8 minute read
From our Ecology Captain
It’d be an understatement to call 2021 the rollercoaster of the decade. Coming off the back of the infamous 2020, hopes were high, and we’re proud to say that we made the most of our time together, as far as ecological celebration goes! The ecology captain Leila Mangos, and the house ecology captains Chelsea Tran, Ciara Downes, Ella Donohoe, Emily Stockwell, Isabella Bryant, Lily Gavan, Nathalie Doyle and Sascha Crozier, were excited to fill the inaugural roles, and at the beginning of their year 12 journey, decided the goals for their time as ecology leaders should be centred in fulfilling the school’s enthusiasm for justice, and their excitement and hope for our environmental future. Because of this, many Green Team meetings and school activities were centred around activism and making a real difference, because education can only go so far. We wrote letters and signed petitions, engaged with members of the UN and local MPs, held charitable community events and got our hands dirty in clean-up volunteer opportunities. This year, ecology meant action at Loreto.
The true highlight of ecology 2021 was the community’s first ever Justice Fete, a whole-school event that engaged and encouraged every staff and student to be active seekers of justice, both social and environmental, during term 1 of 2021.
For the weeks leading up to the day, the Green Team and JPIC were very busy organising stalls and making items to be sold - sweet treat mixes, hand-poured candles, scrunchies, petitions, potted plants and, the day’s biggest attraction, the school-wide swap shop, which JPIC organised beautifully. Every single item sold was sustainably and ethically sourced, each with the intention of buying in accordance with your ethics, which are rooted in justice. All money raised on the day was 100% dedicated to Project Compassion, a Caritas annual
charity project that delivers justice where it’s needed, in accordance with its Catholic mission. The Justice Fete left students feeling enthused and excited, and the day achieved its aim of demonstrating the power we have as individuals to make real change. Speaking more personally, I’d love to give a shout out to Ella Horneman, the incoming (and the school’s second ever) ecology captain for 2021/22! You’re going to absolutely smash your role and I can’t wait to tune in next year to hear the wonderful things you’re sure to be doing! I’m sad to part with my position, but I’m more than satisfied that ecology at Loreto is in safe hands. Best of luck, you’ll do great things!
Leila Mangos Ecology Captain
Justice Fete
In 2021, our school Ecology Captain, Leila Mangos, and Social Justice Captain, Molly Haymen, worked to coordinate a school-wide initiative to bring ecology and social justice to the forefront of our minds. Green Team spent a lunch time brainstorming different ideas of what such an event could look like, and this would come later to fruition in the Justice Fete.
In the weeks leading up to the event, the amount of planning and preparation was astronomical. Mrs Clancy’s office was overflowing with clothing donations. Its organisation was meticulously conducted by groups of girls, to make the clothes swap as successful as possible. The making of ecologically friendly items that would be sold was truly a matter of collaboration. We hand made baking jars in the Food Tech rooms, recycled fabric to make scrunchies and had a selection of candles from a member of the School’s Maintenance team. Not to mention Ms Clancy’s and Mrs Cranfield’s incredible work from behind the scenes.
And after all that hard work, it could not have been more positively received by the whole school community. Everyone, from teachers and students to maintenance staff, supported us on the day making it a successful event that resonated with the entire school community. It was great to see how our whole school community came together and worked towards something greater than ourselves. The event unified Green Team and JPIC’s individual values and put them to use in support of a common cause, and therefore this sense of purpose encompassed the whole school. It was a truly electric feeling. So, when talking with Leila about how the day went, she asked me if it was something that we planned on doing in 2022. My answer to that is that despite the fact that it will be hard to live up to, the sense of unity it generated is definitely something we want to sustain for the year to come.
Ella Horneman and Audrey Kha Year 11
Loreto Day is one of the most exciting events in the school calendar. It is a day to celebrate our strong Loreto and Mary Ward heritage. It marks our feast day and is also a great opportunity for the entire school community to gather and raise money for a cause linked to the work of the IBVM and Mary Ward International Australia. Loreto Day is a major social justice event and the weeks leading up to it are spent raising awareness for the cause. In doing so, we can demonstrate the school’s values of Justice, Freedom, Felicity, Sincerity and Verity. For Loreto Day 2021, Year 11 voted for the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to be the cause for which we’d raise money. FGM is an invasive procedure performed on young girls for non-medical reasons. It is a violation of women’s fundamental human rights and can have long-term consequences including childbirth complications, urinary incontinence, dyspareunia, and can even be fatal.
We decided as a year group that this was a social justice issue we wanted to fight against in order to protect our fellow women. A significant challenge we faced was how to approach learning about such a serious cause. We struggled to find appropriate ways to communicate vital information to the younger Loreto girls, especially in the Primary School. However, with help from guest speaker Ngatho Mugo (NSW Health) and the School’s support, we were able to effectively raise awareness about this cause. Through our fundraising efforts we collected approximately $39,000 which was then donated in effort to stop FGM. One of the highlights of the day itself was the concert, where we watched many Loreto students perform. The concert is always an incredible way to display the talent of our students – the performers never fail to surprise and stun us. The stalls were also a lot of fun to run, with the Barry hot chips and disco stalls generating the biggest profit. We think it is safe to say that everyone in the school helped themselves to a serve of hot chips! Overall, Loreto Day was a success. We are sure everyone enjoyed themselves but most importantly we were able to create a positive impact moving towards the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation.
Loreto Day Year 11 Communications Team
– Nihara
