Smarties for class treats

Posted on 21 November 2011 by Howard Lake

Smarties tubes

We’ve sent your children home with a tube of Smarties, kindly donated by Waitrose and Bookers Wholesalers in Colchester.

Once they’ve eaten them, we’re inviting you and your children to try and fill them up with loose coins from home. You’ll spot that most small coins fit in nicely.

The tubes can then be returned to their class teachers with a sticky label with the child’s name on.

Classes will then discuss how they might make use of the money before the end of Christmas. This could be a treat, purchasing board games for wet play, or anything they and their teacher agree.

Please return the tubes to class teachers and not to the school office.

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How we spent your money

Posted on 14 November 2011 by Howard Lake

What did with do with the money you gave and helped raise last year? At the AGM earlier this month (to which any parent/carer or staff member is welcome to come), we voted how to spend the money.

This is what we have committed to:

  • £3,000: replacement of safety surface for the KS1 playground equipment
  • £750: Pantomime costs (December 2011)
  • £400: replacement rugs for Foundation stage and Y1 classes
  • £200: SEN materials
  • £1,500: storytelling week costs (for the whole school)
  • £1,000: black-out blinds for both Foundation stage classes
  • £300: Year 6 keepsake books
  • £150: Sports Day medals
  • £420: Christmas presents (all classes)
  • £150: Year 6 Leavers’ party

Together, that means the money will make some lovely differences to our children’s experiences at Hamilton.

So, that brings the total raised by the PSA since 2009 to over £59,000! (That includes a £10,000 National Lottery grant for the Junior Playground).

If you’d like that kind of support to continue, do please keep coming to our events, but also do think about getting more involved with the PSA. Come to our next meeting, or just approach one of us with the suggestion of an event or other fundraising activity you’d like to put on. Thank you.

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Thanks for the Tesco vouchers

Posted on 24 July 2011 by Howard Lake

Thank you to all those who collected and donated Tesco for Schools vouchers this year. Over 16,000 were donated, and the school has used them to purchase some new Easi-speak microphones and a Lego Mindstorms Robot Kit.

We’ll let you know when the next voucher collecting period starts.

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Summer t-shirt competition theme is animals

Posted on 27 May 2011 by Howard Lake

Make your tshirt a winnerThe PSA will again be running a t-shirt competition at this year’s Summer Fair, with the theme being ‘animals’.

The PSA will run various workshops after school so that the pupils can make their t-shirts. The fabric paint/pens etc. plus the t-shirt will be included in the price of the workshop.

The Workshop booking forms will be issued at the end of the first week after half term so keep a look out for the forms.

The children will have watched a Powerpoint presentation introducing the competition during that first week back and be given some time during class to work up some ideas. Perhaps the children could start thinking of ideas and finding some good visual reference to help them and bring them to school ready for when they see the Powerpoint presentation?

To make it a bit easier to judge and have a more equal playing field for the pupils there will be different entry categories: Reception, Year 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4 Year 5 and 6.

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Summer Fair set for 9 July

Posted on 25 April 2011 by Howard Lake

The Summer Fair will take place on the afternoon of Saturday 9 July.

This year the event, the biggest in our fundraising calendar, will feature a good quality children’s second hand clothes stall. Why not use the Easter holidays to sort through your children’s wardrobes and donate what you can to the stall? Please bring them into school after the Easter break and either leave outside the school office (clearly labelled) or pass them to Jackie Allison who can be found every day in the infant playground.

We’ll be announcing more details of the Summer Fair after the return to school. If you’ve got an idea for a stall or would like to help at a stall, or would like to help set up or take down the stalls and tents, do get in touch.

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