Conducted and led by Year 10 students, Week Without Words is celebrated by our school to highlight the challenges of children who struggle to communicate verbally. Everyday, 95% of the children at St Lucy’s in Wahroonga have difficulties speaking due to conditions such as dyspraxia and autism. By supporting the Week Without Words cause, we aimed to raise awareness and help raise money for crucial equipment and programs for St Lucy’s. 

The week kicked off with a Zoom presentation to all the Houses which included a quick introduction using sign language and a rundown of what was going to happen during the week. A few girls were invited to go down to the Primary School to share how they could get involved in the activities.

On Tuesday, everyone participated in a fun Kahoot to test their knowledge about the valuable week and learn much more about AUSLAN. Conducted by a few students in Year 10, Midday Gong was organised to support the wonderful cause and to reflect on how the lives of the children at St Lucy’s are affected. 

On Wednesday, everyone was able to get involved in some fun silent games such as charades to put ourselves in the shoes of those who live their lives like this every single day. Thanks to the Student Council and Year 10, we were taught how to recite ‘Cruci Dum Spiro Fido’ in AUSLAN – we look forward to doing this with the whole school soon. 

Lastly, on Friday, Year 10 participated in the annual Silent Day. ‘Silent Day’ is a day where Year 10 can’t use their voices as a means of communication in order to step into the lives of those at St Lucy’s and to experience firsthand what it is like. 

Overall, we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made this year’s Week Without Words possible. Although the week looked a bit different this year, we were able to conduct a very valuable awareness-raising week.  We would also like to say a big thank you to both Ms De Mattia and Ms Minto for orchestrating the whole week. We could not have done it without their help as well as all of Year 10 getting behind us. The change we were able to create will definitely not go unnoticed by our friends at St Lucy’s. 

For students moving into Year 10 next year, we suggest that you should definitely sign  up to this event as it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

Suloshi De Alwis and Isabella Knox