Our Year 5 and 6 students showcased their critical thinking and communication skills as they took part in the UNICEF Challenge, working together in groups across years to address the challenge of maintaining children’s rights amidst the uncertainty of natural disasters.

This innovative program invites students to step into the role of stakeholders, as they carefully consider how to protect children’s rights in the face of natural disasters. Operation Earth Action placed students in the heart of these complex issues, tasking them with becoming advocates for children’s needs.

The challenge was to develop a product, campaign or program to support one of the Articles from the Convention of the Rights of the Child and to work with a stakeholder, such as volunteers, news agencies, charities, to support a child in a disaster situation. This year, we concentrated on floods.

The two teams that went to UNICEF last week were ‘The Flood Safety Book’ - Jessica McGuinness, Nicole Dinca, Isabelle Hu, and Charlotte Marriner; and the ‘Shelter Box Kids’ - Amelia Koura, Isabelle Knispel, Daisy Meyyappan, and Mackenzie Williamson.

Our students brainstormed in lively discussion circles, collaborating across years to develop ideas amongst peers, before breaking off into smaller groups to narrow in on their chosen UNICEF child right and potential solutions. Teams also developed creative prototypes to protect children’s rights, engaging in hands-on problem-solving throughout the process. Here are the solutions our two teams came up with.

‘The Flood Safety Book’, responding to ‘ Article 17: The right to access safe and reliable information’. This is a waterproof information book that teaches and entertains children when a flood is coming or happening. It provides information about what a flood is, what you need in a flood, first aid, how to prepare for a flood and emergency services information. It also includes activities and games and comes with whiteboard markers so children can complete the activities as many times as they would like.

‘Shelter Box Kids’, responding to ‘ Article 31: The right to play and rest’. This is a camp for children aged 5 to 14. They can stay for up to 7 days during a flood. The camp provides accommodation, hygiene products, food and water, play and rest areas and activities. The team designed a plan of the building and all the rooms provided to showcase their idea in an interactive manner.

The first round of judging took place within class groups, where the top 8 groups were given the chance to move forward to the final school-based round. Then, the top 2 groups from this round were selected to go through for final judging.

These two groups attended UNICEF on Friday, travelling alongside Ms Louise Murray (Primary Teacher) and Mrs Maree Board (Head of Teresa Ball). The groups presented their solutions and prototypes alongside a number of groups from other primary schools across Australia.

Congratulations to the 'Flood Safety Book’ team for going through to the Grand Final! We are cheering you on every step of the way.