THE FRIENDS OF
CHAIRPERSON'S ANNUAL REPORT 2007
For such a small group of individuals we achieved so much in the school year of 2006/07.
The Pocket Money present shops have now become an annual feature, the children know to expect these shops and it is delightful to listen to the lengths children go to in raising pocket money as well as hiding their gift before the Big Day. I wonder if mums or dads ever find them!
The introduction of the new class friend's representatives has been so popular with the children that our new year 3 classes asked if they could have 2 reps in each class this year as they were eager to be involved.
Pock Idol stunned us all again with the talent from our children and how they overcome their nerves to perform in front of so many friends and family members. We even had staff performing, however 2008 has to get a group of Friends on stage, start practising now.
Yes, we got wet at the Summer Fair but we still raised £1600.00 to allow us to pay for the bulk of the server to link all the new computers together in the ICT suite. The auction of promises again proved a success and people really do like bidding despite standing under a tree for shelter.
We signed up to the option of claiming Gift Aid from taxpayers in 2006 and as a result have obtained a further £600 toward our funds from the Inland Revenue for our last two sponsored events. We will include the Gift Aid declaration form in the school prospectus to ensure more parents have the opportunity take up this provision at no cost to themselves.
The 100 Club is still operating. Our numbers dip as we lose our Year 6 parents but increase when Year 3 become aware of this lottery. The children do get excited when they take part in picking the winners. We will never win a million but it all adds to the fun. 50% of funds goes towards ICT equipment.
The school calendar has again been prepared to include all the dates for the next year's activities to keep both parents and children informed of what is happening. We have sold out for the first time this year.
We organised a Craft Fair this year, maybe not one of our better events due to lack of customers but it still raised over £300 for school.
We have also discovered that if Friends hire the dining hall through ERYC Community Lettings at a reduced hourly rate, school receives almost double the amount re-imbursement to cover caretaking and heating costs. This has resulted in extra income for school for the four discos we have each year.
We can list the items purchased as a result of all this activity - 11 new computers for the ICT suite, a server to link them all to avoid duplication of installing software and allowing children to access their work from any computer, 20 sets of comfortable headphones, a Maths Whizz program which is a great planning tool for teachers and the benefits are starting to be seen in our children's maths work. A climbing wall on the playground; a stage and blackboard which is really inspiring our children's creativity; new games for lunchtime play and not forgetting our priorities ? a tea urn to supply those endless cups of tea at our events as well as being used by the kitchen staff during the rest of the year.
The yearbook and end of year disco/barbecue for our Year 6 children is also greatly appreciated by these children and will I am sure be another happy memory of their time at PCJS.
How did we manage to fit everything in! Well done to all concerned. Our sad goodbyes to those who have moved on and welcome to our current and new members with new ideas which will allow us to continue to achieve such positive results. Let's look forward to another exciting year.
Dawn Stone
Chairperson