For five years parents and teachers of Nayland Primary School have been singing, dancing and laughing their way to a fundraising goal for a new indoor facility at the school.
After next month’s show they’ll have raised enough to make it happen, but don’t expect that to mean an end of the famous production.
Nayland principal Janice Gulbransen says they will have raised their $100,000 target after this year’s show which will mean work on their new multi-purpose building can start in November.
“The first year we raised $13,000 and it’s grown every year. Now, after five years, we have enough to build our new facility,” she says.
Money from the Ministry of Education will also be used for the building which will allow the school to hold assemblies featuring the entire school, science fairs, drama and arts, gymnastics, school discos and host speakers.
This year’s show is called Class of ’69 and will feature 30 parents and teachers. One of the organisers, Trish Parkins, says ticket sales have been really strong with the final show already sold out. “It has a really good reputation now and we sell a lot of tickets really fast but we still have plenty to sell and we want a full house for each show.”
Last year’s show raised $25,000 and Janice says it is now a Nayland tradition. “We don’t do a school fair, this is what we do and it’s different to everyone else. We’ve got amazing parent support and one of the successes of the show is that we always get new people and it’s the same this year.”
Janice says the show builds a strong connection between parents, students and the school. “We’re really lucky, it’s built a real sense of community around the school. Not just for people in the show and all those who help out on the night doing all sorts of jobs adds to the whole sense of community.”
She says some parents have taken part each of the five years and it’s especially nice for them to see their hard work achieve the desired result.
The cast have been preparing for the show since February and it has been put together by parent Margie Meleisea and the script written by teacher Mare MacMahon. It follows classmates from their school days in 1969 to their reunion.
Tickets for the shows held on September 14, 20 and 21 are available from the school and the cast says anyone coming along should expect a great night out with plenty of laughs.
