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General News

5 September, 2020

Students ‘Klock up the Ks’

FOR the past 12 years students at St Thomas’ School in Mareeba have been raising money for the school of St Jude in Tanzania through a project they call, ‘Klocking up the Ks’.

By Rhys Thomas

Students ‘Klock up the Ks’ - feature photo

FOR the past 12 years students at St Thomas’ School in Mareeba have been raising money for the school of St Jude in Tanzania through a project they call, ‘Klocking up the Ks’.

‘Klocking up the Ks’ is St Thomas’s way of showing their support and raising money for the underfunded St Jude’s as it is one of the only schools in Tanzania that offers both primary and secondary education.

The school was founded in 2002 by Australian Gemma Rice and Dr June Canavan from Brisbane made it her personal mission to help raise funds for the school.

Dr Canavan visited St Thomas’s in 2009 and told the school about her plans to climb mountains to raise money for the school a project she called, ‘Klocking up the Ks’.

She successfully climbed three mountains that year with two more set to go, but unfortunately on her way to Kokoda Dr Canavan’s plane went down in bad weather and all on board died.

Now the St Thomas’s Mini Vinnies has taken it upon themselves to keep Dr Canavan’s dream alive and host the ‘Klocking up the Ks’ event on their school oval.

St Thomas’s Year 3 Classroom Teacher Debbie Filippelli never thought that the ‘Klocking up the Ks’ event would grow into what it is today.

“When we first decided to raise money for the school via Klocking Up The Ks, we had no idea that it would become an annual event at St Thomas’s,” she said.

“Not only does it teach the students about helping others less fortunate, but it gives our students a sense of community spirit.

“We love receiving correspondence from St Jude’s School telling us about the positive effect that our fundraising efforts have on the students and teachers.”

Currently the school has raised over $6000 since 2009 with all the money going to St Jude’s, the school now covers the cost of tuition, uniforms, books, stationary, transport, excursion and meals for all its students.

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