has graduated a class of High School students.

Primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall: “As you finish your studies at Green School and move out into the world…Take the education you have earned and the gifts and talents you have been given, work hard, follow your dreams, and never give up.” Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson: “To all of you at the Green School, I’ve never been more jealous of any kids in my life! Get out there, and screw it, just do it! Have a blast, have a great life!” Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore: “The first graduating class of Green School...This milestone is a tremendous achievement and a testament to your hard work and dedication. I am confident you will utilize the many skills you have developed over the past years to find great success in whatever you choose to pursue.” Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben: “You are in the forefront of the fight to keep (Earth) a green, beautiful, thriving planet!” Former Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown: “We share a world full of great opportunities and surprises as well as all its problems. Most of the problems are beyond any one of us to fix, though together, we can make a difference.” 89

YOU ARE IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE FIGHT TO KEEP (EARTH) A GREEN, BEAUTIFUL, THRIVING PLANET! “We can't wait to see the impact these self-directed global citizens have as they begin to take their Green School educations out into the wider world,” said Green School Co-founder John Hardy. Green School’s unique studentcentered and nature-based curriculum, as well as its 20-acre, solar-powered campus featuring some of the world’s largest bamboo buildings, has attracted global attention. Influential environmental leaders and activists from all corners of the globe personally reached out to the Class of 2013 to encourage them to continue on a path of making a positive difference in the world. Click on the video below to see their personal messages of congratulations and admiration for these unique group of students.

Co-founder John Hardy’s inspirational TED talk about Green School has gathered over half a million views (CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE). For more information, see www.greenschool.org, Like the Green School page on Facebook, and follow on Twitter @greenschoolbali.

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PIONEERING SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN EDUCATION, THE GREEN SCHOOL IS PUSHING SCHOOLING BOUNDARIES AT A TIME WHEN THE WORLD MUST REVIEW WHETHER MORE OF THE SAME IS ACCEPTABLE. AN EDUCATION AT GREEN SCHOOL IS PREPARATION FOR GREEN LEADERSHIP OF TOMORROW.

SCRIBE Magazine featured the Green School in 2011 in Issue 1. To read the original article, please go to http://issuu.com/scribemagazine/docs/scribeissue1?e=3232669/3746554

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to teachers all over northern WA from a base in Kununarra, later returning to Perth. However, every holiday would see Joel succumb to the outback’s call - armed with camera, art materials, his guitar and a longing for adventure and inspiration. After years of exploring his precious Western Australia, Joel eventually launched a book of drawings which encapsulated many of those unique ‘out bush’ experiences. His book titled ‘Way Out West’ was the major component of an exhibition featuring a series of his original works on paper. The book highlights cleverly composed pastel drawings of iconic landscape and built environment images from around Western Australia. This was Joel’s second monograph, the first ‘The Kimberley Series’ focused primarily on the landscapes of the Kimberley region. Joel’s artistic skills also extend to photography, ceramics, music and song writing, and over the years, Joel has reproduced posters and postcards of his own pastel drawings.

Way OutJoel West Smoker IF YOU EVER NEEDED REMINDING THAT WESTERN AUSTRALIA IS A SPECTACULAR PLACE, JOEL SMOKER’S BOOK WAY OUT WEST WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO EXPLORE THE REMOTE AREAS OF OUR WONDERFUL STATE. AN ART TEACHER AT OCEAN REEF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, JOEL HAS BEEN DRAWING FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. WAY OUT WEST IS JOEL’S SECOND MONOGRAPH ON THE BIG STATE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, FEATURING 45 OF JOEL’S PASTEL DRAWINGS OF ICONIC LANDSCAPE AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT IMAGES FROM AROUND WA. JOEL ALSO USES THE BOOK AS A REFERENCE WHEN SHOWING STUDENTS HOW TO DRAW TREES, HILLS, ROCKS AND OTHER LANDSCAPE FEATURES…..

rom a very young age, Joel Smoker has been in love with the Australian landscape, wandering and exploring the back tracks of Western Australia as a toddler when his parents played a major role in establishing Fitzroy Crossing’s Aboriginal Mission; only leaving to move to Halls Creek for Joel’s schooling, then

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returning to Fitzroy Crossing during his teenage years. Those early experiences fanned the flames of Joel’s passion and interest in remote locations, playing a crucial part in his artistic development. This love of nature and imagery eventually led Joel into a decade of teaching Art techniques

Currently an Art Teacher at Ocean Reef Senior High School, Joel uses ‘Way Out West’ as a useful teaching resource in class, specifically showing his students how to draw elements of the landscape including trees, hills, rocks and other natural features. The artworks are cleverly structured and diverse in colour. Students are not only drawn to the aesthetically beautiful reproductions, they also link Joel’s experiences and stories to the pieces, and gain a better understanding of the design elements and principles of his artworks. Hear part of Joel’s story in his own words from the Foreword of ‘Way Out West’.

WAY OUT WEST FOREWORD “In late 1982 I got a call from John Read, the Superintendent of Education at the Kimberley District Education Office based in Kununurra. His call was an offer for me to take up a position as an Arts Advisory teacher in the Priority Country Areas Programme, a federally funded programme servicing government and non-government schools in the Kimberley from the District Office at Kununurra. It was totally unexpected. I was teaching Art at Gosnells Senior High School and living in Fremantle with plans to set up a ceramics studio there. I asked for a day to think about it. The Kimberley is my spirit home. It was where I was born and raised, so the prospect of going back there for a period was very attractive, however, I had an

CURRENTLY AN ART TEACHER AT OCEAN REEF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, JOEL USES ‘WAY OUT WEST’ AS A USEFUL TEACHING RESOURCE IN CLASS, SPECIFICALLY SHOWING HIS STUDENTS HOW TO DRAW ELEMENTS OF THE LANDSCAPE INCLUDING TREES, HILLS, ROCKS AND OTHER NATURAL FEATURES.

exhibition of my ceramics booked at the Undercroft Gallery at the University of WA for the following year and I wasn’t sure how I could reconcile these two options. The next day I got a call from Ray Sampson, the Superintendent for Art with the Education Department of WA, urging me to take up the offer. I had been on a weekend trip to Kununurra in 1980 to take a ceramics workshop, which was attended by Nancy Read, John’s wife, and she had suggested that I would be a good person for the job. Nancy is a lovely person, so her recommendation was important. Ray suggested that it would be too good an opportunity for me to pass up. By the time I got back to Fremantle in the late afternoon I was of the same opinion and rang John to confirm. He sounded pleased and I had a good feeling about it. Our family had left the Kimberley in the early seventies and I was excited about reconnecting with the people that I had grown up with, particularly the Aboriginal people.

The problem of the Undercroft Gallery exhibition needed addressing as I had closed down my ceramics studio in Kalamunda when I moved to Fremantle, so I asked a friend, Phillip Douglas, whether I could rent his studio space at the Bannister Street Craft Workshops in downtown Fremantle for the summer holiday in order to make all the pieces for the show. He kindly agreed and when school finished I brought all my moulds and my slab roller from my father’s garage where I had them stored and set up in his ceramics studio. I worked flat

out with Phillip’s help and was able to make, glaze and fire all the pieces that I wanted for the exhibition. I packed the work in cardboard cartons and left it all in the garage of my long suffering parents to be collected by a courier in the middle of the year and delivered to the Undercroft Gallery. Ray Sampson graciously agreed to give the opening address at the exhibition. Kununurra was still something of a frontier town, even in 1983; however, it didn’t take me too long to settle back into the Kimberley way of life. My job involved SCRIBE Issue 4

travel to schools around the Kimberley, including State Schools, Catholic Schools and Independent Aboriginal Schools, so I was away a lot. At times I chartered small aeroplanes to get to some of the communities when roads became impassable. Some of these places were fairly remote. My brief was to teach the teachers art making techniques and advise them on the Visual Arts curriculum. I figured that the best way of doing this was to do demonstration lessons in the teacher’s classes so that they could see ways of teaching art making techniques. One of the art making techniques that I taught was pastel drawing on paper. To do this I took the students out of the classroom – which they thoroughly enjoyed – to suitable locations around the school to draw from observation. One of the main subjects for drawing that I chose were trees as we could then

WHEN I GOT BACK TO MY ROOM AT THE END OF THE DAY I WAS THEN ABLE TO FINISH OFF THE DRAWINGS TO MY SATISFACTION. THIS GOT ME MOTIVATED TO BEGIN DRAWING OTHER KIMBERLEY SCENES ON THE WEEKENDS THAT I WAS AWAY FROM HOME. at Geikie Gorge. On the way back to Kununurra I also stopped over at Halls Creek and went out to Caroline Pool to get an image that I wanted.

fill in the background once the trees were drawn, to complete the picture. I figured that I may be able to do something with the demonstration drawings that I was doing so began to take good quality Arches paper with me to do my drawings on. When I got back to my room at the end of the day I was then able to finish off the drawings to my satisfaction. This got me motivated to begin drawing other Kimberley scenes on the weekends that I was away from home. At the end of 1985 I finished my three-year contract with the Priority Country Areas Programme and took up a job as the Art Coordinator of Waringarri Aboriginal Arts in Kununurra. This became a six-year project for me and, as with the Arts Advisory position, took me to many interesting places in the Kimberley. In time I built up a collection of drawings and exhibited them in

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Kununurra and Broome along with my ceramics. At the end of 1990 my wife Lexie and I made the decision to return to Perth to live. This was mainly prompted by the news that Lexie’s mother had Parkinsons Disease and Lexie felt it was important for us to be with her. Over that summer we bought a house on a block in Stoneville in the hills east of Perth. Lexie transferred to a teaching position at Glen Forrest Primary School and I returned to Kununurra to organize the transition of someone to take over my job at the Waringarri Aboriginal Arts Centre. Before I returned to Perth I took a final drive down the Gibb River Road to do some more drawings and take photographs. I then stayed a few days with my brother John and his wife, Claire, at Fitzroy Crossing, to do some drawings

On return to Perth I needed to find work and registered as a relief teacher with the Western Australian Education Department. This meant that both Lexie and I had two-week holidays at the end of each school term, so we began to go on camping trips to places outside of Perth. I used these trips as opportunities to continue with my drawings. The first trip was to Shark Bay for a week where I was able to take a number of photographs. In the second week we joined a couple of Lexie’s friends on a trip out to the Abrolhos Islands west of Geraldton. This was indeed a privilege. Included in the party were the artist, Larry Mitchell, and his family. He did a number of observational drawings and watercolour paintings and I was able to learn a lot from him, completing a series of watercolour paintings and pastel drawings whilst I was on the island. Larry encouraged me to seek out the places of significance in the regions I visited, drawing these directly from observation.

This set the pattern for subsequent trips out to regional Western Australia and over the next twenty years I have built up a collection of pastel drawings which I call my Way Out West series. These drawings are drawn on location and then generally finished off in my studio at home, using photographs as a reference. When visiting a region we go in to the Visitor Centres and ask about places of significance to the locals as each town will have a place or building that is considered an important feature of the place. I have selected fifty drawings of these places to make up the Way Out West series and forty-five of them are featured in this book. I hope you like them and that you are encouraged to go and see these places for yourself.â&#x20AC;?

JOEL SMOKER

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H2H

A Home away from Home... SCRIBE MAGAZINE DIRECTOR CAM ALLEN TALKS ABOUT HIS LIFE-CHANGING DISCOVERY OF A REMOTE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN KENYA AND THE NEED FOR LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS TO SEEK OUT SIMILAR EXPERIENCES. HIS WORK OVERSEAS HAS RESULTED IN THE FORMATION OF THE HEART 2 HOPE INC., A CHARITY WHICH SEEKS OUT POTENTIAL GRASSROOTS PROJECTS AROUND THE WORLD: THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO INVEST IN HUMAN CREATIVITY, FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES AND USING INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE FLEDGLING COMMUNITIES SO THAT THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL...

eople often ask me, “Why invest so much time fundraising for a Primary School in remote Kenya when there are so many other worthy projects you could be exploring that are closer to home!?” It is true that there are thousandsupon-thousands of worthy causes that are in dire need of immediate assistance, finance and support in Australia and throughout the world. In fact, there are thousands that are in worse shape and require more urgent intervention and attention, but I have always been a firm believer that experiences come into your life, not by chance, or fate, but by ‘reason’. It is pre-destined for some individuals, whether they choose to accept it or not, that certain experiences are supposed to be a part of their lives. Over coffee and conversation with a friend in Perth who had recently been on Safari in Africa, I heard about a young man named Joseph Oloo who lives and works in Kenya. This Joseph fellow was apparently working as a Cook on the Safari and from my friend’s description Joseph was the highlight of their Safari experience. I was intrigued – especially

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when he shared Joseph’s story about setting up a Primary School in the remote town of Mukuro that was Joseph’s hometown. The money that Joseph received from his work as a Cook was the fundamental source of income for the development and foundation of the school and I was told that the original intent of the school building was for Joseph’s own extended family’s future; they had planned to use it for trade and income. However, as the story unfolded, Joseph shared with my friend that he’d had a revelation during construction and that now the priority for the community (despite his own personal economic disadvantage) was to build a school for others that would ensure community growth, education for disadvantaged children and a chance for these children to fulfill their own potential. At this point in the conversation I was captivated; I needed to find out more about this man and his story in order to make more sense of it. After being given Joseph’s email, I immediately contacted him.

Very quickly I found out that Joseph came from entirely humble beginnings as a young boy, often in conflict and under threat from those closest to him. His Grandmother, Paulina Okello, was his protector throughout those vulnerable years, instilling in him at an early age attitudes of ‘compassion’ and ‘empathy’. She led by example, often educating, feeding and sheltering many of the local orphans in the area and regularly created a safe haven for many of the underprivileged, local children. Joseph was well guided by his Grandmother; through her support and influence he ventured out of his hometown, into the city to find work. As a young man he sought various employment opportunities, was often rejected, but refused to take no for an answer. This persistence and desire to succeed in life saw Joseph employed in a variety of positions that allowed him to gain a myriad of life skills – each job was met with determination and enthusiasm. Joseph eventually secured a position working for an African Safari Company, Kumuka Worldwide, that afforded him the opportunity to engage with people

from all over the world and exposed him to a variety of cultures. Joseph radiated a welcoming spirit to the hundreds of tourists he met each year, sharing a part of himself and his life’s journey. He cooked for his guests and took great pride in showcasing his beautiful Kenya to the lucky few. Many of his newfound friends often talk about Joseph’s infectious smile; referring to him as one of ‘the most generous individuals’ they have ever met. That title is accompanied with words such as: endearing, humble, accommodating, inspiring and driven. Within a few months of online conversation, I had booked a ticket to Kenya to meet Joseph in person. What I didn’t realise at that point in time was I would be meeting a life-long friend and about to embark on a risky journey that would have a profound impact on my life. Spending a few weeks with Joseph was an absolute blessing as we talked and shared his vision for the school and the children. Many selfless acts of kindness contributed to his vision, with dozens of friends made along the way

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A FIRM BELIEVER THAT EXPERIENCES COME INTO YOUR LIFE, NOT BY CHANCE OR FATE BUT BY ‘REASON’. IT IS PRE-DESIGNED FOR SOME INDIVIDUALS WHETHER THEY CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT OR NOT. who contributed financially to Joseph and his school. The school was built on the inherited land of his extended family, a bold project that unfortunately did not always receive the full support of its members. The children of the school were beautiful. The parents (although wary of my presence at first), the teachers and the locals were welcoming and warmed to me after a few days. I studied the surroundings, assessed the progress and discussed the possibilities with Joseph on how this school could sustain itself in the short and long term into the future. From the outset, Joseph’s dream was to offer an affordable yet quality, private

education for all children in the local area. School fees were approximately $4.38 AUS per month; which included a feeding program twice daily and also covered assessment papers and daily learning materials. Fifteen to twenty percent of the student population is orphaned, so they were only expected to pay $1.50 AUS per month, most of them were supported and living with guardians, community friends or extended family; all with extremely limited finances. Teachers at the school were on salaries of 10,000 Kenyan shillings per month (Approximately $125 AUS); which is almost half the base salary for teachers in Kenya. The income from the school fees barely supported the

ongoing costs of the school, at this point in time Joseph’s salary and individual donor contributions cover the school’s monthly expenses. A plan was formulated quickly. We decided the school needed a boost, with some serious intervention required. Hence, the Help2Hope Quest seed was planted and borne as soon as I returned to Australia. The rest – as they say - is history. (See Page 6 for full details of the inaugural H2H Quest) THE SCHOOL PROGRESS 2013 The Heart2Hope House started construction in October 2012 with part of the proceeds our team had managed to raise between July and December 2012. The relevance and urgency to build this House was often questioned (and still is), but it is undeniably one of the most important elements contributing to the sustainability of the Mama Paulina School of Hope. This House is not only a secure dwelling for the family, friends and workers of the school community, but it is a safe and secure ‘Home Away

ABOVE: Joseph and some of the students picking and sorting out red onions as part of the Agricultural Program at the school.

from Home’ for volunteers, teachers, students and humanitarians willing to travel to the school in order to continue the foundation work that has been started. The idea was borne around our initial idea to hire secure tents for volunteers helping the school, but it was decided that a permanent building was a more sensible, long-term and sustainable solution. All visitors willing to volunteer at the school are encouraged to pay a standard fee to the House. These funds will cover accommodation during their stay in Kenya and assist the school directly with: educational resources; ongoing fees for the teachers; supplies for the school; finance for the property harvests and materials and labour for all future building projects.

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The Outdoor Classroom was built as a priority during our visit in January 2012 in order to alleviate the existing crowded and claustrophobic classrooms. Like most projects in Kenya, the progress was slow, but as of September 2013, there is a fully functional ‘classroom in the round’, with surrounding bench seats sheltering students from the sun whilst allowing open ventilation with large rectangular ventilation spaces. The classroom – designed to be used as an overflow space of learning for all classes – has the added benefit of providing an open space to engage both the teachers and the students throughout their day. The framework for the classroom was built in less than 7 days during the team’s visit, the roof has taken a number of months to build and the flooring and rendering are nearing completion. The Heart of the School Memorial was another structure completed during 2013. A circular seating area which houses the Kenyan flag and serves as a dedication wall for the generous donors to the school. Aluminium plaques line the insides of the wall with messages of hope and support to the school. Proceeds of the ‘H2H Brick program’ have been the catalyst of the building progress. It not only serves as a reminder to the school community that they have international 100

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ONE OF THE TRULY GREAT THINGS ABOUT VISITING THE MAMA PAULINA SCHOOL OF HOPE IN MUKURO AND VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME IS THAT IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW OLD OR YOUNG YOU ARE, HOW SKILLED OR UNSKILLED YOU ARE, YOU WILL FIND THAT YOU WILL HAVE A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE. support, but it creates a sense of identity for the school, a dedication to Paulina Okello, Joseph’s Grandmother (who the school is aptly named after) signifying the importance of nurturing the children in the area and offering them the right to a quality education.

THE HELP 2 HOPE QUEST PART II One of the truly great things about visiting The Mama Paulina School of Hope in Mukuro to volunteer your time is, that no matter how old or young you are, or how skilled or unskilled you think you are, you will find it to be a lifechanging experience. The people of Mukuro are the most accommodating, warm community you will ever meet and you will discover elements about yourself you never knew existed. There are many people in the developed world that would like to do short term work in the third world. They want to be there, see what life is

like, make a contribution and have a life changing experience. This is a rare and unique opportunity to achieve this goal. We are inviting unique individuals to participate in the H2H Quest Part II, 2014. Applications are available on the Scribe Magazine website. Fundraising will commence in November 2013, culminating in a 2-week trip mid-way through 2014.

PARTICIPATION FEE You will be expected to fundraise in order take part in this project. The amount to be raised varies from year to year. The money raised covers your accommodation, flights, food, insurance, materials and transport. This year, the personal amount of fundraising will be $7500. You will receive a fundraising pack, ongoing support and a variety of resources and ideas to get you started. It is a progressive challenge that can seem

daunting but with regularity and a real commitment to the cause, it is easier than anticipated.

PROGRAM SUPPORT You will have full access to the H2H II fundraising package, collections materials, multi-media access and downloadable resources from the website PLUS regular support and contact from your team.

AWARENESS Part of your role in the H2H Quest II will be to create awareness for the project and involve your community as much as possible. By thinking outside of the box and being creative in your fundraising endeavours, you will ensure a successful program. Our foundation group was very active in involving local media and community groups to build interest and support for this initiative.

ACCOMMODATION The Heart2Hope House was custombuilt for not only the family and friends that run the Mama Paulina School of Hope, but is also a permanent â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Home Away from Homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for individuals or groups willing to assist the School Community. Visitors to the community are treated with an enormous amount of respect and kindness. The friends and family of the School community ensure a comfortable and safe stay for all who make the long journey to Mukuro.

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LEFT: Cam Allen assisting an English lesson with the students in the split Classes 2 and 3 at the Mama Paulina School of Hope.

disadvantaged families, enabling them to get back on their feet. If you are over 18, willing to fundraise for 6 months and able to give approximately 2 weeks of your time to become a volunteer, please contact us by emailing; scribe@scribemagazine.com.au

ARE YOU READY? EXPERIENCE THE CULTURE As well as getting your hands dirty, part of this service-learning experience is designed to soak up the culture of the people of Mukuro. You will experience the traditional scrumptious Kenyan cooking and food preparation, visit remote fishing villages at Lake Victoria and learn how to communicate with the locals using the basic Swahili language. Being at a higher altitude and situated at the base of Mount Mukuro, the region experiences more rainfall than lower

lying areas of Kenya, so it comes as quite a surprise to most visitors to see how green it is.

PROJECTS The projects we will be undertaking in 2014 not only involve some physical labour, but we will also be assisting local tradesmen in the establishment of new classrooms for the school, refurbishing existing classrooms and building a playground. We will also be visiting local houses in the town to assist some

Heart 2 Hope Inc. The Heart2Hope Inc, is an incorporated founded in 2012. The purpose of this organisation is primarily to seek out potential grassroots projects in Australia and abroad: Our ultimate goal is to invest in human creativity, fundraising activities and using initiative to improve fledgling communities so that they have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

By the end of December 2012 six hard-working individuals were committed to the task and we had raised a sufficient amount of money to venture over to the school for 2 weeks in January 2013.

Our first project is the Mama Paulina School of Hope, located in Mukuro, Kenya. This is an independent/private (Poverty-stricken) Primary School located close to the border of Tanzania and Kenya.

Proceeds of these funds enabled a series of lifechanging projects for the community including the development of an additional outdoor classroom, electricity to the school, a permanent house which would support the school and future visitors and supporters, upgraded facilities for community harvesting, water tanks, educational resources and supplies to name a few.

After an initial visit in early 2012, a plan was formulated to create the H2H (Help2Hope) Quest, a fundraising initiative inviting like-minded individuals to sacrifice 6 months of their life initially to each raise a target amount of money within their school, business or social communities.

This project continues into 2013/14 by continuing to offer financial assistance to the school and providing the community with ongoing support through service. We hope to enable the school to be self-sustainable for the future, the ultimate goal for the Heart2Hope Inc. for all future projects.

www.scribemagazine.com.au

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This is a huge commitment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a life changer for those that involve themselves in this type of initiative. The rules constantly change; emotions are often heightened; yet the rewards are endless. It will literally change the way you approach life and more importantly, the people in your life!! Every now and then the opportunity to make a difference comes your way, if this is yours â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you will know. CAM ALLEN

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST BRAD TYRRELL PROVIDES INSIGHTS INTO THE LATEST INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE FOR EDUCATORS...

ince the beginning of 2013 the technology industry has been consolidating the current hardware offerings with very little new ‘transformational’ items coming onto the market. In saying that, a lot of companies have now started to target the workflow of existing hardware and this is really what we are finding hard when trying to integrate technology into our classrooms.

Workflow of technology really evolves around two aspects, 1) How do we get our resources to our students and 2) How do we get them back. Depending on the device you use will determine how this can be completed efficiently. In general, the first phase of this has been the installation of some kind of WebDAV approach or utilizing email. Both are problematic but have been improved over time.

Documents by Readdle I n Issue 1 of SCRIBE Magazine I spoke about this product as a potentially great productivity app for connecting your iPad to your existing shared drives. It has evolved since then and has seen a dramatic overhaul in the user interface. The normal ‘go to’ app for most schools has been Goodreader in the past but I have not seen a significant update for this app in some time and I do think now that ‘Documents by Readdle’ is a better product, simply due to the interface being more user-friendly.

However, there is now a new trend starting to emerge with this. The ability to mark the work received on a device in a seamless manner. This is more complex due to the inherent lack of efficiency in doing this, adding serious amounts of time to our marking loads. Having said this, here are a few iPad apps and solutions that will help with this process:

(Productivity) FREE

WebDAV servers). It also allows you to transfer a file from a computer directly to the iPad using no cables, only an existing WiFi connection. Overall, if I was to be recommend an app at this point in time for storing all my various document formats, while being able to access my personal shared and school drives, ‘Documents by Readdle’ would be it. More importantly it’s FREE! http://readdle.com/products/ documents/

The feature of this application is what is common to many productivity apps. It allows you to access any of the online web storage sites (Office 365 Sharepoint, Google Drive, Dropbox and other

Ziggi HD Document Camera $94.00 Hardware

ne of the more interesting pieces of hardware around at the moment is the ‘iPevo ZiggiHD Document Camera’. Now, I am not usually a fan of these types of devices but one feature of this camera is very interesting. You can purchase a network box for the camera which then broadcasts a separate wireless signal that iPads can then connect to and view what is directly being shown on their iPad. It is

a pretty nice feature but something you would want your Network Administrator to test out first. Any device plugging into a network can potentially cause issues, but having thirty students view directly on their iPad a chemical reaction happening at the front of the room instead of on a single data projector is a fantastic feature.

http://www.ipevo.com/prods/IPEVO-Ziggi-HD-USB-Document-Camera

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Showbie app T

he workflow of the iPad is more complex when looking at receiving work and then marking it on your iPad. A nice app that has been working hard in this area of workflow is ‘Showbie’: an app that allows you to manage student work. The workflow is best understood by explaining the experience from that of the teacher, then the student.

TEACHER 1. Go to the Showbie website and sign up (it’s free) 2. Create a course and then provide that course code to your students 3. Once signed up, create a new class and you’re pretty much done. It works on an assignment submission basis so you can upload the assignment into the course and each student can download the attachments to work on.

(Free)

STUDENT 1. Students receive a class code that you provide. 2. They enrol in the course and then have access to the teacher shared files 3. Students can then open the document in Pages or a number of other programs (full set located on their website) 4. Once the assignment is ready to be submitted, share that to the Showbie app selection of the class it is to be submitted to. The final aspect of this app is the ability of the teacher to then open that work up in another app and annotate it. By doing this the teacher can then send the work straight back to the Showbie app and to the student for their feedback. It should be noted that rich media feedback is possible within Showbie but is a paid feature of the environment.

It is definitely worth looking at if you have no existing infrastructure and need a seamless workflow for getting tasks to and from your students and for those adventurous enough to mark on your iPad! http://www.showbie.com

Reading Materials for Teachers I

t is important for all teachers to be very aware of the research that is being conducted around the world in the area of ICT and education. As teachers we sometimes let the next generation just roll up onto us and then complain when it arrives. Smart teachers get ahead of the wave and are prepared to ride it in. I highly recommend to all teachers to read is the New Media Consortium (NMC) report for technology outlook in Community, Technical and Junior Colleges. One of the key elements now being included in all of the NMC reports is the challenge faced by schools when implementing or preparing for ICT developments in the future.

http://www.nmc.org/publications/2013-technology-outlook-community-colleges

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Finally, predictions for 2013/14: keep an eye on iTunesU. I believe that this will become a very hot item after the Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in June. Along with this I also predict that the Australian Curriculum iBooks on the iBooks store will become much stronger and priced competitively for the future of multi-touch books.

Brain POP

(Education)

rain POP is an interactive cartoon/ movie app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. You can watch a different animated movie every day, then test your new knowledge with interactive quizzes. For even more access to BrainPOP’s award-winning content, you can choose an optional in-app subscription and enable kids to explore more than 750 Science, Maths, Social Studies, English, Engineering & Tech, Arts & Music and Health subjects right on their mobile devices. All movies are close captioned, so it’s easy for them to read along. The main site is geared toward Year 3 and up, but it is part of a family of sites which also include BrainPop Jr, for grades K-3 and BrainPop Español, seemingly for all ages. While initially some videos are free, there are different levels of subscriptions, which are well-worth the small fee.

TED

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. http://www.brainpop.com/apps/ landing/

(Education)

he TED app presents riveting and inspiring talks by remarkable people, free to the world. The official TED app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch presents talks from some of the world's most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus and music legends. There are more than 1,400 TEDTalk videos (with more added each week) on the official TED app. The entire library is at your fingertips to browse at any time, even when you’re not online. Watch TEDTalks with subtitles

in over 90 languages directly on your device through the new video player, or use AirPlay to watch them on your home entertainment system. Create your own playlist. Download full videos to your device and watch them when you’re offline. Listen to an on-demand playlist of TEDTalks audio at any time. https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/ted/ id376183339?mt=8

Don’t know who Sir Ken Robinson is? Click below to find out! Prepared to be inspired!

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Prezi

(Productivity)

rezi.com is one of one of a new generation of cloud-based presentation apps that overturns almost every idea you have about presentations and powerpoint/keynote presentations. Prezi uses Adobeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Flash technology to create animated presentations with a few clicks and drags. Instead of creating a series of separate slides, you put all your contentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;text, graphics, captions - on a single canvas, and then you trace a path from one item to another.

a gallery of styles. When you or anyone else views your presentation in a browser, what they see is an animated tour of the canvas, instead of a series of slides. The browser first zooms in on the first item in the path you created, then it zooms out again, then in again on the second item, and so on for each remaining item, until it reaches the end of the path. The whole effect is far closer to high-end graphics on a TV commercial than a boring set of bullet point slides.

As you create and edit your Prezi presentation, each item that you add to the canvas can be moved, resized, or rotated, and you can change the overall look of the presentation by clicking on

Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

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https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/prezifor-ipad/id407759942?mt=8

Click the sample Prezi-ntations below!

Flipboard

(Productivity)

lipboard is an app which acts like your personal magazine, filled with the things you care about. Find everything that matters to you from world news to life’s great moments. Just tap the [+] to save anything from the web – stories, photos, audio and more – into your own magazines to flip through later or share with friends. Make It Your Own Personalized Flipboard any way you want. Choose and arrange the sections you want, then add your social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Flipboard brings it all together and

makes it easy to find what matters most to you. It is easy to use and an ideal way of cataloguing things that inspire you in your social and working life. With the “Flip It” Web bookmarklet you can create magazines and add even more of your favorite content from the Web to your Flipboard. Flipboard Editor allows you to manage your magazines from a convenient dashboard. Rearrange and delete items, set covers and share your magazines with friends – all from the Web.

Evernote (Productivity) https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/evernote/id281796108

vernote is an impressive app that makes it easy to remember things big and small from your everyday life using your computer, phone, tablet and the web. With Evernote, all of your notes, web clips, files and images are made available on every device and computer you use. Save everything cool and exciting you see online and in the real world. Snap a photo, record some audio and save it. Save entire webpages to your Evernote account with the nifty web clipper browser extensions. You get the whole page: text, images and links. Collect information from anywhere into a single place.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW ANDY MILNE - IDEAS DIRECTOR/ HEAD OF DMG CREATE (SYDNEY) “In the fast moving world of media and advertising, I find I am always time poor

and deadline pressured. I need to be able to capture my ideas and information in the moment. I can use Evernote web clipper to capture ANY web page – clip it with no formatting and have it stored, with searchable tags – in my multiple devices. That means that I never have to search a news site or hit google up for a story I once found interesting but didn’t finish reading!

This allows all parts of required information to be time stamped, stored, searchable and shareable. Best of all – it is synced immediately to all my devices. I can also record my ideas when driving and send those thoughts with notes via email later to a colleague if necessary. Best of all this simple (free) application makes me PAPERLESS which is great for the environment and gives me a clutter free office.”

If I want to annotate or make comments on that story for my own use, I can record audio straight into the note that I can listen back to later. When I am with a client and they are briefing me, I can record the briefing audio for my assistant to transcribe later and I can take a photo of the new product which will be tagged and stored IN the note I am taking.

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SCRIBE Forum FROM KENYA It was one of the days I have lived for, to witness hope, faith and determination become a reality after many years of planning, sacrificing and devoting love and potential to the Mama Paulina School of Hope mission. This particular Saturday seemed much shorter than usual and on our road to the airport caught in a traffic jam, every second counted! Jemima and my boys worked hard in our Nairobi house in preparation to welcome our visitors who were undoubtedly already exhausted after an extremely long journey.

families, individuals, schools and different organizations from our Australian friends. It was a very busy week. Working on the bricks, digging the foundation and helping the workmen with the construction. It was just so wonderful! “I never knew that a ‘Muzungu’ could work this hard!!” I overheard a surprised and overwhelmed parent exclaim. This devotion really did help to bring piece of true love into our lives. Though electricity was not yet installed and bedding was temporary, we all sleep soundly under the one roof.

The jet touched down and I was already beaming and keeping my eyes wide open so as not to miss any passenger coming through the exit door. It was not too long before I saw our team of six strong, and cheerful ladies and gentlemen lead by our Director Mr Cam Allen. The Mama Paulina School of Hope logos were eminently placed on their nice and decent t-shirts – their mission evident on this part of the African continent.

There was a fine blending of this hard work with outings to the nearby scenic hill of Mukuro and a boat ride on this beautiful and historic lake – it is the second largest fresh water lake in the world. Also, not forgetting the outdoor experience of meeting the locals, learning Swahili and the local Luo language along with shopping in the local markets and at times, lending a hand in the kitchen. Stories and laughter were of great memories of each day.

Grinning from ear to ear and brimming with a mixture of happiness and excitement, it was a day that left a mark on my heart: a day that gave me a sense of belonging and some confidence of being accepted by others in spite of the limitations of our mission.

Nairobi National Park and Giraffe Center and Carnivore restaurants provided a nice blend of Nairobi on the last few days back in Nairobi, giving a live view of both fauna and flora. Behold… a long-lasting sustainability of the school was now on our profile!!

We drove to my dwelling place in Nairobi and when in the house I realized that these great men and ladies were really humble to fit into this ‘small cage.’ Each of them compromised with every inch of available space in the house and Mr Cam – while sleeping on the kitchen floor – meeting our notorious rat in the house called “Matata” and Akili” the cat!

Please accept our deep regards and love to those who sacrificed their time, potential and a moment to look at our page, videos and photos. Your continued support will always be the heartbeat of this young school as it stumbles and grows. You are a wonderful essence to the world of hope. “Asante sana”!

Next day we hit the road and after 7 hours were in the town of Migori – getting closer to Mukuro where the school is and we took refuge in the Heart2Hope House, which was still undergoing construction in some parts. This was now our home and immediately the school programs were tabled, discussed and strategies were set. Monday was a school day and off we went to the school compound. Throughout that week we had an opportunity to realize the true human nature presenting itself and becoming the normal way everyone treated each other. There was a great joy that the children were accepted and that our school was being given attention from the management of SCRIBE Magazine,

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but what is happening around the world. It is easy to forget that we are merely a spec here in the West, and that education in other parts of the world are so much closer than we think! ANNA – KOONDOOLA

THE LUCKY COUNTRY I thoroughly enjoyed the article ‘Education is the Key’ by Kenyan student Marvin Omondi. We really do live in the lucky country as far as education is concerned. Australian students know that they can choose to study anywhere in Australia, that the tertiary education they receive is not only top quality but highly resourced. However, I do wonder how many of our kids realize the value of education as much as Marvin and his fellow students do. It saddens me that in the 21st Century, poverty and lack still exist in areas of the world to the extent that it affects the education and future of the next generation. JOHN D – ARDROSS

PASSION IN THE PROFESSION Such a shame that the bubble burst on the “Out of the Bubble Experience” and it had to be cancelled, I was very much looking forward to being a part of this innovative day. As an educator I know the importance of reigniting the passion for this profession and was so looking forward to experiencing what I hoped would be a unique day that would inspire me. Is there any chance SCRIBE will run this day at another time? FIONA – MT. LAWLEY

JOSEPH OLOO – MUKURO

FACEBOOK MESSAGES

THE BUBBLE HAS BEEN BURST

Friends of Joseph Oloo: As you know, friends, colleagues and team members of the Heart2Hope Inc. (A Charity set up to assist the Mama Paulina School of Hope) have been working tirelessly over the last 18 months fundraising and developing the school, the community and the family’s future, so that eventually they will be self-sustainable. This is achievable within the next 2 years.

I was utterly disappointed at the cancellation of the “Out of the Bubble” Experience in November 2012. Very rarely are events like this organised, particularly where the focus is to ‘inspire’ teachers. I hope that SCRIBE Magazine will offer this opportunity again in the near future, let’s hope that teachers can clearly see the benefit is has for them as individuals! ASHLYNN – KOONDOOLA

SCRIBE - THE GLOBAL MAGAZINE Having subscribed early in 2012, I have noticed that the magazine not only focuses on what WA is doing in schools,

SCRIBE Magazine has been the main medium to share the story of Joseph and the school, BUT it all started publicly with Joseph sharing part of himself with all of the people he met along the way on Safari’s and trips in Kenya, this is how his story has grown over the last few years.

SCRIBE Forum Issue 4 features the story so far and the progress that has been made at the school, but I am keen to hear from those who have met Joseph along the journey to share in this space your thoughts and feelings, as I would like to include this material, generically in the article. Many of you who have continued to support Joseph financially, emotionally and spiritually would have faced at some point in time people who have challenged you to support this cause, because that is what a percentage of the population naturally do! I mean, “Why choose a school in remote Kenya to invest time into whereas you could be focussing on something closer to home”. (I know many of you do this also!) I am a firm believer that people come into your life for a variety of reasons, and you become involved with causes that you feel passionately about, or you just ‘feel’ that it is necessary, even at times you can’t justify it against facts or figures or even someone focussing on the negative aspects of ‘charity’ ...it is something that lies within the individual.

As a team, we are keen to hear your thoughts and feelings here, openly on this page, so we can include this in our writings for Joseph and our ongoing endeavours to involve fundraising and support, we need to see this project through to the end with your help by sharing your stories! CAM ALLEN HEART2HOPE INC. DIRECTOR Director of SCRIBE Magazine Joseph is truly the most compassionate and inspirational person I have ever met. Meeting Joseph has made me a better person. I first met Joseph in 2008 and have visited twice since. He’s vision is promising and I hope to always help Mama Paulina as much as I can for the rest of my life. NATALIE MACPHERSON I met Joseph last year, sadly for him on the last ever ‘Kumuka Tour’ as the company went broke. Even in the face of such an enormous setback his attitude was positive and accepting of the challenges of life. Myself and a few friends have continued to help him and

the school. I feel extremely blessed to be able to be of help and to have met someone who is truly determined to make a difference. VALSKI CLEMENS Jambo from Texas! I met Joseph on my Kumuka Safari tour in August 2004. He and I bonded instantly as we both have the same faith. We have stayed in contact all these years. I have just started sending boxes (one box a month) to the school. Full of clothes and shoes and school supplies for the children. I pray the boxes will arrive safely! God bless Joseph, Jemima, Emanuel, and all the people who are involved in the future of this school. KIMBERLY SCHOENBERG The SCRIBE team welcomes your feedback, letters and emails and we will endeavour to publish all opinions expressed. Send your feedback to; scribe@scribemagazine.com.au

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SCRIBE Contributors

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The Mama Paulina School of Hope http://www.scribemagazine.com.au/schoolofhope

Heart2Hope

Brick Programme 2013/14 A $500 CONTRIBUTION FROM YOUR SCHOOL OR BUSINESS WILL BUY YOU A PERSONALISED ANODISED ALUMINIUM PLAQUE WITH YOUR PERSONAL MESSAGE OF HOPE TO THE CHILDREN OF MUKURO, KENYA (AFRICA). Your purchased brick will be permanently positioned in the ‘Heart of the School’ Memorial as a reminder of your generosity and a symbol of Hope for this community to develop and grow. All collected funds will contribute to the Heart2Hope Inc Charity and assist the Mama Paulina School of Hope: We will be fundraising in 2013/14 for classroom resources, new uniforms, classroom refurbishments, electricity, upgraded toilet and water

facilities, new classrooms and a school playground. You will receive a personalised photo with the children and your plaque, a personalised letter from the children for your generous support and will be welcomed into our support team, where you will receive monthly updates on the development and progress of the School – YOU are encouraged to join us on this journey! Your contribution will make a direct impact on the children and their families, and we will involve you every step of the way! For more information and to donate to our cause, go to our website: www.scribemagazine.com.au/schoolofhope

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Inspire, Connect, Celebrate... SCRIBE MAGAZINE PH:

08 9330 5374

FAX:

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EMAIL: scribe@scribemagazine.com.au WEB: www.scribemagazine.com.au PO BOX 3072 MYAREE LPO WA 6154

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