Around the School

Beliefs and Values

The final Year 9 Beliefs and Values project for 2024 is blending an ancient religious tradition with an age-old craft form and important service to others. Harry Stowe is pictured holding one of the many crochet squares that Year 9s will sew into a large blanket. This finished blanket will then be given to one of the multiple people who experience homelessness on the streets of Perth night after night.

But, for the Year 9s this task is not all creative service. Our final unit of study is on Hinduism. In the Hindu tradition, the Atman (or the eternal spirit/soul) exists wholly in all things and holds all things together.

The single crochet square is one expression of the Atman. By sewing together individual crocheted pieces into one blanket, we are symbolising the release (or Moksha) of this single spirit/soul out of the bonds of existence and simultaneously transmigrated the Antman into one single universal 'blanket'.

Thanks goes to Lorelei Barnes-Smith and Gidon Bogoyev for coordinating the practical elements of this project and systematically teaching the Year 9s how to crochet.

Ryan McBride

Beliefs & Values Teacher