Parents and Friends Association

Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year 

2021 has come and gone without much happening.  Yet, our teachers were working tirelessly making sure our students achieve what they set out to do.  On behalf of the PFA, we would like to express our sincere thanks to the entire EDSC community for the dedication and support given to the teachers and students.  This year we bid farewell to 3 very precious members of our committee (Boon, Julie & Waili) as their children leave school this year.  As we bid farewell to some, we hope to welcome many new parents from the school community into our committee and look forward to seeing many of you in the new year.  Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.         

PFA Committee

Trip Down Memory Lane

I have enjoyed being a member of the EDSC Parents and Friends Association these past six years. This Association acts as an important touchpoint for representation of parents' views and as a vital fundraising group to support purchases for the school. This is the group’s function, but it is so much more than this. Monthly meetings provide the opportunity to hear the principal’s report on issues facing the school community and to provide valuable feedback, a chance to network with other parents and some fun along the way! My involvement with the school community, by being a member of the Parents and Friends Association, has allowed me to support my children with School theatre productions and orchestral performances. Our financial contribution assisted the school to purchase a mini grand piano, which I am proud to mention that my son performed a solo composed piece on. More recently, a couch and new garden bed was purchased to provide a “chill out” area for students. A small amount of your time to organise and assist in a fundraiser sausage sizzle or to sell hot cross buns means a lot in supporting your child/ren at East Doncaster Secondary College.

Julie Venning

Next Meeting:

The PFA will hold its next monthly meeting in the new year.   Please look out for the date in the first newsletter of 2022.  If any members of the school community would like to join in please email Aban at aban2309@yahoo.com and we will very happily add you on to our distribution list.

Support your favourite cause. Buy your Membership & your fundraiser East Doncaster Secondary College PFA receives 20% of the purchase.

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Christmas Traditions – A Classic Christmas Treasury

The Christmas Tree

One of the most recognisable symbols of Christmas is the Christmas tree.

The tradition of bringing trees into the home is a very old custom. In fact, people have been decorating their homes with evergreen trees and plants for thousands of years.

Not only were evergreens used for decoration, but they also served as an important reminder that the darkness of the winter months will always be replaced by the bright life of summertime. So, in a very real way, evergreens symbolise the triumph of life over death.

The Christmas tree tradition as we know it is said to have begun in Germany during the sixteenth century when Christians brought trees into their homes to decorate. German immigrants then brought the custom to the rest of Europe, and soon it spread all over the world.

One particular old story explains the origins of the traditions of decorating Christmas trees with lights. The famous German Christian Martin Luther was said to have been the first to put lighted candles on a tree. One night, on his walk home he admired the beauty of stars twinkling through the branches of trees. To recreate the scene at home, he cut down a small fir tree, brought it inside, and wired its branches with lighted candles.

Over hundreds of years, the Christmas tree tradition has developed and changed. At first, Christmas trees were decorated with cookies, popcorn, apples and nuts, but today, the decorations are more likely to be lights and coloured ornaments, with an angel or star often placed at the top to represent the Host of Angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity story.

The Christmas Stocking

Today, no Christmas scene is complete without a couple of Christmas stockings hanging from the mantelpiece or fireplace. But where did this tradition come from?

One popular old tale that seeks to account for the origin of the Christmas stocking is the story of a kindly nobleman. When the nobleman’s wife died of illness, he was in such despair that he wasted all his money needlessly. This left his three daughters with no dowries, without which they could not marry. When the nobleman realised what he had done, he worried what would become of his daughters when he died.

Saint Nicholas heard of the man’s sad situation and wanted to help. So, one night he stopped by the nobleman’s house and threw three bags of gold down the chimney.

These money bags fell straight into the stockings that the three daughters had hung by the fireplace to dry.

The next morning, when the gold was discovered, the nobleman was filled with joy. He was able to see all his daughters marry, and he himself lived a long and happy life. And so the tradition of hanging stockings began.

Another explanation for the origin of the Christmas stocking suggests that it was first introduced through the Christmas illustrations of German-American illustrator Thomas Nast in the eighteenth century.

Yet another account suggests that the writer Clement Clarke Moore, the author credited with writing The Night Before Christmas, introduced the idea of Christmas stockings in the famous Christmas story he wrote for his children in 1822.

Regardless of its unclear origins, the tradition of the Christmas stocking continues today, with similar customs observed all around the world.

In Hungary, children shine their shoes before putting them near the door or window sill. In Holland, the children fill their shoes with hay and a carrot for the reindeer, also known as the “horse of Sintirklass”. 

In Puerto Rico, children put flowers into small boxes and leave them under their beds (for the camels of the Three Kings) and in Italy, children leave their shoes out the night before Epiphany for La Befana, the good witch.

Originally, Christmas stockings held treats such as fruit, nuts, candy and small gifts for children, but in more recent times these have been replaced by more expensive items. Now, they also come in a variety of fabrics, colours, styles, shapes and sizes.

Xmas Rocky Road

Ingredients:

500gm dark chocolate cut into small pieces

120gm marshmallow cube form

120gm Turkish delight any flavour

100gm pistachio or walnut or roasted peanuts

40gm freeze dried raspberry bits (optional)

Method:

1. Line a 24cm square baking pan
2. Place chocolate into a bowl and melt over a pot of hot water, slowly stir until it is melted
3. Add all the dry ingredients into the melted chocolate, mix until they are coated with chocolate. Pour the mixture into the tray, sprinkle the dried raspberry bits on top and let it set at room temperature 

Parents & Friends Association