Somerset students help Santa write 166 letters

WORDS: Phoebe Le Page PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

Somerset College students are spreading Christmas cheer with the Mudgeeraba State Special School community, in the form of 166 handwritten letters from Santa.

For over ten years the Somerset College Year 11 students and Mudgeeraba State Special School community have shared a mutually enriching relationship underpinned by weekly visits to spend time in class and at play with each other. Somerset College Service Learning Coordinator, Brad Walker, said the Somerset College students are keen to bring a little festive joy to the Mudgeeraba State Special School after all visits were suspended earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Walker said, “In the next few weeks, every student from Mudgeeraba State Special School will be writing a letter to Santa. There are 166 students in total.”
“Each student will receive a handwritten reply which will no doubt cause much excitement.
“All Year 11 Somerset students take part in the inter-school activity, under the larger umbrella of the Somerset College Service Learning Program, with Year 7 students also pitching in this month to help ease Santa’s workload.”

Traditionally, the visits to Mudgeeraba State Special School have afforded the Somerset student community a moment to escape hectic school life and develop an appreciation of, and empathy for, the diversity of people in our community.
It helps all the students, at both schools, to develop an important range of interpersonal skills and understanding.
“It’s wonderful to see kind, caring and compassionate souls building empathy,” said Mr Walker.
Mudgeeraba State Special School, Principal, Colleen Hope is optimistic about resuming traditional contact visits again next year.
Established in 1983, Somerset College fosters learning through a diverse range of experiences. Located in Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast, it is a co-educational day school from Pre-Prep to Year 12.