Participants from Glass Jar Australia’s Shooting Stars program have taken the trip of a lifetime in the last week, travelling to the East coast courtesy of their singing skills.
Students from Halls Creek and Carnarvon travelled to Brisbane and Sydney respectively with Girls of OZ, an initiative aimed at expanding life experiences of young people in remote Australia with limited access to performing arts education.
The Shooting Stars participants performed alongside members of the Australian Girls Choir at two of the country’s most prestigious venues in the Sydney Opera House and Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
The girls were also treated to a series of extra-curricular activities including a matinee performance of Disney’s Aladdin the Musical, a behind the scenes tour of Australia’s Google Head Office and a private class with the Queensland Ballet.
Netball WA General Manager of Indigenous Programs, Fran Haintz, said it was a remarkable opportunity for the students.
“Experiences of this nature stay with kids for a lifetime,” Haintz said.
“While Shooting Stars focuses on education through netball, it’s wonderful to see a number of our participants using other skills and attributes to broaden their horizons.”
“Our program, and more importantly their communities, take great pride in seeing these students thrive and the confidence the girls draw from a trip like this only serves to reinforce the lessons they are learning at home.”
The Halls Creek Shooting Stars group that travelled to Brisbane included Kellie-Ann Duinker, Sherose Eura, Jalaynah Bedford, Ramona Skeen, Seaniqua Farrer, Tamika Lawford, Maddison Calwyn, Lilly Skeen and program coordinator Haylee Rivers who herself has a strong background in performing arts.
Students from the Carnarvon Shooting Stars site that travelled to Sydney were Lakisha Taylor, Zeta Dodd, Jahni Starr, Dakota Delpino-Frost, Krystal Ryder and Caroline Baker.
An initiative of Netball WA and Glass Jar Australia, Shooting Stars now engages more than 230 students across six delivery sites including Halls Creek, Carnarvon, Derby, Meekatharra, Wiluna and Mullewa.
Shooting Stars is proudly supported by the Australian Government.
