Pupils help feed those in need
A Palmerston North school is donating hundreds of food items to charity ahead of Christmas.
A group of pupils from Newbury School organised a wheels’ day, where the children bring in their bikes and scooters for the day, as well as non-perishable food items.
The school’s 173 pupils collected 448 items of food that will be taken to the Red Cross on Monday.
Quinn Collis, 13, said that they chose to do a food drive because it was a good cause and helped those less fortunate at a stressful time of the year.
Lots of families struggled to afford food at Christmas and Collis said it was nice to give back to the community.
A good number of food items were collected and he was proud of what the school had achieved.
Collis said the school chose to hold a wheels’ day to get everyone involved.
‘‘People love bringing their bikes and scooters in and it is a good chance for everyone to have fun together.’’
Principal Simon Marshall said the project was driven by a group of pupils who organised the day, made posters, and talked to other children about safety on their bikes and scooters.
‘‘They just ran the whole day. It’s good for them to step up and show leadership.’’
He said the project reflected school values of empowered, taking ownership and making change.
Marshall said the children were encouraged to do a job at home to earn the food items to donate.
Each class competed to bring the most items, winning bragging rights and lollies. Room 1, with year 1 pupils, won the prize. Its 15 pupils brought in 83 items.