Parents & Friends The St Joseph’s College Parents & Friends has had a busy 2014, holding various events to both continue to foster the wonderful community spirit enjoyed by our school and to raise valuable funds for the college and for those less fortunate. Our group has welcomed many new faces throughout the year at our meetings and as helpers at our various functions. We are a very active group which welcomes input from anyone within our school community on ways to strengthen the link between parents and the school and on any new fundraising ideas. We are strongly supported in these endeavours by the school and its leaders for which we are grateful. The strengths of our group are the people who are involved and who give their time generously for the benefit of our boys, also its friendly and relaxed approach which hopefully allows anyone to feel comfortable to be a part of. We meet once a month and everyone is welcome. Our first event for the year was the always popular, Trivia Night. It was held in the school gym and attended by over 280 people. It was a relaxed and fun night, hosted by trivia man, Simon Morrison, and raised over $3300. The sub-committee ensured there was a great atmosphere and that the gym looked great so thank you to them for their hard work. For the 4th year in a row, the P&F catered for the Old Collegians reunion which was held at the Alex school in May. The old boys enjoyed reminiscing Hecker and catching up with old mates whilst being served hosting a variety of tasty finger food prepared and handed the around by volunteer parents. Thanks to the subFashion committee who worked hard to ensure the men Show were well fed! The Artisan Market was held again this year after the inaugural event last year which replaced the Art Show. On a chilly July weekend, over 60 stalls were set up in the College’s gymnasium with over 1500 people coming through the doors. There was a wide variety of homemade products to browse and yummy food on offer. The P&F provided a BBQ, selling egg & bacon rolls, sausages and hamburgers. Our café was back, serving fresh coffee made by our VCAL boys, heart-warming soup, toasties and delicious sweet treats. We hope to be able to build upon the success of this event next year. Over $11,000 was raised. A big Flower stall at the Artisan Market A great night out at the Fashion Show
10
thank you to the hard working sub-committee for their planning of this big event and to all those who helped out over the weekend. The Triumph music festival was held at St Josephs on a sunny September day and the P&F ran a food stall. Thank you to all the volunteers who manned the stall throughout the day and to the sub-committee who organised the food for over 5000 hungry students! We were proud to be a part of this great day and happy to contribute to the fundraising efforts for East Timor. A very big term 3 for the P&F ended with our biggest event of the year, the Annual Fashion Show. This event was held at Deakin Waterfront with the 300 tickets selling out earlier than ever. The meal provided by Truffleduck was excellent and the fashions showcased several local stores with a mixture of casual and more elegant attire, including clothing from Cotton On and Myer. The night was Emceed by the lovely Alex Hecker. The Mannya beads proved popular and the silent auction had a variety of wonderful items to bid on. Over $12,000 was raised, which will be used to assist those in great need in Uganda. Many thanks must go to all those involved in this major event, who provide their expertise and time to make this a successful night, including the Gordon hair and make-up departments. The planning begins many months prior and the sub-committee work tirelessly to create an event worthy of its reputation as a great night out. The P&F once again provided a basic CPR first aid course for Year 12 students . This year 65 boys took part which was wonderful to see. This year we have raised around $36,000. This is a great result and will enable us to contribute to the schools bursary fund, redevelopment of the cricket nets on Carey oval (together with the school and cricket club) and provide school supplies to those in great need in Kenseka, Uganda. Finally, thank you to everyone from our school community who attended an event, donated goods or services or helped out in any way throughout the year. Without this support we couldn’t achieve what we do or create the welcoming environment for our community to be a part of. We look forward to your ongoing support in 2015. With the school’s 80th anniversary, it promises to be a big year! Jackie Richards & Terri Walker - P&F Co-Presidents
The Parents & Friends stall at the TriUMPH festival
