SHINE focus on Mount Magnet

The decade-long success of the SHINE educational program in Geraldton will soon extend outwards into the Mid West, with the program being implemented at Mount Magnet District High School. SHINE founder Mandy Jolley said the program was weeks away from opening at the school and had taken more than a year of community involvement to organise. “We were invited into the community by two women, Cecilia Kelly and Carole Whitby, without whose support this wouldn’t be possible,” she said. “We’re going all-in into this community, so it was very important to do the groundwork first.” Students are referred to SHINE by their teachers when they are not attending school regularly or seem disengaged. The not-for-profit organisation uses hairdressing and beauty education to encourage girls to go to school, improve their sense of self-worth and open up about what is troubling them in their lives. SHINE started a new program at Rangeway Primary School last year, focusing on younger girls and their reasons for disengaging with school. “There’s so many reasons why kids don’t attend school, and it’s not because they’re lazy,” Ms Jolley said. Ms Jolley said SHINE was going to use this proven model at Mount Magnet, starting with a group of 10 Year 6 students, with two older girls as mentors. In the 10 years since SHINE was established at what is now Champion Bay Senior High School in Geraldton, it has helped almost 1000 girls improve their school attendance and re-engage with education and community. Ms Jolley will begin as the program facilitator, flying weekly from Geraldton to Mount Magnet thanks to support from Ramelius Resources, which operates a nearby goldmine. The intention is later to train and employ local women.