FOWCS Meeting 20th April 2016

Since we last met on 13th January….

Considering we are only 4 months into this new year we have already been working extremely hard!

  • Spring Disco on 12th Feb – We had a fantastic turnout once again for our ad hoc disco. We could only accommodate KS2 as we trialled the new starting time straight after school. This worked really well and we will definitely try this again!
  • Mother’s Day Coffee Morning with Foundation Stage on the 10th March raised a huge sum of money and most of that was down to the fantastic effort of Foundation Stage and their Teachers and TAs! The children made their own raffle tickets, went on a shopping trip to Tesco to pick things to put in their raffle hamper (some children have very expensive taste!!) then came in groups to sell their tickets to the parents. The hall was completely packed with everyone enjoying cakes and refreshments – Thank you for everyone who supported and helped us.
  • Easter cinema was another sell out screen event watching Disney’s latest release Zootropolis – next event planned for July 29th

Friendship Bench

As our main aim this year was too raise money for a Friendship bench costing around £500 we have surpassed this amount – meaning we will look into a ‘friendship area’. There is a lack of seating around the school Mr Warden knows of a shaded area near the field and playground that would be a perfect place, possibly even a reading chair. We will keep you updated on the progress as well as the installation of the new play equipment.

Next Fundraising Aim?

We are now thinking of what to raise money for next a Bike Shed/rack was suggested due to the opening of the new entrance. This will be put to the Pupil Task Force to see what suggestions are high up on the children’s wish list.

Inflatables Day 20th May

Evolution Inflatables, a local business are supporting our first ever Inflatables Day. We have all met and decided how many units will fit and where they will be situated. Forms for wristbands will be sent out this week and available on the day. We need a certain amount of parents with older children to help watch over the inflatables and some to be on a First Aid station who are qualified. Whoever volunteers will receive free wristbands for their children to enjoy the event as a thank you. The question of refreshment was raised and whilst we think it would be a fantastic way to raise more money, we are still reliant on the amount of helpers we receive. A local catering van will be available to visitors on the day and we will receive a percentage of profits. YR5 toilets will be used and the First Aid will be housed in the YR5 group room. If the weather is bad on the 20th we have agreed to postpone until the following Friday 27th.

Sports Day Ice Lollies – 28th June

KS1 – morning and KS2 afternoon again. We hope the weather will be lovely enough to sell Ice Lollies again throughout the day. We will also aim to sell them every few weeks throughout the summer, usually on a Friday straight from school

We need somewhere practical to store them as they tend to melt even after 20 minutes. We will put the word out for anyone selling or giving away a free chest freezer and find an appropriate place to store it. This can be used for other events too.

Summer Fete 10th July

A note went out on the Inflatables form asking for householders to have signage boards as we need more advertising.

We would love donations to start coming in for cuddly toys, toys, jigsaws, books (all genres), dressing up, tombola items, new household items/gifts. Any unwanted gifts that would be good for tombola including alcohol!!

Stalls: We will put an email out to all staff for ideas for new stalls/games. One we thought would be really popular is Pie Face. It was noted that some children may have a dairy allergy so we should offer wet sponge or cream. Mr Warden has suggested a Petting Zoo and will make enquiries to see if they are available. We will ask for more food variety, so corn on the cobs or more vegetarian options on the BBQ. We will have a stallholder who will be selling Asian food so this adds to the food options. Is there the possibility of a band or entertainment?

Were there any health and safety reasons why we cannot do a crockery smash – Answer: it would take a lot of tarp as there are always small bits that go everywhere and may be unsafe for school the following day, plus users would need goggles.

More crafting stalls mean we can involve the Children’s University and stamp passports for those taking part!

More gazebos are needed and although Tesco are generously donating several there are ones at B&M Bargains we should snap up too.

Again YR6 will help and we will discuss with them nearer the time. A plea for tombola items will be going out regularly with the non uniform day on 8th July being a ‘bring a tombola gift’. A request for parent helpers will be sent as well but we are building up a really nice large group of people who are able to volunteer on an ad hoc basis, which is great.

UPDATE: We have a Petting Zoo!! Mr Warden has managed to organise 30+ animals to be based within the new hall and outside on a possible wristband entry. There will be a possibility of 1to1 experiences with different animals.

IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO OFFER HELP OR HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR THE SUMMER FETE WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

Cinema Events

For the past couple of years we have made several trips to the cinema for Easter and Halloween – This Halloween was so popular we had to hire a bigger screen size but still couldn’t keep up with demand. This year the sequel to ‘Finding Nemo’ will be out in summer so this has been booked for 29th July. Forms available online and will be in bookbags from start of June.

Other Business

  • Village Fete: We have been offered a free stall at the Gt Notley Village Fete for FOWCS. Unfortunately, we will not have anyone to attend with the stall so will rethink for next year.
  • Payments: Many stallholders, parents and visitors would like us to have an online payment system for events. We would love this and have been looking into it since our first event. Unfortunately, the charge for using such a service can be quite high and not always worthwhile. We will continue to see what the best option would be but may wait for the school to opt for an online paying system and join them!
  • Next Terms Events:
  1. Quiz pencilled in for end of September
  2. MacMillan Coffee Morning 25th September
  3. Christmas Fete – 25th November
  4. Christmas Disco/Party – 9th December

We will put donation requests out periodically. We are a large school and to make the Summer and Christmas Fetes as profitable and fun as past years we need the support of all parents. Over the past years we have tried to be as accessible as possible with a direct email address and an online presence on facebookaswell as updates on the main School Website.

We love to hear from parents/carers and would like to say a huge thank you to the new volunteers who have come forward to help in different ways, but please remember we always need more!