Presidents Report PFA 2017

It would not be possible to maintain or build our culture of community without your input, enthusiasm and commitment.  It has been a busy and productive year for PFA and we have been successful providing opportunities for busy parents to be involved and better engaged in school life, the journey of their student and to connect with our community.

Welcoming is an important part of community. We began the year with a number of welcome and information evenings, continued to help yr 7 families transition with two events to encourage friendships and comfort levels, and PFA assisted with the Welcome Back Picnic. Members of PFA have kindly welcomed new families arriving during the year with an email, coffee and a chat.

The World Fair was an enormously satisfying event and the level of engagement and support across the school was outstanding.  Thank you to all my country leaders, stall holders, the Houses, students, staff, admin staff and parent volunteer army.  Particular thanks to Frank and the maintenance team, and Deb Duce, Cam Fiorini and Caroline Childerley for their support. It still makes me smile.  A great team effort.

After the Fair, I spent time learning more about how volunteering is changing and how best to offer opportunities and support.  The smaller roles we introduced a couple of years ago have played out well, allowing parents to volunteer for a task that is manageable in their time frame.  Thank you to everyone who has been responsible during the year for the administration of a role, large or small.  We will continue to shape roles around those who would like the opportunity.  The recent survey results will help us to stay relevant for parents and continue to provide meaningful opportunities to engage with the community.

I would also like to thank the KGS community for the Glen Eira Council Volunteer Recognition Award nomination.  I surprised myself by how I felt about the response from our community and feel humbled to receive such support.  Thank you.

The web based ‘Sign up’ we began to use earlier this year has been a great tool.  All members of community are easily invited to participate and for those with less availability there have been many small options to join in.  As with everything we do, we will continue to fine-tune this.

PFA meetings continue to be well attended, informative, fun and welcoming.  We are grateful to the parents, and Jon and Deb, who report each meeting to let us know what’s on and involve us in their roles and the community.  The numbers of PFA roles increased this year as we welcomed more parents to make a contribution of time as they could manage.  Thank you all.

Added to this year’s calendar were the Father’s Day Gift Stall and Mother’s Day Breakfast.  Thank you to Wendy, Briohny and Janine for so capably delivering these events.

Belinda and Louise have introduced a JS End of Year Park Celebration for CSRs to invite their families. We continued the Staff birthday wishes and Staff gratitude morning teas, and added a lunch for Admin and Maintenance staff. These events were very well received and help foster warm relationships.  Thank you to the many for contributing.

Thank you to our SHUS team and their coordinator Briohny for the service they deliver each month for our families.  It is heartening to see the team in action, the friendship and the fun they have together.  A big thank you for your time and the service you offer.

After a quiet start to 2017, the Food Care support program has been busy providing meals for our families and staff at their time of need.  Thank you Christina and Deb for your discretion and care, and to those of you who cooked a meal in confidence.

The Hospitality role this year has been extensive, to say the least.  Thank you Janine for your baking, organising, enthusiasm, generosity and endless support.  We have all enjoyed your hospitality and positive happy presence.  The company of your mum, Margaret was an added bonus.

Thank you Wendy for your support of all we do, and in particular your meticulous work as Treasurer.  Your presence at our events has brightened us all.  Thank you Belinda for giving your time to check our accounts and offering feedback.  Your support is most appreciated.

I also wish to make a mention of Ada, who has quietly gone about keeping communications open with our Chinese community, welcoming new families and helping families engage and join in at school.  Ada, thank you.

To promote and build the strength in our community and to foster the connections of our families, the CSR role is vital. This year 25 CSRs ran social events to welcome families, help people get to know their cohort, and they were constantly on the look out to find fun activities for parents and students. Thank you CSRs for your organisational skills, persistence, and enthusiasm.  Thank you for building our community with your positively.  Thank you also to Anna Pummeroy and Helen Vorous for coordinating this dynamic group, and Deb for your support.

To the PFA Executive team Helen, Anna, Maggie, Susie and Wendy, thank you for your time and energy.  I am humbled by your support and willingness to jump in where you have the time.

Our fundraising efforts this year have focused on the new Sports Centre.  Members of our community have generously donated their time, skills and goods not only to ensure the success of what we are offering but also so we can proudly announce a donation of $75,000.  Thank you everyone for your generosity of time and donations.  Without fail, at every event, I am overwhelmed by your generosity to support our contribution to fundraising.

This AGM, Anna Pummeroy is stepping down as a Senior School Vice-president.  Thank you Anna for your ideas, enthusiasm and support, particularly your input with our CSRs.  We look forward to welcoming you to any meetings and events you can manage next year.

Also this year we say goodbye to 3 parents who are finishing at school with their yr. 12 student. We would like to acknowledge the hard work and enthusiasm of; Chris McCall, who gave his time in the position of Treasurer; Marina Palaskis, who was an active member over many years, held the position of Vice president and helped with the introduction of CSRs and their developing role; and Melinda Pile, who was a generous contributor to our events, particularly trivia nights.  We thank you for your contributions over the past years, your support of the school and the parent community.

Our community continues to grow in strength and depth, thanks to your involvement, positivity and commitment.  We are in a strong position moving forward to next year.  Our focus will continue to be about relationships, positivity and a whole community.  The small things make a difference.  Any time you have makes a difference.

Congratulations on a wonderfully successful year of volunteering. I hope you feel proud and satisfied by what you have had time to do and its value to our community.

Kirsten Brooks
2017