{"id":7205,"date":"2023-06-20T15:59:32","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T05:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/?post_type=article&p=7205"},"modified":"2023-06-20T15:59:32","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T05:59:32","slug":"our-inaugural-santa-sleepout","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/article\/our-inaugural-santa-sleepout\/","title":{"rendered":"Our inaugural Santa Sleepout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.<\/p>Matthew 25:40<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Last Friday night, a group of Year 12 students took part in our inaugural \u2018Santa Sleepout\u2019 in support of the St Vincent De Paul Winter Sleepout. When planning the sleepout, my intention was to build an understanding of the issues surrounding homelessness by giving students a glimpse of what life is like for someone experiencing homelessness. Everyone was asked to bring an open mind to truly understand why they were taking part in the sleepout and the importance of this experience. So, to begin the evening, I asked them to think about what they had packed and to reflect on what they deemed essential for sleeping out, as well as whether these would be considered essential items for someone experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it was only Year 12 students who \u2018slept rough\u2019 for the night, the whole school community played a part in this sleepout due to the generous donations everyone brought in. These donations were incredibly important as we used them to make up 356 snack packs which will be distributed to people in need via Night Patrol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the evening, we heard from\u00a0Ms Sulis, Ms Kempers and Ms Dunphy about their first-hand experiences with Night Patrol and completed a Cost of Living activity. In this activity, we were provided with a $545.80 budget, which is equivalent to the average Newstart payment, and we had to determine how we should spend this money to cover living expenses. After this, we enjoyed delicious soups for dinner, made by the Year 12 Food Technology cohort, had a visit from the \u2018Vinnes Van\u2019 for some late-night hot chocolate, and ended the evening with a liturgy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who attended the sleepout brought a great attitude and outlook to the night. They participated in all the activities with such interest and insight. Their comments and reflections made in our initial conversations and final liturgy were reflective and inspiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some thoughts and reflections on the sleepout:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am forever grateful to have participated in the Santa Sleepout with my peers. It is so clear we have a strong sense of social justice and service at the College because all the students participating were so willing to help pack the snack packs, engage in all the activities, listen to our teachers speak of their experiences and even sleep outside. After the liturgy and our reflection, I feel even more connected to my peers, and teachers and more knowledgeable about homelessness in Australia and how I can help others.<\/p>Olivia Nakhle<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On Friday night a group of committed Year 12 students embarked on the first Santa Sleepout. It was an amazing opportunity to connect as a cohort as we played fun games, packed snack packs for Vinnies night patrol and some of us sleeping outside and others inside. My favourite part of the experience was the night liturgy where we expressed our gratitude for our peers and deepened our connection to our faith. It was truly a wonderful and memorable experience where I was able to broaden my understanding of the impact of homelessness through the experience.<\/p>Sienna Signorelli<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Santa Sleep Out was a great opportunity for Year 12s to help the homeless community and reflect on all the gifts we have been given. To start off the night, our teachers that partake in Vinnies shared many stories with us, giving us a sense of appreciation for all that we have been taking for granted. The rest of the night consisted of discussions, packing snack packs for the homeless and participating in activities that allowed us to be empathetic with those who are less fortunate than us. We then concluded the night with a liturgy where we were able to reflect on what we did. Overall, it was a wonderful experience that taught us to be grateful as we helped others.<\/p>Mariam Ibrahim<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I was so pleased with the way the sleepout was received and am so grateful to the school community for supporting the initiative. The College has a long history of supporting St Vincent De Paul Society and this event was an excellent way to consolidate this relationship and raise awareness and advocacy for more than 120,000 people who are experiencing homelessness around Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lisa Haddad<\/strong>
Faith and Mission Prefect 2023<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40 Last Friday night, a group of Year 12 students took part in our inaugural \u2018Santa Sleepout\u2019 in support of the St Vincent De Paul Winter Sleepout. When planning the sleepout, my intention was to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","article_category":[8],"article_tag":[],"class_list":["post-7205","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/7205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=7205"},{"taxonomy":"article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_tag?post=7205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}