The Armidale School's class of 24' will be taking part in a shave/cut in order to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities NNSW, specifically the tutoring program the charity provides for children receiving treatment and their siblings

One of the school's own, Jess Flynn, has firsthand experienced the benefit of the RMHC tutoring services.

Jess developed a kidney disease at the age of two and over the last 12 years has tried multiple medications. The side effects of medications have been one of the greatest challenges as she has missed multiple days, weeks and months from school each year.

She has not been able to complete a full week of school for the past 9 months.

Her last treatment is a drug used for chemotherapy - Cyclophosphamide and she started losing her hair in the first few weeks- needing to shave it within the first month. She has had a 90-day treatment plan with a good prognosis. The hope is that she may go a couple of years without medication, or maybe even not get sick again.

The condition is called minimal change disease; it is a nephrotic syndrome. Most kids grow out of it by now so our hope is this is just around the corner for Jess.

The Year 12 cohort will be joining together, with boys shaving their heads and girls cutting their hair to shoulder length, in order to both raise funds for RMHC and spread Jess's story. Each student will raise a minimum of $250 to shave/cut their hair for the school's 2024 'Shave for RMHC'.