On Monday 17 March, we had our annual Coin Trail fundraiser for Caritas New Zealand.  Our focus this year was Caritas’ He Oranga Taurikura programme, which provides food, shelter, education and emergency relief to communities affected by conflict, natural disasters and poverty, including Tonga, Ukraine, Jerusalem and Fiji.  It was awesome to see the enthusiasm expressed by each Atawhai contributing toward their money totals.  The day also coincided with St Patrick’s Day, so students celebrated Carmel’s Irish roots by dressing up in a sea of green!

Each Atawhai group also participated in chalk design and storytelling competitions.  Three or four girls from each Atawhai created a chalk design centring around the theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, and the remaining girls retold the story of St Patrick by explaining the Holy Trinity through a shamrock as he did.  We were blown away by the ideas presented and cannot wait to announce the final amount fundraised and competition winners next week during our whole school assembly.

A reminder that you can donate online until Thursday 20 March through the Carmel shop.

The lunchtime stalls were also a massive success with our cupcakes, brownies and sherbet selling out in no time.  The thrilling games and all other stalls were also a blast.  The proceeds from all stalls will also be added to our donation to Caritas.

It was an absolute highlight and a fun day enjoyed by all!

Abigail Street and Helena Lee, Heads of Arts and Culture