Students took their creativity to the next level during Avenel Primary School’s Heroes Day.
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When asked to dress up as their heroes for a recent school-wide fundraising event, it was the uniforms of local legends that a vast majority of Avenel students wore.
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Avenel Primary School’s Heroes Day held on Tuesday, June 23, was concocted by the student leadership team, who wanted to shine a spotlight on the heroic efforts of local emergency services volunteers and workers months on from the Longwood bushfire.
Part of the school’s end-of-term fundraising, Heroes Day also supported the Bushfire Recovery Fund.
“(The student leadership team) really wanted to give back to bushfire recovery, given the significant impact it had on our own community,” principal Christine Hyde said.
Avenel Fire Brigade’s activity was very engaging.
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“Normally they run activities themselves, but they thought it would be better if we could get the emergency services in, so they actually wrote to all of the services to invite them for the day.
“They wanted (the services) to come to teach our kids about what they do for our community and how we can utilise them in the community and support them.”
The significant impact emergency services have made on the community was emphasised by what many students chose to wear on the day.
As part of the school’s fundraising efforts, students were invited to dress up as their hero for a gold coin donation, and while some donned the outfits of Marvel fantasies, many wore colours that are particularly prevalent in the local area.
Students got a firsthand look inside an Ambulance Victoria paramedic van.
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“There was a lot of work around what that hero would be – it could be someone in your family, it didn’t need to be a Marvel superhero,” Ms Hyde said.
“A lot of our kids actually dressed up as CFA, SES, ambulance and their parents.”
Ambulance Victoria, SES, Avenel Fire Brigade and Victoria Police were all on site for the day to run activities for the students.
Not only did their presence educate the students on their work during the Longwood bushfire, but it also enabled the five to 12-year-olds to familiarise themselves with the faces behind the uniforms.
“It was a really engaging time, and it made the kids be more aware of, if they rock up to an incident, these are the guys they’re going to see,” Ms Hyde said.
Ms Hyde said the unrelenting fog didn’t stop the students from enjoying the activities.
“They really enjoyed it. They had the best time. It was freezing cold, but that didn’t matter,” she said.
“The fog was not gong to lift for us, but the kids had a great time and the services and volunteers did as well.”
Victoria Police delivered an engaging talk to the students.
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From activities such as a ‘guess the lollies’ competition, a barbecue and the gold coin donation required for the out-of-uniform day, the school, of only about 125 students, estimates it has raised close to $1000.
Ms Hyde said she was beyond proud of her students’ commitment to supporting local emergency services, and the initiative they showed in achieving this significant fundraising amount.
“One of our school values is giving back, and I have to say, being at the school for only a year, that the students truly live that value every day,” she said.
“I was absolutely blown away. It’s that selflessness and their wanting to do something for someone else without having any accolades for themselves.”
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