WELCOME

TO YOUR PFA

2014 - 2015

A Booklet for Parents

CONTENTS PAGE PAGE

Introduction from the Chair 3

Why do we have a PTA? 4

Why are we a Registered Charity? 4

Role of the PTA Committee 5

• Annual General Meeting 5

• Class Representatives 5

How we raise money 6

• Events 6

• Donations 7

• On-going Fundraisers 7

How we spend the money we raise 7

How we get information to you 8

How you can get involved 8 APPENDICES

Committee Members 9

Hinton St George PFA Fundraisers 2013 / 2014 10

Donations to the School 2013/2014 (to date) 10

On-going Fundraisers 11 .

Contact Sign-up Form 12

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INTRODUCTION

On behalf of the Hinton St George Parents and Friends Association, it is truly my pleasure to extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to you as we begin the 2014-2015 school year. To those children and parents who are new to the school we extend an especially warm welcome. Starting the new school year can be a daunting time; meeting new children, settling in, remembering to pack the PE/swimming kit and having your wellies ever-ready on your coat hook – and this applies to Parents as much as to the children.

Pupils at Hinton St George First School are well looked after because they have one another for support; for Parents it can sometimes not be quite so easy. However, this booklet will help introduce you, as a family within our school community to what Hinton St George First School Parents and Friends Association (PFA) is and what we do.

All parents and friends of children at Hinton St George First School are automatically members of the PFA and we exist to support the pupils and the School—and of course each other in the process.

We hope that after reading this booklet you will know a little more about your Parent and Friends Association. On behalf of all the children we would like to thank you in advance for your very valuable support which enriches their learning experiences and helps makes their time in school so enjoyable. If you have any questions, please do get in touch with either myself or one of the PFA committee members.

Kat Khan-Davis Chair Hinton St George Parents and Friends Association

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WHY DO WE HAVE A PFA?

We are very fortunate at our school to have a PFA that is, and has been such an integral part of the school community for many years. Thousands of pounds have been raised, which has been spent on improving equipment and also resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in school.

Our PFA is about much more than just fundraising. It also supports closer links between home and school and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal. It is fun too - as we are sure you will find out if you join us at one of the various events throughout the school year.

Parents and members of the school community can get involved in a variety of ways, even if they only have a small amount of time available.

Not all of our events are run as fundraisers; for example, our Autumn Disco is a children’s party run simply with the aim of giving the children a good time, and also every May the PFA organises a camping trip to Woodlands, a theme park in Devon. As we get “rally” prices, it is an inexpensive weekend away, and a good chance for the children (and adults) to play together and have fun.

WHY ARE WE A REGISTERED CHARITY?

It is a legal requirement that organisations such as ours register with the Charity Commission. As a Charity we must abide by Charity Commission rules and regulations and we are bound by a constitution. Our constitution sets out rules about how we operate as a PFA and how we conduct ourselves. A full copy can be provided on request from the PFA secretary.

Being a Registered Charity allows us to:

raise funds more easily from grant giving trusts, local businesses etc.

take advantage of charity matched giving schemes.

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ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE

Our PFA committee is made up of parents and teachers, of which 3 Officers hold the positions of Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. A list of current PFA committee members is available at the back of this booklet. The PFA is run on a voluntary basis for the benefit of every

child in the school.

Annual general meeting (AGM)

Our AGM is held in June and this is the opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about events that we have run, funds that we have raised and how the money has been spent. We also elect our new committee at this meeting.

PFA Meetings

The committee members meet on a regular basis usually once per half term at the school. Mr Smith is a firm supporter of the work and contributions which PFA’s provide. He will attend the main meetings and will give an informal Headteacher’s report, so there is always a chance to find out all that is happening at Hinton St George First School and in education as a whole.

Class representatives

We have class representatives, with 2 parent reps per class. They provide a link between individual class parents and the PFA committee. With their support, they can help the PFA when it comes to organising our main fundraising events, particularly as the point of contact for ticket requests and sales. They can also organise rotas of help and donations, with the support of the PFA committee. Check the notice board from September for your class reps names.

If you are interested in joining the committee or finding out any further information about what we do, then please feel free to

speak to any member of the PFA committee.

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HOW WE RAISE MONEY

Events

Like most PFAs, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. We run a very successful programme of fund-raising and social activities throughout the year- each year we manage to raise over £3000 - which is an incredible effort for such a small school.

Some of our most popular events are the annual Christmas Fayre, Quiz Nights and the infamous Slay the Dragon 10km race. In the past we have printed calendars, tea towels, and created Christmas cards using the children’s own art work. Several events including this year’s popular Easter Monday Fun Day and our forthcoming Christmas Fayre are organised together with St George’s Pre School which is located in the School House above Hinton St. George First School.

So as you can see there is always something going on and it is truly rewarding to see the children having fun at the events or enjoying themselves using a piece of new equipment that the PFA has donated.

2014/2105 Calendar of Events:

Quiz Night Friday 17th October

Autumn Disco Thursday 23rd October

Christmas Shopping Evening Friday 14th November 2014

Christmas Fayre Saturday 29th November 2014

Slay the Dragon (to be confirmed)

Easter Fun Day (to be confirmed)

There are other events planned for the year which will be announced

as more details become available. However, if you have any ideas

for future fundraising events that the PFA could host then please do

let us know!

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Donations

Donations are extremely important to make our events as successful as possible. These can be time, money, donations for raffles, or offers of services and skills.

We have links with the local community and are well supported by both residents and businesses for which we are very grateful.

On-going fundraisers

We are also fortunate to have other opportunities open to us to raise money. We are members of various affiliate schemes which bring regular income in from larger businesses, without costing individuals a penny. Please take time to read the details at the back of this booklet as these represent the easiest ways to help raise money.

HOW WE SPEND THE MONEY WE RAISE

Once money is raised from events the funds are banked straight away. Each year at the AGM we set a budget, depending on how successful the previous year’s fund raising efforts were. The funds are then used in the following ways:

Individual classroom donations - Each class is given £100 per term to spend on whatever that class teacher thinks is needed. Examples of which are books, games, craft resources etc.

Whole school activities – Last academic year the PFA has funded events such as ice creams for the children at the Christmas pantomime, a visit from the Storybox Theatre group, a special drumming workshop as part of Arts Week and a trip to Lyme Regis.

Enrichment programme - The PFA funds a wide range of after school clubs, provided free to the children. Activities have included, Running Club, Eco Club, Art Club, Football and many more!!!

One-off items - In the past this has included school play equipment. In addition - 3 times a term we help run cake sales, for the benefit

of the school and pre-school. These usually raise around £40 each which is given to the teachers for their classroom’s use.

The funds the PFA raises are for the “extras” that unfortunately can’t be provided by the school budget; items that make our children’s

learning and social experiences much more fulfilling and exciting.

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HOW WE GET INFORMATION TO YOU

We strongly advocate the use of email to communicate with parents. If we do have to send a letter, it will come home via your child’s book-bag. Due to data protection laws, collecting email addresses is something the school cannot do, so the PFA volunteers to collect contact details from new parents which they can then circulate out to the other Parents. If you are happy for us to use your contact details, there is a form at the back of this booklet to complete and return to us.

We have our own Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Hinton-St-George-PFA/464141233630455 to keep parents up to date with events, details of funds raised and provide an easy way to contact us. Please find us and like us!

We often ask for help to support upcoming events - if you can help, please email us hintonpfa@hotmail.co.uk or use the reply slip on the letter and post it into the PFA letterbox, which is on the school wall in the playground.

Following a PFA event we will endeavour to provide an update on funds raised via the notice board on the front side entrance gate. If we can, we also tell you what the money will be spent on.

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the PFA. Offering to help at events or at other times during the year is so valuable - it really is a case of “many hands make light work”. It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis, or even if you can’t come into school. There are always small jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare (e.g. wrapping gifts, cooking fairy cakes). We really can’t achieve what we do without the behind the scenes help that exists throughout the school community.

You can of course volunteer to be a Committee Member. Or you can simply support the PFA with your ideas for fundraising events. You can also help by letting us know if you have any useful contacts or skills - we are always grateful for new ideas or openings which may boost our funds!

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APPENDICES

Current 2014/2015 Committee Members

Class Reps 2014/2015

Being a class rep is an important and rewarding role. Class reps help build a sense of community among the class parents, and it is they who provide the link between the parents and the PFA as well as helping to organise the important Class Cake Sales.

Kathrin Khan-Davis Chair

Kelda Prescott Vice Chair / Pre School Rep

Louise Treacher Treasurer

Ali McNee Secretary

Ann-Marie Lawson Press Secretary

Dylan Edgar Web Design/Poster design

Jason Brown Committee Member / Slay Committee

Sian Edgar Committee Member

Ingrid Godfrey Committee Member

Gilly Jaffe Committee Member

Jo Kerr Committee Member

Louise Trainer Committee Member

Lucy Voss Committee Member

Rachel Hanson Committee Member

Lisa Garrettaz Committee Member

Nathan Wilkinson Committee Member

Justine Wilkinson Second-hand Uniform

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Fran Lukins Woodpecker Class Rep

Justine Wilkinson Woodpecker Class Rep

Rachel Hanson Kingfisher Class Rep

Gilly Jaffe Kingfisher Class Rep

Hinton St George PFA Fundraisers 2013 / 2014

Donations to the School 2013 / 2014

10

£0.00

£500.00

£1,000.00

£1,500.00

Funds Raised to date 01.06.13 - 31.05.14

Total Raised

Class Donations Ice creams

at pantomine

Storybox Theatre

Drumming Workshop

Enrichment

Give Sport A Go

Punch and Judy Show

Lyme Regis Trip/Crealy

other donations

to the

School

Hinton St George PFA Donations

On-Going Fundraisers

Easyfundraising - Register with www.easyfundraising.org.uk and help support Hinton St George PFA. Whenever you want to place an order with an online retailer (e.g. John Lewis, Amazon, M&S, Interflora, Tesco and so many more) simply log in, find your retailer and follow the link through to their “normal” website. Your order is placed directly with the retailer as usual, with no extra cost to you. A proportion of your order value is paid by the retailer to the PFA fund.

Uniform Embroidery Service—The Uniform Embroidery Service from Tesco is an easy way to get great value school uniforms, complete with our school’s embroidered emblem - and raise money for Hinton St George School. There is no minimum quantity, you buy what you need, earn Clubcard points and the school receives a 5% cash donation. Uniforms are embroidered in the UK and delivered free to your home within 14 days.

Second Hand Uniform Sales - A range of second hand uniform is available and there will be opportunities to view and purchase items each term. If you have any queries please contact Justine Wilkinson (Arthur’s Mum).

Pink & Greene - Greeting cards are enormously popular and on average, we each buy 31 per year. With lots cards to choose from Pink and Greene is a perfect way to help raise money whilst buying your greetings cards. www.pinkandgreene.com/partner/hinton-st-george-parents-and-friends-association.html

Money to Schools—Money to Schools is the market leader for printer cartridge recycling programmes for schools in the UK. Money is donated to the PFA and St George’s Pre School for every recyclable printer cartridge you collect - so the more you can collect, the more you can raise!

Bag 2 School - is a company that specialises in good quality second hand clothing that can be re-used. This is joint fundraising venture between the PFA and St George’s Pre School and twice a year we organise textile collections to raise money. All bags are weighed and we are paid by the total weight collected. So, the more our donations weigh the more we get paid!

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Contact Details

The PFA will be compiling (with parents’ permission) a spreadsheet with contact details for all families at the school. Please be aware that this information is for personal and school community related use only; any abuse of data will result in withdrawal of this service.

Please fill out the below form with your details. This will then be typed up and distributed at the beginning of next term for your use.

———————————————————————————————— Please complete and return to Kat Khan-Davis

Child’s Name

Parent’s Names

Siblings

Address

Tel No

Email Address