In good hands: Britt Hayton and her daughter Indi go totally blue in recognition of Rochester Primary School’s dual purpose day, which was both a salute to the school’s mothers and a day of recognition for the annual Do it for Dolly awareness event. Britt said her family had supported the foundation since losing a family member to suicide when she was younger. Her eldest child was bullied at a previous school and the family decided to move to the country, where she said teachers were just as worried about the kids’ welfare as their academic results.
Special people were the focus of a Rochester Primary School event last week with a dual purpose — celebrating not only the special females in the lives of the children, but also Do It for Dolly Day.
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Students were encouraged to wear a touch of blue to raise awareness around bullying and the impact it can have on children. Donations of a gold coin were contributed to the foundation, which was started in 2018 in memory of 14-year-old Amy “Dolly’’ Everett.
Her parents Kate and Tick Everett started the foundation to address the issue of bullying, with a goal of preventing other families from suffering the same loss.
Rochester Primary School and other district schools share their message of changing the culture of bullying by addressing the impact of bullying, anxiety, depression and youth suicide.
The foundation is supported by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, which was started by the father of two girls who were victims of the Port Arthur massacre alongside their mother in April 1996.
For students and families at the school, the past six months have been an extremely challenging time and returning to normal classroom learning has been a point of celebration for all involved in the school community.
Stepping up: Great-grandparents Jean and Chaz Lopez travelled from Echuca to be with Hudson, 8, and Lincoln, 6, for the family-focused event. They also attended the school in support of their grandchildren. The Lopez’ have seven great-grandkids and12 grandchildren, but last week Hudson and Lincoln received their full attention, with the pair’s mum having work commitments and unable to attend.
Building relationships: Merryn Murray (left) and son Ralph share some time and building blocks with Emma Kennedy and her daughter Indi.
Smile for the camera: Megan Mays with her daughters, six-year-old Emily and Sofia, 7, dressed for the occasion and added a little more colour to the blue focus of the event.
Hanging around: Kayla Letcher and Year 1 student Hunter Wilkins in the playground of the school during the special morning for mothers.
Serious business: Erin Crockett and her nephew Will Frawley, a Year 2 student at Rochester Primary School, complete a craft project.
Story time: Rochester Primary School Year 1 student Evie Burns enjoys reading a giant book with her mother Kylie after the pair had just had their nails done, enjoyed some fun with a variety of outside games and built blocks in the school library.
