True North ‘Grit’ with Al-Taqwa College

The True North framework focuses on connections, values, identity, grit, mindset, mental health, emotional intelligence, understanding others, teamwork, leadership, and self-awareness.  All workshops support young people to develop resilience, build upon their protective factors by identifying and developing their strengths, and increase their understanding of social cohesion through exploring perspectives and stories of others.   

For a second year running, The Huddle delivered two True North sessions at Al-Taqwa College’s Year 12 Camps. These camps are aimed to provide 100 students with motivation, inspiration, and strategies to succeed in their final year of secondary schooling.

To suit the theme of the camps, The Huddle delivered our ‘Grit’ workshops at both the Boys and Girls camps. The ‘Grit’ workshop explores the importance of students showing resilience and determination - highlighting that to achieve success, an individual must display grit when faced with challenging situations. Importantly, The Huddle had former Al-Taqwa students and community leaders co-facilitate each ‘Grit’ workshop. 

Saeed Ali (Coordinator, Social Cohesion for Children and Young People, pictured above), Khadija Abdullah (Program Support Officer) and Asli Abdullahi (Coordinator, Social Cohesion for Parents, Women and Families) presented relatable stories demonstrating how they showed grit and determination during their secondary schooling and university studies. 

The shared experiences of facilitators and students enhanced a sense of connection and understanding between all parties throughout the sessions. The stories told by facilitators resonated strongly with students, and Huddle staff were able to promote how other programs such as Study Squad can help students during their final year of secondary schooling.

The Huddle is now working with Al-Taqwa College on integrating more social cohesion through education, or SCTE, initiatives throughout 2023 and beyond. The Huddle recently assisted Al-Taqwa students with running activities at their annual Eid fundraiser, and Al-Taqwa College staff are also utilising The Huddle’s True North Portal and relevant resources to deliver lessons to students.

Interested in learning more, or accessing free resources? True North and other Huddle educator resources can be found here.