Service Learning Report

October 2003

Prepared by

John Richards

Director of Service Learning

Introduction

The main focus for the year was to maintain the existing level of service programs already developed at AquinasCollege and to phase in the Senior Service Program for Year 10-12 students. It was also decided at the beginning of the year that there was only going to be enough time for studies in Christian service in the Year 8 Home Base Program in Term Two. This report is based on a time frame, as per last year, between the start of Term Four 2002 to the end of the Spring holidays in 2003 and includes the academic year, all school holidays in between and the summer holidays.

The Service-Learning Program at Aquinas is still unique amongst all Western Australian schools mainly because all student placements take place outside of school hours to include weekends as well as school holidays. This is made possible by the ability of students to choose activities that they feel suited to, as well as the commitment from many students to ensure that agencies with specific needs for volunteers are not left unattended. Many students are now aware that volunteering is not a just‘school day’ event and that the needs of others in their community exist all year round.

The result of this is that there are about twenty-five students who have taken on a sizeable and significant volunteer workload during the year. Apart from the number of hours they are prepared to put into the program, it is their enthusiasm and commitment to ensure placements are followed through that best characterises their efforts. Many have been directly responsible for bringing new volunteers into the program on a regular basis and all them receive strong support from their parents or guardians.

Scope of Service Learning at AquinasCollege

From where I sit, there are a number of different aspects of the program that are worth noting. Some, like the types of activities that students take part in as well as the ‘Home Base’ and ‘Senior Service Programs’ are well known to the college community and these are publicised regularly during the year via The Aquinian, Fish Magazine, School Assemblies and to some extent, Community Newspapers.

In addition to this it is my task to coordinate whole-school fund raising and to respond to numerous requests from community groups regarding fundraising, volunteering and appeals for donations. This year, it has been decided that in terms of fundraising and supporting charities outside the college, a specific focus on the needs of Edmund Rice ministries such as Edmund Rice Camps for Kids, Edmund Rice Centre Mirrabooka and the work of the Christian Brothers in Papua New Guinea and East Timor, would take place. This has, at times, raised some conflict of interests amongst students and staff who have all had, at one time or another, good reasons for wanting to run special appeals for a variety of very good causes. The college community should be aware of the fact that whilst we may be in a privileged position to offer assistance to a great many people, it is more prudent and manageable to respond to fewer requests and do them better. It is also worth mentioning that nearly all Edmund Rice Programs are self-funding and do not receive on-going assistance from the government or from Catholic agencies such as Life Link and IdentityWA. For a long time, they have reached out to many people whose needs have fallen outside other agencies’ criteria for help. For this, AquinasCollege makes no apologies for promoting greater allegiance towards offering assistance to Edmund Rice projects. As a matter of interest, this is a list of some of the requests that have come to my attention this year many of which the college did not act upon.

Appeals and Special Events

  • Amnesty InternationalStreet Appeal and Candle Day
  • Association for the DeafStreet Appeal
  • Asthma FoundationStreet Appeal
  • Australian Red CrossStreet Appeal and Doorknock
  • Cancer and CanteenStreet Appeal and Big Breakfast
  • Caritas AustraliaProject Compassion
  • Cerebral Palsy AssociationJeans for Jeans Day
  • Edmund Rice Camps for KidsSocial Events such as Charity Dinners
  • Edmund Rice Centre MirrabookaSocial Events such as Quiz Nights
  • Guide Dogs AssociationStreet Appeal
  • Heart FoundationStreet Appeal
  • Leukemia FoundationStreet Appeal
  • Life LinkStreet Appeal and School Appeal
  • MissionAustraliaWinter Sleepout
  • Motor Neurone DiseaseStreet Appeal
  • Murdoch Community HospiceBike Day and Raffle Tickets
  • Muscular DystrophyStreet Appeal
  • Retinitis PigmentosaStreet Appeal
  • RSPCAStreet Appeal
  • Salvation ArmyDoorknock
  • St Vincent de PaulStreet Appeal
  • SIDSRed Nose Day
  • World Vision40 Hour Famine

Donations of Goods

  • Australian Red Cross
  • Catherine McCaulay Centre
  • East Timor- Christian Brothers and Edmund Rice Centre Notre Dame
  • Edmund Rice Centre Mirrabooka
  • Papua New Guinea- Christian Brothers and Passionist Brothers
  • St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal
  • St Vincent de Paul Advent Appeal

In terms of the Edmund Rice Centre Mirrabooka, the college has donated a significant amount of money for the centre. From the sale of Entertainment Books, Prefect and Student Council Food stalls, fees from the After-School Mentoring Program at St Pius Catholic Primary and the Aquinas College Junior school, approximately $5300 has been given to the centre this year. In terms of Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion Appeal, AquinasCollege raised a total of $4010 which is the largest amount of money given to this appeal in the past ten years. Some House groups have also raised money for Edmund Rice Camps for Kids and other charities.

New Initiative

The Service Learning Program makes available to senior students, an accredited tertiary unit in Justice Studies from the University of Notre Dame. The JS100 course was implemented at the beginning of the 2002 academic year and sixteen graduates from AquinasCollege have applied for an Advance Standing of one credit point at NDU. They have received an official letter of confirmation from the Director of Service Learning and will be able and encouraged to take this with them for their interviews. This course will be offered as an option from 2004 and beyond, and more information about how students can register for the course will be given to all Year 10 and 11 students in the middle of Term Four 2003. There are no fees associated with this option.

Significant Achievement

Whilst all volunteer efforts are significant, the college as a whole should be recognised for some of its valuable contributions to people in need. Below are three tables that collectively illustrate the depth of volunteering at AquinasCollege. The first table listsActivity Types and the number of hours and sessions that Aquinas students were involved. The second table lists a breakdown of students per Year Level and finally there is a list of officialAward Recipients for 2003. The Awards criteria, as in previous years, cover the period from the beginning of Term Four the pervious year to the end of the school holidays after Term Three in the current year.

Activity Types

ACTIVITY TYPE / Number of Sessions / Number of
Students / Total Hours
Aged Care Visits / 58 / 22 / 181
Brightwater Care Group, Manning / 6 / 1 / 6
Bush Care Days / 8 / 23 / 96
Cerebral Palsy AFL Excursions / 8 / 5 / 76
Cerebral Palsy Bentley Recreation / 2 / 2 / 16
Cerebral Palsy Wildcats Excursions / 4 / 2 / 32
Clean-Up Australia Day / 1 / 16 / 32
Crisis Care / 13 / 9 / 100
Environment / 33 / 29 / 170
Mentor Program / 18 / 94 / 671
Multiple Sclerosis Backyard Blitz / 1 / 5 / 36
Red Cross Lady Lawley Cottage / 47 / 16 / 219
Red Cross Soup Patrol / 21 / 12 / 126
Salvation Army Door Knock / 1 / 37 / 74
Sportsfun / 15 / 37 / 186
St Patrick’s Community Care / 9 / 4 / 72
Miscellaneous/PSA Help/Retreats* / 322

* Miscellaneous includes:

  • Year 12 Encounter Retreat Leaders
  • Eucharistic Ministers
  • Parish Altar Servers
  • Once-off community help
  • PSA volunteers

Year Level Breakdown

Year / Number of Students / Total Hours
8 / 67 / 285
9 / 36 / 162
10 / 34 / 246
11 / 110 / 829
12 / 41 / 282
Total 2003 / 224 / 1811
Total with
T4 2002 / 288 / 2415
2002 / 436 / 2468
Difference / -148 / -53

Comments

A significant drop in the number of middle-school students was a direct result of restrictions to the Home Base Program due to the Director’s workload in other areas.

A significant increase in Year 11 volunteer numbers and hours is a direct result of this year’s focus and success of the Senior Service Project.

Noticeable Trends in 2003

Undoubtedly the most noticeable trend has been the increase in the number of Senior student volunteers in service programs that involved core work in the community, in areas such as intellectual and physical disabilities as well as peer coaching and mentoring.

While it can be argued that the perceived threat and expectation of a graduation requirement played a significant part in this increase, it should also be said that the quality and detail of students’ reflections and journaling indicates that they have gained much more from their experiences than they have given. For most, it has been the simple call to actively take part in improving the lives of others that prompted them to shift away from their general ‘comfort zone’ and to try something different. Many have said that if it were not for the college to impose a service requirement in the way it did, they may never have realised or come to have accepted, the importance of the service they gave. For these reasons alone, the Senior Service Program can be determined ashaving had great success.

The drop in Middle-School and Year 10 volunteer numbers reflects the importance and need for lesson preparation and information delivery to students via the Home Base Program. A lack of teaching and curriculum time in 2003 in this area meant that most students in these year levels who did take part in Service Learning, did so because they were either already involved in years before, or really wanted to do something for others. Word of mouth between students also played an important part. Whilst this may be seen as a good thing by some (the numbers are still very large compared to other schools), it can also be seen in a negative light. It means that quite a number of students were not encouraged or inspired to take part in the program because of the lack of information, encouragement and guidance. Therefore the potential for more students to become involved was lost during the year.

Staff involvement

During the year, a small number of staff willingly presented themselves for Service placements. These included the Red Cross Soup Patrol; Mentor Program; Cerebral Palsy’s AFL, Wildcats and Royal Show excursions; Lady Lawley Cottage and Clean-Up Australia Day and Bush-Care Days. Their service has been greatly appreciated.

Other staff have coordinated and facilitated specific programs such as Sportsfun and the After-school Mentor Program and the Environmental programs. Each of these three programs involved a large number of student volunteers and an incredible number of hours of their own personal time. Special mentions must be made about the staff at St Pius Catholic Primary School and ManningPrimary School who also gave up their time to facilitate the Mentor or Sportsfun Programs. Their efforts are also greatly appreciated.

Agency Partnership

Whilst many agencies are well known by their names and by what they do, it is important for the college community to be aware that behind each agency is an army of paid and voluntary staff coordinators who willingly accommodate our students during their placements. In an age where public liability issues hamper the goodwill of many welfare groups, this level of support for student volunteering is enlightening and inspiring. It is essential that the goodwill of these people is maintained, and that the students from this college continue their exemplary conduct and positive attitude whilst taking part in their placements. This has been a highlight for me in my role as the Director of Service Learning. It was always going to be a testing time for the program when the college implemented service learning as a graduate requirement. Any negativity or rebelliousness on the part of senior students would have quickly shown up and destroyed the program. It is therefore comforting that our fears have been completely laid to rest and that the spirit of Edmund Rice has been present in the volunteer work of our staff and students.

Conclusion

In my position as Chairman of YVolunteer (VolunteeringWA) and a member of the Service Learning Network, I am aware of the types of programs and initiatives developing in other Catholic and government schools in Western Australia. I feel qualified to say that AquinasCollege has continued to make possible, the very best range of volunteer opportunities as well as a program for critical reflection and recording of students’ efforts. It continues to offer serious recognition for students who willingly take part in service work and receives strong support and encouragement from parents, staff and community groups. The program looks forward to having a new home in the soon to be built Mount Sion Formation Centre in 2004 and will endeavour to break newer ground in the area of service-learning.

We have made every day at Aquinas, a better day for others!

The college congratulates the following students for their significant efforts in 2003

Service Awards

Joel CULLINANE; James CLARK; Sheldon MONIZ; Paul VERGONE; Brock CARTER; Jason PASQUA; Rory VERMEERSCH; James FORDHAM; Luca CASTELLI

Service Colours

Felipe CHAVES; Julian LEONG; Matthew PALMER; Paul VERGONE; Ryan PAMMENT; Donovan DURACK; James VAN DER MOEZEL

Service Honours

John DEASE; Mitchell WALMSLEY; Simon SWINEY; Christopher TEGUH; John CUNNINGTON; Thomas ROPER