St Vincent de Paul Homelessness Awareness Afternoon

Last Thursday from 3.30pm – 7pm we held a Homelessness Awareness Afternoon for students from all year levels. Michael Siccama, our Vinnies Youth Engagement and Development Officer, led the students through several activities. One of these activities the students were given a particular character description and they had to go to the different businesses set up around the room to find shelter for the night. Meeting the criteria for any of the accommodation options was quite challenging and showed the students it isn’t always easy to find help when you need it.

There was also discussion about the three categories of homelessness, Primary – which is the one we would think is the main form of our homelessness is only 7%, Secondary and Tertiary homelessness make up 93%.

The students were then given a specials catalogue from a grocery store and were told they had $80 to shop for enough food to last them for two weeks. This was an interesting activity to see what some of them thought they would need.

Thank you to Mr Mark Algie in the tuckshop as we didn’t go hungry. We shared a simple meal of soup and bread.

Our last activity was building a shelter out of cardboard. Lucky for us it was inside so we didn’t have wind and rain to compete with as a lot of homeless people need to.

While the students had fun participating in these activities, the intent of the evening was for them to develop a clearer understanding of this social issue along with empathy for those affected.

Thank you to Michael and the staff members who assisted with this afternoon.

Cheryl Petersen
Campus Minister
petersenc@shalomcollege.com

Shalom Day

Our annual celebration of all things ‘Shalom’ is on this Thursday 22 August.

For students this is a free dress day. No crop tops, singlet tops, short shorts or ripped jeans. They will require closed in shoes and they need to bring a hat, but it doesn’t have to be a school hat. Students are asked to bring a gold coin to donate to their House Charity. Students should bring a small bag for their lunch, hat, water bottle and sunscreen. No devices will be needed as they will be too busy participating in activities to use them.

We would also like grandparents to come along for the Prayer Celebration at 10am and the morning tea that follows. We will have seating in the Sports Centre for those that are able to join us on the day.

Masses

Gathering as a community to participate in Mass is central to being Catholic. As a Catholic School, we provide opportunities for students and staff to participate in Masses, regardless of their own faith background or none. Therefore, each House will join with another, to celebrate a House Mass during one of their timetabled Assembly times in Term 2 or Term 3.

Each Religious Education class will also cohost a Wednesday morning Mass at 8am in our chapel. This Mass occurs during term time and is a Parish Mass, so it is open to all. The Mass finishes before the 8.40am bell. Religious Education teachers will email a notice to families prior to their allocated Mass, and we encourage attendance. Upcoming Masses will be hosted by our Year 8 and Year 9 students.

Wednesday 21 August  Mr Brett Wyatt's RE 8.2 + 8.3

Wednesday 28 August  Mr Sam McMah's RE 8.1 + Mrs Somerfield's RE 8.6

Wednesday 4 September  Ms Jenny O'Driscoll's RE 9E + 9F 

Also, if you would like to join in other Parish services, the Catholic Parish of Bundaberg advertises Mass times athttps://www.bundabergcatholic.net.au/mass-prayer/

Mrs Sandra Freeman
Assistant Principal - Mission
Sandra_Freeman@shalomcollege.com