Mother’s Day High Tea
Following a year of lockdowns and canceled family events, it was terrific to be able to host our Mother’s Day High Tea in the beautifully transformed Garden Rooms at Crown Towers overlooking the Yarra River, right in the heart of our city.
Due to COVID restrictions we held a morning and afternoon session with both sessions giving the Alphington extended community the chance to celebrate as mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, sister in laws and special friends. It was terrific to see some mums come with their daughters and in some cases the men were also able to join us and enjoy the occasion.
Much fun was had across both sessions. The event also saw some valuable funds raised by those present in support of our chosen charity, The Smith Family, an independent children’s charity helping disadvantaged Australian children to get the most out of their education, so they can create a better future for themselves. We know that if we support a child’s education we help break the cycle of disadvantage. Having reflected on their own educational journey, The Smith Family was chosen by our Community Service Captains as the charity of choice this semester. Our Keynote speakers were Mr Erik Armando (beneficiary of The Smith Family) and, Mr Edwin Gill (a long time volunteer of The Smith Family). Both presentations were quite moving. Erik recalled the journey of going to school without the proper uniform, books and tools to get an education and the impact that had on him until The Smith Family support came to help him connect more deeply with school. While Edwin reflected on his decision to volunteer for the charity, coming from a place of what he perceived to have been a fortunate life as a boarder in a Melbourne Independent School.
Our students will also continue their fundraising efforts in support of The Smith Family this semester when we will combine all the money raised and make a united donation to the charity. We are hoping one of our presenters will be able to join us at an upcoming assembly to receive the cheque.
Raffle Winners
Thank you to all who bought raffle tickets for Mother’s Day. Due to the two sittings on Saturday we drew the winners here at school. I congratulate the following:
1. Scott Siega
2. Monique Dinantopoulos
3. Maria Mina
Events of this size and magnitude take many hours and months to plan and execute. I thank, in particular, Mrs Tracey Nicholson, Assistant Principal and Head of Primary for all her hard work and coordination of the High Tea, Mrs Zoe Vathianakis who also led a team of volunteers for the Mother’s Day Stall, as well as Ms Voula Allimonos and Mrs Sanja Kalapoutis who together helped with prizes and organising the event.
Our fundraising effort, door prizes and gifts on the day have been supplied by the generous donations of the following families and businesses:
Chrissy Mihailidis
The Real Greek Tavern
Ermou Street
Agatha Gourlias
SKINtone
I encourage families to support these businesses whenever the opportunity arises.
Dr. Vivianne Nikou
Principal
