March 1

All Black Day

From Barbara Braxton and Jill McGeorge:

It is now one week since the devastating New Zealand earthquake that has shattered Christchurch and its people, and there would be few schools in Australia that do not have a student or a staff member with a Kiwi connection. Psychologists say that the trauma can be intensified by a feeling of wanting to help but being unable to do so, so to help overcome this a group of Kiwi teacher librarians teaching in Australia are proposing:

ALL BLACK DAY

We are suggesting that on March 22, 2011 students be allowed to wear all black instead of their regular school uniform and pay a gold coin for the privilege. If school regulations demand students remain in uniform, then an alternative could be to create a coin trail over the words ANZAC, Aotearoa, Christchurch, or Otautahi (Maori for Christchurch). Any other form of fundraising would also be welcome. If you have ideas, please share them with us to share with everybody. The money raised will then by donated to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal through whatever financial procedures schools have to follow to do this.

Amounts raised would then be reported to a state co-ordinator who will tally them so we can determine the total contribution of Australian schools and share this with participants. We are planning to establish a Facebook page so state and national totals are available and even photos of students participating can be posted.

We need you to:

* publicise this event as widely as possible, sending it to any network you belong to

* consider volunteering to be your state co-ordinator which will just involve receiving emails from schools with their tallies and sending the total to a central co-ordinator. We already have co-ordinators for NSW and Queensland, but no doubt they would appreciate help.

* spread the word about your school’s activities with any media connections you have.

If you have any questions, or are willing to act as a state co-ordinator, please contact one of us:

Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian (retired)
Cooma, NSW
barbara.288@bigpond.com

Jill McGeorge
Teacher Librarian
Willoughby Public School, NSW
jill.mcgeorge@det.nsw.edu.au

Lara O’Donoghue
Teacher Librarian
Lake Macquarie High School, NSW
lara-dale.odonoghue@det.nsw.edu.au

Margaret Forbes
Teacher Librarian
Moreton Bay Boys’ College, QLD
forbesm@mbbc.qld.edu.au

Judith Way
Teacher Librarian
Kew High School, VIC
judithway1@gmail.com

Jill Oates
Teacher Librarian
Ursula Frayne Catholic College, WA
jill@thebilbies.com.au

UPDATE:

Flowers collage, All Black Day, 2011
This artwork was created by Penrith Public School’s Student Representative Council, who painted their hands to resemble flowers of New Zealand and Australia. The photographs were assembled into a collage. This was part of a fundraising venture for ALL BLACK DAY, Australian schools’ contribution to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal of 2011.

A slideshow can be viewed at Photo Peach!


All Black Day: Christchurch earthquake appeal, 2011

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