2015 School Magazine

SECOND CHANCE SHIYE SU (12R), MEGAN STAFFORD (12B), JOANNA JOHN (12) AND BRONTE JACKSON (12H) The Second Chance Committee is a motivated group of young women, passionate about helping homeless women in Brisbane. Throughout the year this enthusiastic, creative and vibrant group has supported various charities including the external Second Chance organisation, the Bahloo Youth Shelter, Zig Zag, and the Mackay Homeless Expo. Our fundraising efforts have included bake stalls, hot chocolate stalls, clothing drives, a raffle and the annual Second Chance Christmas Tree. We got creative on Open Day by making balloon animals, raising money towards the purchase of gift cards for the women at Bahloo. However, the Christmas tree is the highlight of our fundraising calendar with girls bringing in personalised gifts and cards for homeless women and children. This is particularly significant, allowing us to form a more personal connection and lift spirits at what can be a difficult time of year. A few representatives were fortunate to attend a NAIDOC week morning tea at the Bahloo Womens’ Youth Shelter that opened our eyes to the numerous external organisations doing inspiring work with the homeless, as well as gaining further insight into the hardships the homeless face. We were touched by

the amount of time, energy and love that goes into helping these women. This group inspired us to continue our commitment to service through and after school.

THE URALLA CLUB ANNA MCARTHUR-DOWTY (12R) AND JOSEFINE GANKO (12R)

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2015 has been a successful second year for the Uralla Club in raising awareness about Indigenous culture and issues. We are a service group that is open to all year levels, and each meeting we try to combine planning for upcoming events with learning about culture and engaging in topical discussions. In March, we celebrated Close the Gap Day and created an Indigenous flag mural with coloured paint handprints. On the other side of this same flag we encouraged girls to write a message of hope for the future as we recognised National Sorry Day. Our biggest event for the year was on 20 May, where we held a forum to celebrate Diversity Day. We invited many esteemed Indigenous elders and guests, including Robbie Miller from AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experiences),

Mundanara Bayles from the Black Card, Marnee Shay and Latara Saltner from QUT, and musician Chris Tamwoy. Uralla Club leader Anna McArthur-Dowty (12R) was also on the panel of speakers as well as our other student leader, Josefine Ganko (12R), who moderated the forum. We covered many topics in an interesting discussion, and were able to open many girls’ eyes to the reality that is an Indigenous person’s life in Australia. Our final event for the year was NAIDOC week from the 20 – 24 July, where we held various activities to enrich the girls’ knowledge around cultural practices, including playing Indigenous games at lunchtime, and watching a film in the Ganalbingu language. Along with these events, two of our members were able to attend a Smoking Ceremony at Carinity Education South Side School for the opening of their new science block. We are extremely grateful to Ms Garson and Mrs Mungomery for all the work they have put into this club, without whom it would not have been possible. We are excited to see the growing opportunities presented to Uralla in the coming years.