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.

Tree-mendous Gift of £130 From PTA Funds Purchases Christmas Tree for the School