NEWSLETTER: Footscray campus (March 2005)

Welcome and welcome back to the SAIL Program for 2005! There is already plenty going on and about to happen so please, read on, indulge, relax, grab a cuppa, and maybe a Tim Tam and descend into the comfortable world of SAILmania!

SAILors tend to be movers and shakers. Shakers should keep the details to themselves. Movers need to let us know every detail so we can keep them in the loop. If your contact details have changed over summer, even a single digit of them, please let us know by emailing Marg, Admin Extraordinaire at sailadmin@africanoz.com.

The SAIL Program, while being entirely secular, has official links to the Anglican Church, for example the use of All Saints Church on Saturdays and the all important insurance cover for which we are extremely grateful! It is part of their policy that all volunteers working on projects connected with the Anglican Church undergo a police check, and this includes us.

A completely ‘clean record’ is not a requirement of being a volunteer at SAIL. We are interested in the way you so generously donate your time, in the way you interact with and care about your students, in the diversity of SAIL volunteers that is such an integral part of the SAIL experience, in so many more important things related to being a SAILor than can be demonstrated by a police check. That said, we do retain the right to prevent people from volunteering at SAIL in the event of serious offences on their record. This is the only responsible position to take considering that the SAIL Program involves a lot of work with children. In the extraordinarily unlikely event of this happening there would of course be extensive consultation with the volunteer involved and every effort would be made to come to a workable solution.

As previously stated, in asking all volunteers to undergo police checks we are particularly concerned about those of you who have been with us for a long time and whom we know well. We totally understand that this request looks nothing like the reward you deserve for the months and even years you have been volunteering with SAIL. However, we are bound by our insurance obligations to implement the policy retrospectively.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

A police check usually costs $25 to obtain but because SAILors are all volunteers we are entitled to the reduced rate of $12.85. Normally it would be against SAIL philosophy to ask tutors to pay this fee. However, for SAIL to pay for all police checks for the current 250 plus volunteers and then all future volunteers would cost over $2500! We would therefore appreciate it if volunteers could meet this cost. If you are concerned about the cost, or if it would cause a particular strain, please be certain to come and speak with us.

The form which must be filled out is available from the coordinators on Saturday (Will, Cait, Andrew, Caitlin and Matthew). All you need to do is collect a form, fill it out, attach a copy of your birth certificate or passport and return it to us with $12.85. We then send this on to the ‘Anglican Church headquarters’ where they will be collated and sent to the police. To make it easier, we have filled out the recipient details of section 4, so all you need to do is get the necessary signatures. The police checks will then be returned to us, and will be ticked off by ourselves (Will and Cait). All information is completely confidential. There is no need to fill in section 7, as this is filled out by the church to get the reduced rate. We are concerned that to date, only a small number of volunteers have returned the police checks forms. As this became a requirement early 2004, and it is now 2005, we would like to ensure that this obligation is fulfilled as soon as possible to avoid any problems with insurance cover! Therefore we ask that you aim to have your police check completed and given to us by Saturday 2 April 2005 at the latest.

Please feel free to come and talk to us at lunch time on a Saturday, to give us a call, or to send us an email if you have any questions or concerns. We will be more than happy to chat to you about it!

We understand that that many of you who are involved with collecting families are occasionally (and sometimes consistently) late as a result of the family not being ready to leave when they arrive. If this is the case for you, please come and chat with Will or Cait about it on a Saturday at lunch time. We would be more than happy to work out ways in which to avoid lateness on account of collecting a car full of SAILors! If you do pick up a family, we have devised a simple method to avoid being late.

Be consistent: If you have the same pick-up every week, be sure to arrive at the same time every week. We suggest that all drivers aim to be at their pick-up’s house at 10:00am (or earlier if need be). Explain to those you pick up that you will arriving at their house every Saturday at 10:00am to take them to SAIL. If you arrive at the family’s house every week at the same time, they will be expecting you and will therefore be more likely to be ready and waiting to head off to SAIL!

Be firm: If you find that despite consistently arriving at 10:00am, your family are still not quite ready to go and you and the family are late to SAIL as a result, be firm. Let the family know that you will be arriving at 10:00am every Saturday, and that they have to be ready by 10:00am to leave. It is sometimes the case that a SAILor has arrived to find those they pick-up still waking up and getting out of bed! This might be the case on a first time pick-up, but if you consistently arrive at 10:00am, there is no excuse! Simply explain that you cannot wait for them to be ready as you will be late to SAIL. Let the family know that if they are not ready by 10:00am, they will not have a lift to SAIL.

Call ahead: If you are able to, call the family the night before or early Saturday morning to let them know you are picking them up at 10:00am and remind them that they need to be ready otherwise they will miss out on a lift to SAIL. Please come and chat with Will or Cait about this option if you feel that it would be helpful!

Get help: If none of these ideas work and you are still coming late to SAIL as a result of pick-up problems, get help. Come and chat with Will or Cait about any problems you may be having with your pick-up if you are coming late to SAIL as a result!

The SAIL Star is back for 2005! The SAIL Star is written by Sudanese SAILors for all SAILors. This year, for the first time, the SAIL Star has its own editor, Lauren, editor in chief! The SAIL Star will be coming out every five weeks but for this to happen, we need your help!

The SAIL Star relies on contributions from the Sudanese SAILors. It features stories, pictures and completed SAIL Star worksheets. These worksheets are especially designed for the SAIL Star as they convert readily from worksheet into article. Please find them on the Tutor Resources section of the website.

The purpose of the SAIL Star is two-fold. Firstly, it offers reward and recognition for good work. Secondly, it provides some simple reading and activity material for all SAILors on Saturdays.

After its immense success in its first year, 2003, we call on all SAILors to keep the SAIL Star in mind and to submit pieces for publication to the big SAIL Star submission box in the library! Your help will be appreciated to make the SAIL stars shine in the SAIL Star!

Next week will see the launch of the SAIL VCE study centre. The idea is to provide a quiet study environment for our VCE students and their tutors away from the hurly burly and the distractions of the of an overflowing hall and church. If tutors with VCE students (ie in year 11 or 12) are interested in taking advantage of this new facility please contact Cait, Will in the week of on Saturday to discuss the grand plans. The VCE Centre will be housed in the nursing home on the other side of the primary school at the end of May Street.

The week 5 dates for 2005 are set. The first Tutor Talk session will be on 9 April at the usual time of 12:30pm. Please mark it in your diary as we have a strong line up of guest speakers to grill with SAIL questions.

The Week 5 dates for the rest of the year and the topics for each session are in a table at the end of paper version of this newsletter. We encourage all SAILors to attend as many as possible. They are the ideal way for us to help you help your student/s!

SAIL Xtend, the activities which happen after lunch, kick off with bang on 12 March and will continue throughout 2005. Under the steady steerage of Caitlin (not to be confused with Cait), SAIL Xtend will be involving many SAILors of primary and secondary school ages. SAIL Xtend kicks off this Saturday (March 12) at 12:30 with a fantastic program that includes cooking, mural painting, creative writing and jewellery making.

It will involve around fifty SAIL students ranging from eight-year-olds to teenagers. Drivers, please do not take your students home without first checking with Caitlin, Cait or Will to see if they are participating in Xtend.

We are also seeking tutors who are interested in helping to run Xtend activities. If you can hang around until 1:30pm on any Saturday, your presence will be invaluable (plus you’ll get to do some fun activities)! If you are interested in getting involved please email: caitlinfnunn@hotmail.com.

On March 9, as has occurred for three years, the staff of Exxon Mobil will attend SAIL to give it the Backyard Blitz-like makeover! We look forward to sharing the results of it with you.

It is with open arms that we welcome two people back for 2005 in their role as Saturday Co-ordinators. Andrew and Caitlin (also doing Xtend) have the sole responsibility of being new reference points for questions, queries, quibbles and concerns from all SAILors on a Saturday. Please make use of them as a reference point, especially if there is something they can assist with.

It has come to our attention that there have been several students driving to SAIL who do not possess drivers’ licences. This is obviously a very dangerous situation and not to be encouraged. If you discover any SAILors or their siblings or friends who are driving people to or from SAIL without drivers’ licences please notify Cait, Will, Caitlin, Andrew or Matthew. They will try to make alternate arrangements for people to be transported. This is a particularly important request and we ask people to be vigilant in ensuring that for everyone’s sake people aren’t driving without licences.

WholeSAIL news

SAIL About is shaping up to big things already for 2005. Below are a list of events free for SAILors. If you are interested in taking your SAIL buddies to any event, please email us to reserve a place. Please note that all SAIL About excursion travel costs are paid by SAIL and more than one SAIL volunteer must attend each event.

1. Ballet at the Bowl, Friday 11 March 2005, 8pm @ Myer Music Bowl
Ever wanted to be a ballerina? That’s nice. What about watch one? Well you can! This Friday there is a free ballet bonanza at the Myer Music Bowl. If you are wanting to take some SAILors, please let us know ASAP so the necessary paperwork can be completed.

2. AFL's Harmony Day Wizard Cup, 12 March 2005 @ Telstra Dome.
For kids aged 8-9 and any SAILor supervisors, we have an offer for free tickets to the football this Saturday! The game will be played at Tesltra Dome and during half time the SAILors will be taken onto the ground for half time activities. If you are interested in taking part, please let us know and then contact Trevor Robertson at Football Victoria, 8663 3015, 0418 321 967, trevorr@footballvic.com.au . This is a great opportunity for kids to experience the atmosphere of footy in Melbourne.

3. Black Harmony Gathering, 20 March 2005 2pm - 6pm @ The Fairfield Amphitheatre, Heidelberg Rd Fairfield.
Multicultural Arts Victoria present a showcase of Australian Indigenous musicians alongside their brothers and sisters from newly arrived African communities of Congo, West Africa, North and South Sudan. Performers include our very own Dambai dancers alongside Koori Youth Will Shake Spears, Monica Weightman, Nadia Elbana, Sudan Azza, Ajak Kwai and Koori Band. If you intend to join the SAIL group, please let us know by email to sail@africanoz.com. For more details about the day please visit www.multiculturalarts.com.au.

4. Variety Functions
The Variety Children’s Charity have kindly made their excursions open to all SAILors for 2005. The following events are coming up and require bookings. If you would like to take a SAILor, please let us know so we can reserve a place.

How about sailing the old way? SAILors can sail away on Wednesday, 23 March 2005 with the Sandringham Yacht Club.

Circus Oz are hosting a show free for SAILors on 24 June 2005 at Birrarung Marr. If you are able to collect a carload of youngsters, we will gladly reserve you a ticket.

Eagles fly and so do bulldogs. SAILors can head to the footy to see the Weagles and the Western Bulldogs on 6 August 2005. If you would like to join the motely crew for this one, let us know.

5. Ajak Kwai, Saturday, 23 April, 2005 from 8.15 pm @ Boite World Music Cafe, 1 Mark Street, North Fitzroy
Ajak Kwai from the Dinka people of Southern Sudan is currently on a national Australian tour. Her singing shares songs of freedom, peace, love, marriage and cows (the source of Dinka life!) that will “, according to the promo materials, “uplift and inspire”.

It is with a great pleasure that we announce the pending launch of SAIL’s third home, Altona! Under the steady guidance of SAIL Footscray tutors, Wayn Wong and Catherine Foreman, Altona will be kicking off on 28 May 2005. In time, it is hoped that Altona SAIL will take some of the pressure on space from Footscray. If any present SAILor is interested in joining the pioneering group, please let Wayn and Catherine know on sailaltona@africanoz.com.

Want to learn Juba Arabic, the Arabic spoken in Sudan? A small group of SAILors are organising and mid-week beginners Arabic class for SAILors only. The classes will run every week for 6 months at the University of Melbourne Law School on Thursdays after work hours. Each class will cost $10 with the money going solely to the Sudanese tutor. If you are interested, please email Matthew at sail@africanoz.com.

Sudan Mirror is the only independent source of news produced in Sudan. Access to it in Australia provides a vital link for the Diaspora members at SAIL with the folks back home. SAIL’s affiliate, the Sudanese Online Research Association, is now glad to welcome the Sudan Mirror to Australia.

The Sudan Mirror will be available from SAIL campuses each fortnight. Purchase is by subscription only. For collection at SAIL, the grand cost for six months is $18! Please find the order form attached to the paper version of this newsletter.

Following Matthew’s sabbatical to Kenya and Sudan in 2004, SAIL is now linked in with an international network of organisations working for a peaceful future for Sudan.

Among them is the link with the New York-based organisation, FilmAid International. FilmAid operates in refugee camps across the world providing mental relief through the medium of film from the banal lifestyle of the camps.

Among its projects, FilmAid is co-ordinating a global exchange of video letters – pen pals for the 21st Century! During 2005, a group of SAILors will be exchanging video-taped messages with Sudanese refugee children at the Kakuma refugee camp in the north Kenyan desert. We will keep you posted as it develops and let you know when the latest delivery of a message comes through.

The SAIL Star is also now partnered with the Peace Education Program of the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR. In all editions of the SAIL Star for 2005, you will see submissions on the subject of peace in Sudan from refugees across East African who participates in the Peace Education Program. By the same token, writing on peace by SAILors will be regularly featured in the UN’s publication, Peacemaker magazine.

It is hoped that these links will bring home to Sudanese SAILors that they are part of a global community committed to the idea of sustainable peace in Africa’s largest nation.

For the record and for those confused (or distraught) that Matthew is sometimes there and sometimes not, Matthew will be the overseeing co-ordinator for wholeSAIL operations for 2005. This means he will be at Footscray every week 2 and 5 and Dandenong for the other weeks. From June, Matthew will have one week per cycle at Altona and two at the other two campuses. For those missing him desperately in the meantime, there are two options; email him at sail@africanoz.com or seek counselling.

Want to study SAIL? You now can! In fact, students of the University of Melbourne who undertake the Liberal Arts course called “Migrant Nations” have no choice. The week 4 tutorial (21 March) is exclusively about the SAIL Program and comes complete with a mandatory reading list! An essay critically analysing the SAIL Program is an option for all students in the course. We were thinking of enrolling until we considered the prospect of failing in the subject which would be a bit too embarrassing?!?!

Thank you all for your generosity of time, energy and spirit. It was the life-blood of SAIL ’04 and will be the life-blood of SAIL ’05!

Matthew, Will and Cait