Community and ServiceMLC girls have an interest in perspectives other than their own. Throughout the School they are encouraged to gain awareness of community needs and then to actively strive to improve the conditions and experiences of others through generosity of service. The Pastoral Care program through The House System and the Prefect system explicitly require and then provide opportunities for leadership through service.
Helping the Helper -
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| A sea of MLC pink caps, smiling and enthusiastic faces was the order of the day at the Mothers' Day Classic, 2008 |
It was an enthusiastic MLC crowd who gathered for the Mothers’ Day Classic Walk on the steps of the Art Gallery of NSW on Sunday morning. Extended families with cousins and grandparents, and many school friends joined together for the stroll along the Sydney foreshores raising money for Breast Cancer Research and awareness of the need in our community to support those families who are dealing with this disease.
MLC’s support for the event is remarkable. Our community makes one, of the most significant contributions of any organisation in Sydney. For the second year we have won the Highest Participant numbers for a School. This of course makes us very proud. We had 185 registered entry forms for the walk. What is very important to understand is that these entries often registered as family ones so the number was much higher. What needs to be realised is that this is probably one of the most significant groups in the entire walk.
As a community event, MLC’s involvement in the Mothers' Day Classic confirms how important women and families are in our school and that participation, generosity and social awareness are to be valued. Our girls are receiving the right messages and demonstrating they have great capacity to do much for the good of many.
Ms Pam Hatfield
Community Relations
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SRC Annual Rainbow Week
Rainbow week is a chance for girls at MLC to celebrate our differences. The wide variety of students at MLC exposes us to many cultures and religions. It is this great diversity that makes MLC so unique. Rainbow week is a fun filled week organised by Round Square and SRC to raise funds in 2008 for The Prince of Alexander Fund, Starehe Girls School and Kids Positive Bead Project.
The week began with Middle School Round Square group running a carnival day during lunchtime. The barbecue and fairy floss machine attracted girls from all different year groups. The Middle School Round Square girls (Yr 6-8) did a fantastic job in preparing the games and activities. This was the beginning of a very successful week.
The Round Square group began selling gelatos on Tuesday, which proved to be a huge hit throughout the week.
There were many on going fundraising activities held everyday over the course of the week including; the selling of Kids Positive badges, Face Up to Poverty and Make Your Mark. The Kids Positive Badges were the 2008 Rainbow Week badges designed by Melanie Sharp (Yr 9).
Face Up to Poverty was an awareness campaign Round Square ran to identify students who want to change the poverty situation around the world. Finally, Make Your Mark was an SRC initiative, which allowed students to make their mark in MLC history. Students were given a piece of calico on which to paint a design. These squares will be joined and the mural will be hung in the ILC.
Gelatos and sausages were sold on Wednesday as well as Henna tattoos. Thursday saw the different committees that students can join at MLC, displaying their information and promoting their work. The girls were also entertained by music students who busked at various locations around the school.
On Friday the girls bought rainbow badges and wore mufti for the final day of activities. The girls enjoyed the Thai, Indian and Italian cuisine on offer. In Palm Court the celebrations of Rainbow Week continued as girls were entertained by the Indian dance group who, as per usual, gave a fantastic performance. For the rest of the extended lunch, girls sat in Palm Court, on the steps and watched down from the balconies and stairwells enjoying the live band, Mimesis perform,
who were called upon on short notice and gave an excellent performance.
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Learning to Serve
…one aspect of empathic intelligence (is) mirroring … Mirroring can function socially and psychologically to convey attunement between individuals.’
Associate Professor Roslyn Arnold, ‘Empathic Intelligence in pedagogy’
Successful service learning programs are those where there is explicit benefit for both the provider and the recipient of the service. It is not a volunteer program or voyeuristic. It is grounded in experiences and activities that facilitate learning for everyone. Extension of the Middle School Service Learning program provids greater opportunity for girls to learn about other people and themselves. MAD (Make a Difference) days are held each term to provide personal care packages and stationery packs for the Teachers’ College in Timor, the Model School in Nepal and Samaritans Purse Christmas boxes.
The program with Merrylands School sees Year 7 students in regular and ongoing classroom visits for three terms of year. Girls learn how young people with disabilities are more the same as them as different and that in helping others learn new skills, we learn more about ourselves. The success of this program has seen its extension to Holsworthy Special School, and Merrylands School’s Learn to Swim Program.
Creativity, Action and Service
Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) is the compulsory component of the International Baccalaureate Diploma with the goal of educating the whole person. CAS counterbalances the academic focus of the diploma and aims to foster a more compassionate and active citizen.
The girls document their compulsory hours of participation in community service, physical activities and creative and performing arts for the two-year period of the diploma and also reflect on its impact on their learning and development.
