Strive9 is part of the suite of Enhanced Learning Programs at Santa Maria College. It is a social justice project, completed in Homeroom groups over the course of Terms 2 and 3. The girls choose an issue they are passionate about and work towards making a difference in that area. The project culminates with Implementation Day, where the girls go out into the community and put their work into practice.

Below are reflections from two Homeroom groups about their project.

Corbett Strive9 Project

Our Strive9 journey started off with a lot of planning and discussion about which project we were going to support. After brainstorming and voting many times, our Homeroom finally agreed to assist adults with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Through many Pastoral Care sessions, we utilised our time working out how best we could contribute to making the lives of those we were helping, better. As a Homeroom we allowed everyone to have input and we included each other’s ideas to allow our project to represent our Homeroom as a whole.  Through many ups and downs, we finally came to an agreement about contacting and reaching out to the Ability Centre in Coolbinia.

During the planning stages, we had to decide, as a group, how we were going to help the residents at the Ability Centre. Following large amounts of suggestions, we decided we would paint a mural with the residents, so they could have it at their Centre. Many hours were spent planning and editing our final design for the mural and how the residents could contribute. Our aim was to make the residents feel happy when they passed our mural, so we used many bright colours.

We were lucky to be granted permission by Gareth, a lovely staff member from the Centre. He visited us during a PCT session, so we could ask questions and fully understand what his mission for the Ability Centre was. We are grateful that Gareth was understanding and willing to help us complete our project.

On Implementation Day, we visited the Centre. Some of us found it slightly confronting and were nervous about interacting with the residents, but by the end of the day ,we came to realise they are just people and they are exactly like us.

Tae White, CorbettDillon Strive9 Project

After months of preparation, the Year 9 Dillon Homeroom visited Coolbellup Community School last week, to spend a fun and educational day with the Year 4 and 5 students.

On the day, the students had to complete English and Maths lessons, which we were able to help them with. I helped an 8-year-old boy named Jakob learning about addition and subtraction.

Following this, we were able to implement our project, which was to educate the students about healthy eating. We wanted to demonstrate healthy snacks, drinks and meals and portion sizes of food. We presented the students with recipe books which contained different snack and meal ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner. During recess, we spent time running around and interacting with the children. After recess, we gave the students their own personal lunch boxes, which they were able to decorate with stickers and sharpies.

We then helped the students create their own lunch, a healthy sandwich wrapped in our handmade eco-friendly beeswax wraps, juice boxes and treats of a muesli bar and popcorn. The food was donated by Woolworths and IGA and the beeswax wraps were made by our Homeroom. I felt so happy when the children were able to have their own lunches because some of them do not come to school with lunch. During lunchtime, we participated in an awesome, action-packed soccer match.

After lunch, we all came together for more games, which was a fun way for our girls to become involved and communicate with the kids. At the end of the day, we said a sad goodbye to the students. We hope that our lessons on healthy eating will last a long time and leave a happy effect on their lives.

The Year 9 Dillon Homeroom would like to thank Ms Bessel for allowing us to spend the day with LA9.

Alex Robinson, DillonByrne Strive9 Project

For our Strive9 project, Byrne Homeroom decided to donate baby goods and products to King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH).

We began Implementation Day, by covering boxes in blue, pink, yellow and green pastel paper. Next, we gathered together the new and pre-loved clothes, books and toys that had been donated by College families. We packed hundreds of items into 37 large boxes. At noon, two guest speakers, Liz Chidlow and Paula O’Connell from KEMH arrived to talk to us about their service work at the hospital and informed us about pre-term babies and the care they need. After their presentations, we enjoyed a shared lunch, which everyone in our Homeroom contributed to. We then helped load their car with the many boxes of donations.

After this long day, we reflected on the importance of this social justice program and how much we have learnt about the significance of service. We have been truly inspired by this program, we hope this has assisted us in our service journey and we can use these skills throughout the rest of our lives.

Georgia Mack, Year 9 Byrne

Kelly Strive9 Project

In the weeks prior to Implementation Day, Year 9 Kelly have all endeavoured to plan an enjoyable day for the children and their families at the ASeTTS centre on Beaufort Street, Perth. This centre aims to create a safe environment for those who are from a migrant background or have experienced a traumatic event.

Our goal for the project was to make a difference to the lives of others in need in our community through action. Our journey started with brainstorming broad ideas for our project. We came up with three main focuses: sick, orphaned or special needs children around the primary school age. Next, the homeroom narrowed these ideas down and decided to work with a migrant centre in the city. For the next few weeks, activities were organised such as lacing, colouring and rice shakers, along with lots of songs to sing along to.

Implementation Day arrived very quickly, and we were all very excited for the day. We caught two buses and a train to get to ASSeTTS, which was in the city. When we arrived, we each group set up their station and waited for the migrants to arrive. Throughout the day, we learnt about their backgrounds and families, as well as playing games, singing songs, blowing bubbles and enjoying meaningful conversations. As a special treat, one of the mothers made a traditional potato soup from her home country, which was delicious. Overall, the day was a huge success and it was a really rewarding experience for all those involved.

Bella Foster, Olivia Gilkison and Olivia Reeve