Strive9: Our Students Are Making A Difference
Santa Maria College’s emPOWER Learning Projects provide innovative ways for our students to learn practical life skills, connect their learning to life and create social change in our world. Through empathy and capacity, our girls are empowered to positively impact the world.
Strive9 forms the Year 9 emPOWER program where all students are called to take on a project that will have an impact on their world. It is about students deciding what they care about and how they might make a difference. By participating in Seek7 (Year 7) and Explore8 (Year 8), they have learned to research, plan and develop new ideas. In Strive9, students get to apply these and engage in some social action.
Strive9 is a student-led social action project that aims to make students more aware of the needs of the environment, those in their community and the wider world. They learn some key skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and leadership skills, as well as the importance of service, compassion, justice and empathy.
Byrne
Byrne House cleaned along the coastline, removing plastics and acknowledging the detrimental impact the plastics have on marine life.
“The best thing about Strive9 for me was being able to help our marine life by preventing 25kg of rubbish from polluting our ocean.” Makayla French, Byrne
Corbett
Corbett visited an aged care facility spending time engaging with the residents.
“The best part about Strive9 was making a person’s day by letting them talk to me about their life and family.” Ruby Daniels, Corbett
de la Hoyde
De la Hoyde attended St Gerard’s Primary school where they cleaned the grounds, painted a mural and helped with a sports carnival.
“For us the best part of Strive9 was seeing all of the pre-primary kids’ faces light up when they saw the mural we were painting.” Lilian Hough, de la Hoyde
Dillon
Dillon prepared and made gifts for children at Perth Children’s hospital.
“The best part of Strive9 was knowing that we were helping young children who are suffering whilst also connecting with the girls in our Homeroom.” Lenna Rhodes, Dillon
Frayne
Frayne cooked and packaged food for St Patrick’s Care in Fremantle.
The best thing about Strive9 was baking cookies to help the homeless people in Fremantle and knowing we made an impact. Chloe Cox, Frayne
Kelly
Kelly visited Amanda’s Garden in Southern River to prepare the garden for their open week raising money for meningococcal research.
What I loved the best about Strive9 was working alongside the girls in my Homeroom, connecting better with them all, and doing something that benefitted others.
Elizabeth Harris, Kelly
O’Donnell
O’Donnell also visited an aged care facility to help with exercise classes and writing memoirs with the residents.
“My favourite part of Strive9 was when I got the chance to talk to Bruce, one of the patients at the aged care facility. It was very eye-opening and humbling listening to him talk about his life and share some of his experiences with us. I enjoyed spending time with them, and I am very glad that I got to be there.” Griffin O’Brien, O’Donnell
O’Reilly
O’Reilly attended Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Bird Sanctuary and helped with cleaning. They also took toys they had made for the birds with them.
The best part of Strive9 was getting to pat the dingos at Kaarakin. Ava Nolan, O’Reilly
We congratulate all of our Year 9 students on what they have accomplished in their Strive9 projects.
- emPower, Featured
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 1, Week 6 2025
