Greerton Village School Initiatives
Pyjamas & Duvets!
Aquinas College began its association with Greerton Village School, in Term 4, of last year when students made Christmas cards and cookies for every student in the school. We have been guided by the words of St Teresa of Calcutta, who said, “we can all do small things with great acts of love.” When we reflect on our living relationship with Christ it is important to be active in our local community through our actions and words to be the light of Christ in our world.
Mrs Tarr has led this initiative and it has been inspiring to see her recognise a need within our local community, think about what we could do and organise a response to meet the needs of others. Many of our students were encouraged by Mrs Tarr to be involved and it has been heart-warming to see our connection with Greerton Village School strengthen. A special mention to Gina van der Lee, who co-ordinated the PJs and Duvets initiative, and Caitlin Olsen, who co-ordinated the stationery alongside Young Vinnies. The community have expressed their gratitude in receiving the items, but our students are also much richer for the experience. We look forward to building and strengthening our relationship with Greerton Village School over the coming years.
Stationery and fun!
–Kaitlin Olsen.
During Term 1, Young Vinnie’s collected school supplies for Greerton Village Primary School. At the beginning of the 2020 school year, many of the students had come to school with little to no school supplies as many of them did not have the resources to be able to obtain it. At Aquinas, we are privileged to have ample access to many different types of educational tools including technology. The purpose of this initiative was to provide educational resources they need to gain the most out of their early learning.
Young Vinnies asked fellow students to bring in any new or old surplus stationery from home, leftover from last year. Through this we got an outpouring of donations from the Aquinas Community and the R.E. department, donating an ample number of old notebooks. Due to COVID-19 our delivery of the stationery was put on hold as we went into a nationwide lockdown. However, this past week we were able to finally deliver all the stationery to the school. The smiles and claps I got from year 2 children when I told them we were bringing them stationery was overwhelming. Alongside the stationery, we brought colouring pages and netballs so we could interact with the students at their lunchtime.
The kids were beyond excited to have older students there and enjoyed the activities we did with them. After their lunchtime, Aquinas students went into different classrooms to either engage with them in their learning or take them out for a game. It was an awesome experience for everyone, and we look forward to going back again to spend some more time with them.
Student Quotes:
Briarna McGrory: I saw how happy all the kids were when we came in and to see their smiling faces when we told them we were coming back to their classes. I think that the GVS student got a lot from our trip, mainly to just have a good time. We were asked a lot of questions about why are we here and our response was to have fun with them and from that, I felt they became more comfortable around us. I realise that I need to be more grateful for my amazing life and how lucky we all are to be at such an amazing school.
Olivia Giles: One of my favourite things about the trip was playing with the kids at lunchtime. It was really nice to get to know some of them and they were all really sweet. I also enjoyed going into the classroom and helping out with their art projects.
Gareth Peters: Playing with the kids was the best and having them think of me as a role model.
Paige Mckay: Meeting all the kids and seeing how grateful they are was awesome. I think the kids got so much from the visit and just by seeing how we acted and spoke made them do the same. I realised I need to be more grateful for things like my own school and the things in my school.
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