As we draw towards the end of term one - another successful term for our Shooting Stars teams in the regions – it’s time to reflect and reward our girls for their hard work over the past few months. Over the past fortnight our girls have been soaking up the rewarding opportunities that come at the end of a big term. Sam Shepherd, our Program Coordinator in Fitzroy Crossing, spoke of how integral these rewards are for the girls.
“Our participants set attendance and engagement goals at the start of each term and look forward to the rewards they receive when they achieve these goals. At Shooting Stars we ensure all our participants can experience what success looks and feels like through our site based rewards”.
In Fitzroy Crossing, our year 7 girls spent a day exploring and swimming at a local spring. The girls cooked their own food on a campfire and sat around telling stories. The day was not only a great reward for the term, but an opportunity for the girls to bond and connect with each other.
Our Carnarvon girls had a visit from our Seven Sisters team, Jade and Kaedisha, who delivered the first week of the project. An artwork session gave them an opportunity to build their relationships with the girls and bond over the creation of aboriginal art.
And in Hedland, our girls were able to get creative in their health and wellbeing session, fashioning dresses out of plastic bags. After they had finished designing their pieces, they them modelled them for the rest of the group. The activity was great in both building their teamwork skills and building their confidence, all whilst having fun and showing off their creative flair.
These reward days are part of our overall Shooting Stars program, combining advocacy and support, engagement activities, health and wellbeing sessions and rewards (such as the aforementioned) to strengthen our girls’ confidence and cultural identity.
Our Seven Sisters program has gained enormous support from corporate partners looking to support the mental health of our aboriginal girls. Thanks to the support of our Principle Partner, Mineral Resources Limited, and supporting Partners Phillips Foundation, Lotterywest and Telethon, we are able to expand and develop our Seven Sisters course to ensure we are reaching as many girls and women as possible.
