News
Social Justice & Homelessness week
In a challenging year, charity and justice have never been more relevant. Even with restrictions limiting the opportunities for student to engage in the broader community, a new program has allowed students to give back to women and girls living in developing countries ‘Days for Girls’ is a charity which provides dignity, education and opportunity to girls and women by supplying them with menstrual kits. A large number of students have been giving of their time and skills to create components for these kits and this work has continued to expand and grow as the year has progressed. In Term two, the whole school stood in solidarity with Indigenous Australians with
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THE BRIDGE SEMESTER 2 2020
the Sea of Hands installation on the College Green. Students were encouraged to write a prayer or message of hope and pin it to a hand which was then arranged into a representation of the Aboriginal flag. This small gesture is a public statement of our support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and an acknowledgement to the past and ongoing hurts which these people have and continue to experience. At an online assembly last term, the College community was addressed by Yaser Naseri who is a refugee who arrived in Australia during 2014 after fleeing persecution in Iran. Yaser spoke of the reasons why he had to leave Iran, the journey that he took to arrive in Australia including the desperation which led to him attempting to get here by boat, and the positive contribution which he has made since arriving in Australia. He is currently finishing a Bachelor of Commerce at Sydney University and continues to work with refugees
to provide support services and advocacy. The Year Group charities continue to be well supported. Year 12’s initiatives have raised in excess of $20 000 for Feel the Magic, Year 11 organised the whole school to make 2374 meals and 186 baby packs for people living on the margins and Year 8 ran a very successful Winter Appeal for the Vinnies vans in which they donated nearly fifty boxes of food. Year 10 ran a successful Indigenous Awareness week focussed on advocacy and awareness raising for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.The core mantra of justice and charity at the College is to LEAD. This means to Listen to a social problem, Educate themselves and the College community to the impacts of that issue, Act upon what they have learnt, and through this Dignify all the people who are affected. M AT T H E W S E L B Y I M M E R S I O N S A N D M I N I S T RY C O O R D I N AT O R , M AT H E M AT I C S T E A C H E R
