School thanks its supporters
Every year, Carlton School principal Gaye O’Connor invites supporters of the school to a morning tea where they are officially thanked and plied with food and drink.
School seniors are on hand to supply a welcome and, as in my case, to escort interested parties on a tour of the school and its facilities.
Gaye has been at the school since 2004 and the morning tea was an annual event for long before that.
“It’s been a tradition for a while,” she says. “It used to be a ‘helpers’ morning tea but now we call it ‘friends of Carlton School’, because there are people who aren’t here on a day-to-day basis but who support the school in a different way.”
Attending on the day were parents, a retired electrician who helps out in a practical way, the owner of a local bakery (Fitzie’s) who helps out with lunches, staff from Education Services who assist with finances and property administration, a representative of a local Chrome Book supplier (Noel Leeming) as well as others who help in different ways.
There was a formal part of the morning in which, after a greeting and karakia, two school seniors addressed and thanked those gathered.
Gaye spoke on behalf of the board.
“We fully appreciate the support that everybody gives our school. It’s all about the children. Everything we do, everything you do is about them. That’s the whole point of it, and it’s because of our joint efforts we have wonderful children at Carlton.”
Carlton children create the fortnightly news graphic published in Whanganui Midweek.