Good Shepherd Lutheran College McHappy Day Experience
At Good Shepherd Lutheran College NT, we inspire and equip students to flourish as compassionate, highly capable people who enrich the lives of others, guided by Christian values of Community, Respect and Service. Schools by nature are opportunities to learn and develop the minds of ourselves and students, and by nature Lutheran schools are places of care and support for others. It is no surprise that the desire to serve others is common across our schools. For many years Lutheran schools have been exploring and embedding service learning opportunities into the opportunities for our students. It is great to see the many ways that students are engaging with learning opportunities through the process of service and going beyond just raising money with a gold coin donation. We do know; however, that sometimes money is what is needed to fund the resources and expert staff in the locations where help is needed.
For the second year this year, I was invited to participate in McHappy Day at our local McDonalds restaurant here in Darwin. This year our Deputy Principal, Jason Mustin, also joined in on the fun, helping to raise awareness and funds for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. It has been 27 years since I first started working at McDonalds as a pimply teenager and quite a lot has changed since then; computers, timers, automation, food service delivery drivers and much more.
It was a great experience, getting to know the staff of the store, learning the procedures and tasks for cooking and serving customers, and encouraging the community to get behind the work of the Foundation. One of the highlights was engaging with students of our College, some who work at the store and others who came along to visit us on the day. It was interesting to have conversations with staff who were both curious about what work looks like for a principal and also willing to share with me about their own schooling experiences, work experiences at the store and aspirations for future goals.
Jason’s experience was very similar as he recounts… ‘McHappy Day was a great experience! It was great to see the community come together to support a great cause in lots of little ways. Some people donated time, some made large donations and others supported by purchasing socks and Big Macs. One member of the community attended and shared his emotional story of how his daughter received open-heart surgery in Melbourne and he is forever grateful for the support his family received from the Ronald MacDonald House next to the hospital. It was a great reminder of the positive impact the Ronald MacDonald Charities have as they provide support for families of seriously ill and injured children.’
As Principal and Deputy Principal, we are often kept busy in offices and meetings, tending to what is needed to keep the College operational and functioning. It was fantastic to be out and about, in the community, modelling and ‘doing’ service in a fun and unique way, while helping out a charity that provides support that we were able to hear about first hand.
