Our Student Volunteer Army (SVA) went to Linklater Reserve in Kelvin Grove to plant wildflowers and poppies. We are a student-driven group who have set out to help the community.

The students enjoyed the day out in the sun, and hope to do much more community work. Of course, the event would not have been able to take place without the help of the parents who came on the day.

Our service project in Term 3 was fantastic. We visited a retirement village in our community and asked them what they would most like us to do for them. We were expecting some volunteering or visiting but what they most wanted was singing.

We went down every Friday morning, and sang and visited with them for about 40 minutes before walking back to school. The students were very nervous at first but were so excited, and pumped for our following visits. They visited and shared stories with the residents after our singing sessions.

The most common reflection from students was that they felt they made a difference in an older person day. The students were always very happy after the visits and it was hard to get them to leave. They communicated very well and approached the residents on their own. We would definitely do something like this again.

An old clay pit, that then became a dumping ground, has now been transformed into a local park near our school. This term, we are visiting this park frequently and helping out with projects. We have also been using the site for our studies.

Last week we found out more about the history, pulled out weeds, and picked up rubbish. We also discovered, and then learned about some native worms.

We have been working with groups of kids around sustainability and beautifying our local community environment. In Week 1 of Term 4, 120 students from Ngata House at Ross Intermediate School worked down in Edwards Pitt Park in Palmerston North. We spent time removing rubbish that other people had dropped in amongst the native plants, and remove weeds from the gardens and walkways to support the native plants to thrive.

Later in the term, we intend to plant a “Ross Intermediate Garden” down in the park to add to the amazing work that community members have done down there.