Central to the religious life of the school is the person of Jesus Christ who came among us ‘as one who serves’ (Luke 22.27). Our Catholic school is committed to reaching out to help those in need, through charitable outreach initiatives. All outreach activities connect to the person of Jesus Christ and to the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Drawing on the Catholic Social Teaching of the Church, we have a deep commitment to supporting a range of charitable organisations, families and individuals in need.
St Gertrude’s Catholic Primary School Smithfield is passionate about supporting those who are in need and is guided by the words of Mary Mackillop, ‘Never see a need without doing something about it’. Throughout the year, we support the St Vincent de Paul Society through our involvement in different appeals, such as the Vinnies Winter Appeal, Christmas Appeal and preparing toiletry packs for those in need.
Within our school, we have our student Mini Vinnies group who are active in bringing these whole-school initiatives forward. Led by the Family Educator, outreach activities such as fortnightly sandwich making sessions for St Vincent de Paul are organised for parents and carers to volunteer for; Night Patrol donations are also received. We also support Caritas through our Lenten appeal and other gold coin fundraising opportunities.