Building Strength in Year 8 sparc Through the Young Change Agents and Nxplorers Programs

Year 8 students have focused on 'Building Strength' during sparc this semester through learning and leadership experiences and the Young Change Agents and Nxplorers programs.

The sparc framework allows for opportunities that Spark Passion, grow Attributes and build Relationships to Contribute to the world.

In Term One, students explored the importance of setting goals and achieving independence through growing their personal responsibility. They developed skills in communication, including public speaking, creativity and decision-making. They were also empowered to lead themselves, take responsibility for their own choices and actions, identify their values and encouraged to have a positive influence on others.

Term Two was based around being a capable innovator and caring citizen. Students were given a choice to partake in either the Young Change Agents or Nxplorers program, in which they were encouraged to think critically and creatively to be positive agents in the process of change. They developed their design skills, decision-making and problem-based learning strategies as they learnt about growing their social responsibility and how to make a difference.

The Young Change Agents is based on inspiring and educating the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and job-makers. It is designed to cultivate young women's skills in design thinking, technology and business. These students pitched their ideas to judges in the Theatre during the final weeks of Term Two with the hopes of turning their ideas into reality. A select few standout solutions will have the opportunity to further develop their ideas during Semester Two under the guidance of their sparc mentors.

Nxplorers aims to equip young people with the tools they need to think complexly. Students doing Nxplorers are providing solutions to the question - With an increasing local and global population, how can we develop sustainable food, energy and water while managing our resources and waste? They are developing prototypes and displays, as well as an effective pitch, as they think about the bigger picture, connections, perspective, the future and change.

Year 8 sparc mentor, Noni Wardani, said Nxplorers was helping students build on their sparc skills as innovators.

"We have explored real-world problems relating to the food-water-energy nexus by looking at local issues that impact our school and then challenging ourselves to consider the complexity of these issues," she said.

"We considered our issue from various perspectives of those who work and study at Perth College, including fellow students, teachers, people in school leadership positions, canteen staff and gardeners. We considered how the future is not set and how we can make changes today that can influence our future.

"We also looked at the consequences of making change happen, both the intended and unintended consequences that may occur from implementing our projects, and developed a communication plan for our projects to help us consider how we can use a variety of communication strategies to target different people and contexts."

Next term, Young Change Agents will continue to work on their solutions and pitch to key staff to see which solutions are able to be taken to the next stage and implemented within Perth College and Nxplorers will conclude with a showcase to a large audience at a Scitech exhibition in October. There will also be a focus on Digital Citizenship, particularly online friendships, gaming, online perception vs reality and balancing screen time.

Visit the Parent sparc SPACE page here to see these Year 8 experiences in action.