Parents and Friends
We embrace the School’s future development, its progress and commitment to excellence.
Dio Parents and Friends is an incorporated society established to help foster a strong sense of community between parents; support the school in its many endeavours; and provide opportunities to enhance the experience all our daughters have at Dio.
Getting involved is a great way to meet other parents and get involved in social events and fundraising activities. The committee works extremely hard to bring the very best to Dio families. Membership of Parents & Friends is automatic to all Dio School families. An annual subscription fee (currently $35) is payable through your school account.
Read the past six President’s Reports below for insights into the annual activities and achievements of the P&F community.
We are fortunate to have strong support from our School community and always welcome anyone who would like to join our volunteer list. A great way to get involved is to volunteer at the School Cafeteria – P&F run the cafeteria with the aim of serving healthy food to our girls at reasonable prices. Parents are rostered on for one day a term. It’s a fun way to meet other parents from all year levels at the school. If you would like to volunteer, we would love to hear from you.
Throughout the year Parents & Friends hosts a number of events providing opportunities to meet fellow parents, teachers, staff and students. Our events at the beginning of the year focus on newcomers to the school with the New Student Welcome Morning Tea, New Student Welcome Picnic and the New Parents’ Cocktail Party being important mixers. We always receive positive feedback about the excellent start this gives students and parents alike, at what can be a nerve-wracking time.
In the middle of the year, we host fathers and their daughters at our Father & Daughter Breakfast. We finish the year with an Afternoon Tea in recognition of our many volunteers and the very popular End of Year Cocktail Party.
Parents & Friends Initiatives
The Dio Charms are very popular as special gifts for students and those with a close connection to Dio. We have charms that reflect the special character of the School: Bell Tower, Dio Star, Summer House, Junior School Hat and more.
The new items this year are: School House charm and Victoria statue charm. School House is in the heart of Dio and was where the first classes were held in 1903 when the school was first opened. The Victoria statue stands beside the Mitchelson Bell Tower by the Chapel. Victoria along with Joanna are both commissioned works by sculptor the late Ken Kendall.
The jewellery can be purchased at the School Shop. Tel:+64 9 520 9341 or through this online order form.
A superb example of the entire School Community coming together to make something wonderful happen. A unique feature of the House Tour is each home owner nominates a charity of their choice for raffle ticket sales to go towards.
If you would like to learn more or volunteer at the cafeteria, please stop by and introduce yourself to our committee or email the Parents & Friends team at [email protected]. We welcome the support from parents/caregivers and would be happy to add your name to the roster.
If you’re interested in volunteering at the cafeteria, get in touch here
A new initiative in 2014 was the establishment of a herb and vegetable garden behind the Shrewsbury building. Initially the plan was to grow fresh seasonal produce for the cafeteria, however the garden has been equally welcomed by the food technology department, to support the school’s aim of teaching the girls about the garden to table concept.
The funds raised by P&F go towards projects that directly benefit our girls and the school community, generally funding capital projects that are outside the scope of the School’s current operating budget.
Since 2002, P&F have distributed over $1.8 million to Diocesan.
Distribution of Funds
- ‘Food for Thought’ campaign – the Cafeteria and Library
- ‘Dig Deep’ towards the Aquatic Centre and Turf
- The FAB-LAB – Creative Industries
- The Parents & Friends Courtyard and Paul Dibble Sculpture
- One of the major donors of the Diocesan Arts Centre
- Herb and Vegetable Garden Landscaping Project
- Norfolk Pine Redevelopment – development of physical education area and equipment
- Cafeteria refurbishment
- Whanau and Common Space refurbishment
- Fund the extras of a Diocesan Student Scholarships fund
Key contacts
| Robin Bell (President) | Ben Ruegg (Vice President) |
| David Pacey (Treasurer) |
For general queries, please email us or contact Robin Bell, President, on 022 023 6432.
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