The Parents and Friends Story

Right from the inception of Overnewton Anglican Community College, it was obvious that there was going to be a very big role to be played by the parent group in the daily and overall life of the College. The original founders set out to establish a parental support base for the college, which has proven to be quite effective in its implementation. The articles of association were quite clearly drawn up with the aim of providing the parental group with a voice and a manner in which they could support the growth and maintenance of the college aims and objectives.


In short the Parents and Friends responsibilities are to:

• Support the aims and objectives of the college as defined by the board from time to time.
  
• Assist, support and develop the college and its activities.
  
• Raise funds through special efforts to provide and improve amenities, provide scholarships, bursaries and prizes, camps and extra curricular activities as considered desirable by the association in conjunction with the college administration.
  
• Under direction of the Principal, coordinate the activities of all parent groups and auxiliaries assisting the College.
  
• Appoint and maintain the appointment of four of its members, including the Chairman of the Association, as members of the Board of Directors of the College.
  
• Represent Parents and Friends of the College.
  
• Make representations to the Board through the Chairman of the Association.

Probably the one area where you most associate with the P&F and its functions is in the area of fundraising, be it through the annual country fair, the chocolate drive, occasional raffle or any of the other fundraising initiatives run each year by the committee. While this is an important area, which raises in excess of $60,000 each year (all of which is then spent on facilities and services for the students of the College), the management of the work groups who administer the 18-hour commitment is equally as important.

Of course, without the cooperation of the many volunteers who act as coordinators for this important program and the individual input of the parents, we would be paying additional fees in the order of $1000 per student to replace the 100,000 man hours contributed by this scheme to the daily running of the College each year.

Management of a volunteer workforce such as ours can be a difficult task, but has proved to be a lot easier than some might imagine, due in main to the fantastic cooperation of our parent base who are prepared to do their bit for their children and their College. Make no mistake, this is OUR COLLEGE; we have built it from nothing to where it is today by the dedication and commitment of Parents, Staff and Students. It is certainly a major contributing factor in the good reputation that is enjoyed by this College in our local and greater community.

As a direct result of the expansion of the College it was necessary to expand the representative base and the number of members elected to the committee was increased from 8 to 12 in 1996. Then in 1998, in response to a perceived morale issue and some lack of interest, the Parent Support Teams were set up as a means of Friend raising and as a means of providing grass roots participation in the P&F. The value of this move has been proven time and time again, especially in the areas of providing direct assistance to families in need and the expansion of the friendships within the School based groups.

The P&F committee, having elections each year and maximum terms of membership, continues to be a growing and changing forum, which enhances its operation as it ensures that stagnant approaches and complacency have less chance of survival as new blood is introduced each year. All parents with sufficient interest are encouraged to nominate for election at the Annual General Meeting, which is held in November each year.