Parents & Friends ______________________________Page

The St Josephs College Parents & Friends are a group of parents who meet regularly, plan fundraising activities and coordinate events. Our aim is to raise money to benefit the students here at St Joseph’s and to enable parents to become involved at the school. We endeavour to foster an environment in which parents/carers can feel connected to and part of our school community. We are very well supported by the school and its leaders. We try to ensure a relaxed and welcoming environment for any parent wishing to be involved in any way and we are immensely grateful for all the help provided to us by the parent community. This year we have raised over $42,000, which is a wonderful result. Apart from the funds raised at the Fashion Dinner, which goes to support the community of Mannya, Uganda, the remaining money will be used to provide further resources for the College. Money was used for the purchase of large format games by Year 7 & Wellbeing Coordinators for the courtyard in the Paul Tobias Centre. Go-Pro cameras have been purchased for use by the VCAL students and money will be directed towards the Bursary program to assist boys in need of financial assistance. We held several events this year, with the first of these being the Artisan Market, held in late April. Over 50 stalls of unique and local wares were showcased inside the College gym. The P&F ran their popular café selling homemade goodies as well as a BBQ, complete with egg and bacon rolls. The two day event raised over $8,000. As in previous years, the P&F catered for the annual Old Collegians’ Reunion at the end of May. The Old Boys enjoyed catching up, having a refreshment and being served tasty fare prepared & served by a band of parents. We raised $1900. Our always popular Trivia Night was run in August. This relaxed and fun event attracted over 200 people to pit themselves against others in a battle of general knowledge. Simon, our quizmaster, ensures there is something for everyone. The competition was hotly contested with the result only decided in the final round. The night raised in excess of $5,600. In Term 3, ran a day just for the boys, Fun Food Wednesday. The P&F set up numerous stalls around the quad during recess and lunch to sell the boys a variety of food and drinks including the popular cake stall - generously stocked by parents and volunteers. This fun day raised over $2,700.

The St Joseph’s Fashion Dinner is an event which has a rich history and is a popular night out on the local social calendar. This year’s event was held at Mt Duneed Estate in October and as in previous years, was a sell-out well ahead of time. Around 350 people chatted to friends whilst browsing beauty and fashion stalls and the silent auction before being seated at tables, in the Barrel Hall. Guests enjoyed a delicious meal and were treated to two runway shows, showcasing various local fashions. Our host, Nicky Buckley, Artisan Market Artisan Market was right behind our cause, raising money to support the community of Mannya in Uganda. We were fortunate to have Fr Emmanuel from Uganda with us who, along with Ric Brodrick, gave us an insight into the work that has been achieved in Mannya using the funds raised by this major event. The night raised an amazing $24,000. Each and every one of these events would not be possible without the hard work and time given by our wonderful event sub-committees along with their helpers both in the lead up and on the Nicky Buckley hosting Nicky Buckley hosting day of each event. We wish to acknowledge and the Fashion Dinner the Fashion Dinner greatly thank every person who gave their time and support to plan, organise and run each event. Thanks to everyone who has donated goods and to all who have come along to support us at our events. Many thanks to Kristen, Lauren and Natasha from the development office for their continued guidance, support and valuable assistance. We couldn’t achieve any of this without them. A big thank you also to the maintenance department for all their help throughout the year. As Paul finishes his time as Principal, we’d like to extend our sincere thanks to him for his wonderful support of our group and functions over many years. He has attended many of our events and always personally thanked those who volunteer to assist us. He knows the value of having a strong P&F to continue to foster a great community spirit at the school. We will miss his Cooking up a storm for P&F events! for P&F events! leadership and encouragement. We’d like to wish him well. We hope to see him at our events in the future. Thanks to everyone on our committee for their work this year. It’s been a fun and rewarding year. We look forward to continuing our endeavours in 2017.

- Jackie Richards & Terri Walker, Co-presidents of the Parents & Friends

The Artisan Market The Artisan Market The Fashion Dinner The Fashion Dinner Trivia Night Trivia Night The Fashion Dinner The Fashion Dinner