This week, as part of our Year 11 Diploma requirements, all of our Year 11 Students participated in a full day of service at either Edmund Hillary School, Mangapikopiko School, Owairaka District School, New Windsor School and Communities Feeding Communities.
Embracing our SERVICE Values and living our motto of ‘By Love Serve’, our students threw themselves into their service activities whether it was doing library stocktake, preparing classroom resources for next year, painting murals for the Edmund Hillary School Hall, being classroom assistants, assisting with garden to table, playing games at break times or preparing 60 meals of chilli con carne and 120 portions of ginger crunch for families in need and working in the community gardens.
The staff at the schools we visited were impressed by our students willingness to give anything a go and their empathic and caring way of interacting with their students. They are also very grateful for the hours and hours of work we have saved their staff in preparing resources for next year.
Our students enjoyed getting to know the younger students at the various schools and many did not want to leave at the end of the day. Ruby King from Durham House noted:
“I absolutely loved visiting Mangapikopiko school. It was a great way to show ‘By Love Serve’ as we helped around the school and played with the young students. The students were super enthusiastic and excited to see us – it was amazing how much of a difference we were able to make by just being there. I would definitely go back!”
Lili Jin from Durham House commented, “we helped with garden maintenance in front of the school. Pulling the weeds from the ground was very satisfying, my friends and I agreed it would be the perfect activity for relieving stress. In the end, we were able to clear nine full rubbish bags of weeds—a result to be proud of!
Principal of Edmund Hillary said, “I cannot believe how quickly your students turned a vision of mine into a reality. I had wanted murals created for the last 15 years. Your students were great ambassadors for St Cuthbert’s and put your ‘By Love Serve’ motto into action.”
