There is a huge amount of work behind the scenes and on the day to make these events so successful, and we thank all of the volunteers for generously giving their time and energy to make our school special for the students and families.
The other important function of the events is to fundraise for the school’s charities and, again in 2015-16, the Community Group has raised substantial funds to support local students to complete their education through Shanghai Sunrise; to give the gift of lifesaving surgery to children with heart problems through Heart 2 Heart; and to continue our school’s ongoing support for the HuiXin orphanage through donations of food and other essential items. This year, as well, the Community Group has made donations to the Community Centre Shanghai for their subsidised counselling programmes, and to Lifeline Shanghai to continue their great work through Lifeline Helpline.
On top of that, the New Parent Coordinators, Charlotte McLuskie and Sandra MacKenzie, have helped our new parents to settle into their new life in Shanghai and at NAIS Pudong, organising coffee mornings and interesting trips to places such as a Shanghai water town and a tea market.
The Community Group, through Class Rep Coordinator Jules Murphy, and the many Class Reps across the school, has helped keep parents informed about classroom activities and trips where they are able to assist and volunteer, as well as organising coffee mornings, lunches and outings for the parents in their classes.
Also playing a vital part in the Community Group this year have been Treasurer, Selena Bertolotti, and Charities Coordinator, Toni Crowther. Both have worked behind the scenes to ensure the ongoing success of our parent group.
As Jody and Heike step down from their posts at the end of the school year, we welcome the new Community Group leadership team for 2016-17. Leanne Nigro takes on the role of Chairperson and Mechelle Gawthorn will be Vice-Chairperson. We look forward to another fantastic year!
A letter from Leanne and Mechelle
Dear NAIS Pudong Families,
A big hello from Mechelle and me. We are both very excited to be involved in the Community Group next academic year and are looking forward to the challenges and rewards that await us.
A few of the main goals of the Community Group are to support the school community, particularly new parents, to partner with the school in the organisation of events and to help with the fundraising for an array of nominated charities.
In order to do this, we rely heavily on the contribution of time and effort from our school parents. If you'd like to volunteer, please contact any of our existing members or email us at community@naispudong.com">community@naispudong.com.
We will be hitting the ground running in August, with our very first big event, the International Food Fair, taking place this year on Thursday 29th September. This is one of the very best days of the year for both students and the parents involved in the fair. It is a huge celebration of the many nations that make up our school in which parents prepare the national dishes of their country for students to sample.
To make sure we are well prepared, we are now calling for any members of the NAIS Pudong family who would like to volunteer to help with their country’s stand at the food fair or to be Country Coordinator for their stand. If you were involved in this year’s fantastic event, we hope you will volunteer again, and we look forward to including new parents as well. This is a fun and rewarding event, so please let us know if you’re able to help by sending an email to community@naispudong.com">community@naispudong.com.
For now, though, we wish you all a restful break with your families and safe travels wherever you may be going. We look forward to seeing you all in the new school year.
Leanne, Mechelle and the Community Group