THE value of a hardworking P&C has rarely been shown as clearly as it was on Friday night, when a $160,000 cheque was presented to Oxley High School at its International Food Night.
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The largest donation the committee has ever handed over, the money will be used on projects to boost the school’s comfort and recreation space.
P&C president Jon Dadd said the donation was a celebration of everything the school stood for, and of its recovery after a deliberately lit blaze there in 2012 that destroyed a school block.
Just days after the fire, the school community soldiered on and held its food night anyway, so it was a fitting occasion to hand over the tidy sum.
“No doubt about it, having our international night in the shadow of what was the Macquarie block was quite powerful and probably our biggest international night,” Mr Dadd said.
“The fire threw everyone, challenged everyone.
“Everyone had to move, change their spot; we put 15 or so demountables on one of the ovals, which took away the social zone as well.
“The resilience of the teachers and the students was really profound.”
This year is also the school’s 50th anniversary.
“The large donation this year is also just real recognition that 50 years of people been through that school; multiple generations,” Mr Dadd said.
Friendly and cool
The school was “well and truly back to normal”, he said, and the money would be used to improve it even further.
Some netball courts will be astroturfed to create a “better and more friendly area”, and classrooms in the Namoi block – which is used for mostly maths and science – will be airconditioned.
Relieving principal Mark Baldwin said it was “a huge donation, absolutely huge”.
“We’re really, really fortunate we’ve got a fantastic P&C who work tirelessly,” he said.
“They don’t inundate us every year with lamington drives and raffle tickets; there are only three major functions that they do … and the amount of money they raise through those three fundraisers is phenomenal and they’ve supported us for years.”
Those fundraisers are the international food night, the Tamworth Antique & Collectables Fair, and Camp Oxley, which accommodates country music festival visitors on the school grounds.