Guild thrilled by Lord Mayor visit
You are helping our initiatives to be a more sustainable city . . . you are a huge part of our city community.
— Perth Lord Mayor, Basil Zempilas
Just three weeks after the Student Guild launched our school's new waste recycling scheme, Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas visited St George's Anglican Grammar School to learn more and congratulate our student leaders.
Greeted in the school boardroom on Level 4, Mr Zempilas was keen to hear how the recycling project was developed following the Guild's desire for our city school to become more sustainable and waste-wise in 2024 and beyond.
School Captain Linus Miller explained how his father Ed, who works in waste management, visited St George's in Term One to share recycling and sustainability ideas, igniting a move to change the way our students dispose of paper, cans, lunch wrappers and general waste throughout the school day. Ed and St George's Business Manager, Mr Todd Thatcher, worked together with the Student Guild to ensure the success of this initiative.
By the start of Term Two, earlier this month, the Guild had created a three-bin colour-coded waste system - in red, yellow and green. Mr Zempilas was quick to ask if the new bins reflected our House colours, which they do - with (Gandhi) red for general waste, (Lincoln) yellow for recycling and (Mandela) green for Containers for Change.
Linus explained how the new waste collection and disposal system works and how Containers for Change proceeds will be given to Anglicare to support city programs such as Street Connect, for young people in need.
Conveying the message to the student body about changing habits and using the new system correctly was the next vital component of the scheme's infancy, Linus said. The Guild showed the Lord Mayor photographs of when they first promoted the recycling initiative to all year groups at an assembly at Chapel at St George's Cathedral at the end of last term, dressing up and demonstrating with some theatrics how staff and students should use the red, yellow and green bins for different forms of rubbish. The Lord Mayor said his background in the media meant he understood how driving home a message in a simple way to achieve awareness and widespread understanding was key to achieving goals and change.
WATCH: Linus chats to the Lord Mayor
During the 30-minute meeting, the Lord Mayor explained how waste was managed throughout the City of Perth and asked questions about the operational elements of our somewhat smaller scheme. Mr Zempilas said he thought that the removal of bins from every classroom – so students and staff had to use the new bins near the lifts on each floor of our vertical school - was a clever touch.
Mr Zempilas expressed gratitude for our Service Learning Program's recent initiative which saw groups of St George's students collecting rubbish from parks and gardens and public spaces around the city.
"I say congratulations and thank you - you are helping our initiatives to be a more sustainable city, you are living and breathing the message that the city around you wants to reinforce, and you are a huge part of our city community,'' Mr Zempilas said.
"We were very proud to have you here in the city before today and we are now especially proud to have you because you are helping our sustainability and recycling initiatives - so well done.''
Mr Zempilas said St George’s Anglican Grammar School students had a unique opportunity to be educated in a modern, vibrant environment here in the heart of the city.
"Going to school in the city is something very special and I hope that you long remember your days of going to this school in the City of Perth,'' he said. "Keep coming back!''
