Learning to give
BOARDERS at Rockhampton Grammar School are broadening their awareness of, and contributing to, community service projects in Rockhampton, central Queensland and further abroad. Young men and women, from Years 7 to 12 for example, have recently volunteered their time to help the Salvation Army and raise funds for cancer research and associated services. Year 11 boarders joined the Rockhampton Relay for Life, raising approximately $5000 for the Cancer Council while at the same time reflecting on their own connection with the illness, through battles their families and friends have encountered. On the sports field RGS students are also taking that extra step to make a difference. Boarders joined the RGS 1st XIII rugby league team when they celebrated winning their first ever Confraternity Shield in June. Their achievement was further celebrated by the fact they raised $2000 prior to the rugby league carnival by shaving their heads in the Leukaemia Foundation’s Shave for a Cure.
When students helped raise more than $6300 for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal they were asked to think about how a positive action has a major effect on someone else.
Further afield, boarders were among Year 10 students who, as part of the school’s annual outdoor education program, ventured to Carnavon Gorge, the Whitsundays, New Zealand, Vanuatu and Vietnam. In Vietnam, the students and staff assisted with construction of a kitchen, and as part of the work, made the bricks which were laid. They also raised money and donated a printer to a small, local school. Students packed their bags for Vanuatu, arriving with bundles of much welcomed school stationery.