Living the social justice experience at St Peter's
On Wednesday 17 September, all 900 students of All Saints College, St Peter’s Maitland will take part in the annual Social Justice Awareness Day. The purpose of the day is to provide members of the school community an opportunity to experience what life can be like for those less fortunate.
All Saints College Principal, Michael Blake says the day is something all students look forward to participating in:
“Social Justice Awareness Day is an important annual event for our school, where our students and staff come together to ‘walk the walk’ to support the most vulnerable in our community.”
“Ensuring our students are not only educated but also understand how social justice issues effect everyday life is one of our commitments here at St Peter’s,” said Mr Blake.
Headed up by Social Justice coordinators and teachers Aidan Linehan and Sophie Moylan, the day will begin with guest speaker and 2005 Young Australian of the Year Khoa Do, and involve a range of events and activities for both students and staff.
“Khoa will be speaking to students about his story and how they can ‘be more’, as they are part of a true ‘social justice experience’ with no electricity and limited provisions throughout the day.”
“Students will also take part in ‘Detention for Detention’ where over 150 students and staff will give up their lunchtime voluntarily to show solidarity with children who are currently held in Australian detention centres. There will be a ‘compound’ area fenced off with chicken wire and students will be given a number on a wrist band when they enter, which will be their only identifier while they sit in silence in the compound.”
“We will finish the day with a ‘Social Justice Sleep Out’ with over 100 students and staff sleeping rough at school on Wednesday night to share the experience of homeless people who do this every night,” Mr Linehan said.
Media opportunity
What: Social Justice Awareness Day
Who: Over 150 students and staff of All Saints College
When: Wednesday 17th September – key activities at 11.30am and 1.30pm.
Where: All Saints College, St Peter’s Campus – 9 Free Church Street Maitland
To confirm your attendance at the day, or for more information please contact Communications Manager, Kate Bennett on 0419 263 901.
