Volunteer Kirsten Downey coordinates ethics at Jasper Road Public School through the Primary Ethics program . She helps students develop critical thinking skills , reasoning and being able to disagree respectfully . The role is fulfilling for Kirsten , who describes it below . Primary Ethics is seeking more volunteers from The Hills , Hawkesbury and Blacktown to teach ethics at their local primary schools . All training is provided and no teaching experience is required . Contact Dana at dana . sampath @ primaryethics . com . au .

I ’ m Kirsten Downey of Baulkham Hills and my husband and I have four amazing children , who have all attended Jasper Road Public School , with my youngest starting Kindergarten in 2021 .

We ’ ve lived in Baulkham Hills for 15 years and love The Hills District community . I really enjoy being active with my children and their friends , walking our two old dogs around the streets and taking the children to their activities of basketball , ballet , swimming and Little Athletics .

The Hills community is diverse and inclusive and there are always new opportunities to contribute as an individual and as a family .

I am a qualified paramedic and have worked with NSW Ambulance for just over 25 years . I also volunteer for a not-forprofit organisation called Primary Ethics at my children ’ s school . Volunteers for Primary Ethics provide ethics education to public school children as an alternative to supervised care or scripture .

The lessons present the children with

stories and questions that encourage them to listen closely and develop their opinions through ethical reasoning in respectful conversation with their peers .

Five years ago , I volunteered to become the co-ordinator when ethics started at Jasper Road Public School . My role was to establish the program with the support of Primary Ethics . We started with two teachers and have built up from there , providing the option for those families who would like their children to attend ethics classes .

I really enjoy being co-ordinator , meeting different people and mentoring and guiding the new volunteer teachers as they go through their training .

This was a good opportunity to give back to my children ’ s school and become more involved . It is very rewarding seeing the children develop and learn over the years , querying and wondering about the world around them .

Primary Ethics is a great organisation to be involved with , everyone is supportive , the professional development is ongoing and the program itself is so worthwhile .

The ethics teachers I volunteer with are a diverse group who enjoy seeing children think and learn about the world .

There are many benefits to being

Kirsten Downey loves volunteering .

an ethics volunteer . For me it is about being part of the school community , meeting new people and also having that sense of belonging , especially with the younger generation and my children ’ s friends and peers .

Jasper Road ethics teachers catch up socially for coffee and breakfast once a term and we also have a WhatsApp group to stay in contact outside of class time . We ’ ve had a number of parents ,

grandparents and friends volunteer as ethics teachers over the past five years and they agree the interaction with the younger generations and watching them grow through the years is really enjoyable .

You don ’ t have to have any teaching experience – all training is provided for free , along with ongoing support . I encourage members of The Hills community to consider volunteering for this inspiring organisation .