Especean

Parents and Friends

Our Year,  2022

To our parent/carer community, we would like to take this opportunity to provide an insight into what the Parent’s and Friends’ Committee have accomplished this year. First and foremost, we must thank everyone for their support and help in what we consider a successful year for the College.

 

Our aim, objective and focus this year has been to build our school community post COVID-19. We wanted to help our boys reconnect with their school and their environment. We also wanted to help the parents/carers reconnect with the school and the community. Any profit achieved this year has been considered a bonus.

 

Our first event in 2022 was the Junior School Dinner. This event is always a great success as we invite the new Year 5 cohort and their parents/carers along with Year 6 families to an evening at the school whereby new connections can be made over a meal. This year all proceeds, approximately $858, were donated to the Lenten Appeal. 

 

Our Supporters’ Day Barbeques were a great success throughout the year. These enabled both students and parents/carers to reconnect with the school and the community over a bacon and egg roll or a sausage on a roll. We yielded approximately $24,000 profit from five Supporters’ Day Barbeques.

 

Our Annual Blue, Black and Gold Dinner proved to be another huge success. This is usually our main fundraiser. Post COVID-19, we wanted to focus on our community.  Although our focus was community, we still raised $9,521.

 

This year, we brought back the annual Trivia Night. We organised this event once again with community-building being the focus.  We raised approximately $6,500. 

 

This year we wanted to celebrate Mother’s Day with all Mothers, Grandmothers, and Carers as one community. With the approval from Dr Lavorato, our Mother’s Day celebrations were held at Rosehill Racecourse with a beautiful mass organised by Ms Gillian Daley and Ms Ingrid Viney. Our committee funded the roses that each mother received, and we funded the beautiful morning tea.

 

We also celebrated our fathers, grandfathers, and carers with another beautifully organised mass for Father’s Day, followed by breakfast funded by our committee. The feedback we received from the Father’s Day breakfast was positive, being the first time in two years that this mass and breakfast could occur post COVID-19.

 

Our committee funded the Supper at the Major Works Display Evening organised by the teaching staff and held at the College. Another evening where students and parents/carers were invited to the school to enjoy the Major Art and Wood Works that the Year 12 students had made throughout the year. This event proved to be another successful community- building event.

 

With the celebration of World Teachers Day, we could not go by without thanking and celebrating the educators that our boys are so lucky to have. We graciously provided morning tea to thank our teachers and all the school staff for all that they do. 

 

The Parents and Friends Committee also funded the Grants given to the following departments and their projects:

  • Languages Department received $3,000. Ms Capobianco organised Italian classes for any parent/carer who wished to learn Italian. Positive feedback was received by most parents/carers who attended these lessons.
     
  • HSIE Department received $2,000. Ms Timillero organised the Philosopher in Residence Program.  This program provided students with an opportunity to engage and learn from a qualified philosopher working in the field of ethics and critical thinking. Another program enjoyed by the Junior School students.
     
  • Music Department received $2,000. Ms Duff organised another successful program of Battle of the Bands. A professional musician attended the school and worked with the students within their bands. This money also paid for a professional film clip to be produced for the winning band.
     
  • Junior School received $3,000. Ms Young and Ms Grant organised for an Artist in Residence.  Junior School students had the opportunity to work with and alongside an artist at the school who painted two new murals.  The aim of the murals was to brighten up the Junior School.

To conclude, we have had one very busy yet fun year. We believe we have had great success in building our community.  We have also had success in raising funds.  Funds raised have gone back to the College for the benefit of our boys.  Our final profit for the year sits at approximately $25,000 which we are proud to inform we will be giving back to the school.

 

Our focus for 2023 will always be our St Patrick’s College community. We will, however, continue to build our fund-raising. All we ask is for your continued support. All money raised in 2023 will be given to the College. We will keep the community informed as to where the funds are being dispersed.

 

Furthermore, I would like to welcome our newly elected Parents’ and Friends’ Committee for 2023.

Vice Presidents:  Caroline Chahin and Jason Auland

 

Secretary: Evy Hagios

 

Treasurer: Lina Bartorilla

 

General Committee Members:

Janet Tannous, Belinda Barakat, Alison Auland, Kathy Jeitani, Lynette Trainor, Marian Parnaby, Nicola Chatfield, Nerida Shipley, Dione Fague.

 

Thank you from your Parents and Friends Committee.

“For The Boys”