Rototuna students take the lead in a Daffodil Day concert

Rototuna Senior High School students took to the stage last week for a student led Daffodil Day fundraising concert.

The concert, which was organised by students, saw 15 acts performed as part of the school’s wider fundraising activities. Other fundraising included a mufti day with a gold coin donation, shave for a cure, and a silent auction held during the concert’s intermission.

Year 13 student Shoji Croy oversaw the production, taking responsibility for creating the event’s safety management system, schedule and equipment list and delegating jobs to other students.

He said around $8000 was raised during this week’s activities. Around $1000 from the concert itself.

Croy said the biggest challenge was the time constraint for setup, “we all had to scramble to get everything done, due to the theatre being in a school environment and being a shared space. But it was very rewarding when it all came together with minimal delay.”

The school’s manukura (student leaders) had a strong will to do some different this year and worked together preparing and executing the concert, from original ideation to its success on stage.

The student production team was divided into roles including sound, lighting, camera work and stage management, with students also responsible for making sure the 21 performers were ready to go on stage at the scheduled times.

School principal Miranda Makin said the event gave students the opportunity to create and manage something themselves while showcasing their talents and giving back to the community.

“It’s really authentic learning for them as well showing their amazing gifts and talents because they’re amazing young people.”

Year 12 student Riley Jardim said preparing for the event had been stressful, but enjoyable, particularly because it was supporting a good cause.

For the performers, the concert was also an opportunity to share their own talents, “It’s a passion, it’s the way to express myself to people,” Jardim said.

Madison Meads, from Year 13, was among the students performing original music. She said she wanted to share her music while supporting the Cancer Society.

“It’s my last year of school so it’s a really good opportunity for me to play at school. I also want to support the cause, even if not that many people show up.” Maddie said.

The Cancer Society provides support to people affected by cancer and their families, making the fundraising part of the school’s broader effort to support people living with the disease.