SOCIAL AWARENESS DRIVERS REQUEST

We need volunteer drivers on Wednesday mornings to transport students to venues throughout Auckland as part of our Social Awareness Programme.  Can you help us, please?

Each year, the Religious Education Faculty approaches the whole school community to help us to run the Social Awareness Programme which is a central part of Religious Education at Year 11.  We need a pool of volunteer drivers to transport approximately 56 students to 15 venues on each visit date.  Because of the geographical placement of Baradene, some of these facilities are a reasonable distance from the College.  It would be impossible to continue the Social Awareness Programme without your help.  We canvass the whole school community for the Social Awareness driving roster because it is an opportunity for parents at all levels to be involved in the wider life of Baradene. 

The visiting of venues throughout Auckland on Wednesday mornings is a key aspect of the Social Awareness Programme for our Year 11 students.  The elderly, the physically and mentally disabled, the disadvantaged in our community and so on are visited in rest homes, special units at schools, sheltered workshops and recreational facilities for the elderly and disabled.  These are places which most of our students do not normally have an opportunity to experience.  The Social Awareness Programme makes a big impact on our students who remember it vividly as a highlight of their education at Baradene.

Each Year 11 student spends a block of 11 weeks on the Social Awareness Programme.  The course includes class work on issues of concern in the wider community and sessions with visiting speakers. On a set of 8 consecutive Wednesday mornings there are visits to outside venues.  The importance of these weekly visits is less about what a student does, and more about the reflection and personal growth which take place because of the visits.  Each student is expected to keep a weekly journal to debrief and reflect on her experiences.

Key Learning Objectives of the Social Awareness Programme are:

• To provide an experience of wider community issues and problems
• To encourage the development of an informed social conscience and an active response in meeting the needs of others
• To foster citizenship and effective leadership for the reshaping of society
• To stimulate students in their thinking about careers

Your help on even a few occasions can make all the difference with the transport arrangements for the students.  If you are unable to help, you may have an older relative, like a grandparent, who could help. The volunteer driver would need to be at the school reception area by 9.55 am to take the students to a venue.  Students are expected back at Baradene by 12.30 pm.  The driver sees that the students can find the reception area at the venue, but does not stay with the students during the visits.

We would invite you to download the form from the Resources section of this page and return our half of it to your daughter’s Homeroom teacher by MONDAY 28 FEBRUARY.  

The generous help we receive each year is wonderful.  Your support as parents and friends of the school is much appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Anne Henaghan (Co-ordinator Social Awareness Programme)