The AGM of the St Hilda’s PFA was held on 07 July 2021. The election of officers took place, the following members were elected:

President – Roberta Lawrence

Vice President – Linh Ashton

Treasurer - Leanne Wright

Secretary - Jenny Wagner

On reflecting on the 2020/21 year, it was clear that this was one in which the efforts of the PFA were focussed on supporting the school community. This has ranged from hosting parent BBQs, to being a friendly host at school events or contributing financially to the school.

With the fantastic fundraising efforts of the Fair Committee in early 2020, and the subsequent impact of COVID 19 on families, it was determined that the PFA would not do any further fundraising in 2020 and would instead look at how it could best support the school.

Whilst the committee continued to support regular activities such as the 2020 Leavers Dinner and the 2021 School Formal, we also approved the distribution of funds to purchase a number of “wish list” items requested by the teachers/school. These items ranged from books to kitchen utensils to tech items. A real highlight at the end of 2020 was visiting the freshly painted student toilets, sponsored by the PFA, adorned with bright colourful murals and positive messaging for the girls. No longer a dingy damp place, but a cheerful welcoming spot.

Most recently the PFA has approved funding for the continuation of the Wheelers ebook service (available to all girls through the school library) and made a contribution towards the production costs of the upcoming school musical “Footloose”.

Our other form of support for the school was through hosting school community events, such as the Christmas Carol Service; New Boarders BBQ, and new family “takeaway” night. A highlight for our year was being associated with the wonderful weekend of celebrations for the 125th Anniversary of St Hilda’s, on 19-21 March 2021. Amanda Burke and the school did a fantastic job of organising a truly special event for students, staff and their families. It was a real pleasure to be part of the team welcoming these lovely people back to the school and showing them around. There were many interesting stories shared and much laughter over the weekend.

Over the year we have continued to support the girls representing the school at sports and cultural events. Whilst it was a quiet year for many of these events, we are encouraged to see the participation now picking back up and look forward to continuing to support the girls’ endeavours in these areas. We are excited to advise this fund is now being extended to include funding for Academic events. Visit the school website for details of how to apply for this fund.

As this is the final year of my daughter attending the school, I have stepped down from the role of President. I welcome Roberta Lawrence as my successor. Roberta has been a fabulous secretary for the PFA for the past 2-3 years and will be an excellent President. Many thanks to Jenny Wagner for stepping into the secretary role to support Roberta. Thanks also to Leanne & Linh for staying on as Treasurer and Vice-President, both of whom are amazing in the hours that they give to the committee and the school. I also want to acknowledge our incredibly supportive staff representative on the PFA, Helen Almey, who goes above & beyond to help out the PFA.

Over the next year the PFA will be getting back into fundraising mode – we have some significant building projects coming up at the school that are going to need the full support of the school community and the PFA will be happy to be part of the fundraising team.