Elijah Hurley – ERA For Change….
From the 27th of May to the 3rd of June, Edmund Rice College will not only be supporting National Reconciliation Week, but advocating for a change in the country’s legal system. Students from the College and numerous other Edmund Rice schools across the country will be asked to join in solidarity to sign a petition that advocates for the following:
- An Aboriginal voice to Parliament to ensure that First Nations Peoples are able to be directly involved in the Parliamentary process
- For all people to have the right under the United Nations Declaration of Human rights to “Be equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination the equal protection of the law.” “First Nations People are NOT criminals but hold this Nation’s identity.”
- Support for a commission to oversee the process of Government communication with First Nations people to ensure that their rights are upheld.
- We call for Article 13.2 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to be instituted in Australia .
It would be greatly appreciated to see the support from all members in the College community.
Will Douglas – Social Justice….
In Week 8, the College will be participating in the Act for Peace Ration Challenge. For five days, six students in Year 11, alongside the rest of the school, will be eating the same rations as a Syrian refugee living in a camp in Jordan. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to stand in solidarity with refugees, developing empathy for those less fortunate, and raising money which will help provide emergency food, healthcare and life-saving support to refugees and other conflict and disaster-affected communities.
The winter sleep-out at home will be held via zoom on Wednesday 9th June, in partnership with other Edmund Rice schools. Funds raised will be going towards SCARF, an organisation which assists refugees in ‘rebuilding their lives’ in the Wollongong area. Guest speakers will include Dr Jav Badyari, a passionate advocate for the end of indefinite detention, who has slept out for around 600 days, and Sophie-May Kerr, a Representative from SCARF who has worked and volunteered tirelessly in the community. A google form has been sent out by Mrs Anderson, and students are strongly encouraged to sign up.
Further, we thank everyone who has contributed to the missions, which at the moment is going towards supporting India, during a humanitarian crisis which is affecting so many innocent people.
Matthew Armitage – Liturgy….
“As the Year 11 Liturgy Prefect it is my job to help set up for all of the assemblies. Each week we have a new theme for the school to follow, and this becomes the theme for the assembly during that week. Last week our theme was Spirit, so we celebrated the team spirit and mateship of the College. The upcoming week the theme is Acceptance, embracing people for who they are. Another role in my position is to write some of the daily prayers for the morning announcements.
Tex Keeble – Sport….
“As the Year 11 Sports Prefect I am looking to develop logo designs and team branding ideas for all sporting activities and teams for the school. It would be great for all students to get around and rally behind it so we can make this happen, feel free to share your ideas for any sport names or logos by emailing me, I would love to hear them!