Walking the walk with the Community Service Co-curricular

Trinity’s Co-curricular program is diverse in its breadth, but there’s only one Co-curricular activity at Trinity where students can knit, sleep under the stars, get involved in local bush regeneration, and connect with younger students as well as older local residents – all this and more with the goal of serving their local community. 

The Community Service Co-curricular is available to students in Year 8 (Term 4) through to Year 12 (Term 3) and it has proven popular with every single year group since the beginning, with the group now boasting 170 students. 

Each week, boys gather on a Friday afternoon to participate in one specific area of service each term. These choices are: 

BUPA nursing home visits

Just a short walk from Trinity sees students arriving at the nursing home ready to connect with the residents. Together they craft, play cards and board games, and learn about the lives of these wise, older members of their community.

Ms Cathy Yarad, Co-ordinator of the Community Service Co-curricular, says that a particular highlight has been the opportunity to hear their stories and record them. 

“We have been able to put together a few ‘life story’ books for some of the residents,” she says. “Copies are also given to the family as a keepsake. We are told this is greatly appreciated.” 

Bottles for Battens

In addition to Trinity’s wider sustainability program, students in the Community Service Co-curricular are responsible for the orange bins you may have seen around campus. These bins are used to collect bottles that qualify for the Return and Earn program which are then processed by staff at collection points to earn money for Batten Disease. 

Students are responsible for collecting the bins and re-sorting any items that have found their way into the wrong bin so that the redemption process is smooth. 

Mr Andreas Mickler heads up this particular initiative and says that the students get stuck right into the task, putting up with spoiled milk and mis-sorted items with no problem.  

“All of this they do quickly, efficiently, and with good humour,” he says. “They are a great help and an asset to the Community Service group.” 

Youth Leadership

Through online training and obtaining certificates, students prepare to work with younger, primary Trinity students in their afternoon sporting activities. Those involved in the Community Service Co-curricular supervise, coach, score, and mentor their younger peers, an opportunity that sees connections, respect, and investment in each other’s journey grow. 

Dignity

With two major fundraising events every year, those involved in the Dignity group are responsible for organising these events, driving support, and ensuring that each event is a success. 

The Winter Sleepout raises money for blankets used throughout emergency housing. Students brave an August night out on the floors of Village 2 where Ms Yarad says the cold is not the only thing they come up against. 

“August brings the cold weather, but there are also building lights that stay on all night, the occasional house party, and the calls of birds early in the morning.” 

A few months later, the Christmas Hamper Drive brings the whole school together, collecting food items to ensure many struggling families can eat a special Christmas meal. 

“The generosity of the whole School at this time of the year is greatly appreciated,” says Ms Yarad. 

Outside of these opportunities, students also get involved with various other activities. 

From Term 4, Year 9 students move to a knitting group in their lunchtime Co-curricular sessions, where they create squares to be added to blankets for disaster victims via Wrap with Love. 

“There are often dropped stitches and sometimes backtracking to remove holes but, eventually, the boys create a square to add to a blanket. They do it all while chatting and enjoying each others’ company.” 

Meanwhile, those in Year 10 to Year 12 assist with making sandwiches for the St Vincent de Paul Food Vans. Each term, the Community Service Co-curricular has donated, on average, 7,200 sandwiches, with four groups running over two days each week. 

“Before School, boys butter all the bread, make two of the four types of sandwiches, and label the sandwich bags. 

Students also spend one day in Term 1 volunteering for Bush regeneration in the Inner West Council Area. 

“2026 was our second year of involvement and we were able to return to the same area we worked on last year,” says Ms Yarad. “We saw the growth of the trees we planted and were able to complete our work of tidying up the area by removing weeds, placing bark and planting new trees. It’s a tiring, but rewarding day for all involved.” 

Staff also enjoy the Co-curricular, with 17 staff assisting in running the program. 

“[The staff] are always doing more than just supervising students,” says Ms Yarad. “You will see them doing crafts with the nursing home residents, sorting bottles, and packing them into bags, making sandwiches, and knitting alongside the boys.” 

The benefits they see for themselves are similar to the boys’ experiences. 

“For students, the Community Service Co-curricular is an opportunity to grow as well as connect well with their peers, themselves, and their wider community. It teaches students to work efficiently, collaboratively, and consider others, while learning about those less fortunate than themselves and actively contribute to change.”