For Hedy and Ollie

THE St Thomas Primary School cohort went all out to dress up to support two students battling Leukemia.

A sea of colour: St Thomas’ Primary School students were awash with colour on Wednesday as part of a fundraiser in support of two students, Hedy Altree and Ollie Thomas, who have been diagnosed with Leukemia.

As Western District Newspapers reported last month, two of the students at the school – Hedy Altree and Ollie Thomas – were both diagnosed with different types of Leukemia over the summer.

The school held a special fundraiser for the Royal Children’s Hospital yesterday (Wednesday) in solidarity with both students, who have been receiving treatment at the hospital in Melbourne ever since their respective diagnoses.

St Thomas’ Primary School teacher Ness Marshall said the concept to host the fundraiser began recently after the school asked Ollie and Hedy what they would like to see their fellow students dress up as – Hedy said superheros and princesses, while Ollie said to wear orange.

“We’ve got two little students who are being treated at the Royal Children’s Hospital, so as a school we decided to throw a little fundraiser for them,” she said.

“Ollie decided he wanted to see students dress up in his favourite colour while Hedy wanted superheros and princesses.

“The kids look amazing, the teachers look amazing and it’s just so nice to see everyone be a part of this and get around it.

“It’s such a special cause and something dear to the hearts of everyone at our school because we love all our little kids.

“The students were so excited to do this for Ollie and Hedy, and I know the staff were too.”

St Thomas Primary School teacher and assistant principal Annalise Bouchier said the school community was rapt to be able to use the final day of the term to raise funds for such an important cause.

“Anything that helps children and their families is important to us,” she said.

Mrs Marshall said the tight-knit community at St Thomas’ Primary School, and wider Terang community in general, always dug deep when needed.

“It’s nice we can do something,” she said.

Hedy and Ollie were able to join in on the day through a Facetime call with their teachers, seeing their fellow students and staff dressed up – Hedy, from her hospital bed, donned her own princess costume and smiled ear to ear saying hi to everyone.

The digital connection isn’t a first for both the students in their battle – the school has a pair of monkeys, named Rose and Monkey Ollie, who act as proxies for the students through the Monkey In My Chair program.

The program provides a proxy toy monkey for schools which act in the stead of sick children, from sitting in their chair in the classroom to going on outside school adventures, such as horse-riding with the teachers.

The monkeys are often photographed or filmed, which is sent through to Hedy and Ollie to remind them they are missed and remain an integral part of the school community.