Among the excitement at the end of term, interest has sparked in St Bernadette’s Primary School, surrounding supporting a family in need.
The family is part of the St Bernadette’s community, with several children attending the school, and have recently celebrated the arrival of another child. As the new baby has been born prematurely, the family is going through a tough time, so St Bernadette’s began putting a system in place to help support them. What began as a food chain in classrooms became something more, as other families in the community asked to help. The school turned to Meal Train, a website that allows families to schedule a day that they want to donate a meal they have made for the family, and drop it off at the school, their only limitation for meals being that they should be “easy to heat”, according to the school’s Meal Train page.
Families have been quick to contribute, with a wide variety of meals being scheduled daily for at least the next two months. St Bernadette’s teacher Claire Brusamarello explained the school’s motivation and the program’s success. “As a school community, we come together during times of need. The Meal Train allows us to support families.”
Parents and teachers are not the only community members interested in the meal donation project that the school has undertaken. Eleven-year-old St Bernadette’s student leader, Madeleine, expressed positivity towards the Meal Train program, and said she believed it would be very beneficial for enhancing students’ empathy. “I think the Meal Train website is good because it helps students realise what other families are going through, and how they can help them get through difficult times,” she said.
Ms Brusamarello expressed similar beliefs, emphasising the community’s compassion and how it relates to the values that are taught to their students. “As a Catholic school, our action in faith is continuing on Jesus’ mission and work," she said. "Leading by example as staff and a community instills into our students the importance of empathy and kindness when those around us are enduring hardship,” she said.
This compassion program arrives just in time for Easter, ensuring a warm term holiday for the family, and an overwhelming sense of togetherness and belonging in the St Bernadette’s Primary School community.
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