The girls of St Patrick’s College had the absolute privilege to attend the annual Cabramatta High peace day. As a second-time attender, I was absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity once again, as such an event was able to unveil a profound impact and experience on my development as a young lady. Cabramatta seemed to be a place of strength, boosted by the immense pride of cultural expression through its youth within the community. 

This year’s winning Sydney Peace prize topic was inspired by the powerful “MeToo” movement. It is about empowering a stronger sense of gender equality and challenging the struggles many women throughout the globe have concerning sexual harassment and abuse. 

Cabramatta Peace Day was proudly displaying the enriching skills and diverse talents of the school students in the area. Two special guest speakers were present: Tracy Spicer - an Australian newsreader and activist of women’s protection and empowerment from sexual or violent encounters, and Tarana Burke- founder of the MeToo movement from the Bronx, New York.  Both of these women echoed the Christian values we as the St Patrick’s community strive for, therefore, overall the event was such an eye-opener.

Jadyn B - Year 10 Student

The fascinating ceremony that was the Peace Day Prize is one that will resonate with me for forever and a day. As a feminist myself, I was thrilled to hear this year's prize was being awarded to an ambassador of the #metoo movement, and to learn that this individual was Tarana Burke just blew my mind into a million tiny pieces. To see, meet and listen to everything one of my idols had to say made me feel as though I was in some sort of dream. Needless to say, the way she spoke and the issues she spoke about made me look at her and think "this is who I want to be." 

Jaida A - Year 11 Student