Matthew Sievers Email & Phone Number

Macedon Ranges

Victoria, Australia

My role as the VicSRC Casual Facilitator is responsible for facilitating the VicSRC Student Voice Workshops as well as presenting our ALTER model in various workshops and settings.

Bendigo

The BSSC Student Council serves as the representative body for the students of the school. We delegate with the staff and Leadership team about concerns the student body have in regards to their education and try and implement practical solutions to these concerns where possible. We also worked on running events to promote school culture and inclusiveness, a problem we identified early on. My role as President was one mainly of support for our Council. I was there to help guide and give aide to… Show more The BSSC Student Council serves as the representative body for the students of the school. We delegate with the staff and Leadership team about concerns the student body have in regards to their education and try and implement practical solutions to these concerns where possible. We also worked on running events to promote school culture and inclusiveness, a problem we identified early on. My role as President was one mainly of support for our Council. I was there to help guide and give aide to the various projects we were under taking by liaising with the staff when need be and answering any questions or queries they may have had. I also set our agenda and ran our weekly meetings that served to deliver the necessary information for whatever tasks the Council was currently pursuing as well as assign new ones as they arose. Key Achievements:• The completion of our Student Voice Survey which reached around five-hundred students and gave us amazing insight into how students were feeling in regards to their education at BSSC and what the school could improve on. It also instilled in the Council confidence in our work with 76.2% of students feeling that we represented student voice well. • Delegating and liaising with the Council of International Schools Representatives during our school’s accreditation period. This was a brilliant opportunity in which myself and other Council members were able to discuss our school environment with the CIS Representatives in a formal and professional setting.• Coming Runner Up in the VicSRC Recognition Award category for “Best Secondary SRC of the year”. This was a tremendous honour and served as a real highlight of the year. It also solidified the pride and confidence we had in our work for the year to know that it was not only recognised but appreciated by the peak body that represents secondary students in Victoria. Show less

Melbourne, Australia

The Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) is the peak body representing school aged students in Victoria. As an executive, my job was to work in conjunction with the rest of the Executive team to empower, facilitate and coordinate action by students across the state as well as advocate for student voice and promote priority areas identified by students. This was achieved by facilitating discussions with students at events such as the Regional Conferences and Congress. I often… Show more The Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) is the peak body representing school aged students in Victoria. As an executive, my job was to work in conjunction with the rest of the Executive team to empower, facilitate and coordinate action by students across the state as well as advocate for student voice and promote priority areas identified by students. This was achieved by facilitating discussions with students at events such as the Regional Conferences and Congress. I often stepped into the role as a facilitator for these events and discussions, working with a groups of students in varied sizes and settings. I also attended the monthly meetings held at the VicSRC offices where we discuss our action plan for the following month.Key Achievements:• Presenting and assisting in the facilitation of multiple VicSRC Regional Conferences, notable in South Morang, Bendigo and at The NAB Arena in the CBD of Melbourne. At two of them I gave a presentation to around eighty students about the work being done at VicSRC. At all of the Conferences I assisted and helped facilitate the student activities they undertook, working with groups made up five students to thirty. • Congress 2016 was without a doubt the biggest achievement for me from my time on the Executive. I worked as an Issues Group Facilitator for Student Wellbeing, my main role being to guide and facilitate the discussion about the problems and solutions pertaining to said issue. I was regularly doing so without my supporter, as his expertise was often needed elsewhere. This was a great chance and challenge to put to work all I had learnt over the year in regards to facilitation and workshop management. My group was tied for the largest in attendance with a total of seventeen students. I received many positive remarks from both VicSRC Executives and Staff as well as the students in my group in regards to the way I lead and supported them throughout the event. Show less

Kyneton

The Youth Ambassadors Program is a youth leadership initiative, bringing together young people aged sixteen to eighteen years from our local schools and community and providing them with opportunities to develop their leadership potential over a twelve month period. Our task for the year was to research and develop a Youth Charter that would become a resource for the Council to use when working with young people that outlined the goals and points to consider when making decisions regarding… Show more The Youth Ambassadors Program is a youth leadership initiative, bringing together young people aged sixteen to eighteen years from our local schools and community and providing them with opportunities to develop their leadership potential over a twelve month period. Our task for the year was to research and develop a Youth Charter that would become a resource for the Council to use when working with young people that outlined the goals and points to consider when making decisions regarding youth and other affairs. Our point of research was hosting a Youth Summit in which two hundred young people, ranging from eight to eighteen years old all came and engaged in roundtable discussion issues that related to them and their community. As a Youth Ambassador, it was my role to work with the others members to organize the event, facilitate these discussions, collate the notes and data from the Youth Summit and help correlate them into a single tangible document. Key Achievements:• Being a facilitator on the Year Nine roundtable discussion was one of the key aspect of my role as a Youth Ambassador. I helped to guide and aid the conversation that took place between the fourteen young people at our table by proposing talking points and topics to get them speaking and the ensuring that the conversation never went off-topic. • Helping to research and write the MRSC Youth Charter video and document. This resource was made with the notes and data we collected from the Youth Summit discussions. Myself and the other Youth Ambassadors compiled the notes and helped shape the Youth Charter that will go on to inform and serve as a guideline for the local Council at all levels of decisions making regarding young people. Show less

Macedon Ranges

Live4Life is a Macedon Ranges Shire Council program that seeks to educate secondary students about mental health and wellbeing. It was the response to an increased number of suicides and self-harm incidents that was reoccurring amongst young people in the shire. My role as a Crew Member for Life4Life involved a variety of tasks. The main of which being a co-facilitator and presenter in conjunction with my fellow Crew members and Live4Life staff. Together, we delivered the education sessions… Show more Live4Life is a Macedon Ranges Shire Council program that seeks to educate secondary students about mental health and wellbeing. It was the response to an increased number of suicides and self-harm incidents that was reoccurring amongst young people in the shire. My role as a Crew Member for Life4Life involved a variety of tasks. The main of which being a co-facilitator and presenter in conjunction with my fellow Crew members and Live4Life staff. Together, we delivered the education sessions consisting of speeches and presentations in regards to what constitutes positive and negative mental health and the resources available to seek help. I was required to not only help deliver these presentations but was also required to guide discussion and run activities that supplemented upon what the students were learning. Key Achievements:• Being the co-Master of Ceremonies for the 2014 Live4Life Launch which was presented in front of nearly all the students who were involved in the program at the start of the year. This was an audience of over five-hundred students, teachers and staff. I introduced the guest speakers, performances and kept the crowd engaged and energetic whilst ensuring that we ran on schedule. • Helping deliver the Live4Life program to over five-hundred students in the Macedon Ranges. I helped to present and facilitate the education session at both my school, Macedon Grammar, and Kyneton Secondary School, which meant I was working with and presenting to around one hundred students per session. There was a total of four sessions per school. This was a great challenge and opportunity and is what has really driven me to pursue roles in which I can continue developing my facilitation and public speaking skills. Show less