Twilight Fete - making it happen 

From Penny Hewson, Parent, Parents & Friends Committee, Fete Coordinator

Wrapping up with thanks

What a culmination of effort and a wonderful day it was for the school community at the 2024 NMPS Twilight Fete. 

The Parents and Friends Association was happy to welcome an influx of new Prep parents into the fold this year and they brought lots of great ideas and enthusiasm to the meetings and many months of organising this biennial school calendar event. It was a massive effort to plan, negotiate, book, purchase, upload, download, track, organise, promote, pick up, deliver, set up and pack up an event of this size, and for time-poor working parents with young children it’s an even bigger challenge!

Sincere thanks and big shout out to Jez Menzel, Michelle Lim, Jennifer Nguyen, Elysia Robb, Sadie Grant-Butler, Matt Simpson and David Mitchell for all their behind-the-scenes efforts, along with Liza Ediet, Sarah Marantelli, Fiona Lew, and thanks to Rebecca Ng for her beautiful design work once again for this year’s Fete.

Also, special thanks go out to Assistant Principal Adrienne Maisano for her ongoing support and liaising with school leadership, teachers and staff. We appreciate you going above and beyond to provide additional assistance with planning year-level stalls, fete logistics, communications, and contributing all-round to the positive spirit of the event.

This year our focus was on Community Engagement, and we were thrilled to be able to welcome community partners across all the frontline services – Ambulance Victoria, Fire Rescue Victoria, and Vic Police – as well as having our local North Melbourne Pool Lifeguards on campus to share tips on Water Safety. The P&F committee also worked to streamline the Parent Volunteer SignUp process, reducing the number of shifts and offering more task details and instruction sheets ahead of the event. Thank you to all those parents who volunteered, and for those who showed up and stayed on to help where it was needed. The fete can only happen with the combined efforts of our community, and we were glad to get receive positive feedback from all those who actively participated in running the stalls and activities.

The food and beverages were enjoyed by all, and we’d like to send a big shout out to Austin Kennedy (Master BBQ’r), Shane, Nowaki, Lou, Eva, Lucy, Tess & Anna, Dennis, Christian, Dhanya, Ellis, and the crew that got over 1,200 sausages in bread into the hands of the fete goers. Also, thanks again to Melrose Place 3051 for the abundance of wood fired pizzas served, and to ReWine for the generous support and serving outstanding wines at the Bar, with their recycling and sustainable expertise.

The entertainment really sets the vibe for the event, and we thank Duncan Millar and School of Loving Music for running the stage. Outstanding performances by the students, NMPS teachers, and parent bands – we look forward to the performance schedule continuing to grow in the years to come. Our trusty vendors Action Events and Animals on the Move came through once again on the top oval with the big rides and the petting zoo. Thank you also to Sylvia Hungria and NWMPA for their ongoing contribution and support, and to Ellie’s grandpa Bob for his wonderful help setting up on the day.

Thank you to our staff - an event the size of the Twilight Fete would not be possible without the contribution of our wonderful NMPS leadership, teachers and staff. While the Parents & Friends Association took on the role of planning and setting up the fete, the school offered next level support this year. Organising and staffing the year level stalls and fete activities is another layer of work for our teachers and administration team on top of their regular workload and we would like to send out a very big, heartfelt thank you to all of the classroom teachers and specialists who contributed so positively to the success of the event. Special thanks also to Simon, Amy, Joanne, and the ESC/MSC office team – for those tasks continuing to be undertaken post-Fete too!

One of the absolute highlights of our fete is always student engagement. Our children created stalls, made items to sell, signs to promote, and donated their time and their skills, and made it a real NMPS student event. From lucky dips to crazy hair, the handmade temp tattoos and carnival games, the very-popular chocolate and lolly flick, fairy floss and popcorn, the secondhand toys, balloon animals, and circular craft shrinkies stalls. Thank you to all the students and teachers who contributed their time and talents with such enthusiasm. 

We also want to thank the gardening, maintenance, and cleaning team who are essential for getting everything ship shape before and after an event like this and the Biz-E-Kids team who shared their space were incredibly flexible with changing care space on the night and creating a fun evening for the children in their care who did not attend the fete. We are so lucky to have such a professional and dedicated team of carers. 

Lastly, a huge thank you goes to the School leadership team and School Council for their support with all the Parents and Friends recommendations and decision-making to make this year’s fete a great success. There were a lot of behind-the-scenes issues to work out to make sure the fete was safe and functional and all the extra time they spent making sure everything went smoothly was invaluable. 

Stay tuned for our Parents and Friends fund-raising recap in the next newsletter!

Setting up - the many unseen hands in 

An experience for everyone

Parent Volunteers - Michelle's reflection of her time at NMPS

From Michelle Lim, Parents and Friends committee & Year 6 Parent/Volunteer

My very first fete hour volunteered at NMPS was at a Prep craft stall in 2016, it was a great way to meet some other parents and hang out with the teachers. Then following the disappointment of a Covid-cancelled 2020 Fete, being asked to organise the rides for the 2022 'Around The World Fete' was an easy decision.

This year I got more involved with the P&F organising committee and, along with negotiating and booking the rides and animal farms, I put my hand up to join the Silent Auction team. My kids were excited to see what was coming and even helped me talk to local businesses about donating to the auction. This year is our last Primary School Fete and my husband joined me in high vis on the night, with all four of us helped with organising, set up, finding lost parents, counting cash and then pack up. Knowing that such a small, friendly group of parents can pull together such a big event, has been really rewarding. I can only encourage you to put your hand up in 2026 and see what role you can play, the excitement of your kids on the night depends on it!

Additional thanks to fellow Year 6 parent and Scavenger Queen Lou, helped by a small team of Year 6 kids, who wrote and coordinated the amazing Twilight Fete Scavenger Hunt. Enthusiastically taken up by a number of kids who had to search the grounds counting stars, examining stalls and finding signs. The Junior and Senior winners have been drawn and each win a $20 voucher to local toy and gift shop Stranger Than Paradise. Congratulations to Oli from 1D and Vivian from 4A. Your prizes can be collected at MSC and ESC offices respectively."