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PTFA NEWSwww.swallowfieldlowerschool.co.uk • email: [email protected].
Currently we have two vacant positions on the committee - Secretary and Vice Chair. Please let us know if you are interested. We’d love to see you at a PTFA meeting! We are a friendly bunch who meet every 6 weeks or so and we welcome new faces. It’s a chance for you to find out what we’re up to, bring your ideas and to get involved in as little or as much as you’d like. Many people dip in and out of the PTFA, some take responsibility for specific activities and many more offer an extra pair of hands when needed – every little helps and it’s all for the children! We need new faces and fresh ideas and we would love you to come and join us. Please join us for a social night out in March – a chance to have a night out and make some new friends!
PTFA Social: PTFA Social – We will be holding a social event in March - more details to follow in the New Year.
Next PTFA Meeting: Meetings in 2015 Thursday, 15th JanuaryThursday, 26th FebruaryThursday, 23rd AprilMonday 8th JuneThursday 9th JulyMonday 14th SeptemberThursday 22nd October – AGMMonday 7th December.
For details about PTFA meetings look out for posters at the school, go to www.swallowfieldlowerschool.co.uk PTFA page, or email us at [email protected].
MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL by Julie Tift The season is once again upon us and I am soooo looking forward to the break. Whatever happened to this year, where did it go? The speed time is travelling these days, I’m often left wondering whether somehow I accepted the role of Doctor Who’s assistant without even realising it.
This then leaves me contemplating how can we slow down, make each second count and focus on the important stuff? Is everything we do really so vital? It is all too easy to let life pass us by whilst we write another shopping list, panic as our mobile only has a 1% charge or worry that without three types of cheese (Primula cheese and chive does not count) on the table the evening will be doomed!
want to have less to keep me busy. Admittedly not working full time, having a young child and stopping volunteering for things would help but somehow I don’t think this is it, possibly it’s about not sweating the small stuff, relinquishing a bit of control and order and letting little things go. Maybe I should make this my New Year’s resolution? Who knows.
However I hope everyone, young and old has a fabulous winter break, that we all manage to break off, shut down a bit and relax. And I sincerely hope none of us bump into each other at midnight by the cheese section in the Co-op searching for that essential lump of Red Leicester!
Events RoundupSUMMER BALL & AUCTIONOur biggest event of the year was our Summer Ball and Auction, held at Woburn Golf Club, which raised a fantastic £7,200! We had over 100 guests, including teachers, governors, parents, friends and family, all dressed in their smartest attire and looking fabulous. We ate a delicious plated BBQ and deserts
Your PTFA Committee
Chair: Becs Coles Vice Chair: VacantSecretary: Vacant
Treasurer: Claire Sim
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Years ago if you contacted friends it was via a phone call usually sitting in the cold hallway as the wire didn’t reach or from the red phone box on the end of the road and you wrote responses to invites. Now we text or Facebook or Twitter and these are supposedly quicker forms of communication but yet it actually appears to take longer and there is no respite, everything is 24-7. And yes, it was lovely to sit down on stairs and natter with a friend or grandparent, or go out occasionally and know no one could contact you and I cannot remember the last letter I got in the post which is shame.
I’m not a philosopher in any shape or form and as usual I do not have any answers, so if you do let me know, but I just
and drank a fair amount of wine and champagne!
The evening was a great success with our live and silent auctions and amazing entertainment by the very talented James from Dan Rosen Entertainment. Special thanks to Woburn Golf Club, our Chair of Governors Ian White for being our host, Signature Auctions Ltd, Milton Keynes Auctions, Paul O’Brien and Ben Coles for organising
all of our auction and raffle prizes and everyone involved in making it happen.
SCHOOL DISCOThe last day of school before the half term holidays saw the children gather for the discos in the school hall. This coincided with the ‘Wear it Pink’ mufti day and saw the children dressed in their party clothes with a pink twist!
It also saw the return of our resident disco entertainer Lorraine after her maternity leave, and within no time the children were ‘Cha Cha Sliding’ and singing on the microphone to ‘Let it go’. A lot of fun was had by all, and we raised an incredible £430.50.
A big thank you to all of the teachers and helpers, and to Tescos at Kingston for donating the hot dog rolls.
MULLED WINE & MINCE PIE STALL 2014
Events Roundup cont... Cakes for Kids Record!Milton Keynes has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest line of cupcakes - and you helped to break it!
On Friday 14 November 2014, visitors to the centre:mk shopping centre witnessed a spectacular feat. 26,746 cupcakes, baked by local schools, community groups and individual bakers all displayed in one continuous line, with almost 1000 having been donated by Swallowfield Lower School.
Most of the cakes were housed in a giant cupcake structure with others snaked around it. A group of fantastic hard working volunteers – a special thank you to those representing our school - worked until the early hours of the morning until a record breaking line measuring 1,604.75m was achieved.
The concept was derived by local mum Dabinder Hutchinson who gathered support from businesses such as the centre:mk, Waitrose, John Lewis and Elevations who helped with the site, transportation and the fabulous structure. Attention grew to whether enough cakes
With the great weather this year we saw a huge turn out at the Woburn Sands Christmas Fayre and our volunteers were kept very busy on the PTFA Mulled Wine and Mince Pie stall.
Thanks to an amazing amount of red wine and mince pies donated from parents and staff at the school, the volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure that the day was a success and raised over £1,000 in profits for the PTFA, beating last year’s total.
Well done to all those involved!
would be donated and the tension mounted as we found out that Radio Gloucestershire was also attempting the record at the same time. We waited with anticipation, one of the team with a radio pinned to their ear. Radio Gloucestershire listeners had placed 14,392 cupcakes, measuring 885.6 metres, we had done it! Everyone involved is now waiting for the result to be verified by Guinness.
All this record breaking had a single goal, to raise as much money as possible for children’s charities. We are proud to have added our contribution to the Children in Need total of more than £32million, and to be able to provide some much needed funds to our local charities, Leo’s Appeal at Milton Keynes Hospital and the Lovebug Fund for Neve. It’s not too late to help make a real difference to these children, cakesforkids are still asking for donations http://cakesforkids.net/donate/
A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped by baking, volunteering their time and donating money.
Our biggest event of the year, our Summer Ball and Auction, raised an incredible £7,200 and our recent legendary Mulled Wine & Mince Pie stall at the Woburn Sands Christmas Fayre raised over £1,000.
Thank you to those who have been shopping while fundraising for us in the last six months. We made £55 from easyfundraising.org.uk and £73 from Easy2Name labels.
A big thank you also to those of you who took part in recent coffee afternoons, those in Foundation raised £111 and Busy Bees raised £66.
…And What we’ve spent it on!In the last six months we’ve spent £400 on the library bus, £20 on a poppy wreath for Remembrance Day service and £600 on our annual Mathletics subscription. We have also committed £11,850 of our funds to a new Learning Lodge for the school, and a further £4,600 for the library bus.
Library Bus Update:
Have you been wondering what’s happening to the big bus in the playground? Well, quite a lot! This term frames have been made to support the wheels and make the bus stable. Upstairs the fittings have been stripped out and it’s being made water-tight. Air conditioning and electrics will be fitted next. We’re currently on schedule and hope the bus will be ready for use next summer.
The New Learning Lodge:The PTFA is pleased to commit nearly £12,000 of funds raised last year to fully fund a second Learning Lodge, which is expected to be built and in use September next year.
Secret Santa
Did you know?
School Clubs
Swish Event
What we’ve raised:
The Elves were busy in Santa’s workshop looking for some fantastic gifts for this year’s Secret Santa held in the School hall on 12 December. It was a chance for pupils to buy a gift for family and friends, gift wrap them, and have it ready as a surprise for Christmas. The PTFA have been running this not-for-profit event for a number of years and any monies that are made are given back to the School Parliament for them to spend as they wish. Big thanks to Hayley O’Brien and Debbie Perry for organising.
Swallowfield Lower School now have an app! Get the trial version FREE until Christmas, available from iTune and Android stores, search for Swallowfield and allow push notification to get all the latest news on the website
Music ClubsThank you for the valuable responses we had from you to the school clubs questionnaire back in July.
This term the PTFA have organised extra music clubs at Swallowfield. The group guitar tuition for children in years 2, 3, and 4 has had a great take up. We have also organised individual piano tuition for children in years 1, 2, 3, and 4, with all available slots currently taken. Plus, the Woburn Sands Band have offered recorder tuition to Year 2 and 3 children who live locally. Many of our Swallowfield children have taken advantage of this offer.
There is now a waiting list for guitar and piano tuition.
Please contact us via [email protected] if you are interested in this or any other music tuition that you would like us to look into.
New ClubsWould you be able to help us to set up some new clubs? Swallowfield
Tickets will go on sale in the New Year. The three items will need to be brought on the night, on hangers, to be placed straight on the rails and then browsing before the Swish takes place. Look out for details in the New Year.
have Lego and chess sets but they need someone to use them with the children.
Are there any knitters amongst you who would be able to share your talents? We would love your help. Perhaps you have a useful contact or some time to volunteer. If so, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us on [email protected]
PTFA NEWSGrab yourself a cuppa, we’ve got some news, dates and gossip for you...
RecyclingThe School collects print cartridges which are recycled with a small donation returned to the school. They also collect stamps and plastic bottle tops to help local charities with their fundraising. So start collecting and bring them into School Reception!
Email Addresses?Help us use less paper by giving us your email address so that we can send you our newsletters electronically. Simply email us at [email protected] and we’ll add you to the list. And remember to let the PTFA, and school, know of any changes to your details! Please note: these details are being collated by the PTFA - not the school - and will only be used to send you information regarding the PTFA
If you’re not using this site for your web purchasing then where have you been?
Do your Christmas shopping and fundraise for the PTFA at the same time – it’s really so easy! Each time you make an online purchase through the site, it raises money for the PTFA, and doesn’t cost you a penny extra.
So please sign up as a user, select Swallowfield PTFA - Milton Keynes, and make this your favourite entry site for all your online shopping. There are over 2,700 retailers registered with the site, including Amazon, John Lewis, eBay and Tesco who will donate a percentage of what you spend to Swallowfield PTFA to say thank you for shopping with them.
http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/swallowfieldptfaDon’t forget to download the easyfundraising Find & Remind tool bar to remind you whenever you visit a website that donates money when you shop. There is now also a free easyfundraising app for iPad and iPhone, so you can shop and raise money while on the go.
FacebookSwallowfield PTFA has its own Facebook group page with information on all the comings and goings, events and meetings at the school. It’s a great way of keeping up to date with what is going on with the PTFA. Search for Swallowfield PTFA on Facebook and request to join the group, it really couldn’t be easier!
Easy Money/100 clubJoin our 100 Club to be entered into a prize draw each month and help PTFA with raising funds. There are now four cash prizes and the winners are drawn monthly and announced via the Facebook Group. Last year the PTFA raised £589 from the 100 Club – everyone is a winner!
Available numbers cost £1 each a month, please contact contact Hilary Cox or email [email protected] to find out more
Micro ScooterBuying a scooter for Christmas? The PTFA can earn 10% back
from every order placed with w w w.micro -scooters .co.uk , which we can exchange for money or scooters for our school! When purchasing a Micro Scooter or accessories at www.micro-scooters.co.uk , enter the code 109429 and the PTFA will receive 10% back.
www.easy2name.com Do you need labels for all those school clothes?
Then look no further than www.Easy2name.com! Quote Swallowfield School MK17 on an orders, on-line, post or telephone as a 20% donation goes to our PTFA fundraising.
Lost PropertyThe lost property box is located in the foyer near the children school entrance. Year 4 students check the lost property box on a Friday and hand back all named items to their owners. All other items are left in the box. If you use a ballpoint pen to write names, please ensure these are written very clearly because they can be difficult to read.
Big Up! Children:What performances! Well done for the wonderful and entertaining Christmas plays!
If you have any queries contact Claire Sim or [email protected]
Are your children using Mathletics yet? Kids LOVE it! And so do we - it is brilliant, easy to use and lots of fun!
Mathletics is a web-based learning program that integrates home and school learning via the internet - it is one of the world’s most used educational websites.
Swallowfield Lower School uses Mathletics as an important part of its maths learning programme. By enrolling your child, he or she will have 24 hour access to Mathletics through a unique username and password. This means that students can work at their own pace; anywhere, anytime. And as a parent or guardian, you can sign
up to receive weekly reports with details on your child’s progress and achievement.
It is just £5 per year to subscribe your child through the school (£39 to subscribe privately).
To enrol your child, simply fill in a form available from the school office or online on the school website, and return this to the school office with your £5 registration fee for the school year. You’ll then be given your unique username and password and off you go!
If you have any queries contact Claire Sim on [email protected]
Mathletics is fun!
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