Friends of Whitehill and Highbury Schools

Whitehill Disco 4th November 2010

2010-11-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

We had a lovely time at tonights disco, the children had a really good time and many thanks go out to the parents who leant a hand. It was very much appreciated.

For future reference, these are the things we sold over the 2 discos

8 x 2ltrs of Pepsi Max (Bookers)
2 x 2 ltrs of 7up (Bookers)
5 bottles of squash
120 mega dust straws (Bookers)
160 packs of chewitts (Bookers)
40 bags of Walkers crisps
120 sweet necklaces (Bookers)
6 bags of funsize chocolate bars
40 Freddos
and probably 30 other bits and pieces that we found in the cupboard at Highbury
and about 500 omnilites (Glo Company)
We would have sold tattoos as well but we couldn't find them in the cupboard (Baker Ross)

Kind regards
Sue

Christmas Fair 2010

2010-10-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

As you may or may not be aware, I'm taking a back seat for a whilst and Harriet McCauley has volunteered to organise the Christmas Fair. It's a big job and would be made much easier if you could find the time to offer a little help. Keep an eye out for meeting dates or if a letter comes round asking for donations (and there could be a few!) please understand that all of our requests are for the benefit of the school and most importantly, our children.

Harriet is going to send out letters stating where she needs the help most but if you have anything specific you would like to do or organise, then please get in touch with her via either of the school offices or by email; harrietmc1@yahoo.co.uk You can always get in touch with me if it's easier and I can pass any messages on. susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk

The fair has been planned for Friday 3rd December from 5-7pm and food will be available on the night as well as lots of fun activities for the children, plus a few stalls to help you with your Christmas shopping.

Kind regards
Sue

Whitehill Open Afternoon for New Parents

2010-07-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

We hope you enjoyed your visit to Whitehill today to see your new teachers and classrooms and our thanks go to the Whitehill Cookery club for their fabulous help serving refreshments to our visitors. Many thanks as always to my friends (who also happen to be in the PTA) for keeping watch over the event and a special mention for Cara our Cook who made the delicious biscuits and answered any questions regarding school dinners as they arose.

If any of you are new to the school and would like to become involved in the PTA, we would love to have you. There's loads of ways to get in touch; either leave a comment on the blog, email Sue at susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk or just leave your details in either of the schools reception and we'll be in touch in September.

I'll see some of you whilst serving cakes and refreshments during the evening performance of the year 6 play but for a lot of people, the next PTA events will probably be the October discos and Mrs Avey's Family Learning day; so have a lovely break and see you in the new term.

Best wishes
Sue Braybrooke

Summer Fair Update

2010-05-29T12:47:00.001-07:00

Just to say a huge thank you for the amount of support that we have received as we prepare for this years Summer Fair. Last year, the event and raffle raised £3,500 so it would be great if we could match or even better this amount.

We could still do with a few more people to commit to helping us set up on the day and if you've volunteered to be on a stall from midday, is there any chance you could get there for 11.45am to allow Phil and Jen to hand over the floats?

We've got so many fun things on offer this year, we have the usual tombolas, crazy hair, face painting, nails and tattoos, BBQ, refreshments and cake stall, ice lollies, cold drinks and perhaps a few beers and then we have a few new additions. Alan is trying to get together a paint balling area, Charlotte is going to organise Tin Can Alley and Jenny is making a jam jar game. We've even got a couple of mums to put together an origami activity, we've got Rising Stars coming along with a couple of inflatable activities (possibly gladiator style podiums or flywall - whatever they do, it will be great fun!) There's so many things, it would be impossible to list them all, so you'll have to come along on the day and see what we have!

We are having a meeting on Wednesday 9th June at 1.30pm in the dance studio at Whitehill and Tea and coffee, squash for the children and biscuits will be available, so please come along if you can. Everyone is welcome.

We look forward to seeing you either at the meeting or fair and would like to thank you once again for your continued support.

Kind regards
PTA Team

Summer Fair 26th June 2010 12-3pm

2010-04-19T03:47:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It's time to think about the Summer Fair again and as always, we can't do anything without your help. Please don't under estimate the amount of work that's involved or the amount of people we need to help on the day - it's a biggy!

I always think that if there's a few games, something to eat and drink, an ice lolly, a bit of cake, face painting and some crazy hair styles, then everything else is a bonus!

If you helped out last year and would be willing to be on board again this year, then please let me know and anyone who is new to the school that would be happy to help, I would love to hear from you as well (we had so many mums leave from Year 6 last year that provided such staunch support and therefore need new parents to come on board to fill the gaps).

Also, we can't get our usual bouncy castle and tea cup ride this year, so if you know of anyone who can help out - please let me know.

Hayley Cross (Ben, Year 4) is handling the raffle this year so if you have any prizes you would like to donate, then forward the info onto me and I can pass it to Hayley.

Also, if you have any nail varnish in good condition that you could donate, last years went all 'gloopy' and we need new supplies.

That's it for now.
Sue Braybrooke
On behalf of the PTA

End of Term Cake Sale and Easter Egg Tombola

2010-03-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

http://homemadecakesbysue.blogspot.com
The Easter Egg Tombola is back!! Thanks go to Nadine Turner and Sam Addison at Highbury and Heather Randal and Natalie Noble at Whitehill. We are also holding an end of term cake sale at the same time.

Easter Egg Tombola and Cake Sale - Whitehill School will hold their event on Tuesday 30th March 2010 and Highbury have theirs planned for Wednesday 31st March 2010. Both will take place at the end of the school day.

In order for this event to be a success in the eyes of the children, we need to ensure that we have enough chocolate eggs for all of the children that want to take part (more or less every child in the schools!) Therefore, we are asking if parents could donate an egg or two to make sure that we have enough to go around. Just send your donations into the appropriate school anytime between now and 29th March. The tombola itself costs the children £1 a go and if you could have the correct change, it would be really helpful. (Please remember all of our events raise valuable funds for the schools and we can only make a profit through the very generous efforts of the parents, teachers, carers and the businesses who sponsor us).

If anyone would like to donate some home baked goods for the cake sales, please could you take them into the appropriate school on the day of the sale.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Kind regards
Sue (on behalf of the PTA)

PTA Spring News Letter 2010

2010-03-05T02:34:00.000-08:00

Hi ladies & gents,

Just a short note to say that between Christmas and Easter, we will have the usual fund raisers but only if we can get people to help out again this year. If you haven't helped out before or are new to the schools, then please get in touch. We are a friendly bunch who do what needs to be done, when it needs doing and manage to have a laugh doing it. We are not a clique, anyone can join in and you can volunteer for stuff at your own pace and to suit the amount of spare time you personally have.

We are starting on March 13th by supporting the Annual Multi Schools Netball Rally. This is something that is hosted by Whitehill School each year and held on the playground. We run a refreshments stall in one of the classrooms and ask for people to donate home made goods; This year, we are looking for cakes, biscuits and someone to make home made soup if possible. Carrot & coriander or a veggie soup would be great as that way, everyone can have some whether they are meat eaters or not. We'll serve hot drinks and squash as well. If you can donate something, either bring it along to Whitehill school during the afternoon on Friday 12th March, or bring it along nice and early on Saturday 13th. The event starts at 9am and usually finishes between 11.30am and midday.

Easter - I'm going to check with Sharon Cooper to see if she is organising her annual Easter Egg Hunt as it's been a huge success in previous years and if there is going to be one, we'll supply refreshments on the morning of that event too.

Easter - In the past, we've done Easter Egg Tombolas but we missed out last year. Basically, we ask all parents in the school to donate an Easter Egg, each egg has a raffle ticket stuck to it (we get a huge variety and if possible, we ask Waitrose to donate something that everyone wants to win!) then after school, we invite all the children to come along and buy a raffle ticket for the tombola. In addition, we usually run a cake stall which proves incredibly popular with adults and children alike.

If you are interested but don't want to volunteer without meeting some of the mums first, Highbury have been holding a regular coffee morning, just so people get to know each other and we are going to do one down at Whitehill in the next couple of weeks, so please come along (when the date's been announced), we'd love to meet you.

Kind regards
Sue
(very easy going PTA Chair!)

Welcome Letter September 2009

2009-09-08T00:51:00.000-07:00

Friends of Whitehill and Highbury (PTA)

Dear All,

My name is Sue Braybrooke and I am the Chair of the PTA and I’d like to say hello to all of the new parents and carers and also welcome back to those that have been with us some time. I’m not the best public speaker in the world so for those of you that witnessed my rather fumbled attempt to fill you in on what the PTA does at the Highbury new parents meetings, I apologise!

The PTA are made up of absolutely anyone associated with the school who has an interest in joining in or coming along to, the various events we put on throughout the year and our aim is to have fun whilst raising a bit of extra money for the schools. We don’t twist anyone’s arm into helping out but rely purely on volunteers (Teachers, parents, carers, grandparents, older siblings & friends are all needed and welcome).

This year we said goodbye to the Year 6 parents who over the last few years have played a huge part in the PTA and the Year 2 Mums at Highbury, who have offered such stalwart support during their time there, have now moved up to Whitehill. They will be sorely missed and as a result, we really need some new people to come forward to help out at the various fund raisers otherwise we are going to struggle to get things organised. New parents in Highbury, we need you desperately!

In part B of this letter (sorry it’s so long!) I’ve put down a list of the events that we have planned for 2009/10. I’m not a great one for committees or meetings and would prefer just to have a list of people who would be happy to be approached as and when we plan on doing something. The best way for me to contact you is by email if you have access to it, or by ‘phone or letter if you don’t. It would be really handy if you could fill us in on your details and either pass the forms back into one of the schools receptions or get in touch with me direct. The reason I like email is because it’s anonymous – I can let you know what’s going on and what we need help with and if you want to ignore it you can or, if you feel you wouldn’t mind helping out, then you can let me know.

I can appreciate that being new to the school, it’s sometimes a little nerve wracking joining in with what’s seen as an already established group. Please don’t think that, we would be so grateful for your help that you’ll be made very welcome, in addition, we don’t meet that often as a group, and when we do, it’s usually a good excuse to sit down and have coffee and a cake. Usually, we just turn up when an event needs organising and that’s when we need your help too.

I really hope that you do get in touch and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards
Sue Braybrooke (Chair)

My contact details are; susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk
Home phone; 01462 431932 (before 7pm if possible please) Mobile; 07505 397261

Summer Fair

2009-06-14T10:15:00.001-07:00

What a fabulous day we had, thanks to all who came along and supported the two schools and for everyone who helped out. Thank you for coming, helping, donating, spending, performing at and enjoying our lovely Summer Fair!
Here are a few photos...

Come and join in the fun at our Summer Fun Day

2009-06-02T08:12:00.001-07:00

Highbury and Whitehill School would like to invite you to come and join in the fun at our annual Summer Fun Day;

Whitehill School, Whitehill Road, Hitchin.

Saturday 13th June, 12 till 3pm

In addition to all of the usual fabulous stalls, we will be celebrating Whitehill's 40th Birthday. Lots of people have donated the most amazing raffle prizes including a PS3 and 2 cash prizes of £125 and £50. You won't have to worry about nipping home for lunch as we have a BBQ as well as some tasty Indian Snacks. Perhaps a cream tea is more to your liking, or a lovely piece of cake. There's loads to do for the children including a 22ft x 22ft bouncy slide, children's carousel and a whole hot of games to enjoy.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to everyone who came along to this year's egg Hunt. It was lots of fun, thanks to the kind members of the pta who helped out and served refreshments on the day. Scroll down for more photos and a film!

The children solved clues hidden around the school playgrounds and field, counting chicks and looking for that 'special golden egg'.
Everyone won a prize and some won more, with the winners of the egg and spoon and the best decorated rabbit competition.
I'm delighted at the turn out and that whole families came along, just what I like. Mums and Dads enjoying the children chasing for clues...then more running and cheering in the famous races.

The winners of the Egg and spoon
Under 5s - Katie
5 to 7 - Megan
8 and over - George

Mums race
Mrs Cooper - 2nd was Jenny Sennitt
Dads race
Darren

Who found the Golden Egg?
Roshan

Best decorated rabbits
1st - Coral-Leigh (let me know if that's wrong I didnt write it down)
2nd-Jamie

After the egg and spoon races the Dad's race proved a little different (see film)...Well done to Darren who won!

Thank you very much!

2009-03-14T07:16:00.001-07:00

Thanks very much to the ladies who kindly helped serve refreshments at the after school Science Fair on Thursday 12th March and to Jackie and Gill for helping at the Netball Rally on Saturday 14th March. Thank you to those who also contributed cakes - they were very much appreciated by all who attended. We raised a very impressive £206 profit between the 2 events which as always, goes into the pot of money that is split between the schools at the end of the year. Just in case you didn't know, Mrs Avey is putting last years money towards a Wooden pirate ship for the Highbury School play ground, a play house for Nursery and the money also funded the visiting author on World Book Day. Whitehill's money is going towards lots of gardening trugs, full of lovely things for the children to use in the gardens at school.
Kind regards
Sue

It's never to early to talk about the Summer Fair!

2009-02-11T02:26:00.000-08:00

The date has been set for 13th June 2009. We were so incredibly lucky last year as so many wonderful people leant a hand. If anyone is happy to help out this year, please could you let me know as soon as possible. It takes me ages to get everything in place so the earlier I have the names of volunteers, the better it is and it may mean a little less stress for me in the final few weeks (my family will really appreciate it!)

Can you help set up (any time from 8.30am until 11.30am). This would involve putting out tables, putting up signs, getting some of the games into place and if you are involved in the BBQ, lighting up.
Can you help put away (anytime from when the fair ends until 4.30pm – hopefully).
Can you help out on a stall 11.45 until 3pm ish. If you don't fancy doing all day, let me know a time slot that would suit.
Need lots of help for the BBQ!
I’ll be honest with you – the best way of fund raising is by donation. If you work for anyone that could provide us with a fabulous raffle prize, it would be much appreciated. If you can sew or know someone that can, would you be happy to make little crafty bits (pillows, lavender bags, knitted items etc) that could be sold on a stall? The BBQ is always inundated. If you would be happy to make, donate and run a stall selling something like samosas or bhajis, you would be our new best friends! If anyone has any other ideas for stalls, please let me know.

Sue
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PTA events, up to and including the Summer Fair

2009-02-11T01:58:00.000-08:00

Just a few of the fund raising events that we are planning up to and including the Summer Fair.

Yellow Moon, Chocoholics & Bags2School - Jenny Sennitt continues to satisfy our demand for craft projects and chocolate with the relevant catalogues. She also encourages us in our bi annual clear out of our cupboards with the Bags2school collection bags. As and when the catalogues and bags come in, they will be distributed between the schools. If for some reason you don't receive something that you'd like, just leave a note in reception and Jenny will contact you.
School Discos - March or April (Date to be agreed) Just need to check with our fabulous Disco Man to see when he is available.
Science Fair - 12th March. This is something that is run by Ms Dickinson & Mr Hudson. the PTA will be providing refreshments for 1 hour after school. Hot & cold drinks with biscuits and cakes will be on sale at Whitehill School in the dining area.
Netball Rally - 14th March – See previous blog advert. This is organised by Mrs Little. The PTA provide refreshments on the day. It was incredibly busy last year so any home baking donations would be gratefully received!
Easter egg Tombola & Cake Sale – Dates and details to be arranged
Easter egg hunt – Sharon Cooper organises this. Have a look at the blog to see what a fabulous time we all had last year, despite the snow! PTA provide refreshments on the day.
Easter Cup competition – details to be arranged
Easter Basket Raffle – See the previous blog advert. Last year we raised £160.
2nd hand clothes sale – We haven't done this before and I'm not sure of the best way to go about it. I was thinking we could organise something to sell off good quality school uniform, Brownie & Cub outfits etc. Would anyone be willing to co-ordinate this? It would mean that you get to see the bits first!
Summer Fair - huge amount of work involved in this. Unless you have previously worked on it, you really can't appreciate how much there is to do. Last year was a baptism of fire for me and so this year, I'm pleading with people to let me know as early as possible, if they are able to help in any way at all. A letter on this is due to go out shortly but if for any reason you don't see a copy, get in touch with me and I'll forward on some details. susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk or drop a note into reception, or call me (before 7.30pm please) on 01462 431932.

Sue
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Friends of Whitehill and Highbury PTA AGM

2009-02-11T01:52:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

We have booked a couple of dates for our first PTA meetings of the year (we usually do 2 so that everyone has a chance of attending if they want to). Please come and keep us company if you can. To keep everything official, we've called it our AGM but things will still follow our very informal pattern; Tea, Coffee, biscuits and a chat. If you would like a copy of the meeting agenda prior to the meeting, just let me know. You can always contact me by email susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk or leave a note for me in reception, or call me at home 01462 431932 (but could you make it before 7.30pm as I have to put Sarah to bed - thanks).

The meetings have been scheduled for;

Whitehill Meeting - Monday 2nd March 1.30pm in the mobile.
Highbury Meeting - Thursday 5th March at 730pm in the dining area at Highbury.

Hope to see you there.

Sue
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Funds raised 2008

2009-02-11T01:46:00.000-08:00

Just to say yet another huge thank you to all of the people who have helped out with fund raising over the last year. Your hard work and participation enabled us to hand over a cheque for £3,500 to each school! Thanks so much for your contribution and we hope to see you once again at the events we'll be organising this year.

Sue
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A Huge Thankyou!

2008-12-11T03:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for helping to make the Whitehill and Highbury Christmas Fair a great success. We raised £1098 on the day and once again, we couldn't have done it without your continued support. Thankyou especially to the PTA team, the year 6 mums, (who will be sorely missed!), our lovely ladies on Refreshments and the fabulous crowd in the Games room. Thanks also to Natalie (for donating all the reindeer food) and Jayde for the fabulous Christmas cake, Emma for the mince pies and Lisa's Art Stall (ring me if you need her number for childrens parties etc). Thank you to the Teachers and support staff for their help on the day and the school Choirs.(kindly led by Mrs Avey for Highbury and Mrs Walton for Whitehill) and a huge great thank you for everybody that attended on the day. It was a lovely day that was enjoyed by everyone that attended.

Kind regards
Sue
PTA Chair

Christmas Fair 6th December 12-3pm at Highbury School

2008-11-19T14:38:00.001-08:00

Well once again it’s Fair Time and it promises to be an absolutely fabulous event. We have some very exciting stalls this year and for those of you who want to stock up on last minute christmas presents and stocking fillers, you wont be disappointed. As well as a wide variety of stalls, there are activities for the children - things to make & do and a Tea Cup & Saucer ride for the playground. We will have an exciting array of foods including soup, Indian snacks & mulled wine as well as the usual cake stall. So make sure you don’t miss out! Invite your family, friends and work colleagues to come along and join in the fun, the more the merrier. As always, we need your help to make this a success. If you have got a little free time on the day to help out, please get in touch as we’d love to see you there. As usual, please contact susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk if you can help (01462 431932).
Thanks very much.

Christmas Fair - Stalls

2008-09-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

As you know, we are currently working on plans for the annual Christmas fair which is going to be held in the grounds of Highbury School on Saturday 6th December.

One of the stalls we are interested in booking, is from a small firm based in St Ippolyts called Garden Divas and they are going to be bringing a small selection of their goods to school on the day. They have an extensive catalogue range which you can view from their website http://www.gardendivas.co.uk/ If you have a look at their site and want to buy anything prior to the fair, they have kindly agreed to give us 10% commission on all sales but you will need to quote "Highbury & Whitehill School" in any correspondence.

Kind regards
Sue

Fund Raising Brochures

2008-09-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

Fund Raising Catalogues. PTA contact; Jenny Sennitt.

If you’ve never heard of Yellow Moon or Baker Ross, they are craft catalogues that give us an opportunity to raise money for our schools. Every time you place an order, just quote the school reference number written on the back of the brochure and a small portion of the purchase price goes towards the PTA funds. You can avoid P&P charges by getting together with friends and family and doing a combined order, so it might be worth having a word with other people in your class to see if they are considering ordering any bits and pieces.

In addition, Jenny Sennitt also raises funds via the Chocoholics catalogue. We don’t have enough catalogues to give to everyone, so Jenny will leave a couple in each school office for you to browse through and make your choice, or perhaps you could borrow a brochure and return to her when you have had a look through. You can also see the full range of their products on www.chocolate-parties.com but don’t order directly from the website, as we will miss out on the fund raising. If you would like to purchase anything from the Chocoholics magazine, you can leave your order in reception along with the correct money, for Jenny to collect. If you have any queries relating to either of these brochures, email jennysennitt@mail.com and she will be happy to help.

Thank you

Agenda and Minutes for September 2008

2008-09-12T02:09:00.000-07:00

If anyone would like a copy of the Agenda or Minutes relating to the Meetings to be held week beginning 15th September, please let me know and I will forward a copy on. You can email me susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk or I will leave a paper copy in both school offices, if you would like to photocopy them.

Sue

Autumn and Winter Term 2008

2008-09-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

By now, you should have received your Autumn/Winter newletter, letting you know about just a few of the events we would like to hold during the months up until Christmas. If you can help at all, we would love to hear from you. Just as a reminder, we have been asked to look at the possibility of doing a pamper night. If you have any skills in this area, please get in touch.

October Fun Day at Highbury – Mrs Avey always puts on a good do and usually the PTA provides the cakes and refreshments. All donations of cakes for the cake stall, plus any offers of a little help serving with Kirsty and Sue would be gratefully accepted. In addition, if you could do a bit of face painting on the day, Mrs Avey would appreciate your help.
We are going to ‘move’ the discos. They have always been held in July and December but due to the fact that these are such exceptionally busy months, we would like to move them to October and February.
We’d also love to do a Christmas Fair - please help if you can.
Ring Sue on 01462 431932 or Email me – susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk if anything has appealed to you.

Kind regards - Sue

Forthcoming Events

2008-07-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

I've been asked about the possibility of putting on a Pamper Evening down at Whitehill. Do you or anyone else you know have something you could contribute towards such an evening? Massage, nail painting, fake tans, waxing, small stall selling something that would enhance our pamper theme? We'd put on the wine and nibbles but if you can do anything at all, let me know and we can think about this a bit more.

School Discos - we are moving these events from July/Christmas to October/February. We have less going on at school and it seems a good idea to spread things out a bit more evenly.

It's too early in the year to be thinking about Christmas yet but we have already spoken to Mrs Avey about the possibility of holding a Christmas Fair at Highbury. If you or anyone else you know has something to contribute to this, please let me know. Ideally, I would like to put on a couple of craft activities for the children, a couple of games and then perhaps have a few stalls selling christmassy bits or presents. Please let me know if this is something you'd like to be involved in.

Kind regards
Sue
susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk
01462 431932
Or drop a note into either of the school offices or add a comment to this post.

Summer Discos

2008-07-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say another huge thank you to all of the people that helped at the Summer Discos. Not only are these fabulous fun but we raise a lot of money too! The Highbury disco is always popular and as usual, sold out pretty quickly. Thanks go to Kirsty Sewell who did a fantastic job of organising everything for the Highbury Disco and Jenny Sennitt for all the hard work she put in with the Whitehill Discos.
With the Highbury disco, we have a maximum capacity of about 100 children on the night. This year, not only did we sell every ticket but a lot of the parents bought younger and older siblings along too which gives us a little bit of a problem on the health and safety side. We are wracking our brains trying to think of the best way to deal with this, whilst keeping everyone happy and although we have some ideas, we would appreciate any thoughts you may have on this.
Just a reminder for the new parents, or those that aren't aware; Whitehill Discos differ from Highbury in that the children are dropped off at the door and are collected at the end of the evening, rather than parents and siblings staying with them.
And as a final note.......I've been toying with the possibility of doing a family disco away from school premises. It would be a really simple do, following the format that seems to work at Highbury. Basic refreshments for the children with Wine and Beer available for the adults. That way, we could keep the cost per head to a minimum but we would have a good night out. Again, I would really appreciate any thoughts you may have on this.
So, with the discos finished, the last of the events for this year have been held. We really hope you have enjoyed yourselves as much as we have.
Have a lovely break over the holidays and see you in September.
Kind regards
Sue

Thank you so much!

2008-06-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Well what a day we had at the Summer Fair on Saturday! I can’t thank you enough for the huge support we received in so many areas. For those involved in the planning, you have my eternal gratitude. For those that helped on the stalls, it wouldn’t have been possible without you and for those that set up or cleared away afterwards, it was the best year ever! Everything was ready and in place when people started to arrive and everything was cleared away by about 4pm! For those of you that baked or donated in any way, you are all stars and for those that just came along to join in the fun (and spend your money!) there would be no point in doing these things if you didn’t! Absolutely everybody made an invaluable contribution in some way and I am so grateful.

Thank you all!
Sue

Summer Funday and Table Top Sale

2008-04-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Plans are now well under way for this years Summer Fun Day and Table Top Sale, which is due to be held on 28th June. As always we need lots of help to make it a success. If you could help set up some stalls anytime from 8am or help clear away anytime after 3pm, we would be really grateful. The funday itself starts at midday so we'll need lots of help during the following 3 hours. We have a huge amount of activities this year, starting with the table top sale. Do you have things you have grown out of and would like to sell? Ring 01462 623126 and ask for Gayle, each pitch is £5 and she will give you the rest of the details on the Table Top sale. We have a bouncy slide and 2 bouncy castles, a carnival games area, BBQ & Beer tent and the emergency services will also be on site including Police Scene of Crimes (Fancy having your finger prints taken?) We also have some face painters, one of which has apologised for not being able to do butterflies and princesses - she can only do ghouls and ghosts and casualty style face painting. So if you want to be made up like frankenstein, dracula or have a really nasty scar painted on your face, then come along. It will go very nicely with the crazy hair stall we have planned too! Beat the goalie is always popular but he's probably way too good for you this year, so don't worry if you can't beat him! We've got the usual cake stall and refreshments area and we are hoping to put on cream teas this year too. There's lots of other stuff going on too but you'll find out all about it when you come to join in the fun. Admission is £1 for anyone over the age of 14 with children under that age getting in free and in the interest of safety, we do ask that children are accompanied by a responsible person over the age of 14. So, if you can help to make this day a success by volunteering to do a little work on the day, please let me know. I can be contacted via both of the school offices, or you can email me susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk You could also ring me on 01462 431932 and leave a message and I will get back to you.

Thank you so much for any help you may be able to give us.

Sue (Chair-PTA)

SUMMER FUNDAY MEETINGS

2008-04-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hello,
We've arranged a couple of meetings to talk about the Summer Fair. Please come along and join us - we're bringing cake!
The first meeting is at Whitehill School on Tuesday 15th April at 1.30pm and you'll find us in the scout hut.
The second meeting has been arranged for Thursday 17th April at 7.30pm at Highbury School and you'll find us in the dining area. No cake for this one - wine and nibbles instead!
We're not going to push you into doing anything you don't want to do but, if you do fancy lending a hand, at least it will give you a chance to see who you may have to spend your day with!
Look forward to seeing you there........
Sue

Easter Egg Hunt 2008

2008-03-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

Despite the snow at The Easter Egg Hunt it was a fantastic. Special super thanks to the PTA for the refreshments - brilliant in the cold and wet snow! 67 children took part in this event, solving clues hidden all around the playgrounds and field, looking for the Golden egg, taking part in Egg and spoon races (for parents too) and entering their decorated rabbit into the competition. Well done to everyone.

Egg and Spoon Winners
4 and under - Joel H
5 and 6 year olds - Connie M
7, 8 and 9 year olds - Raza C
10 and over - Amy J

Best Decorated Foam Rabbit - Aurora

Mums egg and spoon winner was Sue Bradley...well done
Dad's push the potato race was won by Phil Reynolds

Who found the Golden egg this year? Flora B, well done!

Special thanks from the Easter Bunny (a.k.a Mrs Cooper) to Holly (chief whistle blower), Velvet and Susan, Bruno, Oscar, Hector and Aurora, who must surely be future Easter Bunnies in-the-making, for helping me so kindly either to set up and take down.

Lovely to see so many whole familes out, enjoying this event!

For those that missed it, or the Dads that took part, you can view a film of the Dads version of the Egg and spoon race...the whole idea was to use your body to swing the spud and knock it over the line, not hold your string and do it with your hand. NOT easy for me to film and ensure fair play took place. But well done to everyone who delighted their watching family by taking part.

Summer Disco

2008-02-22T02:21:00.000-08:00

This is always a fun event to help out on, more so this year as we are having wine for the helpers! Highbury disco is planned for Wednesday 9th July and Whitehill discos are going to be held on Tuesday 15th July. If you can lend a hand, please put a comment on this post or drop an email to suebraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk
Just a thought - someone mentioned a disco for the adults! What are your thoughts on this?

Easter Basket Raffle

2008-02-22T01:37:00.000-08:00

I want to fill a basket or box with some lovely goodies as an Easter raffle prize. So far the contents will include a really nice chocolate cake with little eggs on and some shortbread. A good egg, a big bar of Toblerone and maybe a couple of other bits and pieces. If you have something you could contribute, please could you let suebraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk know. We are only doing one basket for each school so we are not asking for huge donations but if anyone can make home made fudge or perhaps you have a pottery skill and you could make a couple of egg cups, it would make a lovely gift for someone.

Thank you so much.

Summer Fun Day

2008-02-22T01:03:00.000-08:00

OK, this is a biggie. We are going to need so much help and it's never to early to start planning. Experience has told us that we need to do something now and the first steps have been put in place by sending out information letters to parents, asking for help.

This year, we want to do something different and so we are thinking along the lines of a car boot and table top sale, combined with a fun day to be held at Whitehill, rather than the usual summer fair. We know nothing about organising a car boot. If you do, we really need your help! Someone to help work out how many cars we can fit in, how many pitches for table top sales. Even things like directing traffic will need to be organised. The fun day is going to include a Tug of War. Perhaps the teachers would volunteer to put together a team against the rest of the world! Who knows but if you can sort this out, we’d love to hear from you. Of course we will need refreshments so a beer tent and bar-b-q will be required along with coffee and cakes. We’d like to have a Bouncy castle or one of those big slides. Do you know someone who rents these out? The usual raffle will take place, as will the magician. Has anybody got any ponies? Would you be willing to bring them along for children’s rides? How about a pamper stall for the kids. Get your nails done, your face painted or crazy hair (perhaps you fancy a blue Mohican!) Ideally, we need a team of people for each activity. Someone to lead and others to help. Why don’t you have a word with your friends and see if they would be willing to share a task with you but I can’t stress enough, the important part you play in this. We cannot do these things if we don’t have enough people. Please help us. You can reply by paper mail, adding a comment to this post or by emailing susanbraybrooke@yahoo.co.uk to let her know you can help on the day.

Friends are getting together.........

2008-02-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

OK, I know the picture isn't great but it really was the best I could do!

We've planned a Friends meeting for Monday 25th February and it's due to start about 7.30pm in the dining area at Highbury. Don't worry if you can't make it for the beginning, just come along when you can - wine and nibbles will be provided.

If you can't make the meeting, just add a comment to this post and let us know what you are happy to take part in or help with. You don't have to be Wonder Woman, all contributions are gratefully accepted.

Hope to see you there!

2008-02-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Do you have any skills or special ‘things’ you’d be happy to share? Can you do something that would enhance the events we put on? Project Managers, face painters, organisational skills, perhaps you could plant up hanging baskets for sale. You may have a children’s portable carousel you would be happy to lend us! A holiday home in the south of France you would be willing to donate a week in the raffle for. A caravan at Clacton! All things much appreciated. If you do anything well at all, we would like to here from you. We appreciate you may not want to attend every event but maybe you would be willing to contribute a few hours a year. Please let us know. You can add a comment by clicking on the logo at the bottom of this post, email us at friendsofwandh@gmail.co or you can do paper mail via the school office.

Thanks very much.

Service Directory

2008-02-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

Have you ever needed a plumber, an electrician, or someone to fix a window or door and had to trust to pot luck and the yellow pages? We thought it would be a really good idea to try and get a directory put together of people you would recommend doing a job. It could include anybody – decorators, grass cutters, window cleaners, baby sitters, entertainers - who knows, the list could be endless. No job too large or too small. Do you have this kind of experience? Could you put a booklet together?. Please let us know either by clicking on the comment logo at the end of this blog, by emailing the friendsofwandh@gmail.com or by dropping a note into either school office with your contact details.

Teaching Awards

2008-02-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

I recieved a leaflet the other day and this is an extract from it;

"The Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of teaching and learning. You can nominate a school, teacher, headteacher, teaching assistants and governors and anyone can make a nomination".

"Make a nomination on line at http://www.teachingawards.com/" The deadline for nominations is 1 March 2008. Rather than nominate a particular teacher, we have been asked to recognise everybody's contribution and nominate the school. What a nice idea!

Easter Egg Tombola and Cake Sale

2008-02-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

We'd love this popular Easter egg tombola to run again this year. The children love it.

This year we plan to run it on Wednesday 19th March but we need your help. Would you be willing to take this challenge on? We have some lovely ladies who have done this in the past who I'm sure would offer some really good advice (because they were so good at it last year!).

As well as the tombola, we plan to run a cake sale and so if anyone has any baking skills, we'd love your contributions.

Please get in touch via the blog, or by dropping a note into either of the school offices.

Thanks very much.

Easter Cup Competition

2008-02-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again!

Very soon, we will be sending home some plain white cups for your children to decorate. This year, the cups will be judged by our teachers. So even if they do end up looking a little on the unique side, as long as it's been made by your child with a lot of love and effort, then it's got a good chance of winning. This years winners will receive a certificate and cream egg.

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-02-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

We are gate crashing Sharon Coopers' annual Easter Egg hunt extravaganza on Easter Sunday (and she doesn't mind!) It's going to be held in the grounds of Whitehill School and will start at 11am.

It's always been a huge success but in order to maintain her fabulous rep., we need your help.

Please can you give us a little time either before the event, to help with all the jobs that need doing, or can you actually help on the big day - maybe put up a banner or two, man the refreshments or for the very brave, simply say yes to an unknown task! Everyone's invited from both of our schools, so there's going to be lots to do.

Please get in touch via blogg or drop your name into the school office with a phone no or e-mail.
Hope (very much) to hear from you soon.

Chocoholics

2008-02-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

A tasty way to fund raise!

Get a copy of the new Spring Chocoholics brochure from the school office now. Great ideas for Mothers day and Easter. Lots of gift ideas for all you chocolate lovers.

Netball Rally

2008-02-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

Please can you help.

Whitehill school is running a netball rally

Saturday 1st March 2008. Bright and early from 8.45 til 1030.

We need parents and friends to serve teas and coffees through out.

Please get in touch via blogg or drop your name into the school office with a phone no or e-mail.

Christmas Discos at Whitehill and Highbury Schools!!!

2007-11-27T05:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming to our Schools !

Whitehill Junior School
Tuesday 18th December
Lower School 6.15 – 7.30 pm
Upper School 7.45 – 9.00 pm

Highbury Infant School
Wednesday 19th December
Whole School 6.15 -7.45 pm

Refreshments, soft drinks, sweets and omnilites will be on sale. Tickets need to be bought in advance. No tickets are available on the night.

HELP NEEDED FOR THE SUMMER FAIR!!! LET'S WORK TOGETHER FOR OUR SCHOOLS!

2007-06-04T23:38:00.001-07:00

Friends of Whitehill and Highbury Schools

SUMMER FAIR
16TH JUNE 2007, 12 NOON – 3PM

FANCY DRESS COMPETITION
We are holding a Fancy Dress Competition for children during this year’s Summer Fair. Please come dressed up in something associated with the Fair’s Rainforest theme. There will be prizes for the best costumes – judging at around 2 pm.

CROCKERY SMASHING
We are hoping to run a crockery smashing stall this year but we need your help. If you have any old unwanted china please bring it into the School Office to be used on the stall.

TEDDY TOMBOLA/BOTTLE AND FOOD TOMBOLA
We have not yet received many donations for these stalls – so please get searching in your cupboards. Please bring in soft toys/teddies and non-perishable food items and bottles to the School Office as soon as possible, and by 11 June 2007 if possible.

CAKE STALL
All donations gratefully received – please bring cakes/biscuits to the Cake Stall at Whitehill School (in the dining room) between 10am and 11.30 am on the day of the fair.

RAFFLE TICKETS
Please remember to buy/sell your raffle tickets and return counterfoils and money to School – the prizes are fantastic! Lists of prizes are now on display. PLEASE bring back any unused books to the school office for resale. You can order extra books from the office too.

TODDLER OUTDOOR TOYS, GARDEN FURNITURE AND GAZEBOS
We are hoping to again provide a toddler play area – please let us know if you can loan us any sit’n’ride toys, small slides etc for the day of the fair.
We would also be grateful if anyone could lend us some garden furniture and gazebos for the day of the fair.

Again, we would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for their support of the Fair.

Please return this slip to the School Office if you can help:

I can help at the Fair (please specify times): _________________________________

I can lend: toddler toys garden furniture gazebo (please circle as appropriate)

Name: _______________________________________________________________

Child’s Name and Class: ________________________________________________

Summer Fair - Saturday 16 June from 12 to 3 pm

2007-06-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 16th June 2007 12 to 3 pm at Whitehill Junior School

Summer Fair
with a Rainforest Flavour!
ALL WELCOME

Also, we have secured these canvas stalls which belong to Hitchin Initiative, which will really make the fair look great and offer some shade...so we will need some help putting them up the day before, anyone who can lend a hand please offer asap!

Highbury Cups Competition

2007-04-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Easter Cups

2007-03-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

The Friends of Whitehill and Highbury gave children a paper cup to take home and decorate in an Easter theme. They also filled it with sweets. The children brought them back into their schools and then the PTA organised a tombola during parent consultations. Children were able to buy a ticket for 50p and then 'won' a filled cup.

Thank you for participating in this fun Easter fund raising event.
The children really enjoyed it, and a winner was picked from each class.
We raised £108 in total. Thank you very much.

The Whitehill tombola

Some of the winning Whitehill cups.

May Ball Sat 12th May

2007-03-09T05:58:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to get your May Ball Tickets.
This will be a really fantastic night out with a live band and disco fabulous food and a roulette table with a cash prize.
You will need to get them as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Tickets are £28 each and you are able to book tables of 8 if you wish.

What's On

2007-03-09T05:57:00.000-08:00

Easter Egg Tombola: 28th March

Easter Cup Competition: 21st March

May Ball: 12th May

Summer Fair: 16th June

We are also refreshments for various events, so make sure you buy your cup of tea and a cake to support your school!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2007-01-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to school, hopefully your children have settled back into their routines after the excitement of Christmas.

The New Year meeting will be on Monday 15th January, 7.30pm at Highbury School.

We hope you can make it. Friends had a very successful Autumn Term and raised a grand total of £2800! All this money will go towards your schools; it all helps. We have some exciting fundraising projects coming up this year and we would love to involve as many parents as possible. We will, of course be serving Cheese and Wine at the meeting. Look forward to seeing you.

Christmas Discos

2006-12-05T04:51:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to book your tickets for the Discos for both schools. Tickets are £3.50 per child, we will not be selling tickets on the door.

Whitehill Friday 8th 6.15pm-7.30pm (lower) 7.45pm-9.00pm (upper)
Highbury Wednesday 13th December 6.15pm-7.45pm (Nursary and Infants)

A HUGE THANK YOU

2006-12-05T04:48:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Highbury and Whitehill Christmas Fair. We were overwhelmed by everyone's donations and help. We raised, in total, £760.

Christmas Fair Friday 1st Dec 6-8pm

2006-11-13T03:40:00.000-08:00

Well, christmas is nearly here again and we are pleased to have the Christmas Fair back!! We will be holding the Fair at Highbury School and everyone is welcome to come. We have some fantastic things to see and do at the fair: crafts for the kids, special concessions such as Virgin Vie, Pheonix cards, T-shirts and all sorts for the grown-ups, cake stall and refreshments, secret santa, white elephant, games and of course, Father Christmas. We hope you can make it with your friends and family it really will prove to be a fun couple of hours for everyone.

As always, the success fo this event will depend on your help. We need donations to go towards various stalls such as toiletries, chocolates, good condition second hand toys, bottles, and anything you think will go down well as gifts. Don't forget we will, of course be needing your help on the evening itself to man stalls, serve teas or bring along your home made xmas goodies for the cake stall. Your help is greatly appreciated. All monies raised goes directly to Whitehill and Highbury Schools.

Meeting: Tues 10th Oct Highbury School 7.30pm

2006-09-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

Firstly, we would like to thank Sue S for all her hard work as Chair this past year. We wish her daughter good luck in her new school. Thanks to Hayley C who volunteered to take her place and also thanks to Harriet M for stepping into the role of Vice Chair.

We will be having a meeting on Tuesday 10th Oct from 7.30pm at Highbury School. Hope you can make it we want as much help as we can get.

What we are in the process of organising this year so far is:

Tea towels and Xmas Cards: don’t forget to order them it all helps with the fundraising for the school.

Xmas Fair at Highbury School, Friday 1st Dec 6-8pm.

Whitehill Disco, Fri 8th Dec.

Highbury Disco, Wed 13th Dec.

Refreshments at both Schools’ plays.

Also, don’t forget the Family Learning Week. Highbury School is holding its own Event for this on Sat 14th October from 1pm – 3pm. There will be loads to do including face painting, fire engine and police vehicles, craft activities, computer games in the ICT Suite and much, much more. This a huge promotional day for our school so make sure you tell all your friends locally about it. FOWHS will be providing refreshments.

For next year Harriet M is organising a fantastic MAY BALL and Sue B is organising a great DIRECTORY of parents’ professions for us all to call on.

More information on all these events will be posted nearer the time.

Come along to the meeting and join in the fun of FRIENDS OF WHITEHILL AND HIGHBURY SCHOOLS!!!!

MEETING 20TH SEPT 1.30 - 3.00PM

2006-09-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the new school year, hopefully all the children are well settled back into the school routine!

Last year’s fundraising efforts were very successful and we managed to hand over a £2500 cheque to both Whitehill and Highbury schools. We are hoping to do even better this year now we have had a bit of practice organising various events.

We will be having a meeting in the special needs portacabin at Highbury School on Wednesday 20th Sept from 1.30pm till school pick up. We hope you can make it, please feel free to bring along your pre school children and babies, they are very welcome. It will be an informal meeting where we can chat about what we want to do for the coming year. We will be providing tea/coffee and, of course, home made cakes! Please come along if you can, we really need your help and ideas. If you cannot make this meeting and would like to become involved please feel free to contact us (details below).

Sue Sissons has now resigned as Chairperson of Friends as her daughter has moved up to the girl’s school. We would like to thank her for all her hard work last year. This means that the Chairperson position is free so if you are interested in joining in with the organising please mention this at the meeting or contact us, as soon as possible, through the email address below if you cannot make the meeting.

Jenny Sennitt Scretary
Pippa Hayward Treasurer

www.whitehillandhighbury.blogspot.com
friendsofwandh@gmail.com

Everyone on the Dance Floor!!!

2006-07-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

The Whitehill Summer Disco will be held on Friday 14th July.

Lower School: 6.15 - 7.30 pm

Upper School: 7.45 - 9.00 pm

******************************

The Highbury Summer Disco is Wednesday 19th July from 6.15 to 7.45 pm.

****************************************************

REFRESHMENTS, SOFT DRINKS, SWEETS AND OMNILITES WILL BE ON SALE.

Tickets cost £3 per child and need to be bought in advance. No tickets are available on the night.

Summer Fair 11th June 2006

2006-06-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to everyone for helping and supporting our superb summer fair.We raised approximately £2100. Well done to everybody!!!

Summer Fair 11am-2pm, Sunday 11th June.Whitehill School, Whitehill Road, Hitchin

2006-05-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

The plans for the fair are coming along really well so make sure you are there! World War 2 Attractions, Paintball Shooting Range, Magician, Children's Entertainment, BBQ, Traction Engine, Bouncy Castle, Face Painting, Vintage Games, Teddy Tombola and much, much more. All this and it only costs 20p to get in. If the rains come we will be moving into the school so you have no excuse not to come.

Summer Fair Sunday 11th June

2006-05-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

We will be holding a Summer Fair for the schools in the grounds of Whitehill on Sunday 11th June.

So far we have booked a WW2 Society, the Allied Assortment, who will be dressing up and putting on a fashion show and drill for us, which will be the central theme to the fayre. There will also be children's entertainment provided by North Herts College Students, magicians, fire engines with chip pan display, traction engine, BBQ, refreshments and all your usual fun stalls for children and adults. So plenty of fun to be had all round.

We are in the process of recruiting people to man stalls and gateways and also help in the run up to the fayre, if you are interested in lending a hand, please do not hesitate to put yourself forward or feel free to leave a comment on this post.

Cake stall - Summer Fair Sunday 11th June

2006-05-03T04:39:00.000-07:00

Could you bake Cakes or Biscuits for our Summer Fair?

Do you know someone who loves baking and can help?
Could we have your recipes to create a Friends Baking Book to sell at the Fair?

The Friends coordinating the Cake Stall are:
Maria Duncan (Oscar’s mum – 5SW) for Whitehill Junior School
Sue Braybrooke (Sarah’s mum – Green Class) for Highbury Infants School

Friends Baking Book

We would love to have the recipes of the cakes/biscuits you will be baking clearly handwritten with black ink or typed on a A4 size paper for inclusion in our Baking Book by Thursday 18th May 2006. You can leave them in the Schools’ Offices for our attention.

When and Where should the cakes/biscuits be delivered

On Sunday, 11th June bring the cakes/biscuits to the Cake Stall at Whitehill Junior School between 10 am – 11.30 am. Please have them cut in individual portions (if whole cake), place them on disposable trays or plates, cover them with cling film and attach the name of the recipe. If you had not given us the recipe, please let us also have a list of ingredients for allergy purposes.

Thank you.

School Discos

2006-03-29T12:01:00.000-08:00

The Whitehill leaver's summer disco will be held on Friday 14th July. Highbury's Disco is Wednesday 19th July. More details to follow.

More Easter Extravaganza Pictures

2006-03-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Great Easter Egg Tombola and Bonnet Competition

2006-03-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

We held a fantastic Easter event at Highbury in the school's hall on Tuesday 28th March following the Nursery's open day.
There was an Easter Egg tombola and we called on parents to donate an Easter egg or two for the prizes.
The children entered an Easter bonnet competition where they designed and created a masterpiece at home and brought it in on the day. In support of this there was a dress down day for a £1 donation towards the school funds and a colouring competition.
Thank you to everyone who contributed,it went really well, nearly all the parents and children attended and everyone had a great time. The bonnets made by the children were really amazing; they had all worked so hard.

Ahhh lovely. A nice cup of tea!

2006-03-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

FOWHS have provided refreshments for parents and teachers at a few functions including the Whitehill Netball Rally and the Highbury Literacy evening. You may even get a home made cake as well! So keep on supporting your school and join in.

Bags2School

2006-03-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

This was our chance to have a good old clear out! All unwanted clothes and shoes were bagged up and sent down to the school to be picked up by Bags2School. The collection date was on the 21st February and a big thank you to all of you who participated as you raised £141 for the schools. Well done!

Welcome

2006-03-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

FOWHS meet on a regular basis at informal and easygoing meetings with tea coffee and even sometimes homemade cakes available! Young preschool and nursery children are very welcome and we provide juice and a biscuit and a few toys to play with while the mum’s chat. It is important to us that this group is easygoing and fun. We would like people to become involved and go away with positive experiences of working with us.