In Our Community…
In our Community ……
VINNIES WINTER SLEEPOUT
On Friday, 14th June, a large group of MSCW students participated in our annual Vinnies Winter Sleepout to gain a unique insight into the complex issues that people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage face by “sleeping rough” for one night. Our sleepout centred on St Vincent de Paul’s current case study, the Working Homeless, an emerging group of people who are experiencing housing hardship despite being in employment.
To begin the evening, Brooke Simmons, a volunteer from St Vincent de Paul, spoke to the students about the extensive services and support provided by the organisation and importance of the Winter Sleepout through her own experience. Her testimony served as a reminder of the difficult circumstances many people experience, even within the Hunters Hill area. Then students organised snack and toiletry packs that were donated from the College community for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. These packs will be delivered to Vinnies Van Services in Lewisham and Ryde.
Afterwards students were provided with an extremely simple dinner, enabling them to understand the physical extremities people experiencing homelessness face. Dinner was followed by an activity called the Privilege Walk. Facilitated by the Marists in Action (MIA) group, the aim of this session was for students to reflect on their privilege in contrast to those experiencing hardships. The night concluded with a TV program called ‘Filthy, Rich and Homeless’ which was about five high-profile Australians who agree to swap their privileged lifestyles for ten days of being homeless in NSW. The program enabled students to gain a deep insight into the complex causes of homelessness and become aware of the huge impact housing can have on peoples’ lives. The Winter Sleepout finished at 7 am on Saturday, 15 June.
Thank you to Samantha Ison, Jen Dove, Laura Marshall, Bonnie Chen, Josh Allen, Angus Bray, Matthew Iskander and Anne Ireland who gave up their warm beds for the whole night or supervised parts of the evening. A huge thank you to Jenny Vu for organising the Winter Sleepout and the collection and packing of much-needed items for St Vincent de Paul.
St. THERESE COLLABORATIVE NETWORK –
Stage 2 Faith Retreat
On Thursday, 13 June, Year 11 students, Chloe Murray and Lilli Moujalli had the opportunity to accompany Stage 2 students from St. Therese Primary School, Denistone on their Faith Retreat to the Royal Botanical Gardens. In collaboration with Marist College, Eastwood, our students helped to facilitate the day.
It was great to reconnect and interact with students and staff. We travelled to the Royal Botanical Gardens in the city. We then explored the gardens and scenery, seeing many different types of flora and fauna. We sat and reflected on the land and scenery around us and how it was important to our faith, as God created the world. These concepts are important when learning about being a Catholic, as we can understand how the world came to be. We then made our way down to the Opera House for lunch where we enjoyed the views. It was a beautiful day and was great to see how students got involved in conversations. The experience was important in understanding the interpretations of younger generations and the continuation and understanding of the Catholic faith.
- Chloe Murray, Year 11
Mr. Justin Salar, Religious Education Coordinator at St. Therese, Denistone commended Lilli and Chloe for their service;
“Both students were fully engaged and participated very well. They were great role models and responded well to our Stage 2 students. They contributed towards a successful faith formation experience for our Stage 2 students.”
This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #1, #2
