Festival of Ideas - 2019

​In 2019 Brisbane Catholic Education had its first ever Student Voice Festival of Ideas! ​

The Festival of Ideas is the drumbeat of Student Voice in BCE and the ultimate opportunity for students to get involved and make positive change. This is an event designed by students for students, It gives students the opportunity to:  

  • Identify issues that impact on their educational experience,

  • Develop solutions to address the issues and improve BCE's community of schools, and

  • Share these issues and solutions with members of BCE's executive leadership team.


​​ ​Who attended in 2019? 

All BCE secondary school students from Years 8-11 were invited to participate. Over 50 student delegates from a range of BCE secondary schools attended the festival.  


 

What happened in 2019?  

Students had the opportunity to:  

  • Learn about the BCE Student Voice Team and how they could become involved.  

  • Be inspired by keynote speaker to be a changemaker and make a positive impact 

  • Contribute to Think Tank discussions about 4 key issues: 

    • Safety and belonging in schools  ​

    • Making learning relevant and engaging   

    • Improving school facilities and classroom environment  

    • Creating opportunities for student voice in schools and the BEC system.  

  • Develop an Action Plan to address the four key issues identified by students. 

  • Present Action Plans to BCE Leadership team and student delegates.​ 

  • Vote on the priority issue for action in 2020.  ​

 

Priority issue for action in 2020:  CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENT VOICE IN SCHOOLS AND THE BCE SYSTEM 


Action Plan Topics

​​Click on the image below to learn more about action plans.

​​Action_Plans_Low Res.jpg

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Workshop: Strengthening Student Representative Councils (2019) ​

Student Representative Councils (SRCs) are one way to enhance student voice, agency and participation in schools. A  key challenge for SRCs is creating opportunities for all students to be involved and delivering successful outcomes.  

A workshop focused​ on strengthening SRCs was held in March 2019. The workshop was facilitated by the Victorian Student Representative Council.  Over 60 BCE secondary students and school staff attended the workshop.  The workshop provided practical strategies to establish or reinvigorate Student Representative Councils (or equivalent). 

Who attended: 

  • The workshop was open to all BCE secondary schools. The following schools attended: 

  • Assisi Catholic College, Upper Coomera 

  • Clairvaux MacKillop College, Upper Mt Gravatt 

  • Emmaus College, Jimboomba 

  • Good Samaritan Catholic College, Bli Bli 

  • San Sisto College, Carina 

  • St Augustine's College, Augustine Heights 

  • St Francis College, Crestmead 

  • St Mary's College, Ipswich 

  • ​St Thomas More, Sunnybank ​


Workshop 2.jpg ​