Like many others, Ivanhoe Grammar School strives to maintain strong links to the community in which it’s embedded, building upon its century-long heritage.
Supporting 2,000 current students and 12,000 alumni, parents and friends of the school, the Ivanhoe Grammar’s community building efforts are ingrained in both its values and mission, acting to draw hundreds of families to its three campuses each year.
That’s why the school’s Community Relations Manager, Terry Kitchen works hard to host up to 60 events throughout the year, in a bid to connect staff, students, family and alumni through a variety of fundraisers, fundraisers, educational forums, dinners and breakfasts.
Ms Kitchen says the events are integral to promoting the type of community building that Ivanhoe Grammar espouses, by enabling new families to become part of the broader support network.
“We look at our staff, students, parents and alumni and as a whole community. We work very hard to ensure all constituents are catered for through a range of activities which bring the community together as well as drive academic outcomes,” she said.
“Events are instrumental in building community, welcoming new families and students, keeping in touch with old students and peers and allowing students to be inspired by past pupils achieving amazing things.”
In order to facilitate this ongoing slew of events, Ms Kitchen works with online booking system TryBooking, which helps to streamline attendance – a critical capability when you consider the size of some of the events she manages.
“In 2015 we held Ivanhoe Grammar School’s Centenary Ball, which was a sold-out event with 650 guests at the Grand Hyatt. The event celebrated the School’s 100 years of educational excellence, with stakeholders from whole community in attendance including students, parents, staff, past students and friends of the school. We also had a floor show which featured Alumni performers and we farewelled our previous Principal.”
Using TryBooking means members of the school community no longer need to waste their time visiting school reception to make small payments; paper forms are also kept to a minimum and valuable school resources are freed for use elsewhere.
TryBooking Co-founder, Delma Dunoon said that Ivanhoe Grammar School was one of the earlier schools to take on the system, and the partnership has resulted in benefits for the booking system as well.
“Ivanhoe Grammar School were early adopters and even now we regularly check in with them about new features and the roadmap,” Ms Dunoon said. “Part of the relationship is that we sit together and review their setup occasionally. There are new tools and new challenges that we can overcome together.
“They wanted to be able to handle multiple campuses and musicals with seating plans, alumni events, social events for students and much more. The feedback and direction we get from schools like Ivanhoe Grammar School help us all move together in the right direction.”