When the Year 10 students from the Senior School hosted the annual Senior Citizens’ tea party, our theme was ‘The Great Gatsby’ and we incorporated ideas from both the book and the film when decorating the Theatre and providing entertainment. Prior to the day, a lot of work was done from arranging the decorations to organising the raffle prizes. Different roles were allocated to students so that the day ran smoothly and activities like the quiz and bingo were ready. In the morning, we made decorations from gold, black and white paper, including paper roses that were placed on the tables. The hall was cleaned, the tables and cakes were set up, and the different entertainers practised their jobs. 

As our excited guests started arriving, students welcomed them at the door, collecting their coats and hats as well as taking time to talk to them. By 1pm, the theatre was full and music was being played by Miriam on the piano. The waitresses were handing out refreshments and the guests sat down in groups with their friends. Miss Reed introduced everyone before handing over to the presenters who were Alex, Jasmine, Hannah and Marta who talked our guests through the programme. Hannah and Trisha then performed ‘Grenade’ by Bruno Mars, with Trisha playing the guitar and Hannah singing. This was followed by a wide range of fantastic performances (Dilmi and Julia danced to Lana Del Rey) and then the quiz.

During the quiz, our guests answered questions on topics including general knowledge and space, and the winner got to choose a prize from a fantastic selection of donations. After the quiz, Blessing sang ‘I'll rise up’ by Andra Day and Elena played ‘River flows in you’ on the piano. After the performances, dozens of homemade cakes, cupcakes and biscuits were handed out (all baked by Year 10s). The guests were full of cake and tea which was the perfect time for Trisha, Bianca and Sophie to host a game of bingo, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. To end the afternoon, Lauren, Marta, Julia and Dilmi performed an interactive dance, which got all of the guests moving — some of them even came up on stage!

At the end of this enjoyable day, we received many cards and thank yous from our guests and a large round of applause was given to everybody who had made this day so successful. Our senior citizens left the party with hand decorated bags that had Easter eggs inside and they all congratulated us greatly for organising the day. Looking back on this event, we are all thankful for the opportunity to give back to our community and agree that this was a rewarding experience that will not be forgotten.