I’m sure many of you know the phrase ‘it takes village to raise a child’, well the 3rd annual school festive feast would not have happened without the efforts of a dedicated school community and the generosity of many North Kawartha businesses and residents. The feast took place on Thursday December 22, 2011 and fed 150 students, staff, bus drivers, daycare children and staff, and volunteers a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings, plus a visit from Santa delivering special gifts for every child. There were enough leftovers that 23 plates of turkey dinner were donated to our local food bank.
On behalf of the Apsley School Council I would like to thank the following people, organizations and businesses whose volunteer services and/or donations helped to make the feast a wonderful celebration for our entire school family. They demonstrate the true giving spirit of the holiday season and we simply could not have done it without them.
Darlene Doxy & family, Sherry Waddell, Amanda Gray, KL Jackson & Sons, Mike Shee Carpentry, Lauraine Post, Michelle Meddings, Jacqui Cutajar, Stephanie Donia, The Cookes, Barb MacLean, Marci Swift & family, The Empringhams, Denise Dunford, Emily Eggleton, Ashley Rosborough, Kim Harris, Jenny Atmore, Marvel Rapids, Lori Rork, Michelle Cuomo, Erin Junkala, Sayers Foodland, The Swiss Bear Restaurant & Bakery, The Township of North Kawartha, Kawartha Child Care, and Principal White.
I also would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks to the members of this year’s School Council. We currently have 12 council members with all executive positions filled, plus a great group of volunteers that run the breakfast club program and the bi-monthly hot lunch program. School Council works hard to address the needs of parents and children in our school community by facilitating communication with staff and Board along with providing activities, equipment and supplies to enhance our children’s learning environment. The spirit of cooperation and generosity is simply amazing. In particular I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the following volunteers:
Michelle Meddings- School Council Secretary and Nutritional Program Coordinator. Michelle is responsible for budgeting and organizing all the meal services and the volunteers. This year she has been successful in securing a $4800 “Breakfast for Learning Foundation” grant for our nutritional program to purchase food, supplies and equipment. Thanks to Michelle and her volunteers our children are given a variety of delicious and nutritious meals and snacks every day.
Lisa Koehler- School Council Member and Breakfast Club Volunteer. Last October Lisa organized a “Pampered Chef” sale with the profits going towards the purchase of needed items in the servery. Her efforts were so successful that the school servery received over $800 worth of Pamper Chef products and supplies! Lisa along with another volunteer totally re-organized the kitchen as well to make meal prep and clean-up easier and more efficient. Thank you!
Ashley Rosborough- School Council Member and Holiday Silent Auction Coordinator. Ashley single-handedly took charge of School Council’s Silent Auction fundraiser which was held the night of the school Christmas Concert. She travelled all over North Kawartha and Peterborough County gathering gifts and items for the auction. She also had each class create a variety of gingerbread and Christmas decoration gifts to be included in the auction. Thanks to Ashley’s coordination this year’s Silent Auction raised over $1200!
These women along with the rest of School Council and our volunteers help make our school a wonderful place for our children to grow and learn. The dedication and hard work of all these people clearly reveal how much this community values its children. They do what they do because they care and my heart is bursting with gratitude. It is an honour and a privilege to serve with all of you. Thank you.