NavigationUser login |
High Schools- - - Role of Working Group - - - - - Number of People - - - - - What we did - - - Acknowledgement of Newcastle City Council Support Media acknowledgement: Promotional and event acknowledgement: Overview of the Day Transport: Only one student requested SOS transport, and we provided this via private vehicle. Three students who travelled from Gosford were picked up in a private vehicle from Hamilton train station, and students from San Clemente High organised car pooling for their (6) students who attended. Attendance: 32 high school students, 5 - 15 University students for various parts of the day, 3 teachers The high schools program ran from 9am till 9pm. After the 32 students had registered and received a welcome pack, one of the organisers did a formal welcome acknowledging the contribution and support of Newcastle City Council as well as other supporters: the Australian Student Environment Network, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and Get-Up. Icebreaker games were used to get people to know each other and feel more comfortable. The students were split into groups, each with a supervisor that would remain as their ‘buddy’ throughout the day. During the day check-ins were done in these groups, where students got to know each other more, reflected on what they had learnt and were able to give feed back. During the day there were whole-group workshops as well as times when there were two to three workshops running at once to give the students a choice of topic/activity. Throughout the program there were theory based workshops and participatory workshops as well as art workshops to provide for a wide range of interests. The morning was packed with a plenary on Climate Change and Youth, and workshops such as Building Environment Action Groups in our Schools, Social Equality and Environmental Careers. At 1.30pm a vegan meal was served and the students did a check in by getting into small groups. At 2pm workshops started again. Engaging workshops such as Political Hip-hop, Political Theatre as well as Theories of Change kept them engaged until afternoon tea at 4pm. From 4.30pm until dinner at 6pm the students participated in fun activities such as radical art, fair-trade fashion and the making of a wheelie bin sound system. Bands that played at 7pm at the Bar on the Hill included 'The Fuji Collective, a youth band from Sydney and two local high-school bands: 'Men who Drip with Germs', and 'A Disappointing Fireworks Display'. The event was strictly no drugs or alcohol and security was in place. Social activity enabled participants to interact with each other and with buddy’s in a more informal way and to reflect on the day and get excited together about future plans. After the gig parents picked them up at arranged times and places. Feed back from the day Feedback was received by means of a one-page questionnaire at the conclusion of the day. Overall, 70 percent of participants responded that they enjoyed the High Schools day and found it informative and engaging. People commented that the provided a positive and inspiring atmosphere, that it was well organised and provided a space for them to learn, have fun and network with others. Some participants felt that the content was relevant, diverse and informative, while others found the day boring at times and said they would prefer more time on some activities and less on others. People commented that they would recommend changing the day to include more practical activities, more time for reflection and non-vegan lunch options. Overall, 65 percent of participants in the day were interested in being part of an on-going Hunter High Schools Environment Network. See feed back form included. How we promoted the event To promote the event we employed a professional designer to make posters, fliers and letter-heads for the event. We then used a number of techniques to promote, these included: What we would do differently next time Although the day itself went well and we got positive feedback from the students who did attend, we were disappointed that we were not able to attract more students. We identified timing of the event and difficulty contacting schools to be the major reasons why numbers were low. Both these factors were largely unforeseeable, but have taught us a lot. What we would do differently next time: Timing – we had hoped that having the day in the school holidays would mean that more students would be able to come. We feel it had the opposite effect. Because it was during the holidays it meant that schools were unable to endorse the day as a school excursion and teachers were not to accompany students and really organise for students to come as a school group. Also, many student went away for the holidays. Contacting Schools – it was very challenging making contact with schools and getting them to trust and support the day, given that most schools had not heard of the Students of Sustainability conference. We had hoped that our support from the Newcastle City Council, the University of Newcastle, and other prominent groups would alleviate any concerns. For what-ever reason, it was very hard to make contact with schools and identify the correct person to promoting the event to, a task that took dozens of return phone calls, faxes and even visits to achieve in many cases. We think that working more closely with NCC and utilising their familiarity with local schools could be a good way to overcome this hurdle. Content – based on feedback, we would try to include more of the interactive type workshops, for example bush foods or gardening/land care. It would be good to put some of the more hands-on activities in the first part of the day. We tried to fit too much into the day. Next time we would allow more time for small group check-ins and breaks and limit the number of workshops happening at once. Where to from here? See the proposal attached for further details of plans into the future - - Timeline - - - - - Things to think about - - - - - Tips - - - - Documents - - -
|