Working together
with our P & F
At our school, we are incredibly fortunate to have a dedicated and hardworking Parents and Friends group. These parents generously volunteer their time to support our school through planning, collaboration, and fundraising efforts. The funds they raise are a valuable contribution to our school community, directly enhancing our students' learning experiences.
In the past few years, we have not been spending all of the Parents and Friends funds, as we have been thoughtfully accumulating them with the goal of installing playground equipment on the oval space. As you know, we’ve already invested significantly in restoring the basketball courts and running track, and we have now completed this restoration. Staff believe that adding climbing equipment in this area would provide further benefit to our students, encouraging active play and physical development. This careful saving has resulted in a current profit of $34,000, which is an incredible achievement by our community. We should all be justifiably proud of this effort. In addition, we are aware that a number of our students prefer passive play during yard time, and we are keen to invest in further resources to support their needs as well.
Parents and Friends funds have supported equipment for our specialist programs. This has included the purchase of 12 Sphero BOLT Robotics devices—tools used for hands-on learning in coding and robotics. These devices enable students to explore both block-based and text-based coding, helping them develop computational thinking skills aligned with the Technologies and Mathematics curriculum. Students use Sphero to design solutions to real-world challenges and express their learning through prototyping. The devices connect easily to software on student laptops and iPads, making them highly accessible in the classroom.
We also purchased 12 LEGO Essential Spike Prime Kits, which are versatile and codable kits designed for experiential, hands-on learning. These kits support the development of core thinking skills such as systems thinking, design thinking, and computational thinking. Students are encouraged to imagine, design, and block-code prototype solutions to address real-world issues.
Furthermore, these resources create opportunities for students to develop essential 21st-century learning skills. Working in design teams, students collaborate and communicate effectively, practice creativity, take risks, and innovate with technology to explore their capabilities. This skill development aligns perfectly with our school’s dispositions for learning, reinforcing our commitment to nurturing curious, capable, and confident learners.
In addition to their use in specialist lessons, the LEGO kits have become a popular alternative lunchtime activity. Every Friday, students have the opportunity to work with Sally and engage with the LEGO kits during lunch. This program has been running for the past two years and is especially popular with younger students who enjoy the challenge of independently creating something imaginative and meaningful.
All of these resources are regularly used by Sally and Rosa in their lessons and have become an integral part of our students’ learning experiences.
The drums purchased for Music lessons were used by Imogen, but due to the absence of a consistent Performing Arts teacher this year, they haven’t been used as frequently. It is envisaged that these resources will become an important part of our Performing Arts program again in 2026.
We deeply appreciate the ongoing support of our Parents and Friends group and look forward to continuing to work together to enrich our students’ educational journey.
St Joseph the Worker P & F Income and Expenditure
Please note that the 2022 expenses of $26,474.13 included purchases of Lego $9299.00, Percussion kits $2663.77 and sphero balls $2880.00 as well as expenses incurred from fundraising activities.
In coming weeks, staff will be working with Jane to explore how best to use some of these funds to support student learning across P–6, and we look forward to providing an update on these discussions soon.
Moving forward, we will be sharing regular financial updates regarding P&F fundraising each semester. Importantly, I would like to again thank and acknowledge the wonderful work of our families in supporting P&F fundraising activities. These efforts make a meaningful difference to our school and the learning experiences we can offer our students.
