In the pipeline for Maggie Box is to write a play on the life of Mary McKillop, after the success of her Caroline Chisholm Wonder Woman production. Photo: Matthew Lau.
Community theatre enthusiast and missionary worker Maggie Box will soon launch a program to help combat the issue of bullying in schools across Perth.
Mrs Box is instigating a project – named Surprise – with the aim of training students to identify and report bullying antics.
The new mission project will give students the opportunity to act out scenarios that could make their peers think twice about bullying.
Mrs Box will propose her idea of the skits to 10 schools in the near future, starting with Chisholm Catholic College.
Surprise will be the 23rd mission concert in the name of Maggie Box Theatre, a formerly incorporated community company that utilised both professional and untrained actors.
“Skit themes are based on the 10 virtues; which include honesty, forgiveness, and loyalty,” she said.
As a former teacher in the State and Catholic education systems, it will be familiar territory for Mrs Box, who intends to volunteers her time to hold weekly lunchtime concert practices in order to free up teachers’ time in the lead up to a mission concert.
One member of the Catholic Women’s Group in Morley has offered to help kick-start the new school proposal.
“Students need to remember that a smile and a comment such as ‘how are you going?’ costs nothing, sets a positive tone, and leads to inclusion,” Mrs Box explained.
Some of the methods being encouraged include befriending a new student during recess in their first week at school, to teach a non-threatening way of engaging a student to share concerns, and to train reliable students on the necessary guidelines and confidentiality.
This is done by composing and exhibiting a short school assembly featuring an anti-bullying skit each term at participating schools.
“In the past, a distraught student entered my office to confidentially confide that her friend was writing suicidal notes.
“As a result the father spoke with myself and the student concerned, who was more confident than in telling her father of the isolation she was feeling at home as an only child.”
She said an assembly skit was played out at the high school she worked at and it was effective.
“[The skit had] an improvised coffin on stage and students on their knees around it – mimed in silence – which spoke a thousand words to the school students, who remained very quiet indeed,” she recalled.
“Hopefully the anti-bullying message got through.”
Maggie Box in India, where her efforts have helped restore 360 huts in three years. Photo: Supplied.
The tone of Surprise is to be kept positive, where students are invited to keep a private diary of the small acts of kindness they were able to do.
The acts could be shared at a meeting if agreed and anonymously at an assembly, through short skits, or in any way to help make anti-bullying observable and discouraged.
“You can make a difference wherever you are,” Mrs Box stated.
“I have made up 10 little skits. People I’ve spoken to think it’s a great idea. I’ve invited students to write their own skits and we give out prizes for that.
“I didn’t plan for it to come out at the moment, but I keep seeing the topic of bullying on TV.”
Students are encouraged to symbolically wrap their diary in Christmas paper at the end of the year and place it under their Christmas tree as their personal present to their heavenly Father or at the foot of the altar at an end of school Mass.
Mrs Box launched her “Restore” project in 2014, where she encouraged Perth Catholics to donate to a cause that helps improve the living conditions of those existing in substandard housing in India.
“Miracles do happen. For example, a group of businessmen heard about the Restore project and have been donating money towards the cause. God is good,” she said.
Mrs Box has welcomed both donations and volunteers interested in helping with the upcoming Surprise project to contact her via email margaretbox7@gmail.com.