STUDENTS from St Therese's Primary School in New Lambton have embraced the Easter spirit, donating hundreds of chocolate eggs to Ronald McDonald House and the John Hunter Children's Hospital.
School captains Pip Allen and George Hatcher joined assistant principal Kaylene Maretich and Meagan Clarke from Ronald McDonald House, pictured above, to make the donations yesterday.
"An important reason we donated the eggs was to make other children happy. I remember how excited I have been waking up on Easter morning to see eggs, thinking 'oh my goodness.' Now we'll be able to share that feeling with others," George said.
"I was happy we decided to donate the eggs, rather than having an Easter egg raffle like we normally do, as it's an opportunity for us to make other people happy."
Pip echoed those thoughts, saying: "It's important to help others in need".
Newcastle's Ronald McDonald House opened in 1991 and now, 30 years later, it houses 18 families each night. That's 18 families whose Easters will be made brighter by the "good eggs" at St Therese's.
"We've been blown away by how many Easter eggs we've received from the St Therese's Primary School community. Ordinarily we receive lots for our annual raffle, but when families found out that this year we would instead be donating the eggs to Ronald McDonald House and the John Hunter Children's Hospital, we had an entire room at the school filled Easter eggs. It was extraordinary. Members of our staff worked over the weekend to bundle them up nicely, ready to present," Ms Maretich said.
'Blue centrepiece' celebrated
FISHING fans will get to wet a line and wet their whistle next month as part of the Let's Fish Festival weekend.
Following on from the inaugural Let's Fish Lake Mac fishing competition last November, the April 17-18 event will feature a diverse program of activities, including the local component of Australia's biggest national fishing competition, a family-friendly Fishing Expo and a 'Seafood and Semillon' gourmet long lunch.
"Last November's Let's Fish competition sold out, and we're expecting this next instalment under the Let's Fish banner to be equally popular," Lake Macquarie City Council Manager Arts, Culture and Tourism Jacqui Hemsley said.
"It's a fantastic way to showcase our city and its spectacular blue centrepiece."
The ticketed event held 11am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday includes workshops, fishing and boating displays, kids' activities, live entertainment, food trucks and the Berkley Supertank - a 15m-long mobile fish-tank full of barramundi.
On Sunday, April 18, Masterchef finalist and Lake Mac local Steph de Sousa will host a long lunch at Rathmines Theatre, taking guests on a journey of seafood discovery with matching wines from local boutique vignerons Dirt Candy and Hart and Hunter.
The 1-3pm lunch includes three courses and wines and costs $120 per person plus booking fee.
Daily tickets to the Let's Fish Expo are $10 for adults, $5 for kids under 12 or $25 for a family of up to two adults and four children.
Visit lakemac.com.au/letsfishfest for more information and bookings.
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