School Spotlight: Carwatha College

Carwatha College P-12 have recently hosted some special visitors at their Breakfast Club, in the hope attracting a few more faces in the mornings. Despite already running a buzzing Breakfast Club 5 days per week, Breakfast Club Coordinator Donna Azzopardi explained they still aim to attract more students.

“We wanted to get more kids coming to breakfast club, to see how much fun it is! We also love the idea of important members of the community coming along and chatting and eating with students,” she said.

In recent months the school has hosted local police officers, their local MP Julian Hill (Federal Member for Bruce), and even Santa found the time to drop by in his busiest month of the year.

“The students just loved when the police came for breakfast. They all asked questions and we had a few students walk away wanting to join the police force when they are older,” Donna said.

And when asked whether the guest appearances helped increase the profile of Breakfast Club within the school community?

“Yes!!!! We had a huge turnout, I think some students had a notion that Breakfast Club is for disadvantaged kids, but once they came along and saw how much fun it is and how it is for everyone it changed their perspective. Even for the kids that come from families that are suffering financial hardship and need Breakfast Club, now they see if they come along they won’t be ‘labelled’ or judged.”

When asked if encouraging special community guests to attend Breakfast Club was difficult, Donna said it was easy. All she had to do was email them an invitation and they were very happy to attend.

This is a wonderful example of how to grow the profile of your Breakfast Club within your school community. When asked if they are trying anything else to increase attendance at their Breakfast Club, Donna explained:

“Being a prep to 12, we try and have our year 12 captains come along to chat with the students. This year we will be starting ‘breakfast buddies’ which is where we ask secondary students to come along and be a ‘breakfast buddy’ for a primary student, to sit and have breakfast with.”

Great work Carwatha College!

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