Northmead Public School ethics team were co-winners of the 2024 Kinghorn Volunteers of the Year award – in their school’s centenary year. At a recent school assembly they were presented with their $1000 winning cheque to go to their school library, as well as a hardback copy of Unstoppable Us by Yuval Noah Harari.
Northmead is a large, diverse school in western Sydney. The team have worked really hard at building a very strong, steady and committed presence to ensure that ethics is now offered across all years, having started with only two classes a decade ago. The reputation and popularity of the program has grown significantly and now almost one third of the school population is engaged in ethics lessons. The program is seen as an important part of school life and the team is well known and respected. With a diverse, committed and community-minded team, they’re not only teaching ethics — they’re building a lasting legacy.
Our volunteers love the conversations and lessons we get to share with the kids and we especially love catching up each term to chat all things ethics and learning from each other's experiences. We all feel that we get as much from the experience of teaching ethics as we give to our students each week.
Former ethics coordinator Tania
Volunteer Elaine
One of the team, Elaine Lee, told her story:
I have always wanted to volunteer in a program that has an impact for others. Taking a career break, I saw this opportunity advertised at our school and jumped at the offer after reading up on the Primary Ethics program. My background is in Learning & Development and the program aligned with my values of instilling morale and critical reasoning, even more cause to volunteer with Primary Ethics.
What makes it great is that you don’t have to have facilitator experience! The training program is very well constructed, mine was led by Kelby Mason.
Knowing that I can make an impact for my child and the children of tomorrow makes it very rewarding and fulfilling. The curriculum is current with today’s scenarios and it’s such a pleasure to work with a cohort of like-minded volunteers who want to make a difference.
I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to participate in this program. I hope this becomes the norm as part of a child's learning in primary and high school. Thank you, Primary Ethics!