Care From The Beginning
Service Learning at St Stephen’s School is present from Kindergarten all the way through to Year 12, ensuring compassion is nurtured right from the start. Our Pre-Primary Service-Learning Club at Carramar was first introduced a few years ago, by our wonderful Pre-Primary teacher Carrey-Ann Dicks and it has been a joy to watch it flourish. This terms task; to create and deliver hot chocolates and biscuits to first line workers.
“We live in a world where we’re often used to getting what we want, when we want it. It’s easy to focus on ourselves and the next exciting thing. Service Learning gives our children the opportunity to pause, look beyond themselves, and discover the joy that comes from giving rather than receiving.” states Carrey-Ann.
From their very first session, students explored the idea that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference. They talked about how five-year-olds are never too young to help others and how caring for someone else can fill their own hearts with happiness too. The children were incredibly enthusiastic as they brainstormed ways they could spread kindness throughout our community.
The first project was creating caring cookie gifts. The children carefully decorated inserts for the cookie bags and thoughtfully included the ingredient list on the back so recipients with allergies could stay safe. During the second session, they learnt about hygiene and why wearing gloves is important before carefully packing the cookies together.
Thanks to wonderful parent connections, these treats were delivered to the dedicated staff at Wanneroo Police Station and the nurses at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital as a small gesture of appreciation for all they do.
Most recently, the children wanted to help those doing it tough during the colder months. Together, they decorated takeaway cups before excitedly filling them with hot chocolate sachets and marshmallows, creating little bundles of warmth and kindness. These were kindly delivered by Mr Meagher to The Spiers Centre in Heathridge for people experiencing homelessness and hardship.
What has been most inspiring is that the children’s hearts for service continue to grow. They have already begun generating ideas for future projects, including organising a litter collection around our School to care for God’s creation, washing and tidying classroom resources to help take a little pressure off our teachers, and creating handmade cards and small gifts for our wonderful lollipop man, who is so well loved by our community. Their ideas have shown that acts of kindness don’t have to be grand, they simply need to come from a caring heart.
Watching our youngest learners realise that they can make a genuine difference in someone else’s day has been incredibly heartwarming. Service Learning is about so much more than the gifts we make, it’s about growing compassionate hearts, learning gratitude and discovering that true joy often comes from giving. We can’t wait to see where the children’s generous ideas lead us next.