THE SCOTCH FOOD DRIVE – NEEL PAWAR
In the last few weeks of Term 2 , boys from Years 7 to 12 came together to take part in the Scotch OzHarvest Food Drive . After weeks of remote learning students were eager to get back to school , and into the rhythm of campus life . But with everything that was going on in the world and our communities due to COVID-19 , boys felt that they needed to help the local community in some way .
With this objective in mind , students decided that a food drive would be an excellent way to offer a helping hand to those less fortunate than ourselves . We decided to partner with OzHarvest , one of Australia ’ s leading food rescue organisations , which helps people in need all over Australia by distributing food through many charities .
Within days the total number of goods soared through the hundreds and climbed into the thousands , shattering our initial goal of only 1000 . The efforts of the boys and their families were so astonishing that School Captain Will Dixon ’ s office was overflowing with food . In the end we collected more than 3400 items of nonperishable food , with Bond House and 7LC contributing the most from the Upper School and Middle School , respectively .
However , collecting the food was only half the challenge : many boys volunteered to stay after school one afternoon to sort and pack each item into recycled boxes in the Keon-Cohen Dining Hall .
What was very evident throughout this whole school effort was that in order to tackle problems of great magnitude , it requires the combined efforts of everyone . Whether it was bringing in one can of beans , or 10 , it was the culmination of these small actions that allowed us to achieve our goal .
LETTERS TO NURSING HOME RESIDENTS – DARREN TAN
The danger of the current coronavirus pandemic does not solely lie in its effect on personal health , but also in its ability to isolate people . Lockdowns , social distancing , Stage 4 – these precautions have made it difficult , both physically and psychologically , to engage with other people in society .
Arguably the most vulnerable group in these times is the elderly . As such , many nursing homes are under tight restrictions , which allow limited contact outside the centres . Many residents , too , may be feeling anxious and fearful – emotions which may greatly intensify due to isolation .
Late in Term 2 ( just after the Year 11s and 12s returned from online learning ), we decided to contact two nursing homes near Scotch – Hawthorn Grange and Highgrove . These are places with which the School has worked closely in the past , whether through music immersions or other afternoon services .
Limited in our options to interact with Hawthorn Grange and Highgrove , we chose to write letters to be sent to them – an initiative dubbed ‘ Letters to the elderly ’, and the initial goal was to write 30 letters in the second week back .
In those first two weeks back at school , I felt a common sense of gratefulness within the School . We were back with our friends – in person ! – after almost an entire term of online learning , and after doubts whether the year would actually continue . But
DARREN TAN WITH LETTERS TO NURSING HOME RESIDENTS
that experience at home allowed us to have some inkling as to the loneliness that comes with isolation .
As the House Captains and boys around me continued to ask for letters to fill out , I felt that there existed an underlying desire to communicate with the residents of Hawthorn Grange and Highgrove , a wish to somewhat alleviate their stress , and empathise with them , because our time at home had bluntly opened our eyes to the everyday struggles that isolation brings .
By the time the second week drew to a close , we had written 50 letters in total : from all Houses , and from both Year 11s and 12s . In these letters , the boys freely described their hobbies , such as gardening , basketball and fishing , and shared the ways they kept active during quarantine , like going for runs or learning an instrument .
We were curious about the residents as well : which footy team did they barrack for ? How were they spending leisure time in the homes ? Was this lockdown anything like World War II ? After weeks of at-home learning , there was undoubtedly something intimate and cathartic about physically penning a letter , which would then be read by someone with whom we deeply wished to connect .
Towards the end of the term , we received a deeply appreciative letter from Highgrove . It was wonderful to learn that the residents were beginning to learn to use Skype , and that the nursing home has created a coffee club , complete with a new espresso machine .
We are continuing to connect with nursing homes , in addition to Highgrove and Hawthorn Grange . Instead of letters , this time we aim to record performances of small music groups , combined with a personalised message . These videos will then be sent out to individual nursing homes , in the hope that they may find comfort in seeing students coming together for a classical musical rendition – or , at the very least , that they might enjoy some mellifluous music , enabling a few minutes of soothing respite during these difficult times .
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