Community service in Year 10

Community service in Year 10

At Scotch College, every Year 10 student participates in the Friday afternoon service programme, immersing them in the world of service. This programme offers a diverse range of experiences to help students appreciate the concept of service, fostering a sense of community-mindedness and solidifying service as a fundamental pillar in their education and life journey.

Community Pipe Band

The Scotch College Year 10 Pipes and Drums plays in the community on Friday afternoons. Each week, our community service jobs vary from playing at Claremont Quarter, to playing at old people’s homes like the Queenslea. I enjoyed playing at the homes because it is nice to provide the elderly with fun music that brightens their day. The band’s performances also allow us to talk about our musical instruments and answer their questions. Weekly performances require several hours of preparation, tuning and playing. They also require the band members to manage their performances away from the traditional senior band support. The performances have allowed the Year 10 community members to be ambassadors of the school and support our aged community.

James Bowie and Jack Boylson

Friends of Lake Claremont

Scotch College partners with Friends of Lake Claremont and every Friday the organisation enlists Scotch and Christ Church students to maintain the upkeep of the lake and help with ongoing restoration efforts. The service entails boys getting their hands dirty with practical outdoor skills such as planting, mulching, and familiarising with the fauna and flora. These are all good skills for both the average boy and those looking to get into wildlife and habitat restoration. As a student avid about the preservation of wild habitat and species, the skills and understanding I picked up during the programme have provided a great insight into the work required to upkeep and restore habitats. The experience was made all the more impactful by the kind, like-minded people who put their time towards the organisation.

Dhiren Wirashinha

People Who Care

People Who Care is an organisation that helps people who are not be able to care for their homes and gardens due to their age and physical ability. We help them with gardening and trimming. The process not only helps them, but also teaches us skills which will be beneficial to us in the future. These hands-on experiences provide invaluable bonding opportunities with our peers and help improve our teamwork skills and communication which will help me in the future.

Jacky Yang

Stem 3D Printing

Scotch College’s 3D Printer Project introduces 3D printing to young students from other schools who have not had the opportunity to explore this new technology. We assembled a 3D printer, developed educational resources, and created an engaging presentation. The programme culminated in a presentation to students from Mount Claremont Primary School and Palmyra Primary School, where we also provided their schools with a 3D printer of their own. This programme not only fostered the development of teamwork and communication skills, but also exposed us to teaching and presenting to a young audience.

Riley Schellack

The Salvation Army

Through our partnership with Salvation Army, we have learnt that a lot of people didn’t choose, but instead, were forced into homelessness due to various causes such as domestic violence, abuse, and broken families. As our instructor Liam said, “the longer they are homeless, the harder it is for them to get out.” So, we are keen to help them as soon as possible. Our main task was making sandwiches for them. We also had the opportunity to understand homelessness by talking with people and walking in the city. I have developed social and communication skills through this programme and, most of all, I am keen to help more people in the future.

Mike Liu

Surf Rescue

Surf Rescue ran over first two terms on Friday afternoons. Each week we spent either 30 minutes in the classroom and an hour in the pool or went to Cottesloe Beach for the whole afternoon to learn lifesaving skills. This isn’t so much of a direct service but the skills you learn could ultimately help save someone’s life which is the biggest service you can provide. It’s great to get in the pool and do a fun activity while learning at the same time. It was a really rewarding way to finish off the week.

Digby Smith

North Balga Primary School

A group of Year 10 students chose this service activity and helped coach Year 5/6 soccer players at North Balga Primary School in the lead up to their lightning carnival. The players, and in particular the teachers, were grateful for our efforts into helping their students grow as players. I saw that my hard work paid off after the teacher told me they won their lightning carnival. Not only did this experience send-off students with smiles at the end of the school week, but we also gained a plethora of skills through this service such as teamwork and perseverance.

Zai Khan

Swanbourne Primary

On a Friday afternoon we walk down to Swanbourne primary to help the Year 5 and 6s with sport. This term we are helping the teaching staff and children with training in preparation for the athletics carnival. We raked sand in the jump pits, measured the childrens’ throws, joined in on tunnel ball and running around and having fun with them. The kids seem to really enjoy chatting with us and asking us questions about Scotch. It has really benefitted us as we get to learn how to interact better with the younger kids, teach them a few things and provide positive feedback. I really enjoy this service and helping the local school community.

Jordy Bowden