Student Leaders Score for Charity on Netball Court
In an effort to raise money for charity, our Student Leadership Council collaborated with the Aquinas College Captains to host the first-ever netball competition between the two Colleges.Â
Nishi, the 2023 Head Girl, shares an in-depth perspective.
Can you tell us the inspiration behind this netball fundraiser?Â
At the beginning of our leadership term, the SMC and AC executive student leaders had a meeting to discuss collaborative initiatives for the year ahead, and a netball game was one of many ideas that arose. Every PSA and IGSSA school runs an annual netball game against their brother/sister school counterpart, and we thought it was about time we joined in on the tradition – except, our game was a charity event, which made for a meaningful addition.
Where will the raised funds be allocated?
The inaugural netball game saw funds being split between the two schools. Santa Maria were raising funds to add to those being raised on Santa4Santa day (later in the term), which contributes to Shopfront, Mercycare and St Patrick’s. These organisations work tirelessly to provide many necessary resources, services and support to those struggling and disadvantaged in the Perth and broader Perth community. Aquinas raised funds for their bursary program, which is aimed at supporting student’s tuition, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend Aquinas.Â
How was the coordination managed between the two schools?
The AC and SMC executive leaders (Matteo, Will, Lily and myself) discussed and planned how we wanted the game to run and worked with our respective staff members for approval and assistance to make the game happen. Both schools organised promotional materials to display around their schools to raise awareness and SMC hosted the event on the Junior courts. In addition to hosting the event, we organised commentating, music, court set up, all materials required to run the game (score boards, timers, trophy etc.) as well as sourcing two badged umpires from SMC (special thank you to Maya and Kate!) Both schools organised their teams (with rolling subs permitted to ensure as much game play for as many players as possible). Aquinas were also permitted to invite their Year 12 prefect group (majority of their Year 12 cohort) to attend the event – of which a large number did come and support!Â
Were there any specific challenges that you encountered during the planning of this event?
As Year 12 leaders, our calendars are already busy enough, and fitting this event in, required much deliberation, to ensure that the event would not clash or impede on our existing workloads/college events. As we were not able to run the event at a break time during the school day, there was the curiosity about how many students and staff would be able to attend after school. However, the afternoon saw a big crowd form, as students from across year groups (with majority of the Year 12s coming down) as well as Aquinas students, cheering on their respective schools and donating generously. For an inaugural event, the turn out exceeded our expectations majorly!
 Are there any plans to establish this charity game as an annual tradition?
We hope to see the game become an annual tradition! The game is for a great cause, and is a wonderful addition to both College calendars, seeing as it provides an opportunity for students and staff to connect with one another across schools and also allows for a celebration of College pride – and also is great fun to watch! Ultimately, the future of the initiative is in the hands of leadership teams that succeed us, however, I think the spirit and funds raised from the game could be amplified by perhaps adding additional fundraising elements (eg drinks/sausage sizzle) and even ticketing the event prior (making tickets available for communities of both schools).
Who won the game and what was the score?
Although SMC was winning by a whopping seven goals by the end of the first quarter – the Aquinas captains managed to catch up and claim their win by the end of the game, winning 25 to 17.
Are there any other upcoming collaborative initiatives between the two teams that we can look forward to?
A major initiative that will continue into the future is the Bigger Picture Campaign (developed by our 2023 leadership councils), which will focus on building positive relationships between young people. Moreover, between the 2023 leadership councils, a number of initiatives were developed and implemented, many of which we hope will be continued in the future. These include the addition of an academic social for middle years (a series of academic based activities for middle school students to participate in, whilst also socialising and meeting new people from both schools), an annual cross leadership council meeting (where the leadership councils network, as well as plan and organise initiatives within their respective portfolios) and the executive leaders meeting (for execs of both teams to collaborate on goals and initiatives for the year ahead).
Aquinas’ College Captain, Matteo also provides insight into the event.Â
“The 2023 graduating classes from Aquinas and Santa Maria have had a great connection since our early days at school, beginning with socials like the Year 7 Bush Dance and Year 10 Ballroom Dancing, and this has continued to develop throughout our time together. This year especially saw such great collaboration between our two schools’ student leadership teams, and we wanted to organise something to wrap up our journey. What better, we decided, than a bit of friendly competition! We hoped the inaugural Captains’ Netball Game would be a fun and exciting event not only for the student leaders on the court, but also for our peers and younger students, fostering closer ties between our schools. We hope to see this event grow in the years to come (and hope to see Aquinas retain the Cup!).”
Congratulations to everyone involved in this in this incredible event and we eagerly anticipate its continued success in the future. We’d like to thank Nishi and Matteo for taking the time to share their insights with us.
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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.
