Parents & Friends
2020 AGM P&F President Report
The Parents & Friends had a very successful 2019 with many opportunities for successful fundraising and community engagement.
The P and F ran a very successful BBQ to raise money for Hay Run at both the junior swimming sports and athletics carnivals. Funds raised over these two days amounted close to $1,400.
The Golf Day was held on the 7th May at the Grampians Golf Course and was supported by a great team of helpers, a combined effort from Rosie Mercer, Ashlyn Hiscock representing THAC, Anna Delany for Old Collegians and Di Austin, Jodie Russell, Rosie Merrin, Sarah Baker the P&F. Di Austin and Jodie Russell were the P&F co-ordinators and parents provided the slices and cakes for afternoon tea. It was once again a very successful day and enjoyed by all. A special thanks to the Crawford family for their ongoing support to making this day such a success.
The Biggest Morning Tea was held at both campuses concurrently in 2019 and was a huge success. Thank you to Jodie Russell for coordinating the smooth running of this ever important fundraising event which is just one way that we continue to contribute to and support our wider community in a more global sense.
We started the call out for recipes for More Food With Friends in June and then started the process of testing and retesting. It has been a huge six months trying to get this book together and Rosie Mercer and Jen Hutton have been an invaluable support with Rosie feeding her street on trialled recipes and Jen opening her house to us for two days of extreme food styling and photography. We are nearly there and I just can’t express what a huge process it is and how grateful I am to have such a great committee to work with. Megan Mould has been incredible on the admin side and has dealt with everything except terrible phone service and appalling internet access so vital with cloud based programs in a calm and unflappable manner.
In July the P&F contributed to Michael Carr-Greig coming to Hamilton and talking to parents about growing and educating our children in this age when social influences play such a massive role in their development. This was a very successful, well supported event brimming with practical advice which was open to the wider community and the P&F are proud of their continuing support of this initiative. Thank you to Kristen Waldron for her commitment to ensuring that we have access to some of the most topical speakers and pertinent advice that the whole community can benefit from, in our small corner of Victoria.
The Sheepvention Raffle was this year co-ordinated by Jenny Watt and Jane Evans with some year levels being asked to donate items to the raffle and other year levels being asked to sell tickets. Thanks to Walkers/Mitre 10 and Darcy Walker, who once again donated a wheelbarrow to the raffle, and to all the families who contributed goods to make this another successful fundraiser for the P&F. Thank you to Jane and Jenny also for all the wrapping which I feel is not an enviable task!
In October it was time to start the mixing and baking of 500 Christmas cakes. At the end of Term 3 the ingredients had been weighed and prepared and with a wonderful team of volunteers, over the second week of Term 4, the cakes were made, baked and boxed. We trialled new boxes and labels thank you to the amazing Egg Dopheide who came up with the idea and followed the whole process through from design to build! I can only say it has been an overwhelming success with the cakes selling out in record time and the feedback outstanding. This year the cakes were sold from Tosca Brown, the Roxburgh, Hamilton Hamper as well as by the wonderful Nat and Fi at the School Receptions. We saw lots of new faces at mixing and baking this year which was wonderful and never had a problem staffing each day. Another whole team were behind the scenes with Egg detinning and boxing which happened with great efficiency. Thanks to both Di Austin and Vicki Whyte for their role in co-ordinating the cake process.
The Senior School Speech Day afternoon tea was once again coordinated by the P&F who did a fantastic job of setting up and preparing. Thanks to Di Austin who made copious amounts of chicken sandwiches and all the other volunteers who contributed.
Thanks to Riana and Anthea who run the tuckshop effectively and efficiently with calmness and a great attitude. Their nutritious and delicious offerings are greatly sought after and appreciated constantly by students and their parents. Thanks also to Noone Uniform for their continued support of the P&F and to all the volunteers who staff it weekly. All profits from both of these entities go to the P&F to benefit all students.
Di Austin, Jodie Russell and Megan Mould have all served with me this year on the P&F Executive and I could not want for a more efficient, supportive and enthusiastic committee to work with and bounce ideas off. Thank you girls – you are all fabulous. Thank you also to Andrew Hirst for his support of our very large project and his openness and constant enthusiasm for new ideas. Thank you to Stephen Nelson for his updates from the Junior School and those Junior School parents who attend every meeting and have been a great presence this year.
In terms of a recipient for all our fundraising efforts we are currently in the process of working alongside the school who have sought advice on short term, medium and long term strategic plan. One idea is that our profits go towards a VCE Centre and we would also love to see some more seating and a half basketball court to occupy MYPEC residents at recess if this was in line with the strategic plan.
In 2020 amongst other and usual endeavours, we will be launching our grand opus –More Food with Friends and with the generosity of Bobby and Georgina Mann, holding an Open Day for the P&F at ‘Lawrenny’ in October. We look forward to your continued support and involvement as we move through the school year and I’ll leave you with a time worn adage – please be involved “ many hands make light work”!
Thank you
Keri Ross
P&F President Report
New Junior School Athletics tops
Check out the brand new Junior School Athletics tops in the above photo representing College today for the first time at the Junior GD Athletics. All made possible by the P&F and organised by Megan Mould.
Parents and Friends
Every family of The Hamilton and Alexandra College makes up the 'Parents and Friends Association' which is driven by the four positions who were voted in last night at the 2020 AGM
President: Keri Ross
Vice President: Megan Mould
Secretary: Di Austin
Treasurer: Jodie Russell
It was wonderful to see new faces in a packed room with fresh and new input. The next meeting meeting is Wednesday 13 May in the Zachariah room at Senior school - everyone is welcome, you don't have to attend every meeting or offer to help, you may just choose to attend and get on top of what's going on at College, it's completely up to you.