Future Problem Solving – World Champions

The College is thrilled to announce that our Year 10 Community Problem Solvers are World Champions! The girls competed at the International Future Problem Championships in Iowa, USA where they placed first in the Community Problem Solving - Middle Division.

This is the second time that a Mount St Benedict College team has won at the international level for future problem solving- with a Year 10 team winning in the community problem solving category in 2013 with a project focused on reconciliation with the Darug people.

The 2014/2015 team's project 'Mind Your Language', focused on educating the College and wider community about the language used by politicians and the media to describe, and often demonise, asylum seekers. The girls’ hard work has attracted the attention of media and UNICEF who have featured them in one of their educational videos.

The girls began working on this project in early 2014, and since then have sent over 100 letters written by MSB students to Manus Island, distributed quizzes and information packs throughout the College, attended and presented at social justice events, developed a mobile art installation and opened many conversations with local primary schools. They even have their own social media pages, which they used to reach out to people all over the world.

The Team held the inaugural Junior Social Justice Forum in early March involving younger grades in their project and giving them the opportunity to participate in social justice activities. Their aim was to offer an alternative view of asylum seekers, a view that is not often seen or heard from Australian media or politicians.

In an effort to understand what is actually happening on the ground in detention centres, the Team recently hosted Sister Margaret Shepherd about the work that she has done with the asylum seekers in Curtain, Western Australia and on Christmas Island.Sister Margaret shared details on the conditions that asylum seekers are living in, how they feel about how Australian society talks about them and the hope that they cling on to, in chance of finding a better life here in Australia. As a result of that meeting, the girls were inspired to write letters to politicians, and have them countersigned by many members of the MSB community to represent the emerging youth voice.

Congratulations to the following girls who are members of the award winning Year 10 Community Problem Solving Team: Rebecca Day, Amelia Dunkerley, Mackensie Eddington, Anthea Jones, Audrey McLachlan, Lucy Sheppard, Isabella Steen, Sarah Tan and Emma Tolhurst. A special mention also must go to the team’s supportive coach – Ms Nina Selvaggi (Head of the MSB History Faculty) as well as Mrs Elizabeth Dirckze and Mrs Gail Davey who also accompanied the girls on their trip.