St. Francis PTA Christmas Fair Raises Just Over £1,000

There was a change to the start time this year for our Christmas Fair as many schools in Blackburn now have their Christmas Fair straight after school and enjoy better attendances. We thought we would follow suit and on the whole we did have a bigger attendance. We had many stalls in attendance including Derian House, Harry's Grandma's cake stall which held a guess the weight of the cake competition which was won by the Felipes family (seen above minutes before the cake was consumed!), Ruth Symonds, Girl Guides, Toy stall, face painting, St. Francis Church of England's Rose Queen, Forever Living, Year 5 had a great knock Santa down the Chimney game, Year 6 game and various craft stalls, beauty products and jewellery stalls. Plenty of choice for everyone.

The fair was very busy early on and some stalls just about kept up with demand. The sweet stall was busy and we sold out of hot dogs for those who couldn't wait until tea time! The chocolate tombola was very popular and everything had been won within an hour. Lots of kids were running round with reindeer's painted on their faces courtesy of Mrs. Emberly-Peers. Father Christmas paid us a visit and his grotto had a lot of visitors. Many people took advantage of the new feature we introduced this year of having a souvenier picture taken with Santa and we will continue with it next year.

We would like to thank all the parents and grandparents who attended and helped make it a success. Also a big thank you to the PTA volunteers and teachers who helped man stalls we couldn't have put the Fair on at all. The amount raised this year was £1,039 slightly down on last year but the way things are with peoples finances, job uncertainty and rising prices we were pleased to top the £1,000 mark. Special thanks goes to Mrs. Courland and Mrs. Bennett-Courland who donated all their takings from their cake stall to PTA funds and lastly thanks goes to Magicsmiles Dental Studios http://www.magicsmiles.com/ who allowed us to display our banner on their premises again.

NB We are conducting a vote on the right hand side of our blog to determine whether the new earlier start time was more popular or whether people preferred the later start time for the Fair. Its your chance to let us know what you prefer so please make sure your vote is recorded.

St. Francis PTA Christmas Fair 2011 This Friday 3-30pm - 7pm

A Sparkling Fireworks Night Brings In a Brilliant £403

On a perfect evening weather wise the St. Francis PTA Fireworks night was very well attended and it was pleasing to see the school hall so full of parents who came to support the event. There was queues at the food hatch with hot chocolate proving very popular and as ever plenty of children were keen to spend at the sweet stall.

The firework display was fantastic and it was long lasting as there was a good response to the request to donate fireworks. Many people we spoke to said they thoroughly enjoyed themselves which is always a key aim in addition to raising funds. Fund raising and fun should go hand in hand we feel. The tremendous amount raised £403 will go a long way towards our aim of raising money to help towards the cost of new computers for the schools ICT suite.

Remember Remember its the 3rd of November its our Fireworks Night!

We sincerely hope you can make our annual Fireworks Night which is always a popular event. Every person attending gets a free hot dog and you'll be treated to a colourful firework display. There are plenty of refreshments available including bonfire toffee, crisps, soft drinks, cakes, etc. Please come along as it's always a great evening which the children enjoy and it also helps raise funds for the school and please don't forget to bring a firework. The more of you that do the better the display will be.

First Bake-Out of the School Year Raises Nearly £130

PTA Infants and Juniors Disco Raises Almost £300

Let Your Kids Have a Ball at Our Forthcoming Disco

St. Francis PTA Bingo Night Adds Over £100 to Funds

An enjoyable nights bingo was held in the St. Francis school hall with an attendance possibly affected by the unseasonably muggy weather. Those present certainly got into the spirit and plenty of books were sold for each game. For the first time we had gone hi-tech with the numbers appearing on the large screen and selected by computer. Things ran smoothly and eventually after a long silence during the games the cry 'house' went up. We held three bingo sessions in all and held a raffle during the night again well supported by the people who attended.



The night wasn't just for adults as the children played their own now legendary 'ping pong bingo' game (see picture above) played when we had a break between the adult bingo sessions. It always creates great excitement for the children waiting to see if they'll be eliminated and both sessions we had sold out.

Again another fun night where as well as raising funds people also enjoyed themselves and in some lucky cases went away with the jackpots. We do try at St. Francis PTA to combine raising funds with having fun and in some cases a chance to win some money. We plan to hold another bingo session early in the Near Year so please come along as you'll be Helping Us To Help The School.

More Photos From our Summer Fair 2011

St. Francis C of E Summer Fair 2011 Raises Nearly £1,100

Our annual Summer Fair proved as popular as ever with nearly £1,100 raised. There was a variety of activities, stalls and events on show. The usual favourites were present including the chocolate and bottle tombola (see above). The donkey rides proved as popular as ever with plenty of children going for a ride. Amongst the stalls that came we had some newcomers and Mr. Wooton bravely stepped in to be the teacher in Soak the Teacher. Some outdoor entertainment was laid on with the Year 2/3 dance led by Miss Riding and for the last dance parents were 'encouraged' (dragged more like Ed.) to join in.


One of the newcomers this year was Forever a company that distribute products that contain Aloe Vera. Their stall is shown right and they were promoting the benefits of Aloe Vera and they generated a lot of interest and created a few leads. For further details you can contact them by email: jacmac4health@gmail.com

Another newcomer Pretty Sweet Cakes was not hard to miss as their stall (see below) was overflowing with cup cakes, biscuits, slices of cakes, etc. This proved a big draw and the girls who run this recently launched business based in Feniscowles, Ruth and Sarah did a very brisk trade in their vibrantly coloured cup cakes. They also do celebration cakes with some wonderful creative designs, cookie pops (biscuits on a stick) and gluten free cakes. For further details visit their facebook site: Pretty Sweet Cakes Blackburn or by email: prettysweetcakes@hotmail.co.uk

A fine range of jewelery was on display which was good value so some people were able to treat themselves. One of the Teaching Assistants Mrs. Newman had a stall selling hand made cards which was handy with Father Days very close. There also some unusual style cards including 3d cards. If you're interested you can call on: 01254 202737.

Derian Hose Children's Hospice were present again and always prove popular with adults and kids alike as they have a variety of things. This included toy dogs, kids toys, bubbles and a big favourite the Pluck-a-Duck. Some people were tempted to see if they had a steady hand and try out the electric wiggle. The name a teddy had a lot of entries and his name was revealed as Oscar some lucky girl in the infants was the winner.

Not content with filling up on cakes the chocolate fountain was well visited and there was a selection of grapes, strawberries, marshmallows and pineapple chunks. Most of the fruit was gone as numerous people enjoyed them smothered in chocolate. And for those who still has room cream teas were being served. We also had a successful raffle and our very own bouncy castle was very popular with the kids many who had some very striking painted faces courtesy of Mrs. Emberley-Peers which was extremely popular as children were queuing up.

We'd like to give a big thank you for the people who volunteered and made the day a success and for the teachers who gave up their time to help. Lastly the St. Francis C of E PTA would like thank everyone who attended and we hope you enjoyed yourselves and look forward to welcoming you back for Summer Fair 2012.

Summer Fair 2011 This Saturday

Tomorrow is our Summer Fair 2011 and you're all invited! This event is the highlight of our fund raising calendar and we're hoping for some good Summer weather. As ever the event is opened after the Crowning of the new Rose Queen @ 1pm. There are a range of events on offer for all the family and there's an array of stalls and chances to win prizes including:

* Toy Stall

* Beat the Goalie

* Electric Wiggle

* Chocolate Tombola

* Bottle Tombola

* Raffle

* Church Tombola

* Donkey Rides

* Face Painting

* Plus Much More

The fair is being held at St. Francis Church of England School on Cherry Tree Lane and it runs from 1pm - 4pm. We hope you'll make a big effort to be there as any funds raised will go straight back to the school to help purchase items for our children.

PTA Spring Draw Raises £80

Inaugural Family Bingo Night Gets Off To A Great Start And Raises £50

Our latest fund raising initiative proved a success as we put on our first ever Family Bingo Night and it went down a storm with those present. We were unsure how it would go and like anything you are trying for the first time we were a little anxious it might 'flop'. Thankfully after swapping a faulty microphone everything went smoothly. Simon (that's me folks) shown above in action was responsible for announcing the numbers and despite it being the first time I've ever done it I felt I coped okay and I even began to enjoy it and even tried cracking some jokes and having banter with the crowd. It was sort of that night and Sue a fellow PTA member took over the duties of calling out the numbers from me on occasion. Once house was called the excitement generated and the unsporting booing from the losers was a sight and some of the victory dances were fun to watch with one not to be named teacher really pulling a wild jig of joy after winning. The children that were in attendance also had some involvement with their own game known as 'Ping-Pong Bingo' which was taken very seriously and the picture above shows a game in progress. The concept was once their ball was drawn out they were eliminated from the game. It was hilarious to watch as friends and schoolmates were willing each others balls to be drawn out and not theirs. On the whole despite a small turn out those present really enjoyed themselves got into the spirit of it and there was plenty of smiles around at the end of the night. If you couldn't make it this time please don't miss our next Family Bingo Night as we can assure you, you wont be disappointed and as well as having fun you'll be raising funds for our children's school meaning even if you lose you still win.

St. Francis C of E PTA To Launch Family Bingo Night

To be held at St. Francis C of E school on Friday 25th March 7pm start.

Admission - £1 for adults - Kids - FREE

Bring your own nibbles and drinks

It'll be a fun evening of music, bingo for adults (£1 per game) - ping-pong bingo for kids (50p per game)

Cash Prizes to be won

Latest Bake Out Raises Almost £130

Regular readers of this blog will be well aware about the popularity of the PTA's bake outs. The children look forward to it all day whether they are a reception class or a year 6 pupil. The response from the parents and pupils is great and this time was no exception with a number of tables overflowing with many variations of home made cakes as you can see from the mouth watering display in the photo on the right. The teachers also join in and they treat themselves to a cake or two.

There was also the bargains to stock up the shelves for the holiday period from the parents who called in before picking up their children. As always the event couldn't go ahead without the help of the PTA volunteers (posing above for the camera) who laid out all the cakes, biscuits, etc and who manged to keep their hands off them. Hows that for will power!!

St. Valentines Infants and Juniors Disco Brings in £250

A fine turn out for both disco's complete with a Valentine theme. First in were the infants full of energy and looking forward to having a dance and joining in with the usual favourites: 'Agadoo', 'Okey Cokey', etc. As ever teachers were on hand to help them have an enjoyable time and join in. The disco goers also kept the three PTA volunteers busy on the sweet and drinks stall.

Next was the turn of the juniors who certainly had plenty of energy and the dancing competitions were enthusiastically contested making life hard for the judges. Many modern tunes were played and the dance floor was crowded. Not surprisingly the sweet stall volunteers were rushed of their feet keeping up with demand. In fact at the end of the night all the sweets had gone! Another great night enjoyed by all involved and some more much needed funds were raised for the school.

Two PTA Committee Members Elected to St. Francis School Board of Governors

Parents are now represented on the school’s Board of Governors. Both Simon Bennett (That's me! - Ed.) and Joanne Eccles both active PTA committee members were elected in the recent elections. This was in addition to the election of Ruth Maginn as a Staff Governor who is also an active PTA member and current secretary. This provides a direct link between the parents and the people who make the decisions about how the school is run.

This can only be a good thing and brings us into contact with some influential and important people. It will also provide us with some feedback and help bring PTA ideas and suggestions to the board.

Donation of £85 from PTA funds Allows Purchase of New Play Equipment

As the measures that are being carried out by the current Government take affect more and more things are having to be cut from the school budget. This is why the money you have contributed to our recent fund raisers have prove so important as we can now step in and provide funds.

We have recently been in touch with the teachers asking them for requests and items they wish to purchase but are struggling to because of the restrictions on their budgets. We are pleased to say we will be able to help in many cases as we have raised a considerable amount lately.

Our first request was to replace the dolls for the reception class which were to put it politely showing there age. We were pleased to hand over £85 to replace the dolls and also supply outfits and accessories to go with them. It may seem a simple thing but these are used extensively in role playing and various learning activities during the school day.