SEEK7 Explores a World Shaped by Water
Over the past few weeks, Year 7 students have been doing far more than completing a class project. Through the SEEK7 emPOWER Project, they have been planning, designing and creating around one real world issue that touches every community on earth: water.
It is the kind of learning that asks more of girls than simply finding the right answer. It asks them to think carefully, work together, and consider how a single issue can affect people, places and the future.
This emPOWER gives students the chance to wrestle with complex ideas in a way that feels meaningful, practical and deeply connected to life beyond the classroom.
Looking Closely at a Shared Resource
Inspired by Pope Francis’ call that access to safe drinking water is a basic and universal human right, students were challenged to think deeply about how water is managed, shared and protected.
Who has access to it? What happens when it is scarce, polluted or unevenly shared? How do communities care for it well?
These are not small questions, and Year 7 has not treated them lightly. Over the course of the project, students have been exploring water from different perspectives and considering the environmental, social and ethical issues connected to it.
In doing so, they have been building far more than knowledge. They have been developing curiosity, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. Just as importantly, they have been learning that real problems rarely fit neatly into one subject or one solution.
Learning That Asks Girls to Think and Create
One of the strengths of emPOWER is that it does not stop at research. Students are asked to take what they have learned and shape it into something they can share.
That means the past few weeks have been filled with discussion, decision making, problem solving and plenty of creative thinking. Girls have worked together to turn ideas into presentations that reflect both what they have discovered and what they want others to understand.
For parents, this is one of the most powerful parts of the program. It is not only about what your daughter knows by the end of the project. It is about what she can do with that knowledge. She is learning how to communicate clearly, listen to others, contribute to a team and present with purpose.
Project Night
The SEEK7 Exhibition held on Wednesday 24 June is the moment when all of that work came together.
It was a chance for families to see what the girls have made, but also to see the thinking behind it. Behind each presentation was a group of students who have spent weeks asking questions, testing ideas and finding ways to bring their learning to life.
For parents, the exhibition offered a window into what emPOWER is really teaching. It taught girls how to approach complexity with compassion, justice, service and excellence in mind. It showed them that their ideas matter, and that thoughtful young people can say something meaningful about the world around them.
- Catholic Girls School Perth, Mercy values in education, project-based learning, Real-World Learning, Santa Maria College, SEEK7 emPOWER Project, student exhibition, water sustainability education, Year 7 collaboration, Year 7 learning
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
Weekly Wrap Up – Term 2, Weeks 9 & 10
SEEK7 Explores a World Shaped by Water
