Minutes of the Friends of WreninghamSchool,Crogham Cottage, 2nd February 2011

Present:Nikki Foley (Chair), Jules Alexander (Treasurer), Emma Rees (Mins Sec), Rob Jones, Lindsay Parfitt, Celia Phoenix, Cathryn Nuttall, Tracie Draegar, SarahTurner, Catherine Gribb and Mandy Francis.

Apologies:Julie-Anne Stevens and Gilly Cugnoni.

Approval of the previous meeting’s Minutes, 15th November2010

Treasurer’s Report:

CASH IN HAND £ 229.09

COMMUNITY ACCOUNT£1198.95

BUSINESS ACCOUNT£1566.27

Payments since last meeting:

NCPTA INSURANCE£ 58.00

CHRISTMAS BOOKS£181.88

Receipts since last meeting:

EASYFUNDRAISING£ 65.10 (Quarter 3)

TABLE TOP SALE£ 61.50

CHRISTMAS RAFFLES £298.66

CAULIFLOWER CARDS£ 30.00 (Outstanding since previous Treasurer’s report)

Past Events

  • Christmas Raffles

The Friends agreed that the 4 Christmas Raffles had been very successful raising £298.66 in total. This figure was slightly less than last year as the morning performance of the Key Stage 2 performance hadn’t been as well attended as previous years. Emma mentioned that having sent out 38 letters requesting raffle donations; she received only 7 positive responses. Contributions were received from:

Simply Cards, Present Time, The Book Fountain, Hethel Engineering Centre, DCR Music, Waitrose and Monsters; all of whom have been thanked for their support.

There was some discussion about the fact that it was becoming increasingly difficult to secure raffle prizes from local companies, for obvious economic reasons. Three donations were gratefully received on the mornings of the raffles from Sally Brown, Sarah Turner and Sarah Walpole.

Nikki thanked the Friends who had organised and “hampered” the prizes and especially Lindsay for delivering the items on each of the 4 occasions.

  • Christmas Parties

It was unanimously agreed that the format for the 2010 Christmas Parties had been extremely successful. Classes 1 and 2 returned to school in party clothes between 5.00pm - 6.00pm. This party was followed by the Key Stage 2 party,6.15pm – 7.15pm. Entertainment was provided by the Wymondham Roller Disco DJ, who proved very popular with the pupils. The Friends thanked Celia for organising the parties, which the children had thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks also to Lindsay and Nikki for providing the party food.

Sarah mentioned that in future, parents could contribute a small donation towards the cost of the parties perhaps £1 per child. As future budgets are inevitably going to be stretched, the Friends agreed that this was a sensible idea.

Future Events

  • Classes 1 and 2 Cake Stall – Friday 11th March

The forthcoming cake stall which was due to take place on Friday the 18thFebruary has been postponed until Friday the 11th as the Class 3 pupils will be on their school trip.

Catherine has agreed to produce some advertising posters to attach to the gates and classroom doors and Emma will produce some book bag fliers to remind parents.

  • Spring Fair – Saturday 26th March: 11.00am – 3.00pm

Jules and Mandyfilled the Friends in on their plans for the forthcoming Spring Fair. The date has been organised for Saturday 26th March and the fair is timed to take advantage of the lunch time period. Last year, the kitchen alone generated over £300 selling cream teas and filled rolls etc. It has been decided to have fewer stalls than last year, as the stalls tend to consume a large area of the hall and some stall holders last year didn’t make many sales.

The confirmed stalls are: Gilly (Phoenix Cards), Debbie Bird’s Crafts, Mandy’s Planters, Samphire Chocolates, Harvest Moon and Gina’s Bunting.

For children, there will be an Easter Egg Tombola with two sessions, as last year the eggs went very quickly and some children arriving late didn’t have the opportunity to have a go.

There will also be a craft table, pocket money prizes and hook a duck.

The Friends discussed an alternative to the Easter hat competition and it was decided to have a Decorate an Egg Competition. The eggs are to be hard boiled and can be presented in an egg cup or egg box. The entries will be judged in Class groups. Mandy will ask Andree if she would like to judge the entries. Tracie mentioned that the judging needs to take place at the advertised time making it impossible for any children to be left out.

Emma and Lindsay have agreed to liaise regarding the filled rolls, cakes and general kitchen organisation. They will compile a list requesting food or cake items from the Friends which will be circulated a couple of weeks prior to the event. It is hoped that Raph will be available to help man the kitchen.

To provide more space for activities and also to encourage dads to come along, it was decided that it would be advantageous to open the bar and the Margaret Preston Room. Mandy and Jules will discuss the availability with Christine Minns and Mark Francis has agreed toman the bar, thank you Mark.Mandy has also agreed to speak to Christine Minns requesting she include an advert for the Spring Fair in the next Mardle.

Jules has agreed to produce a poster advertising the Fair together with a flier requesting contributions for the Easter Egg Tombola and Raffle prizes.

  • Bag 2 School – Thursday 5th May

The next Bag 2 School has been organised for Thursday 5th May. The flier and bag are to be distributed around the 4th of April, hopefully giving parents ample opportunity to fill them during the Easter holidays. Thank you to Jules for co-ordinating this fundraiser.

  • Sports Day Grand Draw – Friday 15th July

Jules has been very busy making enquiries with the council regarding the protocol associated with selling raffle tickets outside of school.Jules will fill in and return the form together with a cheque for £40 which will enable the Friends to sell tickets in this way, should they wish to do so, for the next 3 years. Emma has agreed to be the promoter. Emma will look into the ticket printing costs and Nikki suggested approaching local sporting businesses to find out if they’d be prepared to sponsor the tickets. Emma will contact Wynsport and Premier Sport.

It has been decided to offer 3 cash prizes, along with other donated items. Emma will talk to the manager of Travis Perkins and find out if he would be prepared to donate something. At present the Friends have a die-cast Lotus car worth £75 and a Slow Cooker. If any of the Friends know anyone who might be able to provide or help provide a raffle prize, pleaseuse your charm!!The more we have to offer, the more appealing the tickets will become.

Any Other Business

Cathrynhas been investigating local quiz masters on behalf of the Friends and has successfully secured the services of Ray and his wife Sue. Ray and Sue do not charge for their time, they do however make a donations pot available on the evening in support of Quidenham Hospice, which the Friends thought was an excellent idea. Cathryn made contact with Christine Minns who informed her of the village hall availability, the date chosen is Friday 13th May. Emma thanked Cathryn for all of the research she had carried out. There was a brief discussion around the source of the fish and chips. Lindsay recalled that “Chips Away” had successfully and efficiently provided the suppers at the 2009 Quiz and Chips. This requires further discussion.

Catherine had a superb idea and thought the Quiz and Chips evening would be an excellent opportunity to sell raffle tickets for the Sports Day Grand Draw.

Mr. Jones mentioned that he and several Governors had inspected the school buildings and premises. Several jobs need to be carried out, in particular the plastic roof above the back door play area of Class 1 needs a thorough pressure washing. Among other jobs, the playground would also benefit from a pressure washing and the hand rails on the library ramp need painting. To that end, a “Saturday Spruce Up” has been organisedfor Saturday 7th of May.

Mr. Jones also mentioned that he and Ms Leader had made arrangements to visit Old Buckenham Primary School on the 14th of February to have a look at their Key Stage 1 outdoor area. Nikki has agreed to join them and the Friends agreed that once Mr. Jones and Ms Leader decide how they would like to move forward with the Class 1 outside space, the Friendsagreed to donate £2000 towards the improvements.

School Trips organised for this year are:

Class 3 – Horrible Histories, March. The Friends have agreed to pay £292 for tickets and coach travel.

Class 4 – Inspire, 15th March. Mc Donald’s (via Kevin Foley) has agreed to fund this trip. Many thanks to Kevin.

Class 1 and 2 – Nikki will look into a trip to the Puppet Theatre.

Mr. Jones explained that the School Council will take on the production of a new schoolmagazine. It will go out to pupils every half term with contributions and lay out being largely organised by the children.

Emma has agreed to look into purchasing a magnetic notice board to be situated in a prominent position in the playground and used to advertise and promote the activities of the Friends.

Sarah explained that she and some of her friends from the local livery yard had decided to organise a “Sponsored Ride” from the stables on a route through the surrounding countryside. The ride sponsorship would be donated to Wreningham School. Sarah thought that the event should be opened up to the school and anyone wishing to join in on horseback or foot would be very welcome. The plan would also include a raffle to generate more funds. The Friends thanked Sarah for her excellent idea and enthusiasm. Nikki has agreed to liaise with Sarah regarding the date and sponsorship forms for the ride.

******DATE OF NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY 2nd

MARCH8.00PM @ BRAMBLE COTTAGE, WRENINGHAM

DIARY DATES

11th March – Classes 1 and 2 Cake Stall

26th March – Spring Fair

5th May - Bag 2 School

7th May – “Saturday Spruce Up”

13th May – Quiz and Chips

24th June – Class 3 and Friends Cake Stall

15th July – Sports Day and Grand Draw