Together, the Sustainability Council and other interested students willing to dive into rubbish accomplished a College Waste Audit on Friday the 17th of September. This not so glamorous research provided an opportunity for the Council to collect data on the type, volume and location of waste across the college. You are probably wondering how this was done, and no students were not just pulling rubbish out of the bins and randomly sorting it — quite the opposite thanks to Rosie from Waste Wise Schools. The Waste Wise schools van pulled up with all the equipment we could ever need: tarps, many many tubs and buckets, tongs, gloves, soap and of course cleaning equipment for the end clean up!

Whilst some were setting up the scene other students were going around selecting a diverse range of bins from across the College. We settled on 7 wheelie bins emptying them onto the tarp for the many hands/tongs to sort through. Emptying the bins onto the tarp was not a pretty sight at all! Waste was sorted into 3 main categories — undegradable, recyclable and organic waste, which within them had separate sections such as snack wrappers, food scraps, paper and cardboard, aluminium, and plastic.

Sorting the waste took roughly a period and went fairly free of too much mess apart from the occasional stray projectile burger inbound for the food scraps bucket. During the sorting process, the boys found it very easy to fill the snack wrapper, plastic and general rubbish buckets already giving some insight before the data had even been collected. Once the mountain of waste was sorted into the various categories the true purpose of the waste audit came about, because after all, nobody wants to just sort rubbish for fun, we began collecting data.

From the data collected, food waste is the largest by weight and then general and plastic waste following closely behind with many little bundles of glad wrap. Surprisingly and even more so shockingly, whole unopened chip packets were discovered, whole packets of Oreos, many whole sandwiches and fruit, as well as drinks and, aside from food, Tupperware containers were also discovered – sorry parents these were not all the disposable kind! This data is hopefully going to be used by the council to pitch to the college systems to put in place to reduce waste, but this responsibility also lies with the students – they are the ones who need to take action on reducing the waste in our College.

So what can you do? It is fairly simple — be responsible consumers, not wasteful, only buy what you will eat and if you don’t eat it - take it home and let your parents know you don’t like certain things rather than throw them out. In short, think before you throw something out – offer it to mates or leave it for another day!

Together with Santa Maria College, Catholic Earthcare and Caritas Australia, Aquinas College created a rare opportunity for students to gather for education and formation to prepare themselves for action and advocacy towards a sustainable future for life on Earth. On Friday 3rd September, Aquinas College hosted student delegates from a range of schools from Broome to Australind.

The most natural way to gather and begin our time together was to acknowledge the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation. This Mt Henry Peninsula is an ancient Country, it is not a static backdrop to our endeavours, it is an active participant. The lands and waters on which the Aquinas College community studies, works and lives have been cared for and brought to life for thousands of generations. We acknowledged this ongoing sacred connection and the elders - past, present and emerging - that embody this sacred relationship.

While there was a range of guest speakers and input from professionals in the sector, the day was specifically designed to be about young people coming together. It was a Youth Summit – allowing young people to work together to find their voice in the quest for a more sustainable way of living. It was the youth that were the stars of the day – their ideas, passions, hopes and commitments to future action and advocacy. It was three young facilitators that organised the sessions and discussions. It is never easy to bring together over fifty delegates from eleven different schools and create an atmosphere where everybody feels comfortable to share ideas freely. Yet, Tobias, Sascha and Gabi, students from Aquinas College and Santa Maria College, kick-started a series of sessions to get the delegates talking and sharing ideas. Once underway, the room was abuzz with youthful energy and ideas.

All of the participating schools have students (and staff) that are committed to moving beyond the acknowledgement of the unsustainability of current practices and moving into being part of the required changes. This is not simply a logical reaction to facts; this is also a reflection of our faith and the kind of life we are called to lead. The opening prayer was led by Bishop Don Sproxton and the students ensured that Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ was also part of the landscape within which all the day’s deliberations were conducted.

It is one thing to want change, to know what you think about caring for the earth but the 2021 WA Youth EcoSummit was a rare time to consider what might it actually mean for Catholic Schools to be examples of change in their own practices and also to be agents of change for others. As the day entered its final phase, student representatives gathered in their own school groups to discuss the ideas they have heard throughout the day and begin to dream and scheme their own ‘where to from here?’ plans and commitments. We are confident that the event has stirred good ideas, deep discernment and a sense of solidarity between over fifty Perth students to be part of the required change. We have heard the ‘cry of the earth’ and are willing to respond.

Congratulations to the following boys who have been selected for the WA Water Polo State Squads in their respective age categories:

U15

Kale Arena
Charlie Backhouse
Jesse Barr
Tom Dreverman
Zac MacDonald
Baron Mincham
Harry Sheppard

U17

Xavier Bradshaw-Pini
Patrick Dart
Joshua Douglas
Harrison Grattidge

A major assignment for Year 8 Veritas is the Advocacy Presentation.

This involves every Year 8 student working in a group of 3 to collaborate and create a ‘Justice and Advocacy Presentation’ to be presented in front of family and friends.

This project is a strong contributor to the growth journey of a boy at Aquinas College because:

• it allows boys to learn about Justice Issues in the world,
• boys learn about and experience ‘advocacy’,
• students get to demonstrate learning in front of peers & family,
• public speaking and presentation skills are developed in students,
• it builds an even more informed and compassionate Aquinas College community.

The myFUTURE Program offers a unique opportunity for Senior students to assist in programs like those at Special Needs schools, which can only be available during school hours. To that end, we have had an amazing group of students who did more than their minimum requirement for Castlereagh, some having participated for all three terms.

For our final session this term, we brought some morning tea for all the incredible staff. It was also their Costume Day. The myFUTURE and holiday program for Castlereagh will continue until the end of Term 4 and all throughout the following year, including EXEAT Fridays, for others who are interested.

It is a wonderful partnership with an amazing school.

When I heard about the winter sleep-out, I had wanted to learn about and experience it. I know I'm lucky to be born in a family which owns a house, parents who have stable jobs, comparing to the homeless' experience. While I am lucky that I will have a safe, protected environment to sleep in, compared to the horrible nights people who are homeless have to deal with.

When I started to fundraise, my family and I made a little pamphlet to put in our neighbour's letterboxes, explaining what the Winter Sleepout is. I included the letter we received from the school and the itinerary for the night. I also included an introduction of myself and let them know when I would be walking around knocking on doors for donations if they were interested.

Most of the people on the street that I talked to were interested in how my schooling was, what my school was about or to tell me that one of their family members had attended Aquinas. It made me feel really proud to be an Aquinian. There were a fair amount of positive comments made about what we were doing and about how the school encourages the boys to do volunteer work and to give back to the community.

I was looking forward to the experience, even though I knew it will be cold and I wouldn't have eaten since lunchtime, and had done sport earlier.

We did it because it helped us have a better understanding of what it's like for homeless people and what they have to go through at night. Dealing with hunger, weather, other people who may make them feel like they are frightened and alone.

It was fun and interesting as I got to be with friends in a new experience at school but not at the usual times. I enjoyed having people from the Salvation Army come in and have a talk with us, learning about the situations homeless people have to deal with or things they are living without. The Salvation Army had us do a few activities which expanded our overall knowledge.

For me, it meant learning a new perspective or feelings, so whenever I now see someone who is homeless, I empathise with them better.