St
Ignatius' Parish in Richmond has become the new
home of the Friday Night School, where students from Xavier College
and other Melbourne Catholic schools tutor children from migrant and refugee
backgrounds.
Hundreds
of students packed the parish hall on 5 February for the first school session
of the year. A bus shuttled children to and from the hall, while happy students
exchanged stories from the holidays in their new environment.
The
Friday Night School was first begun 12 years ago by Margaret Gurry. The school
pairs together around 400 students each week - 200 children from migrant and
refugee families, and 200 tutors from Catholic schools. The tutors provide independent
supervision in reading, writing and homework to these children, many of whose
parents do not speak any English.
Xavier
College students were the first to be involved in the program, and continue to
make up the bulk of the tutors in the group.
‘Xavier
would have somewhere between 80 and 90 boys a week, and they have to ration it
some weeks', says Margaret.
In
the past, classes were run at St John the Evangelist Church. When that venue
was no longer available this year, Fr Stan Lim SJ offered them the use of the
hall at St Ignatius'.
‘Father
Stan Lim was wonderful, and very welcoming', says Margaret. ‘Already the parish
is taking up some roles of helping with families. I can see that we are going
to be able to achieve a lot more with the involvement of Fr Stan and the parish
to help families, and to offer additional support for struggling families.'
The
Friday Night School also organises camps, parties, and celebrations to
contribute to the holistic development of migrant and refugee children, many of
whom do not otherwise have opportunities to go on vacation or celebrate.
One
Friday night school attendee shared of their time recently, saying that it was
an invaluable part of their formation.
‘After
seven years at Friday night school, every week has been a benefit to me in many
different ways. I am very grateful for Margaret and the Friday night school
sponsors and staff.'