NEWSLETTER Term 3 Week 10 2020 Global Education Global citizenship is a core value of our Global Education program, and throughout the past ten weeks, our students have been doing just that. From international leadership conferences, to developing sustainable partnerships in our community, to innovating through the entrepreneurial program to expressing their voice through proactive ventures – our students have indeed embedded this ideology. It has been my pleasure to witness the development of our programs to increasing numbers within Pimlico Think Tank and Model UN Project, to laying the ground work for global education implementation in other departments within our school. If you have any questions or would like to know more information regarding our programs, please contact me on [email protected]. Issue September 2020: Term 3 Page Speakeze Communication Program 02-03 Model UN: MUN Day 04-06 International Leadership Conference 07 Create Your Future Job Program 08-09 Pimlico Think Tank: Native Tree Day 10-11 Pimlico Experience: Global Education 12 Assessment Perspectives 13 Overview Assessment: Term 4 14 21st Century Skills: Part 2 15 Website: https://pimlicoshs.eq.edu.au/curriculum/subjects-and-programs/global-education One of our key attributes of being an effective global citizen at Pimlico SHS is communication. To help support students in this space, the Global Education Department has their very own professional communication coach, Ms. Joanne Kenue. In late 2016, Joanne set up Speakeze, a high-school based program for communication coaching. We caught up with Joanne to share some of her sto- ries and successes she has had with our students. What is the Speakeze Program at Pimlico SHS? Joanne: I have had the privilege of coaching, adjudicating and coordinating pub- lic speaking competitions over the past several years. This started with me being a National Rostrum Voice of Youth finalist and a Jaycees Youth Speakers for Aus- tralia winner. Utilizing these skills, it gave me the ability to work all over the world – most recently in San Francisco, United States for the past 15 years. Sadly though, I have witnessed a deterioration in young people's face to face skills, and now more since the advent of the mobile phone and the growing im- portance of social media. I thus, decided, slowly on the side at first to begin a business that aimed to coach young people in public speaking skills. Using my skills and expertise from working in Silicon Valley, I utilise the video camera as a tool for reflection in my classes. I can show students a copy of their speech im- mediately and ask them, how they would improve it – and they are all, always spot on. This removes me from having to be critical, as it is student-driven. I can give them positive encouragement 95% of the time - and let them recognise where they can further improve. It's funny - kids find themselves being filmed very confronting, and yet they live in time of the video. Video is the most powerful tool, but they (students) are all so self-conscious that they are fearful of being filmed. I’ve noticed the girls now wearing full make-up and eye lashes to my classes. Haven't the times changed? But students must confront the video and being on film because this is the method that many of them will work in during their careers - so they may as well become confident with it now. Communication plays a core part in the 21st century skills in which the Global Education Department is founded, can you explain how Speakeze plays an important part in this development? Joanne: When I set up Speakeze in 2016, I knew I had to work within public high-schools to have the most impact to ben- efit students. In 2016, I sent out a letter to every Principal in Townsville introducing Speakeze and communication coach- ing. As a Pimlico Alumni - I am so very proud that Pimlico immediately recognised the value in professional communica- tion coaching. Glossophobia, the fear of Public Speaking - requires specialised skills training to overcome. Isn't it inter- esting - we learn all these skills at school - how to add up, how to write an essay - but never does a class actually teach us how to speak. We can almost pay someone to do everything we need done - to do our hair, write our resume, and do our taxes - but we can never pay someone to SPEAK for us. To truly understand what we think in our own brain and why or more importantly, how we express ourselves. Having lived and worked in San Francisco and within the entrepreneurial world, I will state that the number ONE skill that today’s work environment requires is strong communication skills. Con- temporary work environments work collaboratively - in pro- ductive teams - the success of these teams is the way the members communicate with each other. Speakeze allows students to develop these skills, so they are at the front lines of communication when they enter the workforce and be effective, young, innovative Australians. PAGE 2 What type of projects do you offer within the Speakeze Program? Joanne: Kids don’t how to have a conversation anymore, they don't want to talk on the telephone with people they don't know - we need to go back to basics and teach children the theory of this - seeing they are not practicing it so often in their peer groups. Kids just don’t know these skills. I coach in speech structure and then in delivery and the use of their voice tool box through the utilization of technology. I have created many unique communication activities that engage kids in a fun way. I believe it is all about practice - practice - in every 40 minute class each student has to pop up and speak in front of the class in some form. It's amazing to watch the students’ progress and see them develop throughout the programs. What are some of the successes you have had with students at Pimlico SHS who have taken part in your pro- gram? Joanne: I feel very fortunate to be able to work with young people within the school environment. It's those kids that are crying under the table, or suddenly are in front of their class, who go red from the neck up at the request to speak in front of the class. Then two years later they stand on the PAC (Performing Arts Complex) stage and deliver their personal mes- sage at the Grade 11 Speech night. To see right before me the growth in their self-confidence and self-esteem is very re- warding to me. I support students within all the Global Education programs; The Pitch in Year 8, the Videos for Change and National Project in Year 9, to the Year 10 Global learning classes with the Year 7 students, to supporting our projects/ programs in Year 11 and 12. Furthermore, I support students outside the Global Education program through one-on-one training throughout the school year. What made you turn to becoming a communication coach at Pimlico SHS? Joanne: People talk about “communication" .... How important it is etc. etc. But there are few places where you can learn HOW to do this. Like anything there are tricks of the trade - a simple recipe to follow that works well every time. However, I aim to find the individual speaker in each student. Each has their own style. My aim is to bring out the uniqueness in each young person. If the young person is shy and has a dry wit - let's celebrate that - and bring it out. Students learn that cutting and pasting from Google is not the best speech. It is their own words - the way they say something - that is best said to an audience. Giving them the confidence to trust their own words and celebrate their personal stories and learnings - that's what we are on about. PAGE 3 Model UN or Model United Nations has been one of the corner- stones of the Global Education program here at Pimlico SHS for past several years; yet with the expansion of these activities and student interest, it was decided to develop a group focused on cultivating Model UN knowledge and skills for our students to become effective ambassadors, globalised citizens and leaders of tomorrow – thus Model UN Project was formed. Model United Nations is an educational simulation and academic activity in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. MUN involves and teaches partici- pants speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities. Participants in Model United Nations conferences, known as delegates, are placed in com- mittees and assigned countries to represent, where they represent members of that body. One of the greatest aspects of MUN is the ability to collaboratively work, develop negotiation skills and find solutions to world issues with students from around the world; we as a school have been pre- sent in local, national and international conferences. We have been represented at our local conferences; Model United Nations North Queensland (MUNNQ) and the UN Youth. At a national level we have worked with the ASEAN Youth Forum, the ASEAN Youth Go Program and invited to take part in Bond University Model United Nations (BUHMUN) on the Gold Coast. At an international level we have represented Pimlico/Australia at Concordia International School Shanghai, China (CISSMUN). Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the restrictions, we have organised our very own Model UN Project Event Day, in which students started to unpack the MUN world in further detail and participate in a formalised debate.