Working Bee

In Australia schools ask parents to come and do some work there. They may ask parents to do small jobs around the school like painting a wall, mowing the grass or cleaning windows. This happens every year. Parents normally work for a couple of hours at the school. They use their skills and help each others.

In doing so, schools save a lot of money. They don't need to hire tradespeople to do these jobs. The money saved is spent on buying new computers or new books that the students can use. Sometimes schools use the money to hire new teachers and keep class sizes small.

For parents, this is a good time to meet other parents and make new friends. They share food together. They also share smiles.

Sometimes schools ask parents to pay some money if they can't come to the working bee day. This money is to hire a person to do some work around the school. Normally parents who are extremely busy prefer to buy the money and not go.

Most teachers normally attend these working days. They work hand in hand with other parents to make schools more appealing to students. Sometimes students like to help their parents and they go with them on the working bee day. Families get to know other families and share smiles.