By Mitchell Clarke
Families are set to flock to Officer Secondary College on Friday 22 November for their inaugural annual school fete.
The event, which is a year in the making, is 100 percent student-driven and is supported by a committee consisting of parents, teachers and education support staff.
Student voice leader and teacher Broady Kata said it was pleasing to watch the project fall into fruition.
“I’m really proud of the work these students have done and I really am confident that their hard work will be translated to the event,” Mr Kata said.
“We’re a school that’s driving student voice so for us to allow a program like this is excellent. It’s a win for student leadership.”
The idea of the fete was created to build connections between the school and the greater community but it has also seen strong relationships built internally, as staff and students worked collaboratively to create stalls.
“It’s been an amazing journey to witness, especially the growth of our college captains,” Mr Kata said.
College captains Jaimee Chorley and Emily McMillan said they were “very proud” of the entire student effort.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved,” Jaimee said.
“All our ideas have grown along the way. It’s a bizarre feeling being a student and having the final say on a project like this.
“As a 16-year-old, you don’t really know what to expect. I mean what 16-year-old’s get to plan an entire fete?”
But it hasn’t come without its challenges, with budgeting issues, council restrictions and poor weather proving difficult.
“Along the way, we’ve faced so many challenges and we’ve put so much time and effort into it,” Emily said.
“We started planning without a budget which is extremely hard to do and our original date in March was cancelled due to bad weather.”
Thankfully, the weather is looking good this time round, with the school hoping the community will attend the campus and soak up the free carnival atmosphere.
All money raised from ride passes will go back into the school for learning programs.
