On Friday we had a Father’s Day Breakfast at Jasmine and Alexa’s school. We had RSVPs from 62 families (almost a third of the families) and went through 14 dozen eggs (free range), 7 kg of bacon and 21 ltrs of juice. One third of families is not bad, but I would like to see it higher and I think we can get there. Next year we might try an personal invite from the students to a male in their lives (the invite is to “Dads, Grandpas, Pops, Uncles, Big Brothers & all the men in our children’s lives”) which could increase the response.
Many schools have a Father’s Day Breakfast and I find it interesting the different approaches and aims. For me it is all about community engagement and community building. We have a gold coin donation per person and don’t monitor it closely. We very much leave it up to individuals how much people give us as we want people to come and all we need to do is cover costs. We made a profit of $5-$10 so I certainly won’t be put in charge of fund raising for the school. I think these types of community events help to create a the “vibe” of the school and play an important role in community building. According to the principal, there were a few families there who don’t have an easy relationship with the school and anything that can help build relations I think is important.
I would like to see school staff having a higher profile at these types of events. Only a few teachers were there, and I think it would be a good opportunity to mix with parents in an informal atmosphere and build relationships. I realise it involves getting to school early and it can be challenging to strike up conversations in this type of a setting, but I think it is worth the effort.
As I’m normally involved in cooking or serving I don’t get to mix much (and didn’t spend much time with Jasmine or Alexa). Next year I might see if I can help set up, but be free to mingle during the breakfast.
I love the idea of a soccer match etc between the kids and adults. We might have to try it next year! There are lots of familiar faces, but yes it is good to see some who don’t normally make it.
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our kids school also holds a “Dad’s Big Breakfast” annually – but even Mum’s are invited! A pretty ferocous soccer match is played between senior kids and dads/pops/uncles etc or handball comps are held with the younger kids. But as always, it’s the same parents and extended family members you see at every event. Thankfully for our school though, you see more than you don’t :-)
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