AWABA Public School has been overwhelmed by an outpouring of generosity and Christmas spirit in the wake of a break-in and theft from its kitchen.
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Awaba teachers and students were rattled when thieves forced their way into the tiny school on a Sunday night, and made off with four cartons of soft drink.
On the face of it, the loss seemed insignificant.
But as the Lakes Mail reported on December 3, Awaba is no ordinary school.
The school has just 34 students, from 17 local families.
And the cartons of soft drink were for the school’s P&C to sell at school fund-raisers.
“Those drinks would have been sold at $2 a can at school events like discos, so that’s at least $200 that could have been raised,” teacher Mitchell Gray said.
“That’s a fair bit of money for a small school like ours.”
The story sparked a remarkable reaction from the community.
Speers Point Public School teacher Jacob Szczudlo said his class read about the theft in a reading class.
“It started a discussion and the students said they’d experienced something similar with incidents at Speers Point,” Mr Szczudlo said.
“So I said: ‘Would you like to do something to help? Would you like to make a gold coin donation so that we can replace their cartons of soft drink?’
“And they said ‘Yes!’”
Mr Szczudlo and year 3 students Raphael Keo and Alaska Hitchcock called in at Awaba Public School on Thursday with a special delivery of four cartons of soft drink.
They were initially welcomed to Awaba by school principal Alison Tiplady and senior class teacher Mitchell Gray.
But word spread quickly about the surprise visitors, and soon the entire school population filed outside to meet and thank the Speers Point delegation.
“It’s a reminder of the community spirit that is alive and well across our great city,” Ms Tiplady said.
In a letter of thanks to Speers Point principal Chris Payne, Ms Tiplady said the Awaba students and staff were ready to reciprocate if ever a favour was needed.
And it was not the only act of generosity to boost spirits at Awaba.
“We had a man turn up here on Thursday and I was getting the students into lines when he approached and handed me $200,” Ms Tiplady said.
“He said his children all went to small schools, and that his daughter is a teacher. He shook my hand and walked away.”
Several parents from the school had also each donated $50, she said.
“I’m just overwhelmed by this generosity – especially at this time of year. I didn’t expect this kind of reaction,” Ms Tiplady said.
