AAR

The Action Against Racism group is a student-led group with 45 student and staff members so far.

Anti-racism involves identifying and actively challenging and opposing racism in any form. We aim to increase education about anti-racism at TC, help implement school-wide curriculum about Indigenous history, culture and perspectives and engage our school in broader discussions about anti-racism.

Recently, our group has been working on potential anti-racism curriculum and talking to staff from various departments about what they can do in their classrooms. We are also currently planning anti-racism trainings for students and staff, whilst continuing to learn and educate ourselves within the group.

If you want to get involved, please join us for weekly meetings each Tuesday lunchtime.

Contact Elli via Teams or email (mul0004@tc.vic.edu.au) to get involved!

RAP

At TC, we learn and teach on the land of Wurrundjeri people. As part of the long over-due and ongoing process of reconciliation throughout Australia, students and teachers here at TC have begun developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) - a strategic document that will outline TC’s commitment to advancing reconciliation.

In order to develop our RAP, the TC RAP group have met each Wednesday lunchtime this term through Microsoft Teams to discuss and identify the practical actions that will drive TC's contribution to reconciliation. There are 14 actions which our RAP must address. These relate to relationships, respect, and opportunities for and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in TC classrooms, TC generally, and the wider community. The discussion that has occurred within this group has been very positive, and we are looking forward to further developing our RAP come Term 4.

Some of the actions we are working on include:

Training staff in 'cultural compentency' so that we all understand protocols such as how to conduct an Acknowledgement of Country, and how to respectively teach about Indigenous culture, knowledge and history

Conducting an audit of our curriculum to see where we can improve inclusion of appropriate Indigenous content

Developing relationships with Indigenous members of our community and looking for opportunities to include them in our school activities

For more information on this process please visit: https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/raps/what-is-a-rap

Parents are welcome to be a part of this group. If you would like to be involved or have ideas to share please contact Sally Holloway.

Student statement from Elli:

Our school has a big role to play in educating students and staff about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and perspectives, and I’m excited about contributing to that while continuing to educate myself.

I really encourage all students to get involved with the RAP working group and contribute to making our school a safer and welcoming space for First Nations people and to support all students and staff to participate in anti-racism and work towards reconciliation.

Always was, always will be, Aboriginal Land.

There are few occasions in my life where anyone could say that Michael Mance was ‘lost for words’ but I think that this is almost one of them. I really don’t know where to start as I think about the last term and the way that it has played out for us as a community of students and teachers.

I think it will take us a long time to make sense of this year, but one thing that I am certain of is that if we focus as a community on the things that have helped us get through and brought us pleasure, and commit to making these things a part of our everyday lives, we will emerge from these ‘strange days’ strengthened. On a personal note, I have made sure that during Term Three, I have taken time to say YES to things that have brought me pleasure. I have been walking along the Birrarung River (Yarra) as often as I can, kicking the footy with my youngest son, watching Avatar with my eldest son, reading for pleasure, making playlists of my favourite songs and sitting under the Golden Elm in my front yard with a cup of tea every afternoon when the sun is out. These are the things that I will remember about Term Three, because these are the things that were fun.

The other great positive about this term has been the way in which our community and the whole school has come together to share and support each other. This has been happening in classes, during Connect sessions and most visible on out Green Community Team Page, where Luke Lobello did an amazing job coming up with some really fun topics for discussion.

I would like to thank both of our Community Leaders, Vicky and Luke for the amazing job they have done this year, but particularly this term, as they helped organise subject selection for next year and provided outstanding support to students and families. The same is true of our dedicated Connect Mentors who were always upbeat and available. Megan Hanel and Thomas Elms, our Student Community Leaders, have had a tough gig this year, because the COVID interruption has really impacted on their ability to organise Community activities and events, but I am looking forward to working with them during Term 4 and I am sure they have plenty to contribute before the end of the year. They are both quality young people.

On behalf of the Green Community Team, I hope you have a great break. Remember to say YES to the things that give you pleasure, be kind to yourself and those around you and remember that we are here for you if you need us. If you are struggling, reach out and we will help.

So, there you have it … not lost for words after all it seems.

Michael

Click for answers

Answers: 1C 2B 3A 4D

Here are some comments from students undertaking the challenge:

Many people assume that the ration challenge is just spent being hungry, yet the bigger challenge for me is the lack of tasty foods and the lack of nutrients. I've struggled with vitamin and iron deficiencies for years now with my normal diet, and have been privileged to have medicine and heaps of research so I can work to better myself. Many women, particularly teenagers, struggle with their iron levels, and within just the first day of the challenge I can feel the difference it makes, yet it wasn't until this week that I've considered how the poor growing children, and pubescent teens will be suffering due to the essential nutrients that they don't have access to. By Tahlia

The ration challenge has certainly made me more grateful for the resources that we easily have access to and more conscious of what individuals experience in various countries. We need to become united now more than ever, and this is an excellent opportunity to help those in need. By Angie

The reason why I’m doing this challenge is to put myself in the shoes of a refugee and share what it’s like, so all people may come to realise how fortunate they are to have flavoursome food on their plates. This challenge will definitely make me more grateful of the “quality” of my food as there are thousands of people living on plain food yet are grateful for every bit of it.By Otylia

Remove US Boarder Wall

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Nicholas and I am writing in regards to the wall that is going up along the US/Mexican border. The wall is a major threat to the desert ecosystem and to large parts of the country. The wall is being built to prevent people from crossing the border illegally, and uses an enormous amount of resources.

The wall, however, also prevents non-flying animals from migrating to a more suitable environment, which would endanger them. The wall also uses nearly 2 million litres of water per mile of wall. That is not conserving water, especially in the desert environment where water is much more scarce than other parts of the country.

This is not right! Surely millions of litres of water and the conservation of native desert species is more important than stopping people crossing the border illegally! To fix that issue, we could put border patrols every mile. That would also create jobs! That is more ideal and environmentally friendly than building thousands of kilometres of wall!

This way would help the native species, the water conservation and the economy.

Yours Sincerely, Nicholas

GOLF COURSES OR GOLF CURSES?

Hi people of Palm Springs

You probably know your natural water supply is running out. Most water comes from underground aquifers so the birds, plants and animals don't have any and they're dying.

How about you look at the least used golf courses and close them to reduce the number of courses that Palm Springs has? One hundred and twenty golf courses is a lot! Please consider having less golf courses and using less water and not having a tropical landscape in the desert which fights against the laws of nature.

Yours sincerely, Theo

The Palm Oil Plunder

Dear reader,

It has come to my attention that the Indonesian rainforest, home to various types of exotic creatures that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth. The destruction and burning can be felt from miles away and it’s taking homes and lives, all of this chaos and deforestation for palm oil. I would like to discuss the cause and effects of this high demand for something that is indirectly the cause for destruction and pain for the ecosystem.

Palm oil is a very popular ingredient in various products. Products ranging from shampoo to instant noodles and even ice cream. It’s very versatile and the fruit it's from can be harvested in large and growing quantities. The high demand for palm oil comes from the various products that all need palm oil or have palm oil as an ingredient. And to keep up with the demand for palm oil they are destroying the forest to get more land for their palm oil trees.

As mentioned before they are destroying the Indonesian forests to keep up with the demand from the masses. However, they are expanding their palm tree farm faster than the forest can deal with or adapt to. It’s an unfortunate truth but the trees taken are like taking homes from people. Trees are essential to an ecosystem they provide homes and shelter for animals and also air. Not only is it destroying forests to expand a palm oil farm but its taking homes from birds, insects and mammals alike. Orangutans live in the trees from predators like leopards that prowl on the ground taking something away like a tree is destroying homes and safety from the predators. And also they are not just cutting trees down but they're burning the forest as the most 'efficient' way to clear land and supply for the demand.

Are these actions ethical or right? In the eyes of many people obviously no, these actions are wrong and extremely destructive to a balanced and stable ecosystem. However, the people doing this are not vile villains or corrupt criminals but people, they have their own morals and perceptions, their mindset is not set in stone. They are trying to keep up with what we want, they might have a family to provide for or even a dream to reach for . Everyone probably has at least one product with palm oil in it. We can't keep thinking the people harvesting them are the sinners when we are supporting their work.

There's still hope in this situation, like finding alternatives for palm oil or cutting down our products with palm oil. People have also made websites to support the forests like TOP or The Orangutan Project where they accept donations and inform people of the cause and effect of palm oil. It’s unreasonable and unlikely that someone can cut off palm oil completely. It’s improbable that one day the whole world would see that this is wrong and never use products with palm oil but we can slowly reduce it and let the forest recover.

We're all on this one rock. We might as well take care of it, because there may be an alternative for palm oil but there is no alternative for Earth.

Thanks for reading

Yours sincerely, Chris

The Oil is killing our beautiful animals!

Hello Readers,

People use boats and ships to carry things in and out of the country like products and oil. Oil spills occur by human error, equipment break down and also from ships encountering natural distasters. When this happens the oil leaks everywhere, causing serious problems for our ecosystem.

In the Galapagos, a recent cargo ship was carrying a lot of oil which spilled into the sea. There are many impacts the oil has had on our ecosystem. Many marine animals were hurt, injured or killed. The animals are very unique in the Galapagos; you won't be able to see their species anywhere else. If we keep having oil spills in our ocean, the population of animals will decrease and we may not see them again. It can also affect the environment because when the oil touches something it will fully cover it, and that can affect the plants and things around it.

In my opinion this is something we can't really stop if we need to carry oil from one country to another. It's also not against the law to ship oil. Carrying less oil could be much better in case it does leak. Something we also can't control is a natural disaster causing the oil spill. However, if it happened by human error, as in not tightening bolts on the engine tight enough, the oil can leak and that would be our fault.

Oil spills can be avoided by checking your engine making sure it's tight enough and won't leak. If the oil is leaking and has already leaked in the water, a good option would be skimming.

Kind Regards, Giselle

Sugar Cane Farming Isn't that Sweet For The Great Barrier Reef!

Attention sugar cane producers and those you it might affect!

Scientists have reason to believe that sugar cane production is leading to Crown of Thorns starfish outbreaks in the Great Barrier Reef. They believe it is because sugar cane farmers use chemicals on their crops and those chemicals make it all the way down to the rivers where the nitrogen flows all the way into the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists have found that where there are the highest levels of nitrogen there are Crown of Thorn starfish outbreaks a year after.

The Crown of Thorn starfish are an introduced species and harm the ecosystem by eating coral before mature and kill off the coral leaving not enough for the other organisms that live in the Great Barrier Reef.

In my opinion the farmers have not intentionally released nitrogen into the rivers. I think that it was bad side effect of expanding their land to make more crops. However, this can be stopped. The reason the nitrogen even reaches the rivers in the first place is because the sugar cane crops are so close to the rivers. If we have a dense area of plants, it soaks up the chemical and serve as a barrier in between the crops and the river.

I really hope that sugar cane farmers will plant more trees at the edge of their properties because as we have seen the effects have been devastating.

Many thanks, Meg

Letter to Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

I know you love the outdoors I wanted to share some information with you about what is happening in the Northern Territory and how it impacts our ecosystem. I thought you would be interested because I know you like native animals and fishing and you would be devasted to know that some species are dying. Invasive species of grasses are changing the nature of fires in NT and I will explain why this is a problem.

Hot burn fires kill off everything in its path including the seeds on the ground. It then puts sediment into the water and drops of the oxygen in the water and makes the fish die. It also damages the bark the trees and kills them. It burns the native grasses which is hard to regrow and takes a long time. Weeds then grow and that means there is not as many nutrients for smaller animals to eat and then the cattle industry suffers. There is less plant life on the ground and there can be soil erosion. It even destroys logs and hiding spots for small animals and then the number of snakes and small mammals decreases.

With the cool burn fires are controlled and instead of destroying the seeds completely it cracks the seed and then it can germinate. It keeps moisture in the tree and protects the tree so it does not die.

Unfortunately grasses not native to Australia, such as the Buffel grass, has been introduced because it does not mind harsh conditons and can withstand drought and grows super fast without much water. This was the good side because it means that cattle can be fed. The downside is that because it grows so fast, it is taking over and can now be found in lots of states of Australia.

The problem is that is crowds the other plants, affects our river system and increases the fire risk in Northern Territory which because everything is linked affects our whole ecosystem.

I understand why they introduced it because it helped solve the problem for food or the cattle but if you look at the big picture it created many more problems.

If you want some more information you can look at these links.

https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2019/03/12/summer-bushfires-you-didnt-hear-about-and-invasive-species-fuelling-them-1

https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/231416/buffel-grass-management-guide-2018.pdf

Hope everybody is staying safe during COVID.
From Zac