Justice and Democracy

Refugee Week

Refugee Week ran throughout Week 9 of Term 2. The Justice and Democracy Group and the middle school Liturgy and Social Justice Group ran a variety of different activities throughout the week. This year’s Refugee Week theme was ‘A world of stories; share a meal, share a story’, in an attempt to bring people together and share cultures with others.

We ran a Refugee Week picnic, to share a meal, whilst we watched a movie related to refugees to share a story.

To get the whole school involved, in R.E classes, each student decorated a paper doll. these dolls were all put together to make a paper chain. We then placed these paper chains all around the hall, standing together in unison. These were a symbol of the many people standing up for refugees like we were. They were a symbol of hope for the future, that everyone will one day walk together, all cultures, genders, religion, races, including refugees. As a final stand, we decorated a banner that we hope to hang from the college tower for all the community to see. 

Refugee Week was an incredible chance for our school to celebrate the contribution that has been made by refugees to our society while raising awareness, remembering and honouring the journey that refugees have taken to reach Australia. There are currently 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide (as of June 2018) and the need to draw attention to the challenges refugees are enduring is incredibly urgent. Children make up an astonishing 52% of the world’s refugees.

Over the course of Refugee Week we provided an opportunity for refugees to be listened to, seen and valued within our school community, and hope that all of the school has gained more knowledge on the issue of refugees. 

A big thank you to all the teachers that helped put our ideas into action, and all the students that worked extremely hard to do so as well. We look forward to raising more awareness for refugees and different causes throughout the year. 

As part of refugee week, the middle school Liturgy and Justice Team decided to create a hand-painted banner to display at different events. At lunchtime, a group of girls painted this banner- designed by Kasey Thompson to take a stand. We were all very happy with the final product.

Artists: Kasey Thompson, Mia Jones, Rhea Micheals, Ella Bater, Chloe Kovacic, Mia Dyer and Emma Le Beouf.

Louise Stevens

Justice and Democracy Leader