Kiama school fete reaps a record $30,000

EMMA SPILLETT

THE Kiama Public School fete at the weekend was an outstanding success, raising more than $30,000 for the school, the most money raised in the school's history.

The fete hosted a range of food, arts, craft and gift stalls to appeal to people of all ages as well a Sideshow Alley to keep the kids entertained.

Students and parents within the school's community donated many of the items for sale and the various stalls were co-ordinated by teachers and members of the P&C.

P&C President Barb Mandelson believes she was fortunate to have the support of staff and local businesses in the preparation of the fete.

"We had so much involvement from the teachers, particularly Matty and Joseph of the general assistance staff, who gave a great deal of their own time to assist with the event," Mrs Mandelson said.

She was pleased with the amount of money raised and the large number of people that attended.

"The community really got behind the event and that's what made it so successful " everyone who attended had a great time and it was so nice to see a sea of happy, smiling kids having fun," she said.

P&C Secretary Belinda Murphy said the event was successful because of the involvement of the entire school community.

"The fete worked because of the level of planning that went into it " the committee spent a lot of time looking at previous fetes and what was successful, so we were really cautious of capitalising on what had worked for us previously," she said.

Sponsorship was a crucial way of maximising profits for the school and Mrs Murphy believed it was essential in allowing them to increase the money raised.

The money will be spent on fulfilling a "wish-list" created by the teachers to improve the general maintenance of the school and on subsidising a grant to build new playground equipment.