Ma & Morley Newsletter July - August

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MA & MORLEY N E W S L E T T E R

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WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING? 1 JULY

4-14 JULY

19 JULY

22 JULY

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1 1 - D AY C U LT U R A L I M M E R S I O N

S C H O L A R

G AT H E R & C O N N E C T

Ma & Morley Scholarship Program applications for 2023 are officially open!

The application process looks a little bit different this year, with new application questions and rubric available for applicants.

We hope that the new questions and rubric provide a clearer criteria for how applications will be marked, and therefore be a more inclusive process for all students looking to apply.

The 2020 Scholars travelled through north-west NSW on an 11-day tour exploring Country and culture.

The Scholars were guided across Country by Uncle Paul Gordon, a local Aboriginal Elder, who taught Scholars about one of the traditional song-lines that runs through West NSW. The Scholars were also connected in with local aboriginal communities and organisations along the way.

A second Scholar Forum was held to provide the opportunity for Scholars to provide feedback on the Program.

As a result, this newsletter is now going to be an ongoing part of the Program (wooohooo!), which will function to provide monthly updates to Scholars about things happening throughout the Program. We will also provide a full feature about the Forum in this edition of the newsletter.

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F O R U M

The 2022 Scholars met with Jason Pau from the Jack Ma Foundation to hear more about the work they are doing.

The Scholars were able to hear about the other amazing Programs that the Jack Ma Foundation works on outside of Ma & Morley, and Jason got to hear about how the Scholars' first semester went this year and which Program value they align with the most.

SCHOLAR FORUM O U T C O M E S

It was great to meet up with those for Scholar-to-Scholar support. who could join us at the second • A monthly newsletter created Ma & Morley Scholar Forum on by the Program (this one right Tuesday 19 July. It was a really here) was suggested to improve productive meeting, where we Program communications. got the chance to flesh out how • A flying-minute will be prepared to move forward with a few of by the Program team to the Ma the issues brought forward at the & Morley Scholarship Program previous meeting.

Advisory Committe regarding A few of the main actions that the potential of having came out of the meeting were: Scholar/s representation on the • A Ma & Morley Scholar Advisory Committee.

Group is to be established and • A Google Form has been a Terms of Reference to be created for Scholars to submit written to guide the purpose and suggestions regarding options responsibilities of the Advisory for the future structure of the Group.

Ling Jun category. A future • A Scholar-led email address and meeting will be arranged to Slack channel is to be created discuss the submissions. by the Scholar Advsisory Group Y O U C A N N O W S U B M I T Y O U R S U G G E S T I O N F O R T H E L I N G J U N C A T E G O R Y H E R E !

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WHAT HAPPENS IF MY GPA FALLS BELOW 5.0?

The Program team understands that Scholars will face issues that are outside of their control, and which may impact on their overall GPA average. We ask that you reach out to us, or the Scholar Advisory Group, if it is looking like your GPA may fall below 5.0 during your semester.

This is so we can support you in every way possible, not to flag who is at risk of losing their Scholarship. There are lots of support options available, each response is unique to your circumstances and we want to help you reach your version of success.

There is usually a good reason behind a unit being failed and if we call, it’s to understand what is going on in your world and find out how we can best support you. If we don’t have that information or you don’t answer our calls or reply to our messages, it’s very difficult to support you and improve your academic outlook. No one has ever had their Scholarship rescinded because their GPA dropped below 5.0.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I WANT TO CHANGE MY DEGREE PROGRAM? We understand that your university journey may not be linear and not everyone graduates in the degree they started. Our role is to support you become the leader you want to be and often this involves changing direction. If you find yourself in this position, we are very open to having a discussion about what degree you would like to move to and why. The amount of financial support available would depend on the length of your initial degree and how far you have to go in the new degree. Each case is different which is why it’s important to talk to us about your individual circumstances.

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rom Tamworth we headed towards Glen Innes where we had our first meeting with the aboriginal Elder who was about to change each and every one of our lives forever.

11-DAY U CULTURAL IMMERSION O

ncle Paul Gordon, a rock man, a traditional knowledge holder, and magic Ngemba Elder, taught us about the song-line that runs through the Countries we were about to journey through and shared story about each place we visited. I will never forget how it felt to be in the presence of such a powerful, kind, and wise spirit.

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bus sprayed with red earth and partially filled with Ma & Morley Scholars, mostly filled with our snacks and comfy bus items, trekked across over 3,700km of north-western NSW on an epic 11-day journey.

These are just a few of my thoughts from the trip, which I believe will keep unfolding for the rest of my life.

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e left from Wollotuka on Monday 4 July and set out for our first stop in Tamworth, where we had the honour of meeting with Gomeroi Dance Company, who invited us to participate in a smoking ceremony to cleanse our spirits before our journey, whilst also teaching us our first traditional dances of the trip.

ver the next 10 days, we travelled through Warialda, Moree, Walgett, Brewarrina, Gundabooka, Cobar, Menindee, back to Cobar and then on to our final stop in Wellington. In each of these places we learnt more about traditional story, about culture and about spirituality from Uncle Paul and Dave Newham, whilst also connecting with local communities, and aboriginal youth and medical services.

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ne of my favourite moments from the trip was connecting with Daniel Fusi, a school teacher by trade but standup comic in spirit, who guided us around Menindee in his school's mini bus, telling jokes and giving insights in to life out west. In Menindee we got to help out with the holiday programming Daniel and his team provide to kids in out-of-home care, and I couldn't believe how quickly we were all welcomed as part of the community out there.

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will remember this trip for a lifetime, and will treasure the knowledge that has been shared so willingly and openly with me.

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WHAT'S NEXT? 12 AUGUST 23 AUGUST 27 AUGUST

9-10 SEPTEMBER

S E M E S T E R 2 C E N S U S D AT E

A M B A S S A D O R E V E N T

O P E N D AY ( C A L L A G H A N )

S TA G E 1 C U L T U R A L I M M E R S I O N

Census date is a University-wide date that signifies the last day you are able to formally drop a course during the semester without financial penalty.

For those of you who recieve Scholarship payments, this is also an important date, as payments are processed after this date, and typically land in your account up to 2-4 weeks after Census date. To find out more about how Scholarship payments work, click here.

The second Ambassador event for 2022 will be taking place in late August.

We are currently engaging with the Ma & Morley Ambassadors to finalise a topic, speakers and venue for the event. If you are a current Ambassador, we will be meeting next Tuesday 2 August at 5pm to start our planning. So watch this space! :)

The Program team and a few Ma & Morley Scholars will be participating in Open Day. The Central Coast Open Day will be taking place this weekend, Saturday 30 July, and the Callaghan Open Day will be taking place on 27 August. We will have both a Ma & Morley Stall and presentation, so please feel free to drop by and say hi!

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The 2022 Scholars will be heading off on their 2-day Cultural Immersion. On the first day of the immersion, the 2022 Scholars will head out to explore the sites, artwork and creation story held at Yengo National Park.

Scholars will stay overnight at Murrook Cultural Centre, and explore Worimi Country with Uncle Justin Ridgeway on day two.

THANK YOU F O R

A N O T H E R

AW E S O M E M O N T H !

I F YO U H AV E A R T I C L E S , Q U E S T I O N S O R I D E A S F O R T H E N E X T N E W S L E T T E R P L E A S E S E N D T H E M T H R O U G H O N S L A C K O R T O : M A M O R L E Y@ N E W C A S T L E . E D U. AU

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