Year 9 Social Justice

Consistent with Ravenswood’s Guiding Principles, Respect, Courage, Excellence, Compassion and Optimism, students engage in a wide range of social justice advocacy, action, awareness and fundraising across local, national and international projects.

Action to address social justice and learning about social justice issues is integral to the Ravenswood curriculum, for example in the Community Action Service component of the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Social Justice Student Leaders in all Year Groups are coordinating action to provide Welcome Packs for Syrian refugees and working with Days for Girls to facilitate girls’ equal access to education despite disadvantage.

Recent activities include:

• The Social Service Captains promoted a petition in the school community urging Australian politicians to release children from immigration detention and review the limits to freedom of speech in The Border Force Act (2015). After quickly gathering over 500 signatures, they presented the petition and voiced their concerns in a conversation with the local Member of Parliament, Minister for Major Projects, Territories and Local Government, Mr. Paul Fletcher.
  
• The Social Service Captains led a transition from House charity projects to a new focus on collaborative action.
  
• Year 12 raised awareness of domestic violence and held a stall at Glebe Markets for Kuringgai Hornsby Women’s Shelter, led Sydney Alliance advocacy on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers, gathered swimming costumes for Tanzania and ran a fundraising BBQ to assist Ravenswood students and teachers to attend a Uniting Church Small Schools Super Camp in Nyngan.
  
• Year 11 students supported Dress For Success, assisted students with disabilities at Sir Eric Woodward School, initiated numerous fundraising events for a range of charities and ran 40 Hour Famine. Year 10 coordinated crisis fundraising for UNICEF after the earthquake in Nepal, Year 9 championed Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Year 8 supported Jeans for Genes Day and Year 7 teams stepped out enthusiastically for Steptember.
  
• Funds were raised for our UnitingWorld partnership to build and support a school in a village in the Himalayas. We also hosted Children’s Voices for Reconciliation, ran our annual Shoe In, a coordinated project with St Vincent de Paul Society, Lindfield, who transport and distribute the shoes to needy country families in Central Western New South Wales, undertook immersion activities in Cambodia, Fiji and on the Kakadu Trail, participated in Harmony Day inter-faith, cross-cultural activities and organised Wesley Mission and Salvation Army food drives.
  
• During Australian Business Week, a program in which teams of Year 10 Ravenswood and Knox Grammar School students develop and run a virtual company, one of the keynote speakers was social entrepreneur Kathy Wong from Moeloco Flip Flops, which donates one pair of school shoes for every pair of flip flops sold.
  
  

Related Pages:

Year 11 Community Involvement
Year 10 Community Service