Working Bee

June 16 Working Bee Report

The June Working Bee was held on Sunday. It started out with a chill in the air but warmed up nicely to a sunny autumn day.

Around 20 volunteers attended, including a number of students. It’s great to see students taking pride in their school, helping alongside parents and teachers to keep the grounds looking tidy. The school is now acknowledging student participation at the working bees as work experience that students can include on their CVs. 

Main activities were replanting of the kitchen herb garden with an array of new plants.

Pruning and weeding along Ely Street, and whipper snipping around the school.

For the June Working Bee we usually have fewer number so instead of a BBQ lunch we ended the working bee a bit earlier and had a morning tea of muffins and warm party pies and quiches, which went down really well the volunteers, as did the traditional chocolate box raffle.

There is now a bit of break until spring with the next Working Bee scheduled for September 8. At this Working Bee we will be re-planting the garden beds located on the Ely Street side of the school.

Over the last few years, post Covid we have struggled with attendance at working bees, averaging only around 20-25 attendees, most of whom are committee members and repeat volunteers.  Prior to Covid we would regularly have more than 50 volunteers attend. With fewer numbers at each Working Bee it is hard for us to get around to all the jobs that require doing.

We realise there are a lot of things that compete for everyone’s time. However, we'd really encourage families to attend at least one Working Bee per year if possible. There are around 1000 families at the school, so if each family attended just one working be per year we’d average over 160 people per Working Bee! That would really help us get more things done. So please put the next Working Bee dates in your calendars now and look out for a reminder for the next Working Bee in a couple of months.

If you wish to volunteer for any of the upcoming working bees please complete the Form below: https://forms.office.com/r/KiQRsZYZyK

We are also always looking for new grounds committee members. We’d particularly like to hear from anyone in the school community with experience or interest in helping us develop a strategic plan for the school grounds to guide our activities over the coming years, especially in preparation for the school’s 100-year birthday celebration in 2026.

If you'd like to get more involved with the school community and help with planning the school outdoor areas and gardens, please contact the school or a member of the committee. Contact can be made with Anna Panas anna.panas@education.vic.gov.au.

Meetings are held on a Thursday evening at the school prior to each Working Bee. 

ANNA PANAS, On behalf of the Grounds Committee