COAST TO COUNTRY
A team of 58 Year 9 students and 10 teachers head to the towns of Charleville and Mitchell to help the remote local communities THEY’RE trading in their Gold Coast comforts to see how the country folk live, but these Coomera Anglican College students say there’s more to the big switch than it might look.
The school is running their CAConnect Program for the second year in a row, sending Year 9 students out to give back to the community in both local and rural areas.
Fifty-eight students and 10 staff yesterday set off to the remote Queensland towns of Charleville and Mitchell to help out at the local special school, visit an aged-care
facility and participate in gardening and art initiatives.
Their teacher and Service Week co-ordinator Sasha Ristic said the communities had been moved by the empathy and leadership shown by students in the previous year.
“They are just overwhelmed with the support of our students, that our 14-year-old kids are giving up the luxuries of a warm bed and the comforts they’re used to,” he said.
“The kids are just so pleased with themselves, and I get Year 10s asking me if they can please go back there again but unfortunately it is just a Year 9 thing.
“We spend five days out on the road helping out, and from the time we leave the school grounds by the time we come back I honestly believe these students have a greater awareness, their ability to empathise and understand a community is so much better.”
Shanelle
Murray, 14, said her musical background meant she will be helping at Charleville schools with a group of students throughout the week.
“We’re serving that community with some performances and getting to know the children that way, building relationships through music and performing at some worship services,” she said.
“We’ve heard they don’t get that many live performances over there and it’s just about teaching the children about music. “It’s our passion, so we want to spread it with people over there.”
The CAConnect Project runs as part of Coomera Anglican College’s Service Week from September 3-7. Along with Service Week, the College is now also running its 30 Days of Gratitude initiative, which encourages the wider community to appreciate things they take for granted.
Until September 11, the school’s social media will be flooded with posts from students, teachers and parents to show the Gold Coast just how lucky they are.