Kross Cafe

The largest acts of kindness can start from the simplest of questions: ‘What is our responsibility?’

One day during an inquiry into our responsibility as global citizens, we noticed there were Ukrainian refugees arriving in Adelaide. There was a compelling call to action to partner with an organisation called Treasure Boxes, who were facilitating a response. We wondered what taking action to support Treasure Boxes would look like. As we continued to read about the refugees in the news, we decided it was indeed our responsibility to act, and we didn’t need to send aid afar. The people were coming to us. And thus, the idea of the Kross Café was born.

The students independently formed action groups to begin the process. They organised themselves into working teams including marketing, baristas, finance and food.

The students arranged meetings with the School Leadership and wrote letters asking for donations. We were kindly offered donations from The Milk Lab and received prompt responses from McDonalds in Salisbury and Salisbury Plains for coffee beans. Coffee cups were also donated from a café owned by a parent in our community. Glen Ewin Estate generously offered to train the students in hospitality, barista skills, table setting and tea making. This was a highly valuable training experience which the students will take with them beyond the Kross Cafe.

Workshops were held by our school’s marketing team, maintenance team, and finance team as well as business management from a parent of our community.

Some students wrote to the South Australian Premier to share the initiatives our school was undertaking for the refugees. These students invited the Premier to speak of his personal family story as refugees fleeing from Lithuania. The Hon Peter Malinauskas MP generously accepted this offer and visited the Year 6 cohort at the end of Term 2. At the start of Term 3 we interviewed Rikki Cooke, the CEO and Founder of Treasure Boxes, where her passion and commitment to social justice was inspiring.

The kitchen in our School Hall has been an ideal location for the Kross Café. The students named the café based on the St Andrew’s Cross, a symbol of Christianity. This is a reminder of our values and heritage. Gathering the community on our lawns has been a refreshing change to the isolation some have experienced over the previous couple of years. It reminds us of the intrinsic need for community and social connection. The students are learning the power of hospitality and how this can influence a culture, community and greater society.

After a soft launch for the School staff for the students to practice their skills, we launched the Kross Café to the parents at the beginning of Term 3. One of our students even arranged for her saxophone ensemble, led my Mr Wiffen, to be performed.

We look forward to continued collaborations across the school into the future. We have raised a considerable amount for Treasure Boxes, with many thanks to a matching donor from our parent business community. We plan to share this donation publicly in Term 4.

I hope this story of how one idea for action, led by our students, has brought inspiration to you. What can I do to make our world better? Who can I touch with kindness today? St Andrew’s School is incredibly proud of the way our Year 6 students are consistently and diligently applying their skills and living out their values. They are enacting social justice in our city, while building community in our school.

If there is a way you would like to partner with this initiative, please get in touch.

With much gratitude,

Carla Moffat
Year 6 Teacher