Service Learning

What is Service Learning and why is it important?

Within the word ‘brother’ is ‘other’. At Ignatius Park College, the concept of Brotherhood not only encompasses the students, but is also extended to the wider community with service learning.

In service learning, students learn educational standards through tackling real-life problems in their community. Service learning provides meaningful community service experiences and engagements to students and is a core part to life at school at Ignatius Park College. Providing students with the ability to think globally and act locally, service learning has a positive impact on the growth and development of the whole person. At Iggy Park, the school aims to use service learning to help develop responsible young men with a highly developed sense of social justice. 

For example, students at Ignatius Park College raise much-needed funds for the Townsville Drop In Centre through coloured clothes days. To add to the students understanding of just why they are raising these funds, the students are offered a homeless experience, the students spend one night ‘sleeping rough’ at school, eating only soup and sleeping on a hard floor with none of the usual comforts of their bedrooms. The boys experience some of the challenges that homeless people may go through each day. Although it is only for one night, we hope that the students can garner an understanding for people who are homeless or vulnerable in our society and the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Each House at the College supports its own charity throughout the year with a range of charitable activities and events to raise funds and awareness.

Students at Iggy Park are offered a wide range of activities as part of service-learning including:

• Reading with students from Holy Spirit School
• Visiting and engaging with elderly residents at Brooklea Lifestyle Village
• Cycling to Cairns to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer
• World’s Greatest Shave
• Hit the Hill to raise awareness for Suicide and Mental Health
• Townsville Community Learning Centre – spending their time playing games, making new friends and fostering right relationships
• Peer mentors – the Senior students formally guide the younger students
• Reef Guardians
• Clean Up Australia Day
• Best Foot Forward - Liberating the lives of women and girls through education

Service learning is a vital part of educating the whole person and the ethos of serving others is a guiding principle of an education at Ignatius Park College.