SENIOR SCHOOL
Inaugural Charity Fete
Compassion is one of the core values of our school . As such , we have had a ‘ Service Learning Group ’ at Guildford Grammar School for a number of years . This group was established with the intent of raising money for charity , raising awareness amongst the school community about those in need , and getting boys involved in community service projects . This year , Ms Forward , Director of Service Learning , with a team of students , Jacob Levin ( 12Fr ), Tom McCormack ( 12Wb ), Alex Ambrosi ( 12St ) and Sam Sibma ( 12Wb ) decided that this would be the year in which the Service Learning Group became a very significant aspect of the Guildford Grammar School community , and more importantly , a significant aspect of the lives of those in need .
Every Tuesday lunchtime we met and discussed ways in which our school could contribute to those less fortunate than ourselves . Instant success ensued , with Ms Forward securing Guildford Grammar School a place on the Red Cross Soup Kitchen Run in Fremantle – a way in which students and teachers would directly help those living rough on the streets .
During a later one of these Tuesday lunchtime meetings , our Service Learning Captain , Jacob Levin ( 12 Fr ), floated the idea of holding a charity fete day . Nothing of its kind had ever been attempted at Guildford Grammar School , and as such , we were sceptical of achieving this goal , let alone the day being a success . We did not give up on this dream however , and decided to take it as far as we could , even if this meant only establishing a rough plan which future groups could work off – hopefully to achieve our goal in years to come .
To our surprise , we soon had what appeared to be a functioning plan for the potential Charity Fete Day . Although we would have liked to have made the Fete as grand as possible , and open it up to the wider community , we were stretched for time and needed approval from the School . Thus , the decision was made to keep the Fete rather modest , with the hopes that our plan would be developed and built upon in the years to come .
With a plan devised , we proposed the idea to the Heads of House who would inevitably have to shoulder some of the work on the day . They all proved more or less enthusiastic about the fete , and “ jumped on board ”. We then gained approval from Headmaster , Mr Stephen Webber , and the Head of Senior School , Mr Brad Evans . In particular , we acknowledge Mr Evans ’ support in getting this event off the ground .
Soon enough , the day was upon us . The final week of frantic planning had cemented all the plans , all that was left on the day was set-up . This was no small feat however . From the very start of the day , a small army of students were put to work . There were barbeques to wheel out , soft drinks to cool , balloons to blow up , extension cords to lead and activities to be constructed .
At the commencement of lunchtime – 12:15pm – the School became a flurry of activity . All students from Years 7-12 were released from class and descended upon their first ever Guildford Grammar School Charity Fete Day . All the students genuinely enjoyed themselves ; in a school which has young men ranging from twelve to eighteen years old it can be extremely difficult to create an event that appeals to everyone . The Fete achieved this ; every food stall running out , live music from the students being played throughout the day , over 300 raffle tickets being sold , and , of course , plenty of teachers ( including Mr Webber himself ) being dunked in the dunk-tank !
A great amount of effort went into the Fete right up until the very end of the day . Ms Forward was scurrying around constantly and a large number of students were actively involved in running their respective House stalls , with special thanks to Kaleb Giles ( 12Ha ) and Liam Stacey ( 12SG ) for successfully handling the bubble soccer and teacher dunk-tank , respectively , for almost the entire afternoon .
The day ended with the raffle prizes being drawn . Tickets had been sold throughout the day for a chance to win a very respectable choice of prizes , including an oil painting by parent and artist , David Jones , a signed West Coast Eagles jersey and a barbecue .
Despite the pride the Service Learning Group took in the organisation and running of the fete , we understood that since it was the first time the School had ever put on such an event , it was unlikely that we would make any noteworthy amount of money to donate to Oxfam , our chosen charity for the Fete . Thus , it came as a shock to us all when we found out that we had made over $ 3000 from the day , all of which would be going to Oxfam . Just as importantly , a precedent is now set in the School for the continuation of this event , and a basic template established for the Fete which will hopefully be held next year . Also , the Fete brought the school community together , with students and staff alike having an enjoyable afternoon – with the chance to win a few prizes .
Sam Sibma ( 12Wb )
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