Working with Anglicare Ambassadors embrace masterclass

By Ms Wendy Keene, Service Learning Coordinator | Hale School, WA

In May, Anglican schools from across Perth gathered at Hale School for the Anglicare WA Ambassadors Advocacy Masterclass. Each school sent representatives from their Year 10 cohort, known as the Anglicare Ambassadors, to delve into the topic of advocacy and its importance in our society.

The students learnt about the different types of advocacy and considered the forums and the impact these have had throughout history.

They then formed groups with peers from different schools and set about making a plan to deal with particular issues using a range of forums. It was important for the students to consider background and context when setting their aim and adopting their strategies. As part of the process, they also needed to consider their allies and barriers, which broadened their scope and perspective.

Hale School student Maximilian Ventrice said he was excited by the opportunity to put his interest in helping others into action.

“I decided to become an Anglicare ambassador because I have always loved helping those in need and participating in services to help the community,” he said.

“In the advocacy masterclass one thing that I learnt was that I should be promoting more ideas and addressing more issues with my cohort. I have thought about how I will put this into practice at school so that students will be more engaged and interested in possibly helping the cause.”

Some of his ideas included presenting evidence of the issues at school assemblies and engaging students through interactive activities.

“Advocacy can amplify the issues of underrepresented communities and can be used to mobilise the school community in order to help organise campaigns. Advocacy can be utilised to reach a wider audience using various communication channels and help bring meaningful change.”

As an Anglican school with the motto of ‘Duty’, Hale students are encouraged to be involved in service learning and the vast majority of students volunteer to do so.