Assistant Principal - Religious Identity & Mission 

Year 9 Service Project  

 Last term, the Year 9 students studied what it means to be a ‘Man of St Virgil’s College’. We examined our values of St Virgil’s College (Integrity, Community, Learning, Kindness, Justice), listened to and questioned members of the Old Virgilian’s Association to determine how they believe their time at SVC has shaped them as men and looked at social issues within society such as homelessness and poverty.  

Over the holidays approximately 30 students took up the opportunity to put this learning into practice by completing service activities within our community. This involved anywhere between 1.5 and 3 hours, depending on the organisation’s needs. Many organisations responded to our call and our students helped at a range of St Vincent de Paul shops, Food Bank, the Glenorchy library and St Bernard’s Parish, to name a few. Many students also organised their own placements, such as helping elderly neighbours with gardening and mowing. This week they have reflected on these placements, by connecting them to scripture and to their choice of music, poetry or artwork.   

This is the start of a much broader social justice plan, across multiple year levels moving into the future. We are very proud of the young men who took up this opportunity to demonstrate the values of the college by helping out within our community.  

Bethlehem House 

Bethlehem House is:

• A 24-hour service centre for people experiencing homelessness, situated in 56 Warwick Street, North Hobart. 
• A special work of the St Vincent de Paul Society, and has been operating continuously since 1972. 
• Tasmania’s largest provider of crisis and transitional accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. 
• Staffed by qualified and experienced staff, 24hr a day. 
• Able to provide 12,500 bed nights every year across various secure facilities. 
• Currently supplying over 30,000 meals per year to residents and people experiencing homelessness. 
• Partially funded by the Australian Government, Tasmanian Government, Tasmanian Community Fund, Hobart City Council, private benefactors, and donors. 

Supported by schools, service groups, the wider community, and contributions from residents. 

We are hoping to add some Christmas cheer for the residents and other people in need by providing them with Christmas Gift Bags. We are looking for a range of items, that we can place in the bags, to be donated.  Suggested items include:  

• (Medium) Christmas Gift Bags  
• Toiletries (soap, shampoo, razors, deodorant etc.) 
• New clothing items: socks, jocks (underwear), beanies, caps, etc 
• Drink bottles and reusable coffee cups 
• Bags of lollies, chocolates 
• Mini Christmas puddings 
• Crackers/Bon-bons 
• Fruit mince pies 
• Christmas Biscuits ie. Shortbread 

We would be very grateful for anything you could send in. Donations can come into the office (Junior and Senior School) or to your son’s PC or Class Teacher.