Parent associations

Community spirit at Donvale

With the countless priorities, pressing issues and challenges that modern day life brings, giving may seem like quite a challenge. At Carey Donvale, our community has truly embraced a culture of giving back to support our students’ education, growth and development. Our families are highly generous in supporting the Carey Donvale Parents Association’s (CDPA) many fundraising and community-building initiatives. The includes the Mothers and Fathers Day stalls and sausage sizzles, among the myriad other activities and events sponsored by the CDPA. A highlight this year was the first-ever Carey Donvale Welcome Fair at the start of Term 1. But we don’t stop there. Our parents volunteer to help with the Preps in PMP (Perceptual Motor Program), in the ELC, on school sports days and every second year with the mammoth task of sewing sequins, buttons, ribbons and any other costume alterations required for the Carey Donvale musical. Without the support and commitment of the parents who graciously give up their time and donate items, the success of the activities undertaken by the CDPA and the School would not be assured. It is the giving nature of our community

at Carey Donvale that makes our school truly unique and one that everyone should be proud to be a part of. We are extremely grateful to all those who help make these events so magical and fun for everyone. The support is mutually rewarding for both the School and the volunteers making a difference.

Middle School’s friend-raisers

With 260 students in Year 7 – including many who are new to Carey – the Middle School Parent Association (MSPA) works hard to create as many ‘friend-raising’ opportunities as possible. The Year 7 Disco is the biggest and arguably the most fun, so we were thrilled to have more than 200 students come along to enjoy this year’s event in May. Our Year 7 House parent representative volunteers ensured things ran smoothly despite the Middle School renovations and torrential rain on the night. Our resourceful and capable volunteers creatively served pizza on the steps of the De Young Performing Arts Centre and transformed the Memorial Great Hall into a disco complete with DJ and UV black lights! There were many

34 | Torch happy (and glowing) smiles, thanks to all the parent volunteers who put in a lot of work to make this and the concurrent parent gathering a great success. Connecting with new people is a theme across the whole school at Carey. Whole-school events have been growing in popularity in recent years and MSPA parents have been heavily involved. This year’s Mother’s Dinner and Mothers Day Luncheon both sold out, as did the wonderful Carey Gala Ball, which was held in July at Crown. A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to make these events as inclusive and enjoyable as possible and we are grateful to all the parents who give their time to support our vibrant and social school community.

The Junior School Parents Association (JSPA) was thrilled to support the Carey Celebrates Literature Festival in June, the annual whole-school celebration of literature in all its forms. The marquee event for Kew and Donvale Junior School families this year was an after-school session with renowned children’s author and artist Leigh Hobbs. The Junior School Kew Library team approached the JSPA about providing an afternoon activity for families prior to Leigh’s session to boost participation. The JSPA responded by offering a special afternoon tea, where children had the opportunity to pre-order cupcakes, jelly snakes and Pop Tops! There was an amazing energy after school with the children buzzing with excitement. The playground was full and surrounded by parents connecting

while their children played. As the large group of parents and children made their way to the Ian Woolf Auditorium, the anticipation was palpable. The children loved listening to Leigh’s stories, learning about his writing background and his humorous books. The highlight, for parents and children alike, was Leigh leading everyone step-by-step through drawing his characters. It was a lovely afternoon for the Junior School community to further embrace Carey’s Literature Festival. When ordering afternoon tea, families were given the option to donate to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. The JSPA was very proud to pass onto the Library team over $580 in support of this cause. We would like to thank its committee members, the Library team and Ribbons and Bows Cakes. Following the overwhelming success of this event, the JSPA looks forward to celebrating the Literature Festival again in 2020.

Food, glorious food!

The simple pleasure of food is what underscores the Year 12 Student Support Program. This annual series of events is run by Senior School Parents Association (SSPA) parent volunteers to support our hard-working students in their final year of school. This year’s calendar includes seven events with highlights being home-baked morning teas and a warming soup lunch. Unique to Carey and something that is highly valued as a Year 12 privilege, the Student Support Program helps punctuate what is a very busy and often stressful year, and provides a pick-me-up for our students when they need it most. Their smiles of delight and grateful thanks when they see a delicious spread awaiting them is an important sign of the success of this program. As we all know, feeding hungry teenagers isn’t always an easy task. However, many Year 12 parents jump at what is often their last opportunity to help. This year, a small army of volunteer parents and carers have happily cooked, baked, assembled and provided assistance on the day. Each year the program evolves. Our Year 12 SSPA volunteer co-ordinators, Alison Turnbull and Athena Katopodis, have made a special effort to ensure all dietary needs are catered for, including vegetarian, gluten free, fructose free and vegan. This has been gratefully welcomed by the students. The students definitely see this program as a rite of passage and look forward to each special treat with much anticipation. It is our hope that the program helps toward a smooth and positive year for our Year 12s!