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< Back Changing the game with Game Changers! ​ 12 July 2024 Helping young people in their career development and teaching them transferable skills. Changing the game through Game Changers! Game Changers offers participants the chance to acquire employability, transferable, and project management skills through workshops, one-on-one Career Coaching, and supported Employment Experiences. Additionally, participants engage in educational workshops and forums with industry professionals to enhance their skills, knowledge, and networks. Game Changers is a collaborative initiative with youth-led cultural groups in our communities to cater to the needs of local youth. It also enables The Huddle to support these groups in developing skills, knowledge, and networks for a collective impact. We express our gratitude to the Ubuntu Project for their assistance and support throughout the program. Previous Next

< Back Empowering Young Women to Learn, Grow and Belong with the River Nile School Josh Raymer 19 Sept 2024 The River Nile School has partnered with The Huddle to empower students' leadership and sense of belonging. For several years, the River Nile School in North Melbourne has partnered with The Huddle to participate in a range of different programs that empower their student’s leadership and sense of belonging through sports, education, and community engagement. The River Nile School offers full time senior secondary qualifications to support young women from a refugee background, who may have experienced disrupted schooling or find a flexible learning environment most suitable to their learning. We facilitated our True North program in River Nile School classrooms on multiple occasions to help develop students’ leadership, connections, teamwork, emotional intelligence, and resilience. By participating in various activities, the students find out more about themselves and others, including their identity and their values. River Nile School students also made the short trip down to the North Melbourne Recreation Centre to participate in our Huddle Up! program which brings young people together to participate in sports and recreational activities. Not only does Huddle Up! promote physical health, but it also continues to strengthen the social connections, teamwork, and a sense of belonging built through the True North sessions. River Nile School students have been actively participating in Huddle Up! and enjoyed the benefits of being physically active in a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment. Staff at River Nile School have observed a marked improvement in students’ engagement and wellbeing, as well as providing new opportunities and perspectives that engaged students and provided them with a stronger sense of belonging and greater community connections. Students have echoed this sentiment by sharing that they have become more confident, emotionally intelligent, physically active and socially connected. The long-standing relationship between The Huddle and the River Nile School has provided students with a more supportive educational environment to empower their students to learn, grow and belong, and this relationship will continue to be strengthened in years to come. Previous Next

< Back Game Changers Intake One Pitch Event Previous Next

< Back Roos give back in Rochester for AFL Community Camp Previous Next

< Back Templestowe Park Primary School take on Game Day! Cobie Spencer 18 Sept 2024 Three years of Game Day experiences with Templestowe Park Primary School! On the September 3, the fourth and final Grade 5 class from Templestowe Park got their turn to experience Game Day. Twenty enthusiastic Templestowe Park Primary School students visited The Huddle with their teacher, buzzing with excitement at the mystery of the day ahead. Students had an action-packed day, solving STEM challenges to ‘power up’ their Shinboners in our Simulation Stadium. Students had help from three AFLW players- Tahlia, Kate, and Zoe, who supported students with their activities and gave firsthand insights into the life of an elite athlete, answering student questions all about the dedication and resilience it takes to reach the top. The AFLW players’ time was a highlight for many students, with one student sharing, “I loved how the players came to meet us and helped us with some activities.” Thank you, Tahlia, Kate and Zoe! Thanks to their teamwork, collaboration and resilience, the students came out victorious against their opponents, the Specky Bots. They were rapt with this achievement! After the day, students had a lot to say about their trip to The Huddle – with one student loving that the program was “active and talkative and very interactive”, and another student highlighting “how cool the simulation stadium was.” Their teacher, Jared, liked that the program had a “Variety of activities, [was] very inclusive, [and that] students learnt in an engaging environment.” This is our third year of working with Templestowe Park Primary School, who have attended Game Day with each of their Grade 5 classes every year since the program piloted in 2022! We are so grateful for the ongoing connection we share with Templestowe Park, its teachers, and students. We can’t wait to see them at Game Day again in 2025 so we can keep working together to help their students learn, grow and belong! Want to know more about how to get your class involved in Game Day in 2025? Check out https://www.thehuddle.org.au/gameday Bookings for 2025 open in Term 4 – don’t delay and miss your chance to experience Game Day! Previous Next

< Back Diving into the deep end of the networking pool Maddy Ware and John King 21 Mar 2023 Game Changers: Linking Participants with Professionals Networking continues to be a core part of the employment experience. Young people from Multicultural backgrounds who have been successful in gaining sustainable employment note the importance of strong professional and peer networks ( Meet Me in the Middle Report , Victorian Multicultural Commission p. 21, 2020). However, gaining access to strong professional networks can be difficult for young people from diverse backgrounds. The objective of The Huddle’s Game Changers program is to bridge the gap between young people and employers. Through partnerships and collaboration with other like-minded organisations, young people who engage with The Huddle can network with operations and groups that want to see them develop and thrive in their career journey. Arsema is a 17-year-old female from Tarneit. Arsema and was referred by partnering organisation, Ubuntu Project, to Game Changers, and has since taken part in The Huddle’s Study Squad and True North programs. Arsema attended Game Changers workshops during the September school holidays in 2022. The workshops were comprised of employability skill development, community project ideation and professional networking opportunities. In a recent interview with The Huddle, Arsema advised that a highlight of Game Changers was learning about different industries and the skills required to be a successful candidate and employee. On the first day of workshops, a representative from the YMCA was present and discussed the professional and community benefits of becoming a swim teacher. The discussion between the YMCA representative and the participants was informal but effective. The comfortable nature in which Game Changers presented industry professionals gave Arsema the confidence to approach the YMCA representative and inquire further about becominga swim teacher. Not long after the connection was made, Arsema took the steps needed to become a qualified swim teacher and has begun working for the YMCA at Carlton Baths. By prioritising networking as a core component of the program, Game Changers provides young people from multicultural backgrounds the opportunity to safely network with industry professionals in a way that is not intimidating or overbearing. In the employment landscape, the old saying of, ‘it is not what you know but who you know’ still rings true. By providing avenues for young people to link into and build their own professional networks, Game Changers is supporting participants to become more confident and, importantly, independent, when moving through and, eventually out of the program. Arsema has now been working as a swim teacher for several months and advised that her new role has “…allowed me to become more financially independent…” Through a combination of formal presentations and informal networking components, Game Changers will provide participants with a chance to connect with industry leaders and professionals. This affords young people with opportunities to not only grow their knowledge and networks, but also build their own confidence, as they meet new people who can provide advice and support along their career journey. Arsema plans to continue helping people in the future and advised that “…After high school, I’m hoping to continue swim teaching at Carlton Baths throughout university, and slowly make my way into either social work or healthcare.” Are you interested in taking part in Game Changers this school holidays? Please click here to sign up. Previous Next

< Back Amomai's Story The welcoming environment that is fostered at Huddle Up! Steph Webb Previous Next

< Back An Unforgettable Day at the NBA Math Hoops Victorian State Championship A full-on day of maths, sportspersonship and fun! ​ Previous Next

< Back Stories from HERStory Camp Mount Evelyn Discovery Camp Asli Abdullahi Previous Next

< Back The Grange P-12 students visit The Huddle: A day of sports and learning An exciting day of sports and learning! Joshua Raymer Previous Next

< Back Participant profile: Ayden Bartlett Ayden takes part in the Guard of Honour during AFL Indigenous Round Riley Goodwin Previous Next

< Back The Huddle at the NBA Math Hoops Global Championships in New York City! Taking NBA Math Hoops to the Big Apple! Annabel Dorey Previous Next