A special program aimed at supporting young men on their journey to becoming responsible, compassionate members of the community has culminated in a final night with dancing for Year Nine Trinity College students last month.
The night, titled A Night to Shine, enabled the more than 180 Trinity College Year 9 students, accompanied by their mothers or another significant female, to demonstrate their appreciation and respect for the most important and influential women in their lives.
The event, held at Optus Stadium on Thursday 5 August, was the culmination of the boys learnings from the ‘Becoming Men’ program.
The program worked to support the boys on their journey to becoming a responsible, compassionate, and meaningful members of the community.
With support and engagement from parents, mentors and teachers, the Becoming Men program helped to make the young men capable of distinguishing between what’s right and what’s popular in the pursuit of fulfilling their potential.
The program explored elements of their own lives – such as where they’ve come from and where they’re going, their leadership capabilities, and traits such as responsibility, integrity, and resilience – with the central purpose of nurturing their development from boyhood to manhood.
“The overarching theme for the program for 2021 has been Educating men, Empowering women,” explained Head of Year Nine, Mr Clint Testa.
Throughout the term, students have examined topics that are topical to young people in contemporary society such as issues around gender and stereotyping, representations of sexuality and gender in the media, the importance of engaging body language, and creating a good first impression,” Mr Testa said.
The course also included a panel discussion hosted by the Prefects from both Trinity and Mercedes Colleges on the topic of Respectful Relationships and Consent, giving the year 9 students an authentic insight into growing up in the current social climate by their older peers.
The program is also designed to foster a wide range of socialisation skills and, as such, students had weekly ballroom dancing lessons with students from Mercedes College, as well as a series of etiquette classes.
In a statement explaining the program, a Trinity College spokesperson said that after being established three years ago, A Night to Shine has fast become a highlight on the calendar for Trinity mothers as it aims to help students identify the important role that these people have played in their young lives to date and will continue to do so into the future.