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NEWSLETTER FOR VILLA MARIA COLLEGE
SERVICE AT VILLA
Globa l Poverty – Ou r Ca ritas Week
By Charlotte Steel
During Term 3, Villa Maria College held
their very first annual Caritas Week.
This was a week dedicated to raising
awareness as well as funds for Caritas
through a variety of activities. Caritas is
an important Catholic organisation that
makes a difference in our society and
it was great to have such a successful
week to support them as we raised well
over one thousand dollars. The week was
organised by a small group of dedicated
Year 13 students; Emma Jefferis, Malia
Mo’ale, Charlotte Steel and Georgia-Rae
Taylor with the support of Mr Shute.
The week began with the ‘Light in the
Box.’ For this, a large cardboard box
with a bottle containing a mixture of
water and bleach, made from recycled
materials by Mr Shute, was set up.
Students were able to go in the box and
see how it worked. The purpose of this
was to show students what can be made
from materials they all have at home and
how this ingenious concept is used for
light in the slums of the Philippines.
On Tuesday, a cantamath style quiz was
held with many students of all ages along
with some teachers taking part, with the
teachers winning the quiz. The quiz was
centred on the issue of poverty, making
them aware of some of the shocking
statistics surrounding the lives of others,
around the world and in New Zealand.
On the Wednesday we had Rice Day.
This involved students donating money
in exchange for a bowl of rice. Even
though rice isn’t the most exciting
lunch, it was fantastic to see so many
girls support the cause and we raised
well over $200. This was a simple yet
effective exercise as it enabled the
participants to realise how little others
have to eat in a day and how fortunate
they really are. The next day we had
a mufti day with all proceeds going to
Caritas with a large sum of money also
being raised.
Friday was the grand finale, the sleepover
at school. This was by far the most
exciting event during the week. We had
a group of around 30 students of all year
levels who participated in the sleepover,
spending the night in the auditorium.
For the sleepover, the four aspects of
the Caritas Challenge for 2014 were
incorporated. These included the tasks
of ‘Live It,’ Move It,’ ‘Sweat It’ and ‘Stop
It’. During the evening the girls played
games, ate pizza, discussed issues
and watched a film that would impact
their perspective. They watched Pay it
Forward, a film about one boy and his
quest to change the world by changing
the lives of three people, who in turn
would do the same to three people.
This movie encapsulated the purpose
of Caritas Week: to make the girls think
about their actions and about issues in
our society. Special thanks goes to Miss
Dwan, Mrs Scarlett and Mrs Perkins for
spending the night with the girls.
Overall, the week was extremely successful
and would not have been possible without
the fantastic support of the students, all
of which should be extremely proud of the
$1,350 raised for Caritas.
Mercy i n Action
Two Year 12 Villa girls pulled together a
wonderful team to create a Tea Party for
people with disabilities in Christchurch.
Anastasia Loeffen and Sherry Malik
worked in conjunction with ‘The Special
Events Trust’ to organise an Under the
Sea themed Tea Party complete with a
band, dancing and plenty of food. It’s
wonderful to see our girls putting Mercy
into action.
