'Massive' effort wins Kaitaia school $5000

COMMUNITY EFFORT: The kids at Pompallier School celebrate their $5000 win in a national Weet-Bix challenge.

A "massive" community effort coupled with a Weet-Bix-eating frenzy has seen a Kaitaia primary school win $5000.

Pompallier Catholic School won a Vote4Schools contest in which schools around the country had to collect as many of the code numbers on the inside of Weet-Bix packets as possible. Supporters entered the codes online and the school that collected the greatest number per student won the $5000 cash prize.

PTFA chair Heather Hewitt said the school was hugely grateful for the community support that had allowed Pompallier to win.

Supporters went door-knocking in their neighbourhoods for codes, spread the word on social media and donated box-loads of the breakfast cereal; many other schools around Kaitaia collected codes to pass on to Pompallier; and even the supermarket checkout ladies helped out. By the final day of the competition Pak'nSave's Weet-Bix shelves were bare.

Mrs Hewitt said the competition started in November but Pompallier only really got on board this year.

On the final day, February 28, up to 40 volunteers were at their computers until midnight frantically entering codes.

They money would make a big difference to the school. Its biggest fundraiser of the year was the annual gala, which required a lot of work and was lucky to top $3000.

"So this is massive for our little school," she said.

Pompallier, a decile 3 full primary with 147 pupils, won the medium-size section for schools of 100-299 students by collecting 1650 codes. Marshland School in Christchurch was so close behind it was also awarded $5000.

Pompallier principal Kathryn Carey thanked the Kaitaia community for its support.

"As a small community we don't have a lot, but everyone gets behind each other."

Parents at the Dominion Road school now have to find ways of emptying pantries bulging with Weet-Bix. Some has been donated to local daycare centres and the foodbank; on Tuesday the pupils were busy baking Weet-Bix Afghans for people who helped them win.

The school has yet to decide how to spend the prize. Because it was a community effort, Mrs Hewitt said she was keen to use it for something lasting and visible so supporters could see the result of their efforts.

Sanitarium staff travelled from Auckland on Tuesday to present the cheque and congratulate the school.