Thanks to all those who joined for our first Friends of Glenfrome (FOG) meeting of the new school year. Lots of lovely new and returning faces, plenty of sharing of ideas and a great start to planning another year of fundraising and fun.
There was plenty to discuss, from how last year’s fundraising is making a difference to exciting plans for the months ahead. Here’s a round-up of what’s happening and how you can get involved.
We looked back at last year
Last year, FOG raised an incredible £11,000 for the school. Working closely with the school, we’ve agreed how this money will be spent, including new AV equipment, school trips, playground equipment, improvements to the MUGA, a new mural and the Scrapstore PlayPod subscription.
We also discussed this year’s funding priorities and how decisions are made about spending. One idea was to give children more say in how some of the money is spent, perhaps through the School Council or by giving them a small budget to decide how to use. We all liked this idea and will explore how to make it happen.
Christmastime is already on the horizon!
We’ve got lots of exciting events planned for the coming months, and the festive period is shaping up to be a busy time!
This year, we’re hoping to hold two separate festive events:
- Winter Market – Friday 27 November, 6–8pm (provisional): An evening market featuring private sellers, with an opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done.
- Winter Fair – Saturday 28 November, 1–4pm (provisional): A traditional school fair, with crafts, games, music, refreshments and plenty of festive fun.
Dates are still to be confirmed with the school, but we’re hoping to make both events happen. There’s lots to organise, including last years successful chocolate tombola, a raffle, Splat the Snowman, festive crafts, reindeer food, refreshments and games. Christmas crepes, mulled wine and hot chocolate are already on the ideas list!
We will need lots of volunteers to make these events a success, so if you can spare some time to help – especially running a stand, game or craft, please get in touch.
School disco, cake sales and Christmas cards
The school disco is also in the planning stages. These events are always popular, but they need plenty of volunteers to run safely. We’re aiming for at least four volunteers from each year group, with a minimum of 12 volunteers for each disco. Please let us know asap via the Get Involved page if you can volunteer on the evening.
We’re also planning another cake sale for the last day of half-term. The Year 1 cake sale earlier this year raised an amazing £500, thanks to all the generous cake donations and cake buyers. We hope to build on that success!
And there’s a chance for the children to get creative with their own Christmas/Seasons Greetings cards. We’ll be offering a simple scheme in class where children can design their own cards, which you can then buy if you wish (packs of 12 plus gift tags) and they will be professionally printed. These will be able to accommodate any designs, however each individual child celebrates and whatever traditions may be followed in each family at this time of year!
Helping FOG grow
Fundraising is about more than events. We’re keen to explore grants, business sponsorships and other funding opportunities to help us support even more projects at school.
There are opportunities to apply for schemes such as Tesco’s blue token community funding, as well as local grants and business support. If you have experience in fundraising, writing grant applications or making business connections, we’d love you to get involved. Having a few parents focused on this area could make a real difference.
Keeping everyone informed and involved
Our new website is already proving useful, and we’re delighted that eight families have signed up for regular donations. Together, these donations could raise around £1,000 over the next year. Massive thanks to those 8 parents so far!
The website also has a Get Involved section, where parents can offer their time and skills. We’ve already had a couple of people get in touch, and we’re working on making it easier to connect volunteers with the events and activities where they’re needed.
Our fortnightly newsletter will continue – thanks to the 2 parents who have worked hard on developing this in the last year – and we’re looking at ways to share more information and updates on the website too. We also happily had a hand from every year group (aside from year 6) at the meeting who is happy to share FOG announcements through WhatsApp.
We know parents already receive lots of communication from school, so we’ll do our best to keep FOG updates useful, relevant and not overwhelming.
A few other things we’re working on
There were plenty of other ideas and discussions at the meeting, including:
- The AGM: Our Annual General Meeting needs to take place in October. More details will follow.
- Refreshments: We’re looking at offering some healthier options at FOG events, while keeping things fun. Watermelon was a hit last time, so we’re on the lookout for more ideas!
- The school disco: Could teachers help? Does the disco need to be the same times as previously (was the 2nd disco too late?) What should the tuck shop offer? Can we make ticket managing easier on the door? Could a drop-off disco be possible?
- A new treasurer: Our current treasurer will soon be stepping down after doing a fantastic job. We’re looking for someone to take over, with a handover and support available to make the role manageable.
Everyone is welcome!
FOG is run by parents and exists to benefit the whole school community. You don’t need to attend every meeting, join a committee or volunteer at every event to make a difference. Whether you can bake a cake, help for an hour at a fair, share an idea or make a regular donation, every contribution counts.
Our next get-together will be Monday 12 October at 9am at the Old Library. We’re hoping to make this the first of our new coffee and cake socials, so do come along and meet other parents, even if you’ve never been to a FOG meeting before.
Thank you to everyone who came along, shared ideas and offered to help. We’re looking forward to another year of working together to make a difference for Glenfrome’s children!