Day One: Interview with Miss Clarksmith, Head of Senior School

Interview with the Head of Senior School, Miss Clarksmith 

Helping to organise the Service Days

The first thing you’ll notice when you walk into Miss Clarksmith’s office is that there is a lot of work everywhere. Many folders on shelves, a computer keyboard surrounded by paper and even Service Days booklets. But how exactly is the Service Days program arranged? We got an exclusive interview with the Head of Senior School as she reveals all about Service Days…

JACOB: So why exactly do we do the Service Days in the first place?

MISS CLARKSMITH: Here at Rouse Hill, we need more focus than just the curriculum and students need to be taught about the love of Jesus and a need to love and serve just like Jesus did.

JACOB: How did Service Days get started?

MISS CLARKSMITH: A lot of members of staff (teachers, welfare team) came together at a meeting that happens once a fortnight and thought about how students could provide service. Service Days actually only started three years ago!

JACOB: How much work does it take to prepare the Service Days?

MISS CLARKSMITH You would not believe how much work it takes! It takes about ten months of preparation to contact all the companies. Also, there are about 370 students doing Service Days and 33 groups, and the groups going into the mountains also need buses. It all takes a while to organise.

JACOB: How does the work aid other people?

MISS CLARKSMITH: It benefits in a lot of ways. People are given gifts and other people lend their skills to the elderly who can’t tend their gardens any more, and, in some cases, raising money for other organisations.

JACOB: How much of a difference do you think service week will make to the student and school community?

MISS CLARKSMITH: I think it makes a huge difference, on culture, awareness about our sponsor children and for students to think about the importance service.

BEN: How long does it take to organise the groups? 

MISS CLARKSMITH: It actually doesn’t take as long as you think! We enter all the students’ preferences into a database that Mrs Hogan writes and it sorts out the groups from there.

BEN: How much money is raised from the Service Days?

MISS CLARKSMITH: There’s not a lot raised from Service Days because there are only two groups actually raising money, although last year we raised over $1,000 through ‘Books to Go’ for Sunshine Cambodia.

BEN: Does it take time to organise the Mountain trips?

MISS CLARKSMITH: No, not really, it’s pretty straightforward, the Mountain people also take the train so it’s not too hard.

BEN: And, lastly, how much does it cost to get everything you need?

MISS CLARKSMITH: It actually costs quite a lot to buy all the wood for the toys, the ingredients for the food, the soy for the candles and so on. Funnily enough, a lot of the money for funding actually comes from the $5 fees students have had to pay to get their phones back! People think they’re just paying to get it back but it actually helps others.