On Tuesday, 12th April, the newly established 'Friends of Stratford Schools' launched it's first business networking event. Cormac Murphy (Stratford College Parents Association) and Harold Eppel (Stratford National School Parents Association) describe the buzz of the breakfast meeting.
On Tuesday 12th April a buzz ran through the school hall as people gathered for the first networking event of the newly established 'Friends of Stratford Schools'. This network has been established as a way of bringing together parents of students at the two schools, along with past pupils and others within the community who support and promote the schools as centres of excellence in education. With 37 people already registered on the Network through the website of the secondary school, over 60 'friends', staff and business studies students chatted over brownies and pastries before settling down for an excellent presentation by Michael Dwyer, CEO of the highly successful Pigsback.com. Michael's presentation was a fascinating insight into the mind of the entrepreneur - seeing the possibility, exploring a roughly scribbled possibility and enjoying both the failures and successes as the idea looks for commercial validation. This was particularly encouraging for those students thinking about a career in business, but also enlightening for many of the other attendees as to the possibility of commercial success through new technology.
The parents associations of the schools were delighted at the level of support shown for the event. Much of the conversation before and after Michael's presentation was about the ability and enthusiasm of the teaching staff, and simply how much our children enjoy being part of the school community. What parents of students of the Stratford schools have in common is the appreciation of superb education provided both academically and emotionally for all students within such an intimate community. This was one of those occasions when parents and other friends of the schools got the opportunity to participate in that sense of community that our children enjoy every school day.
After such success follows analysis. The parents associations will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss what worked, and what could have been better. The plan is to run similar events twice a year but with such a strong level of support for the internet based 'network' we need to think about how to facilitate the kind of transparency and accessibility that is the unique possibility of smaller schools for all of the 'friends' of the schools. We also plan to make a special effort to get past pupils back together so if you have any suggestions or comments on the network, or would be interested in getting involved in any aspect of the work of the parents associations contact us at stratfordnspa@gmail.com or stratfordcollegepa@gmail.com. (Click on thumbnails to open an enlarged version of photo. ))
Cormac Murphy
Stratford College Parents Association
Harold Eppel
Stratford National School Parents Association
[Photos: Vincent Murray, 6th Year]
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