Crazy Hair and Sock Day

2022 Don Valley Community Learning Project

Last Friday, students took great joy in participating in 'Crazy Hair & Sock Day', with some creative creations in hair and some brightly patterned footwear. 

I am sure that many students rejoiced in the one day where, at Wedderburn College, wearing navy socks was discouraged, and hat exemptions could be given out on account of hairdos! The day was in support for a project that has been in the works for twelve months now. 

During Term 4 last year Ella Weber, Sianna Thomas and myself spent nine weeks living at the Department of Education's School for Student Leadership (SSL), based at their Don Valley Campus in the picturesque Yarra Ranges. Whilst we were there, learning to grow as people and leaders, and interacting with fellow year nines from schools in central and western Victoria, and eastern suburban Melbourne, we worked on a Community Learning Project. CLPs or Community Learning Projects, is the heart of School Student Leadership curriculum, which, as a school group, you work on over your stay and towards the end of the term you present to staff and fellow SSL students, as well as staff from your own school and any other schools in attendance. The project boosts awareness about your own community and pushes you to make change.

Our CLP centres around the need for raised literacy awareness and access in our community, so we have, with the fabulous assistance of Mr. G and the VM students, created numerous street libraries to be hitting our streets soon (hint; there is one in the school breezeway already, feel free to start borrowing)! The next problem was filling them. So after a callout to all students to donate unwanted books, to our pleasant surprise, the school community responded, and collectively donated more than 950 books. The free dress day raised just short of $150! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The class with the most donations per student went to Year 3 and Year 9, with just under 11 books per student. A further shout-out to Tyson Blair and Aaron Thomas of Year 9, whom were key in their class’s victory.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at SSL – Don Valley Campus, Miss Milne, Mr Forrest and Mr G for their support in this project, and all our teachers who, on Friday, allowed us to miss classes to complete that mammoth task of sorting all the books! We would also like to congratulate fellow SSL students from Boronia K-12 College, Daylesford College, Doncaster Secondary College and Kyneton High School for completing their CLPs as well.

Lillian S. Year 10