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Tricia Hamilton
Manager - BlueScopeWIN
Community Partners Program
A message from Major Sponsor BlueScopeWIN
Community Partners
BlueScopeWIN Community Partners is proud to
have been the Major Sponsor of the Southern Stars
Spectacular since 2001.
Each year Southern Stars showcases the
considerable talent of hundreds of public school
students from all over our region in an event
that is supported by the partnership between
BlueScopeWIN, the NSW Department of Education
and the Southern Stars Team.
There are many other sponsors and people who
have contributed to the ongoing success of this
program not least of all the teachers who take on
the mentoring, coaching and organising roles in
our schools, and the mums and dads who provide
support, transport and finance the myriad of costs
along the journey – well done to you all.
The importance of a healthy and balanced lifestyle
is increasingly recognised in our society and
developing self-confidence and being able to
express oneself confidently plays a role in that
holistic wellbeing. Thousands of participants
in Southern Stars over the years have had the
opportunity to develop through song, verse and
dance. These are skills that will assist them make
the most of their lives as they enter adulthood and
the workforce.
Congratulations to everyone who has been
involved in planning, funding, creating and
presenting Southern Stars Ignite 2016, we know
it will be a wonderful performance and the
BlueScopeWIN Community Partners is again very
proud to be associated with this event.
Well done to everyone involved!
Graham Kahabka
Executive Director Educational Services -
Public Schools NSW
Welcome to Southern Stars 2016 "Ignite" a show
which promises to ignite our understanding of the
depth of talent within our public schools.
Now sixteen years old, Southern Stars continues to
grow, evolve and amaze us as the creativity of our
students and staff comes to fruition on the arena
floor. The inclusion of students from a wide range
of public schools has resulted in a cast of 3000
students. I acknowledge the skill, dedication and
professionalism of our teachers which enables the
production to emerge as an integrated, orchestrated
performance designed to delight and entertain us. I
pay tribute to the teams of teachers and volunteers
who under the leadership of Ian Millard, Peter
Hayward and Sharon Buikstra have brought this
spectacular to the stage.
Performing in a large professional venue provides
an experience outside that available through an
individual school. It develops students' confidence,
skill, teamwork and their understanding of what goes
on behind the scenes in a production this large.
It is exciting to observe the development of our
students as they progress from the junior to senior
ranks within successive productions and the joy in
performing on the faces of those involved for the
first time.
The Department of Education values the continuing
support of all our sponsors and it would be
impossible to mount a production of this kind
without their assistance. I sincerely thank
BlueScopeWIN Community Partners for continuing
as major sponsor in 2016 and the University of
Wollongong for becoming a Star sponsor supporting
the workshops in 2016. We acknowledge the
long term commitment of our segment sponsors,
Daylight Schoolwear Pty Ltd and Wollongong City
Council, Stellar supporter Shellharbour City Council,
supporters Kiama Municipal Council and msp
photography, our partners the Arts Unit, Wollongong
Institute of TAFE and the Arts Council and our media
partners the WIN Network, the Illawarra Mercury and
i98 FM.
Please relax and enjoy the wonder that is “Ignite”.
Ian Millard
Southern Stars Executive Producer
Southern Stars exists to provide a platform for the
young talent in our public schools. Since 2001
Southern Stars has seen tens of thousands of students,
their parents and their teachers become involved in
an event which may well be described as one of the
largest events of its kind in Australia. Each year a very
dedicated and motivated group of public school staff
come together to create a show which is marked by
creativity and innovation.
Southern Stars 2016 has one mission and that mission
is to ignite something within each performer, each
audience member and within each of the dedicated
teachers who create this annual event. Conventionally
the term ignite means to burst into flames, to catch
fire. We have broadened the term and have developed
a show which will ignite your imagination, ignite
your sense of what it is to be Australian, ignite your
memories, ignite emotions, ignite debate, ignite a
belief that we really are one world and ignite the
possibilities within each of us.
As usual there are some magical moments; ones that
remain in our memories for a long time.
We invite you to a faraway land where everyone is
made of stars, a place in which you can refuse to grow
up if that’s what you desire, but you’ll have to listen
carefully to the story to learn more.
We ask that you ignite your capability to live louder.
Through breathtaking performance we demonstrate
the strength of the public system and its standing as
the pillar of a successful, inclusive and compassionate
society.
We take you to not one, but two circuses with
performers of such strength and grace that you will be
spellbound.
We ignite your memories: memories of bad habits,
teased out hair, fluro outfits or that particular song you
hummed along to ‘way back when’.
Through the generosity of the Wollongong City
Council, we celebrate Illawarra 200. Through song,
dance and drama we commemorate this significant
milestone.
I thank the very dedicated staff who created Ignite and
in particular the Creative, Production and Management
teams; the many teachers from our public education
system who give so generously of their time; the
parents of our performers; the schools and principals
who encourage their students to participate; the
sponsors and supporters who through their generosity
and understanding of the arts allow Southern Stars to
move forward every year; and finally the very talented
performers.
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