It may seem a bit like you only hear from the St David’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) when we’re passionately advertising major events like Nite Fever. However, the truth is that all the parents and teachers on the committee give of their time and effort the whole year through, connecting the school and parents in myriad ways, and plotting opportunities for fundraising and FUNraising.
Once-a-month meetings see us gain a deeper understanding of the local and environmental issues impacting the school and how the executive is navigating its way through often complex waters. We rest assured that all decisions made are guided by the school’s Marist principles and the various lay and Catholic bodies that form a chain of command to ensure that the school is indeed offering a truly Marist education to our boys.
Those meetings are also used for planning the various events that happen throughout the year, such as the Swim-a-long, the two Grade 6 and 7 socials, the Golf Day and Nite Fever – and it really is true that many hands make light work. The MySchool initiative quietly brings in money – around R250,000 each year, with other events during the year bringing our 2017 total to around R500,000.
Nitefever in 2017 was always going to be a challenge but the committee was confident that we could do something different and still achieve our objectives. There was no NiteFever in 2015 due to the Jubilee celebrations, and we had to restructure the event in consideration of our new policy prohibiting fireworks. We have some learnings to take away and improve on next year but one thing is for sure – Nitefever is here to stay!
What do we do with the money we raise? We work closely with the school to identify areas of need, and 2017 saw the PTA commit to providing the funds needed for these three impactful projects at the school:
- A new Junior Prep Reading Programme – R65,000
- A new Prep School Science Laboratory – R360,000
- Financial support for the school’s fleet of golf carts – R60,000
The 2017 parent representatives on the PTA were
Grant Krog (Chairperson), Liesl Bebb-McKay (outgoing Deputy Chairperson), Layla Cassim, Jim Davies (outgoing Treasurer), Harry Fisher, Kerry Haggard, Paul Hutton, Derrick Kaufmann, Riana Klopper, Paula Lehane, Asima Moosa, Mendie Ndimande, Mark Staniforth, Charles Stuart (incoming Treasurer), Gordon Tonetti (Old Boy and parent)
The 2017 school representatives on the PTA are:
Mike Thiel, Graeme Edwards, Bruce Eyles, Lara Klement, Jan Albertyn, Helen Mills, Fabian Howard
The PTA would like to recognise the dedication of both Jim and Paula over their many years of service to the school and the PTA. We will miss them both and their contributions to FUN and FUNDraising initiatives. Charles Stuart has agreed to take over the role of Treasurer from Jim.
Unfortunately Liesl resigned towards the latter part of the year and the role of vice chairperson is currently vacant. Our thanks to Liesl for her time and commitment on the PTA!
While the current PTA meets its constitution’s requirements in terms of representing different sections of the school, there are a number of vacancies due to parents of 2017 Matric boys leaving the school. If you would like to get involved with the PTA in 2018, please contact us on pta@stdavids.co.za.
If you’re not able to join the committee – and we do understand that time is precious and pressures are many – please support our projects during the year by sponsoring children in the Swim-a-long, and attending our various events through the year with your friends and extended family. You could even join us to marshal at one of the Socials – ours are particularly popular with parents from other schools because we place such a high emphasis on the children’s safety.
Thank you for your enthusiasm and support during 2017 – we’re looking forward to 2018 being an even better fundraising and FUNraising year – all with building the community and improving the school’s facilities as a goal. We hope we can count on your support to make that dream a reality.
Wishing you a safe, happy and blessed festive season!
The 2017 St David’s PTA
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