Service, Support and The Poverty Project
At Tintern Grammar, if we are not careful, service and support is too easy for our students and our staff to take for granted. For many years, the Southwood Parents’ Club and the Tintern Association have worked tirelessly to assist students, staff and the community in an enormous range of ways. Their cheerful and energetic support of the Fair, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day events, the Presentation Ball, end of year mango sales, the Junior Schools’ graduation event support and seemingly a million other things are easy to take for granted.
These activities have always involved the two support groups either operating independently for boys’ or girls’ events, or pooling their resources for co-educational events. Thursday 19 May marked the historical day when our two parent groups decided that the students of Tintern would be better served by a single parent group and the two groups collectively took the plunge to make it happen! On that night, both groups courageously, and with trust in each other, agreed to dissolve their associations and to throw their combined resources in to the new Tintern Parents’ Group, our combined parent support group.
As Tintern Grammar, we are one school and appropriately, we now have a single parent association. I offer the school’s and my thanks to Loraine Allender and Amanda McKenzie as the presidents of the two former support associations, on their courage, diplomacy and foresight in working together to make this happen for our students. We currently have a committee of thirteen parents, with a capacity of 18, and I know that the executive are keen to hear from other parents of boys or girls at any level in the school who would like to serve on the committee, or to offer assistance with activities.
Can I ask you to consider whether you too could offer some aspect of service to the school? This could be done in many ways, and we would be very grateful for your commitment and contribution, but more importantly, you would have a significant positive effect on the school life our students (and your child!) enjoy. Interested families can contact Mrs Di Lacey, our Community Relations Development Manager (dlacey@tintern.vic.edu.au or by calling the school on 9845-7777).
Speaking of service, every now and then, if you are lucky, you get to meet a genuinely remarkable person. So often this person does not see themselves this way and in this at least, Alex Wakeley conforms to type!
Alex is a recent Tintern Old Girl and has been the leader, facilitator, mentor, guidance counsellor, odd job completer and general “I’ll do whatever has to be done” person for our small but committed Social Justice group at Tintern Grammar. Alex is a volunteer, a full-time tertiary student herself and her passion for social justice is the fire that keeps this group burning.
The students who are fortunate enough to be part of the Social Justice group see a role model who is selfless, has an amazing work ethic and is committed to making life better for other people – what an impressive example to set for others!
Last Saturday night, the Social Justice group created, organised and conducted the Poverty Project Trivia night. This was a night to raise funds for the Sunflower Foundation, a foundation that is committed to empowering young women in third world countries through education and support. The cause is irresistible and so are the attitudes of Alex and the many Tintern students who made this all happen. We all had a terrific time and through raffles, door prizes, silent auctions and many other tools, the group raised over $2000 for the Sunflower Foundation – an amazing effort!
Community contribution and service are seen as very much 21st Century attributes. Educational futurists I have read believe that the causes of the future will be causes for others, not self – if so, our community is developing and supporting some very successful entrepreneurs, who I am sure will find both great success and also great fulfilment in their futures!
Factis non Verbis
Bradley Fry
Principal
Please click on the Video Blog below from our Principal, Mr Bradley Fry.
