Today I experienced another Avonside tradition: the Litter Assembly. This occurs when students forget that the grounds they enjoy during their interval (recess) and lunch are also the grounds that offer a first impression to visitors. Despite the fact that there are plenty of rubbish bins around, the girls still neglect to get their garbage into the bins. The punishment for this is a litter assembly.
During period 3 a runner comes around to all the classes with a piece of paper informing teachers that a litter assembly will be taking place during lunch. Period 3 teachers are to escort their current class to the Hall/Gym. The girls then sit in their designated rows, silently, and wait for an administrator to come around and pick random girls to put on rubber gloves and take a plastic rubbish bag out to the grounds to pick garbage off the lawn, out of the bushes, and off the pathways. The girls who remain in the hall are to be silent, and no one is granted permission to have lunch until admin is satisfied with the state of the grounds.
An open ear would hear the girls complaining about others who don’t do their part, and how they hate eating their lunch surrounded by rubbish. An open eye would see these same girls neglecting to get their banana peel into the bin on the following day. However, I did see and hear some girls getting after their friends and making sure that their eating area was clean before they left for class.
The most repulsive consequence of rubbish lingering on the grounds is the fact that the rats from the Avon River migrate from the banks to the school grounds – drawn by the alluring smells of food scraps. A rat was spotted on the grounds, and therefore the students have solid motivation to keep rubbish in the bins.
Until next time,
L.
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