Social and Environmental Justice News
Thank you to all students, staff and families for their involvement during Laudato-Si Week.
Following is what student leaders shared at our recent whole school assembly:
“Thank you for the support on the first bake sale for Timor! There will be a bake sale every month to continue to raise money for Timor in this time of need. Keep an eye out on Simon for the exact dates. So bring your money and be ready for some delicious treats!
While it is great to be raising money, it is important to recognise what we are raising money for and that is that our neighbouring country is suffering. Not only were they struggling before but now Covid has affected them and also the recent flooding causing many of their roads to be unsafe. It is surprising that a country so close is affected by this. We get annoyed when we have to stop in traffic for road works as it takes up too much of our time but at least we can get our roads fixed and made safer where Timor cannot as they do not have enough funds to help them."
“This year, the Social Justice and House leaders are planning heaps of other Social Justice initiatives. The first of which is a food drive, which we will run to help support a local soup kitchen, which makes free soup for people that are unable to get their own food. Another initiative within our local community that we plan on supporting is a blanket and coat drive, which receives donations from the community of blankets and winter clothes, and offers them for free to people in need of some warm clothes. These are just a few of the many programs we plan on running this year, so keep an eye out on Simon and for posters around the school, to learn about different ways you can help out this year. Sometimes it is the smallest of things that can have the biggest impact."
“I'm sure many of you know last week was Laudato-Si week. Thank you to everyone who participated in the activities. Laudato-Si week is named after Pope Francis’s open letter to every person in the world, calling us to care for our common home, earth, and all people. Last Monday we conducted an audit and went around to almost all classrooms and tallied how many plastic bottles were being used. There were 124 plastic bottles being used, while almost 80% of all students bring their own reusable water bottle. Australia recycles only 36% of plastic drink bottles. Around 373 million plastic water bottles end up as waste each year. Each day during Laudato-Si Week we collected more than 400 pieces of rubbish left in the yard at the end of day, meaning that almost every second person dropped a piece of rubbish in the yard every day. The worst areas were under the shade sails, in front of the staffroom and around the courts and tables. Please be mindful to pick up your rubbish and put it straight in the bin or take it home. This is especially important since our school is so close to two rivers. We all know how much damage plastic and other waste causes in our waterways."
“A great activity that got a lot of support from students and teachers was the Lights out for Life on Earth, to reduce Co2 and to raise awareness that many people do not have heating and electricity at the snap of their fingers. We hope to continue with a regular ‘Lights Out’ day. Stay tuned for more.”
“One Friday 50 students from the six houses participated in our School Strike for Climate action during Period 4 - we had four clear messages
- We need the Courage to CHANGE
- We demand decisive Climate ACTION now
- There is no PLANET B
- and it is about Everyone’s FUTURE
If you look closely, you will notice that our students spelled out the four action words: CHANGE - ACTION - Planet and FUTURE."
The Social and Environmental Justice Leaders
Thank you to the Social Justice and Environmental Justice Student Leaders for having such a clear voice, for their agency and leadership.
Claire Hogan, Social Justice & Ruth Phillips, Sustainability