iServi News | 28 May 2021 | Term 2, Week 6
LifeLink
On Friday last week student representatives from Archdiocesan Catholic secondary schools, including Servite College, gathered for a student forum led by Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and the official launch of LifeLink Day.
The College has been involved with LifeLink for many years and has contributed significant support and funds for related agencies including: the Catholic Ministry for People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Centacare Employment and Training, Centrecare Inc, Djooraminda, Emmanuel Centre, Emmaus Community, Identitywa, Daydawn Advocacy Centre, The Shopfront, and Catholic Outreach.
Last year “LifeLink funded agencies reached out to help more than 37,000 WA families and individuals in need, delivering more than $60 million in caring services and professional programmes throughout WA” (The Record).
A range of guest presenters joined Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB at the student forum including Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton; Office of the Archbishop Executive Director, Daniel Lynch; and Catholic Education Western Australia Executive Director, Dr Debra Sayce.
During her presentation to students, Dr Sayce highlighted how a shared commitment to our Catholic Social Teachings “inspires us to show love in action for those who are marginalised, disenfranchised, or impoverished”. She said that “together as Catholic school communities in the Archdiocese of Perth, we come together to support the vital work of Catholic agencies for people in our own communities who have been marginalised by society” (The Record).
Mr Lynch presented a new LifeLink informational video, which was created through collaboration with representatives from different Catholic schools, including Servite. We are very proud of our students’ involvement in this resource which promotes the important work of LifeLink.
Our call to serve is very much part of our culture as a Catholic school in the tradition of the Servite Friars. Indeed, it is a core charism of our school as we ask all within our College to look outward to serve the needs of others. This philosophy underpins all that we do and shapes our plans and actions. We are pleased to continue our strong support of LifeLink and also our own Servite Ministries as we encourage our students to give of their time and talents to care for those less fortunate than themselves.
National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week “is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia” (reconciliation.org.au). At the heart of the reconciliation journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In recognising this very important week, which commenced on Wednesday with National Sorry Day, the College integrated a suite of learning and reflection activities into the daily routines of staff and students. Lessons in different learning areas were devoted to exploring Reconciliation and The Stolen Generation, whilst our prayers for the week focused on our shared history and the responsibility that we all have to strive toward Reconciliation.
During Homeroom, students created mauve hibiscus flowers which will be placed around our prayer focus in the Alexis Research Centre as a sign of our commitment to Reconciliation. The hibiscus flower was chosen because it is a hardy plant that grows all around Australia. Mauve was the selected colour as it represents healing and compassion.
College staff meanwhile gathered as a professional learning community on Thursday afternoon to continue work on our Transforming Lives Aboriginal Reconciliation strategy. As a group, we had the opportunity to reflect on stories from staff, students and Yuin man Jade Kennedy and then explore how we can formalise a strategy over the course of the year which will allow us to strengthen our relationships with our local Aboriginal community.
As a professional educational community, we are excited to have the opportunity to develop our Transforming Lives strategy through the lense of learning story:
- Learning our story
- Learning my story
- Learning their story
- Celebrating our story
We look forward to updating our community on the continued development of our Transforming Lives strategy.
ACC Cross Country Carnival
The Associated and Catholic College’s (ACC) annual Cross Country Carnival was held on Thursday this week. This significant event on the ACC calendar saw 76 schools compete which involved in excess of 4000 students. This year’s event was the biggest ACC Cross Country Carnival to date and continues to be the largest one-day school sporting event in Western Australia.
I write often of the importance of student involvement in sport, so it was pleasing to see so many of our students commit to representing the College at the carnival. Our students gave of their best on the day and involved themselves in the event with great pride, courage and spirit.
I would like to acknowledge the considerable efforts of Head of Sport Mr Dave Maxwell along with Mr Kris Hailes, Mr Coby Henderson and Ms Ali Lang for their ongoing support of students in the lead up to and during the event.
Mr Jeff Allen
Principal