Planning for our School Fair was fraught with difficulties: Will rules around public gatherings mean it may not be allowed? Will restriction of numbers mean it isn’t worthwhile? Will there be new COVID rules in place closer to the day and we cannot accommodate them? Will it rain?
On Friday 29th, The WA Government lifted most COVID restrictions and Saturday April 30dawned with warm, bright sunshine. It was time to celebrate!
Staff, their families and volunteers arrived early to set up. Food vendor trucks and vans drove in whilst Police and Ambulance services found their spaces. The face painting fairies, the WestOz wild animals group, the dunking machine, Mother’s Day gift stall and the Reyes/Pegrum music group, all set themselves up. Secondary hospitality students set up and ran the café, teachers had a secondary open morning display in classrooms and also conducted tours. The school’s ‘History in Pictures’ was on display in the Church Hall along with waffles, strawberries and ice-cream. The paella guy fired up the big pan, the doughnuts and fairy floss looked good, and the smoking, grilled meat made us all hungry as Pastor Paul’s sausage sizzle cranked up. The Soccer Academy looked after the soccer games at the oval and the Cadets gave demonstrations in the carpark.
At 10am we welcomed our first visitors from the homes nearby. They were joined by past and present students, their parents and their families, founding church/school members, past and current School Board members and past school Principals. By 2pm almost one thousand visitors had come to celebrate our 40th Anniversary with us! The mingling, reminiscing and reconnecting was a joyous occasion for all who attended.
At 1pm, past Principals Mr Peter Murray and Mr Gary Harris, joined our current Principal, Mrs Carol Davis as those gathered sang Happy Birthday, cut the giant Anniversary Cake and then enjoyed eating it.
We are thankful to God for the vision of our founders at the Girrawheen Baptist Church. We value the hard work and commitment of founding families, past staff and our current team of dedicated staff. We also acknowledge the students and their families who are committed to the vision of Christian Education, something we pray will equip young people to know God and serve him in their communities.
A very BIG thankyou goes to Mrs Belinda Cheung for the planning, arranging and oversight of this very special event in the life of the School and the Church.
We hope to do it all again for our 50th Anniversary!
