STUDENT-LED community projects were in the spotlight at an inaugural showcase in Lake Macquarie.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fifteen students from Belmont, Hunter Sports and Lake Macquarie high schools exhibited their projects, which they developed as part of the Youth Frontiers mentoring program.
The statewide program pairs disengaged years 8 and 9 students with volunteer mentors to work collaboratively on projects that make a difference in their local community.
It is designed to build students’ confidence and leadership skills.
Students can self-register for the program or be referred by a teacher or career advisor.
The handful of students who presented their projects at Charlestown Leagues Club on Tuesday, November 24, represented a small fraction of the 1000-plus students who participated in the program from June to November.
The showcase was the culmination of 30 hours’ work with their mentors, including 15 hours of one-on-one mentoring.
It gave them the opportunity to share with their parents, carers and the wider community what they had been working on.
Students set up tables for the crowd to wander around at its leisure and quiz the students on their projects.
A design concept for a skate park; pitch to paint murals on one of the schools’ water tanks and a primary school sports program were just some of the projects on show.
Each student was presented with a certificate of participation.
Youth Frontiers program coordinator Scott Browne said he noticed a distinguishable difference in some students’ confidence levels from start to finish.
“Some of them we could barely get to talk when we first put them in the classroom with their mentors,” Mr Browne said.
“Now, they’re more confident; I had several of them ask me to speak at the showcase.”
Mr Browne said the program was reasonably successful in its first year.
The program is funded for 2016. It will launch in schools at the end of term one.
Mr Browne said he hoped the program would reach capacity at 1200 students this year.
For every student, a volunteer mentor is needed.
Locally, volunteers are needed in the Lake Macquarie, Charlestown and Swansea electorates.
If you or someone you know would like to volunteer, go to youth.nsw.gov.au/youth-frontiers-2/.