Coryton School PTA

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C, P and S Fancy Dress Disco

The fancy dress disco in February was great fun for the children and £221 was raised.  The children wore fantastic costumes and four prize winners were picked, receiving a prize and sweets.  Thank you to everyone who supported the event.

Uniforms

Wendy has suggested that all the old logo items that are no longer required are donated to the PTA and we will pass them onto a charity.  We plan to sell good condition second hand uniform items (including book bags) at the Christmas Fair, so please consider donating, particularly Year 6 children.  We will remind children again towards the end of the Summer Term.

Easter Egg Hunt

We will have an Easter Egg Hunt after school on 12th April for infants and juniors.  Parents will be able to pre-register children (and siblings) at £2 each, so if you would like to join us, please complete the slips sent home with the children, as it allows us to ensure we have enough eggs for all the children (and no tears)!

Spring Cleaning Anyone?  Time to Declutter...

Is your home in need of de-cluttering?  Time to roll up your sleeves and have a sort out as we will be having a car boot sale on Sunday 22nd May, so a good opportunity to make some cash.  There will be a cost of £5 per car (or £10 per van).  Places are limited and need to be booked in advance on a first come, first served basis.  Forms will be sent out in May.

New Members/Helpers ALWAYS Welcome!

We had two new parents come along to February's meeting, Lis and Zoe, both have children in Reception - welcome to them!

Everybody is welcome to attend.  You do not have to take on a specific role to attend the meetings.  We really do value your input and it is a great way to meet other parents and generally get more involved with the school.  It doesn't matter if you can't attend or help out on a regular basis.  You can be a  'PTA Helper'.  This may be attractive to parents who do not wish to be an active member but who can possibly spare and hour with one or more of the forthcoming events.

Your time is invaluable to the school and PTA as money.

There are some really simple ways you could help the PTA and your childrens learning.  For example:

• Internet research - for the best ideas or bargains

• Do you know someone who would be interested in having a stall at one of our events?

• Do you know a business that would be interested in donating, such as a raffle prize?

• Do you have a skill, hobby, job that could help?  For example, one parent is a photography lecturer and takes photos at a few events for us.

If you would like to be kept in mind as a helper for future events, please email the PTA providing your name, child/children's names and phone number to:

kirstieyoung@britishbiocell.co.uk

Calendar of events

Our next PTA meeting is Thursday 7th April at 7pm in school

Tuesday 12th April (3.30pm) - Easter Egg Hunt

Sunday 22nd May - Car Boot Sale

Saturday 11th June (3-6pm) - BBQ and Quiz (ticket only, licensed event)

July - School leavers Prom / End of Term Disco

Thursday 20th October - Halloween Disco

Have Your Say

If you have any feedncak on previous events or ideas on new events that we can hold, please contact any of the committee members (see below).

Alternatively, you can drop a note into the PTA post box located in the Reception area by the school office.

PTA Newsletter, January 2011

 Hello and Happy New Year! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this first edition of the PTA newsletter.  The Christmas Fayre, organised by the PTA, was a great success, as we raised just over £1050 which is terrific news! 

Kim and Mrs Holland prepared delicious hot bacon rolls and sausage rolls (all meat donated by Martin Player butcher in Whitchurch) along with freshly brewed Starbucks coffee.  Cakes also sold well! 

We had stalls from the Party Theme Queen, Tom Thumbs sweets, The Book People, The Body Shop and Phoenix Cards.  Congratulations to Belinda Benson who won the hamper, top prize in the raffle.  Lots of children enjoyed the xmas crafts, year 6 games, glitter tattoos, face-painting and visiting Father Christmas in his grotto.

Thank you to everyone who came to the Christmas Fayre, your support is very much appreciated. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped out on the day - we couldn’t have run such an event without all the extra help. Thanks also to the PTA committee who organised it in a few short weeks!

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter. Hopefully it explains what the PTA does and why.

 What is the PTA?

The PTA is the fund raising arm of the school. It provides funds to purchase things not automatically covered by the Local Education Authority. It has been an integral part of the school community for many years and has raised thousands of pounds which have gone towards improving the equipment and resources available to our children.

The PTA meets approximately once a month in term time, either in school or at the Village Hotel at 7pm. The meeting normally lasts 1-2 hours. Although it is an informal group, we have a Chair-person and Treasurer. Minutes are taken by the secretary.

Anyone is welcome to attend meetings on an ad hoc or regular basis.  Coryton Primary School is very lucky to have a strong team of parents and teachers working together to raise funds, which is really well supported by all parents.

What Does the PTA Do?

Throughout the school year we organise several events. These are a great way to bring parents, children and staff together in a social atmosphere and at the same time raise valuable funds for the school. Our regular events include the Children’s Discos, Christmas Fayre and Lantern Parade, as well as an Easter Egg hunt. Last year we held  a BBQ and quiz in May which was a very popular event. We would like to plan something similar for 2011.  We also plan to introduce new events for 2011, such as second-hand uniform sales and a ladies pampering evening.

What has PTA Money Been Spent on?

Previously the PTA presented the school with over £3000 – what was this spent on?

Nearly £1300 was spent on visitors to school including author Jenny Sullivan, Willow Workshop, Move a Book Day Dance, Zoolab Reptiles and XL Wales Science Workshop.

Approximately £500 was spent on new IT equipment including fliptop video cameras and digital photoframes.

£600 was spent on purchasing new bookcases, storage boxes and classroom furniture.

Nearly £1000 was spent on additional resources such as books, DVDs, paint, science equipment, history resources, art resources, cooking ingredients and awards/trophies/ prizes.

 What is the PTA 2011 Target?

The PTA Fundraising Target for 2011 is £3000

Mr O’Connell would like to put future PTA funds towards a high security mobile wireless ICT suite with trolley, containing approx 16 laptops for school, which costs at least £8000.

It can be wheeled into the classes to support the children in their learning, and it would not just be used for IT lessons, but as a reference source, just like books, for the children during lessons such as history or geography.

 What is Matched Funding?

Matched funding is a very simple practice. If you work for a large organization, they may have a “Matched Funding” scheme.  As part of a Government initiative companies will match the money their employees raise through voluntary fundraising or give a sizeable donation.  Both the company and the good cause benefit; the company benefits from having charitable donations written off against taxable profits and they receive positive publicity for their generosity. Our PTA benefits from receiving, perhaps double, what we have raised at an event. For example, if your company had agreed to match funding raised from our Christmas Fayre, an additional £1050 could have been raised from the event. If you think that your employer has a matched funding scheme already in operation, please talk to one of the PTA committee. We know the following companies that are already involved with this scheme include: Boots PLC, B&Q, Tesco, Debenhams, Marks and Spencer, British Gas, Sainsburys, BAA, and major Banks and Building Societies (a full list of companies has been added to our updated PTA webpage on the school website). Our fundraising total for 2009-2010 was lower than previous years due to less parents accessing matched funding.  

Who is on the PTA Committee?

Parents                                                               

Marianne Barwise (Owen, Year 1)                                                                     

Jo Carslake (Sol, Year 2 and Jai, Year 1)

Vicki Creedon (Hannah, Year 2)                                                                       

Sian Evans (Ben, J2)

Wendy Hollifield (Luke, J2 and Lewis, Year 1)

Alison Jones (William, Reception)

Tania Swarbrick (Bethan J4 and Rhian J1), Treasurer

Maria Toor (Holly, J2 and Toby, Year 1)

Georgina Walton (Sophie, Nursery)

Kirstie Young (Emma, Year 1), Chairperson

Teachers

Mrs Harris (J4)

Mrs Lloyd (Reception), Secretary

Mr O’Connell (Headteacher)

Companies That Run Matched Funding Schemes

·         Abbey

·         Arla Foods

·         Amec

·         Air Products Ltd

·         Arjo Wiggins

·         Alliance & Leicester

·         Allied Domecq

·         Avon Cosmetics

·         AXA

·         BAA

·         Bank of England

·         Barclays

·         Bayer PLC

·         BG PLC

·         Booker

·         Boots

·         BP

·         Bradford & Bingley

·         British Gas

·         British Nuclear Fuels

·         BT

·         B&Q

·         Cable & Wireless

·         Carlsberg Tetley

·         Clifford Chance

·         Coats Viyella PLC

·         Cornhill Insurance

·         Co-operative Bank

·         Debenhams

·         Diageo, HSBC

·         Enterprise Oil

·         General Electric (GE)

·         HBOS

·         Kellogs

·         Legal & General

·         Levi Strauss UK

·         Littlewoods

·         Lloyds TSB

·         Marks & Spencer

·         Microsoft

·         N Power

·         National Grid

·         NPower

·         Natwest

·         Norwich Union

·         O2

·         Pearson PLC

·         Peugeot Motor Company

·         Reuter Holdings

·         The One Account

·         Royal London Mutual Insurance

·         RSB Group

·         Royal Bank of Scotland

·         Sainsbury

·         Seagram Distillers

·         Slough Estates

·         Tesco

·         Ulster Bank

·         Unilever

·         United Utilities

·         W H Smith

·         Woolwich

·         Yorkshire Bank