Social Justice

In keeping with our College motto - Deeds Not Words - and the Mission Statement, empower young women to engage in critical reflection leading to positive action for our world, Star of the Sea College is recognised as a leading Catholic school in relation to all aspects of education for justice.

The commitment to Social Justice is underpinned and animated by:

• our Judeo-Christian heritage
• our focus on Jesus’ life and mission
• the Catholic Church’s body of Catholic Social Teaching
• the extraordinary story of Nano Nagle
• the contemporary ministries and mission of the Presentation Sisters in Australia and overseas: eg. their current commitment to advocacy about human trafficking and environmental justice
• a commitment to agencies mandated by the Archdiocese of Melbourne: Caritas Australia, St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) and Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Melbourne
• a desire to balance our focus and outreach to local and global causes/issues
• an ongoing commitment to the national reconciliation process between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians
• a belief that all outreach and fundraising is to be complemented by appropriate prayer, reflection and examination of the structural issues inherent in the intended action/outreach effort
• an understanding that our outreach and justice efforts are to be grounded in critical awareness about justice issues: classroom practice complements outreach and justice actions 

Outstanding opportunities for education in the areas of justice, service and outreach opportunities:

• twice-weekly commitment to Sacred Heart Mission by Year 10 students and staff who assist in the preparation of lunch for 400 homeless people
• immersion experiences in India, Timor L’Este, Vietnam and Lake Mungo 
• Year 12 commitment to Soup Van on Friday evenings
• weekly commitment by students and staff to Jesuit Social Services’ Friday night tutoring program in Richmond
• engagement in a wide range of environmental justice activites: Clean Up Australia Day, Earth Hour, tree planting, beach clean-ups, an annual Environment Week, dialogue with local Islamic students about faith and environmental justice, creative assemblies, the maintenance of an edible garden, recycling facilities, installation of solar panels and water tanks
• creative commemoration of International Women’s Day
• raising awareness about the issue of human slavery and trafficking in conjunction with the Australian Council for Religious Against the Trafficking of Humans
• video conferences with students in Pakistan and Jordan around issues of wealth distribution, the environment, women and justice
• student participation in a multitude of justice-related conferences: eg. Caritas Australia’s Just Leadership Day and St Vincent de Paul Student Conference
• justice issues studied across the curriculum in all subject areas: eg. the Millennium Development Goals in Health and Human Development, and Human Rights Law in Legal Studies
• annual fundraising and goods collection for Caritas’ "Project Compassion" campaign, Sacred Heart Mission food collection, Christmas hamper compilation for a local St Vincent de Paul Conference and various Presentation Sisters’ projects