News Around the School 

Composting

By Eva Rodgers, Year 11, The Ridgeway Campus

The IDEALS environmental subcommittee has been working on developing a compost system for Ivanhoe Grammar School over the past year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the project got delayed but we are very excited to announce that the compost bins have now been put out around the School and the process has begun. 

BUT FIRST WHY DO WE COMPOST? 

Composting is a circular system where food waste is reduced and reused by nature, its nutrients then turn into fertiliser for the soil. By composting as a school community we are collectively contributing to a more sustainable world and environment. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Australians send 3.2 million tonnes of edible food to landfill each year! A high amount of these food scraps being compostable. By giving students an accessible way to compost their food scraps, Ivanhoe Grammar School can ensure we are part of the solution not the problem.

TAKE NOTE!

Utilising composts properly is essential in the success of the system. Each compost bin has a list of food scraps allowed in the bin for students and teachers to follow. The compost bins are located in the nearest possible position to regular bins so keep an eye out for them when you have food scraps! At the end of the day an IDEALS committee member will empty the compost bin into the compost aerator where food scraps will take a few weeks to turn into soil fertiliser for the garden. 

LET’S DO OUR BIT!

As sustainability is becoming more recognised as a priority it’s important that as a school we are doing all we can to contribute to a more ethical world. Ideally, the world should be working towards using a circular economy system where resources are used continually aiming to eliminate waste. We live in a very polluting world where many goods are produced for a single-use purpose and consideration for where that good ends up afterwards does not occur in the manufacturing and design process. Working towards a circular economy in all aspects of business, consumerism and government is so important for a sustainable world. With innovation and perseverance, these solutions will come into play. It’s very rewarding to be a part of an environmental group pushing for change. I do believe that the compost system is one step closer towards a sustainable world, and strongly encourage getting a compost system at home if possible or seeing if your local council has a compost collection system. 

Artwork by Deanna Hollis, Year 11, Plenty Campus

The World's Greatest Shave

By Isabella Lessene, Year 12, The Ridgeway Campus

One of Ivanhoe’s most interactive and popular fundraising activities is the World’s Greatest Shave. Since 2018, our School’s involvement in this event is a memorable one. Seeing participation from students and teachers alike, the annual event brings together the community like no other. Both students and teachers can volunteer to shave or cut their hair, gathering sponsors and donations leading up to the day. 

This year, it was Ivanhoe’s mission to raise $10,000. We’ve already raised $27126 (at time of this edition being published) – a stupendous achievement, the largest the School has raised in a long time bringing the total fundraising efforts over the past 3 years to just under $85,000. A special mention to the school’s top fundraiser, Year 7 student Maggie Potuguntla and her incredible total of $3062. This and the combined efforts of everyone involved is a brilliant example of how powerful the Ivanhoe Grammar School community can be when there is a shared passion and drive to make meaningful change. 

The World’s Greatest Shave itself is an organisation committed to providing families who are currently facing the many challenges of blood cancer with the care required to make it through. This includes providing accommodation closer to treatment centres, working with support employees to help families manage the system or simply providing the funds to afford food, rent and treatment bills. This assistance is absolutely vital, as with sickness the strain is not only on the health of the individual but living standards of their family. The donations raised for The World’s Greatest Shave are impactful and are also a driving factor in advancements in blood cancer treatment, going towards funding research to try and find a way to cure it for good. It is a disease that affects 110,000 in Australia today, so this is a truly good charity for a truly good cause.  

We strongly encourage everyone to get involved, either this year or next, to help make real change in the lives of so many. 

For more information and to donate visit: 

https://worldsgreatestshave.com/

And for the School's page head to this link:

https://secure.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?TeamID=123610