Published on: 14 June 2018





Students and staff in our Preparatory School were taken on an educational journey last week as the boys of 6SM shared ways in which to be an ethical consumer.

Presenting in the Chapel as part of Friday’s assembly item, they explored the topic ‘responsible consumption and production’ which represents goal number 12 of the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development as set out by the United Nations. Tips included reducing use of plastic bags, avoiding palm oil products, car pooling and growing your own food.

“The best thing about Global Goal number 12 is that all of us can make changes in our lives that will help the planet improve with each positive step,” said 6SM student, Tom Mairs.

“Our assembly item stemmed off the work we have been doing with UWA in a partnership study of how differentiation enhances boys’ learning through the use of an inquiry model called ‘Challenge-based Learning.’ This involves inviting experts into the classroom to give the boys real world and first-hand content, knowledge and opinions on a topic,” says 6SM teacher, Sally MacKinnon.

“A Fairtrade Skype call from Melbourne, an incursion with an engineer from Greenbatch, a recycler of PET bottles who turns them into 3D printer filament for schools, and a talk by an Oxfam guest speaker on fair pay for women and improved conditions for factory workers of major brands such as Nike, Country Road, Zara etc. have formed part of the boys’ learning experience so far.”

“Additionally, all Year 6s have been working on a choice learning inquiry on the topic of ethical consumerism and have been invited to UWA to present their work to second year Masters of Teaching (Primary) students. The boys commenced the topic by defining what global citizenship meant to them. This feeling of belonging to the world is important to young people as they feel a sense of ownership and responsibility in terms of how their actions will directly impact the planet in the future.”

“The opportunity to present will give the boys a chance to showcase their work having also presented their completed projects to their parents in an open classroom format.”

The ethical consumerism ‘ripple’ continues next week as Mr Pozzi’s class extends the message at assembly with a guest speaker teaching the boys about the importance of recycling. A sample of 6SM’s latest work on ethical consumerism can be enjoyed by watching this video.