Community Service and Leadership
The Year 9 IDEALS program has been rebadged Community Service and Leadership with students undertaking a three-day program in the last week of Term 4. The program commenced with an excursion to the Mission to Seafarers. Students who were part of the CS&L program participated in a two-day excursion in the CBD, helping charities like the Seafarer’s Mission.
Every day, seafarers and marine merchants around the world work hard in inexorable, cold conditions of the oceans in order to safely deliver the goods and items to Melbourne, items we often take for granted in our lives. As an island, Australia depends solely on these ships for their goods and services and seafarers work weeks, months, even years on end, away from their families to ensure the proper operation of ships, and the continued supply of goods and items. The Seafarer’s Mission is a charity run by the Anglican Communion which provides a safe place for sailors to stay during their offshore leave. The mission provides the seaman with basic needs such as warm clothes, beanies, food and drink, access to wellbeing and Chaplaincy services, and more importantly, a long-awaited chance to reconnect with their family and friends from across the world. During COVID-19, these services are even more important due to the increased workload and the inability for the seaman to come ashore, away from their ships.
Student Reflections
Going to the Mission was a fantastic experience. During our time there we learnt about the history of the organisation, wrote letters to the seafarers and packed Christmas bags for them. Doing these little things for other people left all students with an amazing feeling of kindness. We also needed to use many Ivanhoe Learner; we needed to be ‘collaborative’ to get the massive job done and ‘compassionate’ to make sure our gifts and letters were beautiful. In the end, the students produced over 800 gift packages and cards. Doing this certainly taught every student to be grateful for what we have in life. This was a truly wonderful opportunity and is hopefully something that we and the seafarers will not forget.
Year 9 student Sean
During our visit to the Mission to the Seafarers, we learnt a lot of valuable lessons and put our Ivanhoe Learner Attributes into action. We worked collaboratively to make Christmas gifts and cards for seafarers by creating a ‘production line’ to fill as many bags as possible. This was both ethical and innovative. We were also compassionate, taking on an understanding of the harsh conditions that seafarers live out at sea. We wrote cards wishing them all the best. At the end of the day, we were reflective and realised how much every single one of us can do to help and the impact we have on their lives. Overall, it was a great day, learning many things and I can’t wait to go back.
Year 9 student Gretel
