g-oz projects

The team from Girls from Oz have just returned from their fourth visit to Halls Creek for 2011. Each term this year g-oz have sang and danced with girls and boys in Kindy, Pre-Primary, Junior Primary and Middle Primary and also with girls from Upper Primary and the secondary school at Halls Creek District High School.

Over the past two years, g-oz have used high energy dance routines and lots of fun singing games, songs and activities to engage the students in learning about music, teamwork, fitness and risk-taking. It can be nerve-wracking to sing or dance, even in a group, so we have been impressed by all of the students who have participated in our sessions and have given these activities a go!

This year many girls in Upper Primary and secondary also took the brave step of performing at a number of concerts and festivals. In May a group of fourteen girls were selected to perform two songs and a dance at the Barramundi Concert in Kununurra. And in September another group of girls travelled to Broome to dance at the Youth on Health Festival. While initially the girls felt nervous and ‘shame’, they certainly grew in confidence and by the end didn’t even worry when their teachers made them practice on the beach or in the park!

Selection for participation in each of these performances was based on good school attendance, good behaviour and participation in practices. The chosen girls did a wonderful job of representing Halls Creek District High School and their families on both occasions.

Another exciting adventure for 2011 will be the trip to Sydney in November. Ten girls who had been involved in after school girls’ sessions and also g-oz activities throughout the year have been chosen to travel to Sydney where they will be hosted by members of the Australian Girls Choir. The girls will visit the National Aboriginal and Islander Dance Academy, sing on Gadigal Koori Radio, see ‘Mary Poppins’, spend a day at William Clarke College, sing in two concerts at the Sydney Opera House and meet the Governor-General of Australia. It is set to be an amazing week!

Girls from Oz is proud to be working together with Halls Creek District High School to provide opportunities to girls at school and we look forward to returning to Halls Creek in 2012 for four more visits and lots of exciting activities.

The sixth visit by Girls from Oz to Halls Creek took place in May and culminated in fifteen girls performing at the Barramundi Concert in Kununurra. Kylie Lee-Archer, Shelley Moore, Kass Brown, Suse Gidley and Cassie Wilson worked with the girls from Halls Creek District High School for a week and helped them to prepare three items for the concert.

Our sixth performing arts intensive was different to previous visits in a number of ways. The g-oz team included four newcomers to Halls Creek which meant that everyone took a few days to warm up. While the girls at Halls Creek District High School are now familiar with the g-oz program we really felt the difference when they knew only one of the team. By the middle of the week though our ‘newies’ were part of the family and we’re confident that when they return to Halls Creek in the future they will be warmly welcomed!

Preparing for the Barramundi Concert also involved some changes to our usual week’s program. The concert organisers had specifically requested that the girls sing more than dance because they were keen to showcase young Indigenous women singers; dance was already being featured in the program. While the girls in Halls Creek are learning to engage with singing it’s very confronting for many of them so preparing two songs was a challenge. We also snuck a dance into the program though, much to the girls’ delight! As well as our sessions being focussed on singing for much of the week, we also needed to spend more time preparing a high quality performance outcome than we had in the past. We were thrilled that so many girls put the hard work in and that fifteen met the selection criteria (including after school rehearsals) for participation in the Barramundi Concert.

Having conquered their nerves and performed for the more than 400 strong audience at the concert - held in Kununurra as part of the Ord Valley Muster celebrations - the girls are now looking forward to their next performance opportunity which will be the Halls Creek Music Festival in August followed closely by the Youth on Health Festival in Broome in the same month. Girls from Oz look forward to helping the girls prepare for each of these opportunities and hope that many of them will be able to maintain their excellent attendance and behaviour at school to ensure their selection!

Girls from Oz are excited to be back in Halls Creek in 2011! After a delay due to the Kimberley floods the team who visited in April were Sally and Jess, who are familiar faces in Halls Creek, and Laura and Harriet, who are newcomers.

As always, the Girls from Oz focus in April was on the adolescent and teenage girls of Halls Creek and many girls returned after successful involvement in the program at Halls Creek District High School last year. Some of the girls involved this year were lucky enough to travel with g-oz to Melbourne or Sydney in 2010 so it was great to build upon the trust and learning already established. Sally, Jess, Laura and Harriet also welcomed new faces to our group - it’s exciting to see more and more girls and young women engaging with the opportunities being provided.

2011 is already shaping up to a big year - the girls have been singing, dancing and engaging in activities better than ever and are preparing for a number of performances later in the year. Reconnecting with the staff at HCDHS has also been a highlight for g-oz; many staff got involved in our sessions and discovered hidden talents! We are looking forward to building upon our relationship with the HCDHS staff, particularly those involved in the new Girls Program.

This exciting new Girls Program will be headed up by Larrisa Groch and a committee of staff and community members. g-oz, Larissa, the Girls Committee and the school community will be working together to engage the girls in more Creative Arts opportunities, goal setting and learning of life skills. There will be a focus on teamwork, participation, role modelling, building career pathways and we are excited to be a part of it.

Further to the Girls Program, we have also enjoyed working with the younger children at both HCDHS and Warlawurru Catholic School. These sessions have been full of fun, energy and great singing and dancing. We are looking forward to developing these programs into the future and providing more Creative Arts education and opportunities as they grow.

Next month Girls from Oz will be back in Halls Creek with a new team headed up by Kylie Lee-Archer who coordinates the Girls from Oz involvement in Halls Creek. She and the team are looking forward to being part of the new Girls Program and continuing its development. With performance opportunities coming up, there will be a focus on performance and building confidence so the girls are ready to do their best. Girls from Oz are enjoying being part of the Halls Creek wider community and can’t wait to be back next month!

The success of the g-oz program in Halls Creek in 2010 has clearly demonstrated the need for a focus on girls. Halls Creek District High School has reported an increase in girls’ attendance which school leadership views as significant and directly related to g-oz.

* This was a NAPLAN (assessment) week – normally attendance is significantly down.

Dates are set for four week long visits to Halls Creek in 2011 and we hope to take the opportunity to extend delivery to youth in nearby communities. The WA Department of Education and Training (DET) will begin to support the program this year; we have also had discussions with them about expanding the program beyond the East Kimberley to other high need remote communities. With funding from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), ASPA is collaborating with g-oz to train young women in Halls Creek to support the girls’ program. It is a priority to focus on professional development for, and leadership from within, the communities.