Anything is possible...
We know every community and school is different and one size does not fit all. We share the belief that designing together can create programs that respond to the needs of girls from cities, regional centres and remote communities.
Experienced
After 10 years, SHINE has the passion, skills and knowledge to work with schools across the country and to connect with communities to share a vision of empowering girls to be thriving women no matter where you come from.
Culturally respectful
We are culturally respectful and work with Aboriginal communities and schools to ensure our programs are culturally safe and engage Aboriginal women and community members in the program. We are guided by the needs of the girls, community and school and value two-way learning.
Designing together
We can work with schools and communities to design programs that link to the Western Austrialian curriculum, align with the Department of Education’s Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework but also are evidence-based and informed by the latest research into engagement strategies.
It all starts with one conversation… connect with us and let’s make a world of difference.
Case Study: Mt Magnet
Mt Magnet is Badimaya country and one of the region’s original gold mining towns with a population of a few hundred people. School-aged children represent around one-fifth of the population.
In 2019 three strong women, Liz Jones General Manager of Ramelius Resources, Carole Whitby of WA Centre for Rural Health and Cecilia Kelly from Geraldton Aboriginal Sporting Corporation, contacted SHINE as they wanted to see things change in Mt Magnet and for girls to have bright futures. Liz wanted to employ local Aboriginal women while Carole and Cecilia wanted girls to be happy and have a good life, connected to community and opportunities to thrive. SHINE wanted all of that to.
Taking the time to listen
So, together, we co-designed the SHIMMER program in Mt Magnet over 10 months and spent time with the community to listen and find out what they wanted for the girls in Mt Magnet. We met with the Elders and key community members to discuss the needs of the youth, education challenges, community hopes, connections, resources and how we could all come together to mentor the young girls into empowered women who stand together with pride.
Over many conversations, visits, listening, learning and coming together; a group was formed to plan out a program that would support the girls and aspirations of the community for their future. A school-based program was decided upon. Having a program at the school would attract students to attend.
Making it happen
We started the SHIMMER program in July 2020 and inspired the young girls to start to learn about themselves by creating love jars, yarning sticks, message flowers and artwork about a sense of place. It is important to find a place where we feel safe and happy. For many of our Mt Magnet SHIMMER girls, they feel at peace when they are out bush with family.
Almost a year on and we are starting to see familiar, positive trends in the students. They are coming to school more often, making good choices, engaging with curriculum and developing a strong sense of self. In six months, these students went from 30% school attendance to 60%. We have aspirations this will continue to rise over a full year of support.
Strong self - SHINE participants reported:
Could SHINE benefit students in your school?
We work closely with each school that offers the SHINE program to customise a program to suit the needs of your school community. There are over 200 designed experiences/lessons linked to the WA curriculum to work with and we are continuously adding new content.
We would love the opportunity to discuss the details of our program and how students in your school could benefit.
Due to a high number of inquiries and a limited number of staff, we are only accepting program inquiries from schools in the Mid West WA who are considering implementing the Shine program.
