Celebrating our volunteers

Rebecca Verratti has been involved with the PCA for nine years. This year Rebecca assisted with the sewing bee for the Years 10 – 12 Musical Hello, Dolly! which involved creating many different and elaborate costumes for the ensemble. Rebecca explained that “creating items for the musical is a fun way to be involved” and particularly as Rebecca’s child was in Hello, Dolly! she felt “it is a great way to be a small piece of the jigsaw that culminates in such a magical performance”. As a current parent, Rebecca has also volunteered her time to assist at Open Mornings. Open Mornings provide an opportunity for potential future families to visit St Michael’s, to understand the School’s culture, receive information and meet students and staff. Current parents are also invited to volunteer to liaise with potential parents giving them an opportunity to ask questions from a current family’s perspective. Rebecca reflected, “the time flies as potential parents have so many questions, it is very well received and the engagement is high”. Last year, Rebecca assisted with processing second-hand uniform items, explaining that “the number of items received can be overwhelming for the volunteers and they are always very appreciative of the assistance”. Rebecca has volunteered at St Michael’s in many different capacities over the nine years, a key highlight included assisting in the reading programme when her children were in the early years of Junior School. She described the experience as “particularly rewarding” as “little children discovering books, art and the wonder of school and the opportunities it brings is wonderful”. Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca feels there has been very little interaction with parents on campus, however, volunteering gives Rebecca “the opportunity to chat with parents and feel connected with the School and what is going on in our children’s lives” We asked Rebecca for any tips on how to fit volunteering in with other commitments, Rebecca explained “there are tonnes of volunteering options that are flexible enough to fit around busy schedules with varying commitment levels. You can choose one-off roles on weekends through to weekday ongoing commitments. It is also a great way to get a few of your St Michael’s tribe together and connect through helping out the School. The School will appreciate it”.

Sarah Dunphy enjoys “the opportunity to meet other parents - both in the PCA and in the wider year level”. She currently shares the 3-Year-Old Kinder Year Level Representative (YLR) with another mother. While there are a few parents with older children at St Michael’s, for most parents, Margaret Thomas House Kindergarten, now known as the St Michael’s Early Learning Centre, is their first experience of the St Michael’s community Sarah said. Sarah’s favourite memory of volunteering to date was a parents’ cocktail evening, explaining that when her son started at Margaret Thomas House during COVID, there were limited opportunities to get together as a parents’ group. However, when her daughter started, the YLRs were able to organise the parents’ cocktail evening. “It was the first time many parents were able to get out together, so it was a really fun event”. YLRs have tried to run different events, as every family is different, including park plays, a wonderful table at the Trivia night and a mum's dinner. To other parents thinking about volunteering, Sarah says “please consider it, there are so many ways to contribute to the community which can fit into your schedule – from being a parent rep to one-off activities”. Sarah’s husband, Ben, volunteered one morning earlier this year in the Prep room for their ‘Grow Day’ – which involved helping the children learn about the human body. Ben “had an amazing time with the kids and they loved having a new 'teacher' help them out”. Sarah’s advice to anyone considering volunteering as a YLR is to “plan out the year's activities ahead of time so you know when you might need to put extra effort into the role and keep it simple – a park play for the younger years is easy and enjoyable for everyone”.