FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

After three Terms of planning, the joint venture between Round Square and Chaplaincy kicked off this week.

As a College, in both our learning environments and service opportunities, we are very committed to providing opportunities in our local community where students can grow in their service skills.

This year Chaplaincy and Round Square have a joint venture where leaders will mentor Year 6 students in a project to assist our Tasmanian Aboriginal Elders.

Every Wednesday, until the project is finished,  eight of our Year 6 students will attend the Elders Council of Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation’s Meeting Hall, where they will pair off and each pair will interview one Aboriginal Elder, either about themselves or about one of the family/mob members.

This week we saw Zander Brock, Ida Eberle, Peggy Handbury, Zara Newman, Aimee Pfeiffer and Edie van der Aa gaining the courage and experience of undertaking the sometimes daunting task of taking oral histories.  The Elders guided them well and everybody kept to their scripts.

The scope of the project itself has a three-fold outcome for the Elders Council of Tasmania Aboriginal Corporation (ECOTAC):

1.       To design, make and attach name plaques on each of the photos of the Elders on the wall so people know who they are.

2.     Assist ECOTAC with the appropriate placement of photos in the meeting hall.

3.     Research and interview Elders and produce a Powerpoint Presentation showing their photos and information so EOTAC can use it in presentations locally and beyond.

Both Leigh Cordell, Director of Round Square, and myself were very impressed with the quality of engagement between the Elders and our students.  As I was walking to the bus, a student behind me said, “I learnt so much.  This was an incredible learning experience.”

We look forward to the future of working together, Round Square, Chaplaincy, our Year 6 team and students, with our team of Elders as we work our way through the 64 Elders photos.

Rev Grace
College Chaplain