During 2020, the Interact Club was committed to supporting the student community with mental health, wellbeing and gratitude strategies. We focused on providing strategies and tasks to assist peers on how to manage workload during COVID-19 lockdown and mechanisms for checking in on each other. It provided supporting material and a video of encouragement for RUOK? Day.

The committee also created wellbeing and mental health slogans for World Mental Health Day in Term 4. They were targeted for their peers and a social media campaign, including Facebook, Instagram, student and staff bulletin and the College newsletter. We were thankful for every Interactor’s contribution and the opportunity to work with our fellow Interact Club members in making a positive change to each other during this challenging year.

The 2021 commitment for our community is Sustainable Service, in which it impacts our local and wider community. We began the year using assemblies and bulletin notices to promote our information session, which was a way for potential volunteers to learn more about Interact and Rotary, introduce them to the structure of the club, what they would be doing as members, and how this helps our local (and the wider) community. We had a large number of people attend that information session, and when - in the first meeting - students were asked to officially sign up, we gained thirty six members. The following week, students were given the chance to volunteer for board committee positions, and we voted for our preferred board members using ballot sheets, and soon a total of eight board members were elected.

During Term 1, our first event was in collaboration with Clean Up Australia, which greatly tied together with our aim. On Friday 5 March, twelve Interact volunteers along with the Sustainability and Agriculture team, cleaned up around our school’s creek as it had a large amount of litter around it, along with the surrounding area. We found a great deal of debris from the local new home developments which were impacting our environment. Our purpose was to create long-lasting change in our environment and encourage others to clean up their local area.

Recently, ten Interact members volunteered to sell ANZAC badges, keychains, and wristbands to staff and students from Prep to Year 12, to help support ANZAC funds, spread awareness about the meaning behind ANZAC day and the reason why we donate to ANZAC organisations.

The Aitken College Interact Club continues to have lunchtime meetings every first Friday of the school month, which so far have had strong attendance and engagement. Our membership acknowledgement presentation occurred in mid-May, where the students received their certificates and badges in recognition of their membership status.

We have had many ideas for upcoming events such as: investigating how much carbon dioxide each individual at Aitken emits and the amount of corresponding trees required to plant in order to compensate for the CO2 emissions, the growing, harvesting, and selling of poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day, the education of the effect of water pollution, participation in RUOK day, and more.

As a club, we are grateful for what we have accomplished already and look forward to what we will accomplish this year and beyond.

Jasmine E

Interact President (Year 10)

Year 9 Service Project