SERVICE LEADER

Being service captain this year has been a privilege and very enjoyable. But being part of all the steps forward in becoming socially just and a stronger part of the community and the Edmund Rice network has been a lot more pleasing than any other achievement this year. My role this year has been anything but individual, every corner there has been to turn there have been several students from various year groups by my side to help and even to take charge.

This year has been very focused round the Edmund Rice group with tasks completed as a team so that not one person gets left with all the responsibility and everyone gets a chance to be involved. Some of the new and existing initiatives this year are an Edmund Rice trip to Australia which has combined with the rowing team, and will be experiencing what Edmund Rice volunteers are up to across the ditch. This will hopefully give all the people involved a very positive experience and bring back some creative ideas about how to make our own community more socially just. 

Another exciting trip which was a little less of a travel than Australia was the trip to Oamaru for the annual Edmund Rice Network Conference. All of the St Thomas students who took the time to go down said that it was definitely well worth the time, travel and effort to take the trip down. This conference was a time for self discovery and realising what you really want to do with yourself, instead of the expected recruitment for Edmund Rice centres around the world. Many ideas and inspiration came out of this very spiritual time, and the boys came back to school with a new look on the community. Involved heavily in both of these trips has been a core of younger members of the Edmund Rice group at school. These members are our future and have some fresh ideas which never come to minds of the older members in the group. This junior involvement makes for a brighter future and means they have more experiences throughout their school life, building up their confidence with social justice whilst having an amazing time doing it.

Another initiative is the community justice office which students can be associated with during and after school which is following on the spirit of Edmund after leaving St Thomas's. A mufti day part way through the year raised funds for this particular office. It is great to see students supporting organisations outside of their own back yard.

Eddie's Brekkies, saving the best for last, this idea came up at one of the initial meetings at the beginning of the year. This idea is very special because it follows in the exact footsteps of Edmund Rice. Edmund was an Entrepreneur who raised funds and then used them for those who were worse off than himself. This is the same principle as the Eddie's Brekkies but the act of earning the money is also a very just act for the community. This group supplied students with breakfast for $2 and was extremely handy for the some students especially in the midst of the recession. Hopefully more of these brilliant ideas will arise next year and more and more students will become involved with issues involving service and social justice.

Always be thinking "What would Edmund do?"

By Geoffrey Wright