Social Justice

Aim: Inspired by the charism of Edmund Rice and in the tradition of the Christian Brothers in Waverley College, we commit ourselves to living out the gospel values by siding with those oppressed by poverty and injustice.

We strive to:

• Unite all members of Waverley College in an approach to social justice within our Waverley College community and in the broader community;
• Integrate education in social justice into the curriculum and all teaching programs;
• Provide the opportunities for all students to be involved in social action with a view to exposing them to the marginalised and awakening their social conscience;
• Provide a particular emphasis on social action in Year 11 by developing a community service programme;
• Maintain a close link with social justice endeavours initiated by the Christian Brothers;
• Encourage the development of positive leadership, responsibility and compassion;
• Become aware of social justice issues through the gathering, analysis and appropriate dissemination of data and documentation on best practice in the education of social justice from relevant literature, different schools systems and other sources;
• Link the thrust of the College's social justice programs with its liturgies, retreats, the social teaching of the Church and individual perceptions of social justice.

The Social Justice groups meets once a week and is under the guidance of our College Social Justice Co-ordinator Ms. G Cullen:

"At the beginning of each school year I try to look at areas of the Social Justice program that may need refining.

I have been conscious for some time that we could be doing more in regards to Aboriginal issues. In an effort to improve the situation I nominated the college to be part of a project called "Yarnup". The program is aimed at building bridges between the black and white communities. We launched the program by inviting members of the Aboriginal community at Redfern and many dignitaries from the wider community to a lunch and a viewing of the movie Kanyini. We also had one of the oldest lore men in Australia, Tajilpi Wari attend. This was his first time in Sydney. Our year 11students got to mingle with the guests and to ask questions. Now every student in the college has seen Kanyini which is a documentary outlining the effect of white occupation on Indigenous culture. We hope to run an immersion experience to a remote Aboriginal community in the future. Much of the drive for this initiative came from William McKay and Raphael Morrissey in year 11.

Another group of the population that we have had very little contact with are young people with mental and physical disabilities. We have recently volunteered our services to the Holdsworth Community Centre at Woollahra. Twice a week our students assist disabled teenagers with playing ten-pin-bowling and other sports. The project is proving mutually beneficial to both parties.

The Service Work program continues to offer students the chance to interact with groups in society that they normally do not get the chance to meet. Hopefully stereotypes and misconceptions are challenged during this process. The Street Retreats and Night Patrol rosters are constantly full. Our visits to Villawood Detention Centre are numbered as the Government intends to process detainees in the community. These visits over the past four years have been enlightening for our students. We have a wonderful relationship with the residents at Charingfield Nursing Home in Charing Cross.

Each year, the year 11 students host Buddies Days for children from domestic violence refuges. It is quite touching to see our students interacting with these little kids who have been through so much. It is also a great chance to share our fantastic facilities with others.

We continue to donate litres of blood each year to the Red Cross. We collect thousands of dollars on behalf of the Salvation Army and CanTeen, children living with cancer. We helped build a school in Afghanistan through our Easter Appeal. Some year groups have charities that they fund-raise for each year.

I often have students who come to me quite angry about a particular social issue. Very often I will just teach them how to write a letter to vent their concerns but sometimes they want to take things further. Luca Holden (year 9) spoke at the Fairtrade Expo at Paddington this year. Kylie Kwong described him as "inspirational". Luca was angry at third world farmers being ripped off by multi-nationals and decided to do something about it. He has been instrumental in Waverley College moving towards being a Fairtrade school. He has the local coffee shops in his sight now.

Aidan Cai (year 10) represented the college at an Amnesty International conference. He returned fired up and ready to make a difference. The college has supported Amnestys 'Stop Violence Against Women' and 'Stop Internet Censorship in China' campaigns this year. I hope that we instill in our students that if they see something that is unjust they are compelled to speak out against it.

I see awareness-raising as having equal importance as advocacy and outreach in the college. We already do a unit of Social Justice in years 7-10. We also try to send students to Social Justice Days at other schools. These conferences are usually interactive and cover issues such as landmine clearance. The year 10 students had Activity Days earlier in the year. On one of these days they heard guest speakers from Vision Australia, The Red Cross, Vinnies and Amnesty outline the work they do in the community. Our students were very open and responsive to the presenters.

Next year I hope to extend the concept of Service Leaning throughout all of the Key Learning Areas in the curriculum. The college will be part of a pilot project that NAPCAN has initiated. It aims to empower young people to make a positive difference in their local communities. Research suggests that raising awareness about justice issues in local or global communities and helping students to come up with solutions, has a really positive effect on the type of citizen we produce. Surely this should be the aim of all schools, to produce engaged citizens who want to make this planet a better place for everyone".

Geraldine Cullen. Social Justice Coordinator.