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DECEMBER, 2006

1 Charity Support
2 Love in a Box
3 FoHF
4 School Meals
5 Staff Update
6 Parent Governor
7 Coats
8 FAQs
9 Diary Dates
10 FoHF News

Dear Parents

Thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas events this year. The youngest children performed ‘The Innkeepers Breakfast’ and Year 2 performed ‘A Present for the Baby’. Both performances were fantastic, with excellent singing, acting, dancing and music. Well done to the children and thank you to all the staff for their hard work.

The Junior Carol Service at St Mary’s Church was once again a happy festive occasion. The Year 6 readers, musicians and singers put on a brilliant service. A big thank you to the children and to all the staff.

A special thank you to Miss Porter who organises all the performances and leads the school in its productions. Another successful year at Hawkes Farm.

1 CHARITY SUPPORT
Thank you to everyone who has supported the various fundraising events this term. You will be pleased to hear that we raised the following:
Christian Aid £194.87
The Quicken Trust £197
The FOHF raised £2,500 at the Christmas Fair. Thank you to the committee and all the helpers for organising such a fantastic event.

2 LOVE IN A BOX
Thank you so much for your generosity which has been really heart-warming. We managed to make a wonderful 114 Love-in-a Box gifts and quite a few people had asked me for extra leaflets as your friends, neighbours and relatives also wanted to make a contribution. The lorry came to collect them and we were told that they were off on a five day journey to Romania. There are going to be some very happy children as the boxes were crammed with all sorts of treats.

But, you still dug deep into your pockets and we managed to raise £231.78 for Children in Need. It was touching that quite a few children had actually brought their own pocket money in for the ‘throw a coin at Pudsey Bear’ competition. Thank you for encouraging your children to think of others and support these events.

A special thank you goes to Elizabeth and Katherine Herrick, who baked biscuits and sold them in the staff room for Children in Need. They raised £8.40.

Thank you very much. Mrs van Dijkhuizen

3 FRIENDS OF HAWKES FARM
The FoHF committee have been extremely busy over the past year organising successful fundraising events. At the Christmas Fair, the school was presented with a cheque for £10,000 which will pay for the new ‘Outdoor Learning Wildlife Project’. Work will start next term on this fantastic project and develop over the next few terms. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard in making this happen. It has been on the School Development Plan for many years, and without the support of parents and families would not have been possible.

Detailed plans are available in the main entrance for all to see.

4 SCHOOL MEALS
A reminder to parents that all monies that are owing with regards to school meals, need to be paid by Tuesday, 19th December. Please send money in an envelope addressed to Mrs Channing in the school office. Please also note that school dinners will increase to £1.54 as of 8th January, 2007.

5 STAFF UPDATE
a) We are saying a fond farewell to Mrs Sharon Tester-Smith and Mrs Vanessa Brunger, two of our Midday Supervisors at the end of this term.
b) We welcome Mrs Melissa Medhurst as our new Midday Supervisor.

We have one vacancy for a permanent Midday Supervisor. If you are interested in this post, please contact the office for further details next term.

6 NEW PARENT GOVERNOR VACANCY
We also have a vacancy for a new Parent Governor. If you are interested in finding out more, please do ask at the office and we will ask one of our existing Governors to talk to you about the role. Nomination slips will be going out in early January.

7 COATS
During Term 2 a number of children have not come to school with a coat to wear at breaktime and lunchtime. The weather has been ‘wet and windy’, but we do try to get out for fresh air and therefore it is important that all children have a coat. The new fleeces are great, but a waterproof jacket is still needed over the top.

Thank you once again for all your support this term. A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

8 FAQ

Can my child cycle to school?
At present only children who complete the cycling proficiency training in Year 6 (summer term) are allowed to cycle to school on ¬their own¬ and use the few cycle racks available.

However, over the next few terms we hope to be able to provide a storage area for bikes and scooters. There will be a letter for parents to sign which will also outline the usage of the facility once all the arrangements have been made. Keep up to date with this in the monthly newsletters.

How do I get involved in the ‘Walking Bus?’
The Walking Bus has been up and running for the last few years. This has been successfully organised by one of our Parent Governors, Mrs Caroline Wilson.

To find out more, either approach one of the adults in the morning on the infant playground (wearing yellow jackets with Walking Bus logo) or ask at the office for details.

Mrs V Cobb
Headteacher

9 DIARY DATES
Tue 19/12 Last Day of Term 2
Wed 20/12 Staff Inset Day (PSHE)

Mon 8/1 Term 3 begins
Mon 22/1 New Reception parents meet - 10am*
Tue 23/1 New Reception parents meet - 2pm*
Wed 24/1 New Reception parents meet - 10am*
Fri 9/2 Last Day of Term 3

Mon 19/2 Term 4 begins
Mon 26/2 Book Week
Tue 27/2 Parents’ Evening 3.30 – 6.00pm
Thur 1/3 Parents’ Evening 4.30 - 7.00pm
Fri 2/3 Puppeteers Performance to
celebrate the end of Book Week
Mon 12/3 School Science Week
Thur 22/3 Years 3 & 4 Performance
Fri 30/3 Last Day of Term 4
*(please phone the office to book a place - 841466)

10 News from FoHF School – PTA December 2006

My thanks go out to all of you that were able to contribute to the successful organisation of the Christmas Fair: whether you are a committee member, teacher, parent or friend. With everyone’s help, great or small we managed to improve on last year’s figure to £2,500! A fantastic result!

Donations to the school:
During the Christmas Fair, we were so pleased to present to our Headteacher - Mrs Cobb, a cheque for £10,000 for the development of the Interactive outside Classroom – Our own Bugs World! Do look on our notice board if you are not sure what this project, due to start in January, 2007 is all about!

Funds we have raised this term are as follows:
Christmas Fair: £2,500
Pumpkin Disco: £1,300
Treasure Hunt: £60
Second hand uniform sale: £31
Re-distribution of the School’s Events Programme: £26
Quintins’ Shopping Centre Tombola (advertising our Christmas Fair): £104
(We await the financial results from the Yellow Moon Fundraising catalogue and Santa’s letter, which were other events held this term.)

Our current fundraising is going towards the enhancement of ICT at the school. Government funds are just not enough to keep pace with new technology so our input to this will be invaluable. ICT is an important element in the development of all our children’s future learning in the current competitive and technological environment.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry and relaxed Christmas and look forward to a great New Year!

Thank you so much for your continued and valued support.

Melanie Izon – Chairperson