Students at Newman Senior High School will be among the first in Western Australia to take part in a motivating mentoring program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women.
Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery was at Newman Senior High School today to announce that the pilot of the Stars Foundation program would run at Newman Senior High School and Butler College in Perth.
Stars Foundation staff will work with the school communities this year to identify the needs of the students before the program starts in 2021.
The Stars Foundation program provides mentoring and targeted support to improve the health and education outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women.
The program at Newman Senior High School will operate full time in a dedicated 'Stars Room' supporting students to develop their confidence, self-esteem and the life skills needed for school and beyond.
Students will work with mentors and will have the opportunity to take part in a range of extracurricular activities including sport, art, music and dance, as well as community, cultural and volunteering activities.
The program currently operates in schools in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria.
The Minister also announced that a new Clontarf academies program will be introduced in 2021 at Newman Senior High School for Aboriginal boys and young men.
The Clontarf Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that started in WA in 2000, and assists in the education and employment of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.
Clontarf academy staff will tap into teenage boys' enthusiasm for sport to initially encourage them to go to school, and then keep them attending. There are currently 30 academies operating at Western Australian public schools this year.
As stated by Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery:
"I'm delighted the Stars Foundation program will provide mentoring and inspirational opportunities for Aboriginal girls at Newman Senior High School and Butler College so they can have every chance at success.
"We want our Aboriginal students to be excited and confident learners who go on to their desired outcomes of further education, training or employment.
"The full-time, onsite mentors who provide intensive daily support will help these young women become lifelong learners and achieve their goals.
"I'm also pleased that Aboriginal boys at the school will benefit from a new Clontarf academies program from next year which will help them develop values, skills and abilities to complete school."
