What a great night we had on Friday night. Over 180 intrepid students from Years 6 -12 and eleven teachers braved the cool and, at times, wet weather and slept on the concrete Primary Courtyard to participate in the Youth off the Streets Winter Sleepout. In doing so, the students experienced, to a small degree, the harsh reality of homelessness. In Australia, there are over 100,000 people living homeless, with over 47,000 being young people between 12-25 years old and 25,000 of these are between 12-17 years old.
Sleeping rough provides a very real connection to the reason why Youth Off The Streets is in desperate need of the funds that the students have raised. All funds raised will contribute to supporting the lives of the 47,000 young people who are facing the challenge of homelessness, neglect and abuse, drug and alcohol dependency and exclusion from school. At the moment, the students have raised over $1700. If you would like to contribute to Youth Off the Streets, please send your donations in an envelope to School. All assistance is greatly appreciated.
It was a great night, wonderfully organised by our fantastic Student Service Learning Team led by our Service Captains- Kate N, Connor M, Alyssia B and Jacob B. Kate, Connor, Alyssia and Jacob were ably supported by Liana N, Erica H, Joshua J, Hanniel S, Jalé C, Elizabeth F, Emma C, Matthew M, Lauryn R, Maxene R, Jaidwyn J and Annabelle R. The student team organised a terrific night of information and fun, with the students participating in a variety of fun activities, leading up to a final challenge. We are also thankful to Miss Peterson for sharing about Youth Homelessness and the work begun by Father Chris Reilly and also to Miss Mahaffey for sharing with us a Christian perspective on poverty, how Jesus cared for others and how He wants to us to do the same.
We are also very thankful to the teachers who supported the evening, either by braving the elements and sleeping out with the students, providing soup, fruit or slice for dinner or by helping with setting up and running the activities. My thanks to Miss Mahaffey, Mr Rontale, Mrs Rainer, Mr Glazebrook, Miss Peterson, Mr Millard, Mr Reed, Mr Bunsell, Miss Adams, Miss Paul, Mr Maxwell, Mr and Mrs Clay, Mrs Cocks, Miss Roediger, Mrs Robertson and Mrs McCormick. A big thank you also to Mr Pereira and the Year 12 Hospitality class for cooking several of the delicious soups and baking the bread for the students to enjoy.
Finally, a huge thank you to all our wonderful students for their support of this event, showing their commitment to making a difference in the lives of those who face the struggles of homelessness and disadvantage. The behaviour of the students was excellent at all times during the evening and it was great to see the students across all years working together and encouraging each other during the activities. In particular, a shout out to the forty wonderful Year 12 students who attended the evening. Well done, everyone.
Mr Stewart Rowe
Director of Service Learning (7-12)
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