15 October 2021
Staff from a primary school in Perth’s southern suburbs spent a day volunteering at organisations across Perth to help give back to the local community and inspire students to make change.
More than 100 Harrisdale Primary School staff participated in the rewarding experience as part of the school development day before students returned for the start of Term 4.
Harrisdale Primary School staff volunteered at a range of Perth organisations.
Harrisdale Primary School staff helped at Kanyana Wildlife Park, Animal Protection Society, Armadale-Gosnells Landcare, Vinnies, Good Sammy, Crossways Community and the Tranby Homeless Hub.
Several creative staff also stayed at the school to create Uthando dolls for children in Africa, knitted trauma teddies for the Red Cross, and handmade cards for the Happy Mail Project.
The aim of the day was to promote positive citizenship to students and to demonstrate that everyone can make a difference in their community.
Harrisdale Primary School Deputy Principal Nikki Lyons said the school was committed to developing good citizenship in students by encouraging them to give back to the community whenever, and however, they can.
“As staff, we always like to lead by example, which is how the idea for the giving back to the community day came about,” she said.
“Many of our staff members were visibly affected by the people they had met and the experiences they had shared during the morning.
The staff at Harrisdale Primary School wanted to set a positive example for their students.
“Heading back to school for the afternoon, the buzz in the school was incredible. Each group had time to share their experiences and photos with the rest of the staff.
“It really was a terrific way to start the new term, with every member of staff knowing that they had truly made a difference in the community.”