Parent associations
The strength of our community Whenever parents from Carey Donvale mention what they love about the School, the strong sense of community is always one of the first aspects that is brought up. It is truly a defining feature of Carey Donvale and something each of us cherishes and wants to nurture and maintain. The Carey Donvale Parents Association (CDPA) is a great means to enhance this sense of community and ensure that all parents and families feel included and involved. In 2018, the CDPA connected with the CLOSA (Carey Local and Overseas Student Association) Parents and Friends group, enabling us to further support and engage with new families, whether they are from the overseas, interstate or local area. This is an important addition to the CDPA and reflects our values of engaging with all members of the community.
The CDPA has the wonderful task of enhancing the quality of student and family experiences during their years spent at the School. The primary means of achieving this is by hosting events that foster strong community relationships. The first CDPA goal for 2019 was to reconnect families after the summer break with a Lunar New Year Welcome Fair. The event exceeded expectations, with over 400 in attendance; testament to the strong community spirit that has been cultivated over the years at Carey Donvale. Other community events on the calendar for 2019 include the Mothers and Fathers Day stalls, the ever-popular sausage sizzles and a new event, the family silent disco. Fundraising events like these enable wonderful activities such as the Welcome Fair, allow new joint venture projects with the School
or fund simpler contributions, such as the recent board game donations to the library and each year level classroom. The CDPA would like to thank the volunteers who help to enrich these community events and make them special for all.
Building resilience with the JSPA The Junior School Parents Association (JSPA) welcomes all new and returning families to Junior School Kew. This is an important time for those families whose children started at Carey this year. Most joined us in the ELC, or at Prep and Year 5 levels, however we welcomed many great new families across the entire Junior School. This year the JSPA has embarked on numerous events within the gorgeous grounds of the Kew campus. Our marquee event, the Welcome Carnival, was held on Friday 22 February. This is a fantastic annual event, which celebrates the new school year and creates a sense of connectedness within our community.
JSPA sausage sizzle. The children loved the face painting, fake tattoos, and the numerous rides on offer.
This demonstrates their courage and willingness to commit to, and persevere with, a new and unfamiliar environment.
There were plenty of fun activities and food options for everyone to enjoy at this year’s Carnival. New families were able to meet fellow parents from their child’s year while enjoying Vietnamese food, pizza, ice cream and the infamous
Over 80 per cent of new families attended, making the 2019 event one of our most successful. Carey’s theme for 2019 is ‘Resilience’, which was an attribute shown by so many new families attending our carnival.
Thank you to the Welcome Carnival sub-committee, the JSPA, Class Reps, Carey Maintenance team, Middle and Senior School volunteers and the many members of the Junior School staff who all contributed to this successful event.
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