Big Picture Academy
Big Picture Academy – Outlearning – Sydney Jewish Museum
On Monday the 22nd of May, students from the Big Picture Academy went on an Outlearning experience to the Sydney Jewish Museum at Darlinghurst. The Sydney Jewish Museum is a world class museum that promotes the messages of tolerance and kindness. On the day students were able to tour the museum which educates people about Jewish life in Australia and the Holocaust. They were able to witness artefacts first hand such as yellow starts that were worn by Jewish people, Olga Horaks blanket that had been made from human and animal hair. They were also able to reflect in the Childrens memorial as 1.5 million children were murdered in the Holocaust.
After the tour they listened to Holocaust Dasia Black speak about her life in the Holocaust. Dasia spoke confidently and it was an honour that she shared her story with students. Dasia’s parents selflessly gave her up to a Catholic family when she was three. She was known as Stasia and survived the war in hiding as a catholic child. Dasis’s parents were murdered in the Holocaust.
It is essential now more than ever that we speak out against hatred and intolerance, so this never happens again. Dasia and other Holocaust survivor’s tell their stories to educate people and inspire us to be upstanders, not bystanders. Both the tour guides and staff at the museum commented how well mannered the students were on the day and engaged when touring the museum.
Students reflected positively on this amazing experience as the survivors are now in their 90’s and there will come a day when there is no more survivors to speak. As Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel said ‘When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.’
Year 12
Soul Café Milk Drive
This term has seen the year 12 Big Picture Academy participate in Social Action and walk down the street to purchase long life milk to be used by Soul Café in Newcastle which is an essential staple for feeding the homeless. On Friday the 5th of May a happy group of year 12 walked down the street and with money they have raised through a year 12 Advisory venture – Entrepeneur's in the making - they purchased 62 litres of long life milk which will assist some of our most vulnerable people in the local area.
Cessnock Mayoral Scholarship
Nathan Riley from the Year 12 Big Picture Academy was a finalist for the Mayoral Scholarship through the Cessnock City Council. On May 18th Nathan won a $2,500 Scholarship which will assist him in pursuing Higher Education. Nathan was the only high school student to receive one of these scholarships out of university students who are also worthy recipients of these awards.
Year 10
Big Picture Academy Celebrates our success in fundraising for Australia's Biggest Morning Tea.
Our class recently took part in the annual Australia's Biggest Morning Tea fundraising event, and we are delighted to announce that we achieved outstanding success in our efforts to support this cause.
The Australia's Biggest Morning Tea campaign is a nationwide initiative aimed at raising funds for the Cancer Council, which plays a crucial role in cancer research, prevention, and support services. It was with great enthusiasm and a desire to make a positive impact that our class decided to participate in the Biggest Morning Tea.
Our Advisory, along with the support of their families, and our other Big Picture classes, embarked on our fundraising journey. We set an initial fundraising target of $300, which seemed ambitious yet achievable. However, the level of dedication and determination exhibited by our class exceeded all expectations. It is with immense pride that we can now reveal that we have not only reached our target but have surpassed it by a considerable margin. The final amount raised was $895. A testament to the combined efforts of our students, who truly showcased the power of commitment and teamwork.
While we celebrate our class success, we would like to thank all of Kurri Kurri High School staff and students who supported our event. Your purchases at our stall ensured the success of our fundraising campaign.
Our class would like to acknowledge the support of Meg Robson and Kylie Edwards for their baking skills and support at our stall. To Nathan Riley for managing the BBQ. I would also like to thank Mitchell Hill who was the winning bidder on Meg Robson’s famous Banoffee Pie. Mitchell’s winning bid was $120, an amazing contribution to our fundraiser. I also believe he generously shared his prize with our SSO staff. We are sincerely grateful to everyone who helped make our fundraiser a success.
Finally, we want to express our gratitude to the Cancer Council for their invaluable work in combating cancer and supporting those affected by it. Our class feels honoured to have been able to contribute to such a worthy cause.
Year 9
Year 9 have been busy undertaking their first interest project, exploring their passions. We have students exploring a range of topics from building floating bed frames and cricket bats, to experimenting with different types of food to discover how to make the most delicious pasta or the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. As part of our Big Picture curriculum, we complete social action projects and for this term, Year 9 is investigating sustainable oceans. Between the 6th and the 8th of June, our class participated in the Sustainable Oceans Challenge from Education Perfect so that we could understand all of the issues affecting the ocean and its ecosystem. Term 3 will see our class visit the beach to put our knowledge and understanding to the test and investigate what we can do to raise awareness to the issues affecting our beautiful waterways!