Projects

We have been involved in supporting youth for a number of years.

Here is some of the media coverage our activities have attracted.

Launch of the Shire of Melton Community Learning Plan You Tube

'Sunshine 150 Competition'              Article- June 14, 2011

'Language Centre'                            Article - August 24,2010

'Mentoring Program'                         Article - June 2nd, 2009

'Employment Expo'                           Article - June 2nd, 2009

'Mentoring Program'                         Article - April 7th, 2009

'YTSI Program'                                 Article - March, 2009

'Free Career Advice'                         Article - Jan 19th, 2009

'Where are the jobs?'                       Newsletter - October, 2007

Sunshine 150 competition 2011

The Westpac and YouthNow Sunshine 150 competition was won by a student from Sunshine Harvester Primary school for her Sunshine People entry. The Sunshine's World of Business and Industry competition was won by a student from Sunshine College Ardeer.

In honor of its 150 years Sunshine is also featuring in the Landmarks: People and Places across Australia exhibition in the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. One of the original chairs from the Harvester Boardroom, which is now part of YouthNow's office, is featured in the exhibition.

Listen to this podcast: Leah Bartsch from the National Museum of Australia talks about Sunshine and its representation in the Landmarks: People and Places across Australia, exhibit. This podcast is part of the Behind the Scenes - Landmarks series, 10 March 2010.

A trip to Canberra to see the exhibition and have a behind the scenes tour of the Museum was the prize for both school levels of the competition.

Maria Cox and Leah Bartsch with the chair from the YouthNow boardroom in Sunshine on display in the Landmarks Exhibition

Sunshine Community Mentoring program 2010

Students from Sunshine’s Harvester Primary School have an ‘Investigation & Discovery Learning Centre’ thanks to the combined effort of Sunshine Plaza Centre Management, Harvester PS, Sunshine Secondary College, YouthNow and volunteer mentors. The centre is used for language development and learning, and it is of particular value for refugee and socially disadvantaged children of which Sunshine Harvest PS has more than its fair share.

The building of the centre formed the focus of a mentoring program lead by YouthNow’s Bill O’Connor, . Sunshine Plaza Centre Management provided funds to get the project started and VCAL students from Sunshine Secondary College built the facility under the guidance of their teachers and volunteer mentors. One of the teachers is a former engineer and the mentors have years of experience in the trades area.

The merging of three schools in Sunshine created Harvester Primary School which has an enrolment of a little over 400 students and 70% of these children have English as a second language. The school has been identified as the third most deprived school in the Western Metropolitan Region.

Claire Taylor, Early Years Department Leader at the school, reports that this deprivation manifests itself in many children missing out on basic necessities. One of these is the experience of playing with a variety of toys: an activity that promotes investigation through play and language development.  Claire reports that “language and communication skills taught in the Learning Centre focus on: What, Where and Who, questioning, listening to and giving instructions, interacting with peers, taking turns and having fun”.

The students from Sunshine Secondary College who built the centre were enrolled in VET courses as part of their VCAL studies. Like Harvester Primary the Secondary College serves a strongly multicultural community with approximately 38% of students from non-English speaking backgrounds. As well as allowing these students to extend their hands on skills this program gave them the opportunity to contribute to their community and take pride in their achievements.

The idea for this mentoring activity came from YouthNow’s Bill O’Connor and interest was quickly expressed by Harvester PS Principal Alan Dash. The final gap in their plan to get things started was filled by Sunshine Plaza Centre Management with a $3000 contribution to the project. “We congratulate YouthNow on the initiative and look forward to seeing the centre in action and the children receiving the assistance they require.” Mr. Jones said.