Over the last weekend, our St. Paul’s scholars and their families were welcomed to school to participate in the second edition of St. Paul’s Foundation welcome barbecue. They got to engage with the Foundation staff, as well as St. Paul’s School leadership members, and learn more about each other.
Setting the barbecue event at the beginning of the school year allows for integration during a key moment of the scholar’s lives – the start of a new step in their academic journey. For our eleven new scholars, this was a special moment to get to know their fellow students and their families and learn from their experiences. Our scholars who have been at the school for longer are preparing themselves for a busy term ahead and the barbecue provides moments of connection, relaxation and fun — plus, they can share all the experiences they’ve had so far. Carolina Righi, general manager of the Foundation, points out that this exchange between families “strengthens this much-needed support network so that scholarship holders feel more and more integrated”, she says.
Ms Ashman, Assistant Head of Teaching and Learning at St. Paul’s, and one of the key leadership members at the event shared that the foundation BBQ was a great opportunity to get to know the scholars and their families. “It was fantastic to see the new scholars integrating into our existing community and to see the support and care offered by families of existing scholars to the new ones. It was a pleasure to hear about all the opportunities that our scholars have already been taking at school in sport, music, drama and academics.”, she added.
St. Paul’s Foundation Chairman Tony Jezzi was also a scholar at St. Paul’s. He highlighted in his address to families the importance of taking advantage of all the resources and opportunities available during their time at school and bonding with the community. “Many challenges will arise, but you will have a lot of support. Enjoy and participate in everything you can, and discover new tastes and talents”, he said.
The parents also shared their experiences. Simone, mother of Catarina (Form 4) and Giordano (Form 5), sees the lunch as “a unique opportunity to remember the key values that inspire St. Paul’s”.
Paula and Décio have just joined the community as their daughter, Valentina, started this year as a Form 2 scholar. They said: “It was an enriching experience! We’ve been learning more and more about St. Paul’s, and this event puts us in contact not only with the school leadership but also with other scholars’ parents in a fun and relaxed manner”.
Weideman, Maitê’s dad, who started in Form 1 this year, also shared: “Everyone felt like a long-term friend and, even with the language barriers, everyone was attentive and charismatic. Through the event, we were able to see how our children are being cared for by all in school.”
We hope to see the St. Paul’s Foundation barbecue becoming a new annual tradition at the school, as we build and foster connection between our scholars and their families, supporting their individual trajectories in St. Paul’s.