A morning tea to thank our wonderful parent volunteers was hosted by the College last Friday to come together and celebrate the challenges and highlights of 2021. The group was also taken on a tour inside the M Block extension, soon to be completed. This year’s morning tea was extra special as we gave thanks to Parents and Friends Community (PFC) President Sarah Wills for 11 years of service to our school community.
Sr. Sarah founded the PFC (formerly PFF) and has dedicated so much of her time over the 11 years organising parent volunteers, fundraisers, sisters workshops, morning teas, end of term get togethers and the list goes on.
Principal Mr Fazeel mentioned in his speech at the morning tea that Al Siraat’s value for 2021 is gratitude and he reminded us of the Hadith, “He who does not thank the people is not thankful to Allah” (Sunan Abi Dawud 4811). Coming together on-site for morning tea was a lovely way to show our gratitude to our team of volunteers and outgoing PFC President Sarah Wills.
Please give a warm welcome and congratulations to Sr. Jedda Van Rooyen who is taking over the reins as PFC President. Sr. Jedda has long been one of our dedicated parent volunteers and on the PFC Committee. Please read her speech below:
"This year, I have been working to coordinate volunteers for our events here at ҵ. On behalf of the PFC, I would like to thank all the volunteers for your time and support this year. It’s been a challenging year for most families but time and time again we have had your support in making events such as the sports carnival, the Eid festival and the Pre-Eid market a huge success. Giving up your time to help out our community is something incredibly special and priceless as many people are living busy lives and volunteering to help out the school is a challenge for many families.
This year, coming together with you all has been extra special, through our periods of lockdowns it’s been such a blessing and we’ve all really appreciated being able to get together at the school face to face.
I’d like to finish off by acknowledging the person who over the last 11 years has brought us to where we are today. Sarah Wills founded this Parents and Friends Community. When families who are considering sending their child to Al Siraat ask me about my experience at this school the first thing I mention to them is the sense of community. It’s been this community that has supported me personally in my most testing times. But that community doesn’t just happen, it takes someone like Sarah who is thoughtful, caring, patient and selfless. Sarah has left very big shoes to fill here at Al Siraat.
I would also like to acknowledge the PFC committee members for 2021 sisters Serap, Rachael, Rihana, Farzana, Noor, Ridayu, Ayesha, Mona and Nani. These ladies have all worked hard to support Sarah this year, and we have all been in awe at how Sarah has managed to do this all on her own for so many years, it takes an extra generous person to dedicate so much of their life in this way. So from all of us thank you, Sarah."