By Michael Doran
The year five and six students at Wandin Yallock Primary School have turned disappointment into triumph when the recent bushfires forced a postponement of their eagerly awaited camp at Wilsons Promontory.
Part of the camp menu included biscuits and the students decided to use the ingredients already purchased to make them at school, sell them and donate the proceeds to the local CFA brigade.
Representing the classes involved, four of the students, Renata, Jasmine, Isaac and Izzy spoke about the experience and how it all came about.
“We were really upset that we couldn’t go to camp because it was the first time we were going to Wilsons Prom,” Reanata said. “But now I’m really pleased that we raised some money to help the firemen who were doing their job to protect us.”
Izzy also said she was happy to have helped when it was needed. “It was good because we were helping the people that were out there at the fires helping everybody else.”
Issac said: “It was a good idea to help the CFA and we made posters to put around the school and we sold everything we made so that was really good.”
“We even delivered some biscuits up to the office and all the classes came to the stall to buy some,” said Jasmine. “ They were really good biscuits called Confetti biscuits, and everyone liked them.”
School principal, Trevor Vass, said what stood out the most was how the students had turned a negative into a positive.
“I am really proud of the students for thinking of others in their time of disappointment,” he said. “They could have focussed on themselves but instead they decided to be proactive and do something positive for the community who is there to protect them.”
The students made close to 300 biscuits and set up a stall at school and sold out, raising $123 which was presented to Wandin CFA Captain, Tim Michelson, on Monday 27 March.
