Thank you to our Donors

The opening of the Performing Arts Centre, St George’s on Thursday 4 May was a very special occasion for the School. It was also an important event for the generous donors who chose to support the restoration of a stained-glass window as part of the redevelopment, as it was the first time they were able to see ‘their’ window in situ

In 2020, with the proposed redevelopment of St George’s as a state-of-the-art performance facility in prospect, it was planned to hold a series of tours to explain the heritage features of the church and to encourage prospective donors to consider supporting a stained-glass window. However, COVID meant that tours were not possible in either 2020 or 2021 and in 2022 building work commenced and the site was unavailable. Despite this, 11 donors elected to support a window, based only on pre-restoration photographs. We are indebted to them for their faith in the project and the leadership they showed. Since then, a further three donors, who had the advantage of viewing windows in the near completed Performing Arts Centre, have chosen a window. Opportunities still exist to support the remaining 14 windows. Donors who do so are acknowledged in a plaque adjacent to the window and will therefore have an enduring connection to St Michael’s for the life of the building.

From July, it will be possible to view the windows through a new online portal featuring a gallery of the available window, and, of course, we are now able to visit the Performing Arts

Centre and see the windows in all their glory within the space. There will also be an opportunity to celebrate your family’s involvement with the School by having your name on a seat in the new Janette Gordon-Clark Auditorium within the Performing Arts Centre. Further information on this opportunity will be available soon.

May was an especially busy month this year. Not only did we begin the month by celebrating the opening of the new Performing Arts Centre, but our annual Merry Month of May and Giving Day were a focus for the whole School community.

The Merry Month of May (MMOM) is a student-led initiative that raises funds for, and awareness of, four community organisations chosen by the student themselves. This year the students chose World Wide Fund for Nature, Red Dust, Emerge and the Leukemia Foundation. They were enthusiastic in their activities throughout the month and raised a staggering $54,000. The MMOM helps build a culture of philanthropy within our community and develop students’ understanding of what it means to be a contributing citizen.

Giving Day is the culmination of the MMOM. It is the one day of the year when we invite our entire community to emulate the efforts of our students and to give generously to support our Scholarship program. St Michael’s has been offering scholarships to students since 1916. Over that time many hundreds of students have been given the chance to follow their passions and excel. Overwhelmingly, in keeping with

St Michael’s goal to graduate contributing global citizens, our scholarship students have been characterised by their willingness to give back and make a difference.

The value of a scholarship transcends the monetary support, or the benefit of a good education. Scholarships give a young person a sense of inclusion, a sense of worth and a belief that they are valued and that they can contribute meaningfully.

We were fortunate to have the support of many members of our community who acted as ambassadors for the Day. Ms Diana Renner, an Old Michaelian, current parent and past scholarship recipient, kindly agreed to narrate the highly impactful Giving Day video and recorded a short message for social media to encourage people to donate. Other members of the community who recorded a message were Mr Andrew Eddy, Chair of the Board, Mr Gerard Houlihan, Head of the School, Ms Jacqui Walker, Parent Community Association (PCA) President, Ms Mairead O’Connell-Lacey (OM 2022) and our current Co-Captains Tassara (12B) and Nicholas (12M).

This year, through the generosity of parents, Old Michaelians, suppliers, students and staff, we raised $167,000 with all donations going to our Scholarship Fund. We are especially grateful to our matching donors who showed great leadership in kindly agreeing to donate in advance to encourage others to donate on the day. Matching donors included our suppliers, the PCA, parents and past parents and the Board of St Michael’s and the School Executive.

Our aim is to grow our Scholarships Fund to a corpus that can support an ever-increasing number of scholarships and sustain the program indefinitely.

St Michael’s prides itself on its sense of community and our commitment to social justice, including giving as many young people as possible the benefit of a St Michael’s education. Building a culture of philanthropy is important in ensuring that we achieve our goals.

If you are interested in donating to St Michael’s or would like to find out more about giving to St Michael’s you can do so here: Giving to St Michael's or call the Director of Advancement on 03 8530 3315

A very sincere thank you to all our donors, who have either chosen to assist with the restoration of a stained-glass window in the Performing Arts Centre, St George’s or who supported the MMOM or Giving Day and our Scholarships program.