2023 | ISSUE 8 | Identity News

Year 8 Courage to Care Renewal Days

Acting with compassion and knowing the importance of being an upstander are values that St Joseph’s College always drives home to our young people. To compliment the Year 8 Religious Education focus this term, we excitedly welcomed back Courage to Care, an upstander program that educates on how to counter the dangers of racism, prejudice, discrimination and bullying. This program is the highlight of the Year 8 Renewals, and one that is so powerful it leaves a long-lasting impression on our boys.

The program is delivered by a team of skilled and dedicated volunteers that features inspiring testimonies from Holocaust survivor speakers, promotes acceptance of diversity within our community, transforms bystander behaviour, and inspires us to become upstanders.

The Renewals also featured a seminar on respectful relationships, an interactive session about the importance of faith dialogue and a calming mindfulness experience inspired by the Resilience Project.

Below are a few of the Year 8s testimonies about their Renewal experience:

Earlier this week, the Year 8 students participated in the Renewal Program for 2023. The renewal had a range of activities including a presentation regarding respectful relationships from Mr. Kennedy. A presentation on different religions and how important religion is to people, and how we should embrace it from Ms. Milverton. We also got some time out of the day to calm down and relax with some meditation with Ms. McKew in the chapel.

An amazing experience we had was with two special guest speakers Henry Eckert and Peter Bartra, who are Holocaust survivors from World War 2. They came to talk to us and share their remarkable stories on how they survived such a terrible time, Henry said that he lived 2 lives, his first life was in the War and his second life was in Australia. At one time Henry spent six weeks hiding in a cupboard when the Nazis were in town looking for Jews. One time he was playing with a younger boy in the street and a man in a uniform with big black boots came and his father always told him that if he had a “uniform and black boot run, run quicker than you ever have before”. So, Henry ran for his life and lost the Nazi but as he looked over the young child who he was playing with wasn’t so lucky.
Year 8 Student, Max Burn

I learnt to treat other people how they want to be treated.

I am grateful for getting to learn about other religions and to get to know about how even different religious leaders get along.

I learnt how hard it is to survive as a Jew during the Holocaust.

A challenge was how hard it was to believe that people actually did those things.

to people.

Learning this will help us to stand up for others.

Make sure things like the Holocaust never happen again.

I learnt how mindfulness can help your mental health.

We can all be upstanders and make a difference.

8D Students

Belinda Milverton
Faith Development Coordinator

Justice and Solidarity Assembly

Reconciliation Week ‘A Voice for Future Generations’

Our Justice and Solidarity Assembly launched Reconciliation Week with a Welcome to Country by Nikki McKenzie and Norm Stanley, joined by our First Nations Captains Oliver Anderson. St Joseph’s College has a strong Reconciliation Action Plan and in playing our part, we collectively create a culturally safe environment where we can build relationships and communities that value First Nations peoples, histories, cultures, and futures. The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023, Be a Voice for Generations, encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways.

Students joined in the variety of activities taking place across the week including, a Homeroom Kahoot challenge for staff and students to broaden their knowledge of Wadawurrung Country, the Kulin Nation and Reconciliation. Library activities across the week including a collaborative Reconciliation artwork. FIRE Carriers and First Nations Students came together for a Reconciliation Week lunch. And during the week, there has been be a Wadawurrung Country display in the college staffroom which included many digital classroom resources created by one of our year 10 History classes.

The Reconciliation Trophy Match St Joseph’s College vs St Bernard’s took place at Queens Park on Wednesday. As part of the Edmund Rice Education Australia network of schools our colleges are called to show a commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. The Reconciliation Trophy was initiated in 2013 to provide the students of St Bernard’s and St Joseph’s with an ongoing method of expressing this commitment.

Specifically, designed team jumpers are created for the round, featuring Indigenous art representing the stories and culture of Indigenous groups around Australia. The jumpers are designed by Reana Bono from the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, and contain stylised figures around the side of the jumper with the base representative of the players.

To conclude our Justice and Solidarity assembly, our College Drum Line welcomed our guest speakers Tommy Nyawir along with Jason Bongers from Edmund Rice Australia. Tommy and his wife Judy founded Mirror of Hope, a Women's Empowerment Program, changing lives in Kibera by equipping women with business-skills training and support. We opened our hearts and minds to listen to Tommy’s journey and profound insights, which we hope will leave a lasting impression, igniting a passion for justice and solidarity within each of us.

Mary Malone
Director of Identity