Among all the busyness that Term 1 brings, there is one event in the Year 7 calendar that allows boys and their mothers to take a break over a nice meal with other boys, teachers and parents from the Year 7 community and relax. On Thursday, 17 March the annual Year 7 Mother and Son Dinner was held in Centenary Hall. Attended by all Year 7 mentors, Head of Stanmore Mr David Roberts and all our very special Year 7 Mothers, it was a night to remember for all.

Shortly after the event, Black and White caught up with Ms Kathy Walsh of the New Women’s P&F Group to talk about the most memorable moments from the night.

Can you tell me a little about the preparation and planning that was required in the lead up to this year’s Mother and Son Dinner?

Planning started last year with booking the venue, caterers etc but most of the action occurred in the last month with the last few days getting very frantic.  I had a great team of New Women volunteers with Christina Cleaver and Kara Paul leading the team. Tasks included table plans (in mentor groups) ordering balloons, flowers and photo booth. Ms Hannah Chapman organised a group of senior photography boys to take photos on the night,

What was the atmosphere on the night?

The night was so very elegant and the boys behaved beautifully.  We had drinks in the courtyard outside and luckily we had perfect weather.  As we went inside the Head of Year 7, Mr David King, took the time to greet all the guests and ensure that their sons were properly escorting their mothers to their seats.

What do you think was the most memorable moment on the night?

The speech by Jack Jacobs (12/FL) about the influence of his mother was magical.  His mother was quite teary watching the speech (as were most of us!).  He also reinforced the current Year 12 motto – ‘Value you, Support Him, Stand with her’ – and spoke earnestly to the boys about the meaning of this line (especially the ‘stand with her’ part) and their responsibilities as sons. 

Can you tell me a little about the raffle that was held on the night?

Ms Jessica Christian gave a very heartfelt talk about the passing of Mele Manu, an accounting teacher, wife of School Finances Officer Rev Raymond Manu, and mother of three girls aged between 7 and 12 from Tupou College, Tonga.

Many in the room were very touched by Ms Christian’s speech and how difficult it must be for the family in grief. When we went to draw the raffle I asked for a show of hands if people wanted to donate the raffle money to the Manu family and it was unanimously decided that we would.

I am so proud of this moment from the night and would like to thank Midford for generously providing the Raffle Prizes for the night (5 x $100 gift vouchers). 

A big thank you also to the Newington College Community and Development team who have donated all proceeds from the sale of the Newington Monopoly board to the Mele Manu fund. 

If you wish to donate to the Mele Manu Fund, please click here.