it's time! issue 2 - 2013
DESCRIPTION
It's Time! Issue 2 for 2013TRANSCRIPT
Wazza’s
WAFFLE on Habemus Papam
Introducing
the new
Charity
Charter
By Thomas Pooley
March ‘13
It’s
Tim
e!
an initiative of the social justice action group
In this Issue — M a r c h
1. Patty’s Post
2. From the Director of Identity
3. Wazza’s Waffle
4. What Would You Do
5. From the Captain of Spirituality
6. From the Captain of
Sustainability
7. Charity Charter
8. Organ Donation
9. Blood Donation
10. Your Say
11. Asylum
Seeker
Symposium
With the first term coming to a
close, it is time for us to reflect on
what has been a successful Lenten
Appeal and understand what each of
these appeals is about. Our Lenten
partners Edmund Rice Camps, St
Joseph's Flexible Learning Centre in
Alice Springs and Callan Services in
PNG, will all truly appreciate the
effort each student has provided in
order to raise money for and
promote each of these initiatives.
Edmund Rice Camps provide holiday
experiences for young people aged 7
- 16 years who would not otherwise
be able to enjoy them. Many of the
participants come from what could
be considered as marginalised or
disadvantaged backgrounds and the
camps provide welcome respite for
parents and families. It depends on
generosity of the young adult
leaders, who give freely of their time
and talents for those in need. The
leaders endeavour to be attentive
and model positive behaviour for
the children whilst maintaining a
friendly, fair and supportive
discipline in the camp environment.
Patty’s Post
great deal to improve the rights
and recognition of those with a
disability in the country, especially
at a political level.
Each of these initiatives will
benefit greatly from the funds St
Patrick’s has raised for them in
order to complete their charitable
work and hopefully we will be able
to work with them in the future.
Patrick Taylor Social Justice Prefect
St Joseph’s Flexible Learning
Centre in Alice Springs is a unique
partnership between the Catholic
Diocese of Darwin, Catholic
Education NT, Edmund Rice
Education Australia (EREA) Youth+
and the Northern Territory
Government. The FLC, a registered
high school, will cater for young
people who have experienced
difficulty in mainstream
educational environments by
offering socially and culturally
inclusive accredited educational
pathways. There is a high
teacher/young person ratio with
youth worker support, as well as
bridging and outreach
programmes that support young
people to re-engage with
education. The FLC is focused on
education of the whole person.
Callan Services in Papua New
Guinea works with children and
adults who suffer from sight or
hearing impairments. It works with
the local community not only to
assist those with disability but also
to help train people to gain the
skills to assist as well. It has done a
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Everyday Justice
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Often we get caught up the idea of
social justice just being ‘out there’
or something we have to do to
improve the lives of others. How
often do you say hello to a
stranger, or pick up a piece of
rubbish as you walk past it, or do
the right thing in class simply
because it is the right thing to do??
How can we fix big picture issues
when we fail to see the simple
actions that are needed right in
front of us?
We all get caught up in seeing
things that seem unfair, including
me, but what do we do about it? It
can be as simple as just making
sure we do the right thing. I don’t
have all the answers, but I’m
proposing these questions so that
we may stop and think… Think of
two things: What are the little
things that I can do to make
everybody’s lives easier each day?
Why spend lots of time helping
people we don’t know when we
don’t work on the close
relationships in our lives, those
relationships in our lives, those people we see and know well? Personally, I have things to work on and I endeavor to, asking you to join me.
Too often now I walk around and see
rubbish left by some, expecting others
to pick it up after them. Shame on
you if you think that is the job of the
cleaners. Too often I see boys fail to
own up to something they have been
involved in, expecting others to take
the fall or somebody to suffer from
their actions but just not themselves.
What is it that makes this a great place
to be? Community. If we believe in
this we know that the little things
count.
Please don’t get me wrong, big
picture issues are important. If
everybody thought that somebody
else would do things, nothing would
ever get done! We are needed locally,
nationally and globally to work for the
balance and harmony in God’s
creation. I’m just proposing we stop
and look around us first and often.
Jesus was very clear in the
Gospels when he says “Let
anyone among you who is
without sin be the first to throw a
stone at her” (John 8:7) and “You
hypocrite, first take the log out of
your own eye, and then you will
see clearly to take the speck out
of your neighbour’s eye” (Matt
7:5). Let’s not be hypocrites. We
need to look at ourselves first and
foremost before we leave things
for others.
Let’s bring justice each day in the
simplest things AND work for
those on the margins. All of it is
God’s call. All of it is important. In
the words of Mary MacKillop,
“never see a need without doing
something about it”.
Gillian Daley
Director of Identity
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Never see a need with doing something about it…
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modern day lepers, marginalised and judged by society.
He takes the unprecedented name of Francis, after the great reforming saint, and champion of the poor, St Francis of Assisi.
Already, our new Holy Father has
taught us by word and deed the
importance of justice as the core
element of the gospel of Jesus
Christ – it is not an optional extra!
It goes hand and hand, each to
their own capacity, with the life of
each and every Christian.
Finally, in the Holy Father’s recent
book, Heaven and Earth (2010),
written as Cardinal Jorge, he
teaches us another important
lesson – the Church is called to
prayer, conversion, reflective well
as work for justice, otherwise, as
the Holy Father rightly noted again
this week during his first address to
the Cardinals, the church simply
becomes another NGO (non-
government organisation or
charity).
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Wazza’s Waffle:
Habemas papam! (We have a Pope!)
Pope Francis and Social Justice
the Holy Father rightly noted again
this week during his first address to
the Cardinals, the church simply
becomes another NGO (non-
government organisation or charity).
We care for the poor because we see
and love Christ in all people especially
the poor. We also equally pray and
reflect in order to be nourished in our
mission of justice, transformation and
conversion of heart.
Mr Younan
Religious Education
Co-ordinator (Year 10-12)
How can the announcement of
the new Holy Father on 13th
March 2013, be connected with
social justice you say? If anyone
can find a connection it’s me! In
fact, I did not have to search high
and low to find the intimate
connection between our already
beloved Holy Father, Pope
Francis and the gospel call to
justice proclaimed and lived by
Christ. A quick internet search
revealed some simple, and by
now, well know facts, about the
new Holy Father:
He lived, as Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, a simple and austere life, giving up the luxuries of a Cardinal’s Palace and chauffer, opting instead to take public transport, cook his own meals and direct the money, that would otherwise have been spent on these luxuries, to the poor of his diocese and country.
He washed and kissed the feet of an AIDS patient during Holy Week ceremonies. Often people suffering from this incurable disease are our modern day lepers, marginalised and judged by society.
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In majority world countries like
Papua New Guinea, the Solomon
Islands and various countries in
Asia, medical equipment is in
short supply. In Australia we are
literally throwing out
consumables that, even though
they have passed a “use by date”
in many instances are still sterile
and still able to be used.
In PNG, plastic masks for
respirators are reused constantly
as there are simply not enough of
them for them to be thrown
away. They are washed with
bleach and reused.
The same can be said for
intravenous (IV) drips. Tubing and
giving sets are constantly reused
as there not enough of them in
supply for them to be a “once
only” commodity. IV’s reuse rings
alarm bells for Doctors and
medical professionals.
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What would you do? In a country where HIV/AIDS is
spreading rapidly, reusing
intravenous equipment exposes
patients to this disease as well as
other diseases such as Hepatitis.
It could expose many people if
these supplies are reused. It only
takes one cell.
In July 2012 I was given 4 pallets
of Intravenous Drip Sets (giving
sets). This equates to over 15,000
IV sets and there are respirator
masks as well – potentially 5,000
of them. They are now 6 months
out of date. Do I send them to the
remote clinics of PNG through a
network of friends and fellow
humanitarians or do I have them
destroyed? What would you do?
The answer from Dr. Andrew Clift,
a humanitarian I work with in Asia
was very simple. “When a five
year old child suffering from
Malaria or Dengue Fever appears
at a remote clinic desperate for
an IV drip, a giving set 6 months
out of date is going to offer a
greater chance of survival than a
used and possibly infected IV set,
and it will be much better than no
IV set at all”.
Mr A. Viney
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"The two great hungers in the world today are the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice. And the connection between the two is the one the new generation is just waiting for."
- Jim Wallis (CEO of Sojourners)
The opportunity for the College to create an environment that allows the community to get in touch with their faith and reach out to the disadvantaged is the cornerstone of the mission of the Social Justice Action Group. We know that a positive focus on the potential for human beings to bring out change in the world is so important, as it reminds us of the values we share and the relationships we hold with each other.
This is why the Faith Formation and Social Justice pages have been launched on SOLE. They can be accessed by clicking on the MySPC tab, with an aim to give all members of the College community the chance to build a better connection with God, themselves and others.
The Faith Formation page contains information on events, articles on spirituality and the chance for discussion to occur on faith matters. I also particularly encourage members of the community to access the
“Questions about Our Faith” section to think about moral issues and ideas that should be discussed. Similarly, the Social Justice page is focused on human rights and environmental concerns along with different initiatives and forums that can be accessed. We must thank Ms. Daley for her hard-work in setting up the pages in consultation with the ICT department. This is a great way to build a bigger sense of community and explore what drives us as human beings to reach out to the less fortunate. In our modern world, we must understand the deep interrelationship between spirituality and social justice to create a better society that values the importance of every human life. The election of Pope Francis marks a great opportunity for the Church to renew itself, at which the humble Jesuit leader continually reminds us about working to end suffering. This new Pope has said that he chose his name because “immediately with the thought of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi… the man who gives us this spirit of peace- the poor man.
How would I like a Church that is poor and for the poor? It is truly important to remind ourselves about the many opportunities we have around us- the capacity for spirituality to be used as a way of building bridges towards tolerance and creating a fight to end
disadvantage. We can see it in our own school from the young altar boys who serve every at every Friday Morning Mass to the different cake or pizza stalls that were running day after day in the Hickey driveway during Lent. A culture of peace and justice can allow us to stay true to the values we believe in and place faith in simple dreams as we journey through life. So it is clear that spirituality has an important role in our world today as it allows us to reflect on our morals and think about the way we treat each other. Faith can enable us to realize the power we have to create real change in the world. For in the buzz of ideas and feedback that occurs in SJAG every Wednesday afternoon there is constantly a message that a strong connection with our spirituality can be achieved in a number of different ways- whether during Friday Morning Mass, silent meditation or reading Scripture. I hope that all members of the community had an enjoyable Easter and let’s get involved in the spiritual and social justice parts of the College to make 2013 a great year.
Michael Murdocca Prefect for Spirituality and Faith Formation
Getting in touch with our faith
and standing up for
social justice
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Environment and Sustainability
From the Prefect
it finally came to me… EDUCATION IS THE KEY! Sustainability is far from a new phenomenon, but in our current materialistic society it is something we are having trouble doing, and for those who know me, I’ve got a lengthy list of goals that I would love to be achieved both individually and as a society, especially as a college. However it would be impossible to achieve them all in one year. So education is the key, not only for the future of sustainability, but to pass on the necessary information to all generations, both young and old, so we can all be a part of straightening out world.
So over the next few issues I hope to let you in on some insights of my thoughts on sustainability, things we must all learn to do and the tools to pass on the valuable information necessary to prevent disaster.
Thomas Nicholl Prefect for Sustainability
When asked to write an article for this issue I followed up asking what I was to write about. A particular topic, or issue? The response that came to me was to write whatever is on my mind, so that got me thinking. I've been privileged with this role and the ability to act as a voice for sustainability, so what message do I want to get out to the school and wider community. I though back to the leadership camp where Mr Robson set us off to have some quite time to reflect on our role and what we hope to achieve, and of course this wasn't an easy question, but it finally came to me… EDUCATION IS THE KEY!
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Your Say: YOUR SAY:
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Charity Charter is a new regular
edition coming to you from It’s
Time that will be highlighting, each
month, a charity that does great
work among the community. The
whole point of this new segment
will be to put in the spotlight some
charities you may not have heard
of before. If you would like to
write an article about a charity you
have a passion for, email
nsw.edu.au with a response
similar to the feature below, and
you will see it in the next edition!
– The Editorial Team
For the first edition of CC, the non
for profit organization chosen is
Northcott.
What is it and its purpose?
Northcott is a foundation that
provides support to more than
11,400 people with a broad range
of disabilities and their families
and carers across NSW and the
ACT by providing a broad range of
The reason for Northcott being
chosen is because of the charity’s
larger focus on the supportive
network of the person. Northcott
also recognizes the notion of
human dignity that of looking out
for one another as a part of life’s
purpose.
Challenges for you to become a
more rounded and complete
being
Don’t judge someone
because of their
differences; recognizes
people with mental and
physical disabilities as a
part of an inclusive
community.
Don’t just talk about
faults in society, back it
up with actions.
Attempt to acknowledge
the person before the
disability.
Understand that charity
is about time given, not
the person before the
disability.
Understand that charity
is about time given, not
all about pumping funds
into causes.
In conclusion, in the great words
of Patrick Taylor, “Don’t Hate
Donate”. While this quote
identifies an essential
component of charity work, it
must be acknowledged the time
and effort required for charities
to work efficiently, the key
component of Northcott’s
marvellous works.
Thomas Pooley
Year 11 Student
Charity Charter
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Organ Donation Over 1600 people around
Australia with serious, life
threatening conditions are one
the waiting lists for organ
transplants. Whilst it might seem
like a miniscule number, many
patients are left waiting for many
months and even years for a
suitable donor. During such a time
period a patient’s condition may
decline rapidly until they receive
their required transplant. Last
year, a total of 354 people
donated their organs after death.
Compared to the number of
recipients, it is obvious that there
are an insufficient number of
donations. As a medically
developed nation in the world it is
unfortunate that such an
imbalance occurs in Australia,
especially considering that
everyone is a viable organ donor.
The process of organ donation
involves the removing of internal
tissue and organ after a person is
deceased. The unique antigens
attached to each cell of the organ
makes it difficult for a transplant to
occur successfully because the
recipient’s body rejects these
antigens as foreign objects and
trigger a response. Thus, a
successful transplant relies on a
donor which has similar or
unreactive antigens so that the
organ is not rejected by the
recipient.
So it quite obvious that more
donors than recipients are required
because simply not all donated
organs can be used. Evidently, this
is the major issue facing our nation
and the world. But the solution is
not as complex as it may seem;
everyone, no matter how old or
young has the ability to donate
their organs. Although some
religions teach the preservation
of body after death, Catholics
believe that based on the
importance of the body, and the
principle of sanctity of life, and
the example of Jesus who laid
down his life for all, we can give
of ourselves in body parts to save
others. So why let it go to waste?
We can donate our time, our
money and efforts but in some
cases, it is something we least
expect; our body and organs that
we leave in the physical world in
passing, that can truly make a
difference to someone’s life. For
more information, visit
http://www.donatelife.gov.au/
Victor Yu Year 11 Student
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Blood Donation You have probably heard the
numerous advertisements
proclaiming the need for blood
donations. And although these
may wear on our minds to the
point where we ignore them,
blood donation is a key and
significant enterprise. Blood
donations are required with great
regularity in comparison to organ
donations.
The requirement for blood during
medical procedures outweighs
the requirement for donated
organs. In fact, one in every three
people undergoing surgery in
hospital currently requires a blood
transfusion of some kind. This is a
startling statistic, even more so
when it is estimated that only one
in every thirty people will actually
donate blood.
During the holiday period, this
figure grows worse still. With
many vaccinating, going overseas
and the like, fewer blood
donations are made, and so there
is a shortage in overall supply. The
Australian Red Cross Blood
Service, the organisation in charge
of blood donation activity, makes
a special request before public
holidays for blood donation, to
create a reserve of blood for the
thousands who may require it.
While these statistics are quite
grim, there is some good news.
There are more than one million
voluntary, long-term blood
donors. There are 1.35 million
blood donations which result in
the saving of a life. And, for every
donation of blood made, three
patients can be aided. Blood
donations can be made by
anyone between the ages of 16
and 70. During this holiday time,
we support the Australian Red
Cross Blood Service in their noble
efforts to raise awareness of this
issue and collect blood, thereby
keeping thousands of Australians
healthy and alive.
Daniel Smerdely
Year 11 Student
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I went home one evening and saw a news report on how 70,000 Australians cannot afford power, an advertisement including a single mother sitting with her children in a car late at night, which turned out to be one for the Salvation Army, and then a news story about a Liverpool lady who was asked to sit in the passenger seat by a complete stranger who had randomly approached her. One could supposedly link these three articles to one final conclusion. It begins like this: some people don’t want to live in certain places. So they move. Or try to move. All the money for the new house is spent on power prices and other things to run a home. And then these television advertisements and stories can roll into one story. In detail, necessities go up too much (power prices average $900/quarter), which causes people to struggle with bills, sending them into homelessness, which might eventually lead to a car-jacking. Now something like electricity does not necessarily count for a high percentage of your bills, but in the near future, electricity will become more valuable due to the depletion of fossil fuels and electric cars being the new trend.
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Your Say: the new trend. It is estimated by some that electricity prices will fly up under the radar, until they are more expensive than food. Coming from a middle-class family I, along with many other members of our community, probably don’t face the struggles that some families have in trying to pay the bills. For some, it might even be an absolute breeze. But believe it or not, in some parts of Australia, if bills are not paid, the electricity is switched off entirely. And it’s not because certain people are ‘dole bludgers’ or ‘bogans’, but because they need things like food. And yes, I too have seen the tragic advertisement for the St Vincent de Paul society where the child sits gratefully of his lounge with a mere piece of bread for dinner. A proper way of looking at this is thinking of what Australia produces, i.e. successful businessmen, sport athletes and brainiacs of all types, and then looking at what Australia really produces, but tries to cover up. Here it goes. Mr Worthington, a lawyer who resides in Double Bay, has just received news that he is subject to a new court case in which a resident from Penrith will lose his house after not paying the recommended bills, which sounds too good to be true.
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recommended bills, which sounds too good to be true. On the other end of the spectrum, Ms. Arthur a single working-class mother who works at a local warehouse is due to face court later on because she struggles to pay her bills. Salvation Army has tried helping, but it’s no use. She’s going to lose her house and possessions, live in car with her two kids, and get carjacked. It’s a clean sweep for Mr Worthington, who doesn’t realise what he has done. Call me exaggerative, but this is a reality for a lot of Sydney residents. I’m just stating the facts. Life has its challenges. There’s one word to fix this: Charity. And it’s not just money, its clothing in bins, helping out at St Vinnie’s, ordinary men and women volunteering at clothes shelters. If you’re bored with your life, don’t learn a second language, don’t take up baking. Do something that will really make you smile. Most of us agree in taking a step forward, so I think that Mr Worthington should get his hands dirty if he has the time, and volunteer. “Never see a need without doing something about it” – St Mary Mackillop
Mitchell Dunne
Year 8 Student
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Justice, Peace and Advocacy Symposium Refugees: Inviting a Stranger to our Shores
Two weeks ago, 9 Year 9 boys (Declan Armstrong, Jarred Agliozzo, Charles Carral, Brad King, Jose Shina, James Basha, George Shrou, Alex Collins and Marco Pecora) were invited to attend the Justice,
Peace & Advocacy Symposium at
Mulgoa, near Penrith. The theme of
the Symposium was Refugees:
Inviting a Stranger to our Shores.
Many Christian Brothers schools
attended it from Sydney and
Canberra. There were guest
speakers, including St Pat’s Old Boy
James Kemp who works for ALIV, and
presentations and we learnt the facts
about Asylum seekers and the
struggles they all face.
When we first arrived we had a meet
and greet, then we moved on to our
first session. The first night was a
bonding session complete with many
activities to meet and greet boys
from other schools.
Later on that night we were involved in
some activities regarding refugees, such as
ordering a list of essentials by importance
and justifying our views on statements such
as "We should treat asylum seekers with
compassion." We were given the option to
stand in strongly agree, agree, disagree and
strongly disagree "corners" before selected
students were given the opportunity to give
a reason for their position. These activities
were run by notable College Old Boys
including former College Captain, Ben
Stewart.
On day two of the symposium we were
given the special opportunity to meet
several asylum seekers in person. They
were seated in a semi-circle and we were
able to ask them questions such as "What
was the biggest difficulty involved in
immigrating to Australia?" or “Would you
ever go back?” All the refugees had varied
opinions but one thing was repeated many
times by the visitors and that was that the
detention centers need to be improved.
Every one of the refugees had very
touching stories and it was a privilege to
have them speak to us.
touching stories and it was a privilege
to have them speak to us. After they
left we did more activities such as
role plays and letter writing to the
government which saw us through to
the conclusion of the camp.
Many thanks must go to the
numerous people that spent time
organising the Symposium and also
to Mrs Rodricks who accompanied us
on the camp, and Ms Daley. The boys
that attended the symposium are
now eager to make a difference to
those currently in detention centres
around Australia. It helped us see the
human face of the issue.
Declan Armstrong, Jarrad
Agliozzo and Alex Collins
Year 9 Students
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