AGM Report 2010

PTA AGM                 
Mon 4th Oct 2010
Chair’s Report

Another busy year, during which Wickham Court School PTA have worked hard to raise money with the support of staff, parents and pupils, this money is constantly channelled back into the school, providing luxuries for all our students here.

Dynamic Christmas cards, despite needing the seasonal spirit to hit before half term, proved to be popular again last year, and are already underway this year.

Our Christmas fair was a great success, with the ground floor buzzing with activity; people were still queuing to get in towards the end of the afternoon. It was lovely to be able to welcome back past staff and pupils.
This years Christmas Fair details have been added to the school website, and already we have had a pile of enquiries from stall holders, and planning has started to ensure another magical event.

The Scholastic Book Fairs continue to be popular, and have generated several hundred pounds worth of commission, which has been spent on books for the classes, senior and junior libraries.
Thanks to Jackie Ngan and her team who regularly spend time in the libraries, labelling, sorting and keeping the rooms looking tidy and appealing.
Our next Scholastic book fair is in November, and will tie in with the Poetry mania evening.

Our huge purchase this year was the wooden gazebo outdoor classroom. It was really exciting to see it go up over just a couple of days.

The Valentine’s Day Cake Sale table was once again laden with donated goodies, thanks to the before school club children who made all the price labels. The cake sale is always popular with the students and staff!

Many people came to join us for the Wine Tasting Evening in the Heydon Hall, a quiz based event with a ploughman’s meal. Supposedly we are all wine connoisseurs now?!

Together with a percentage of the ticket sales from the wine night, a mufti day, and some generous donations, The PTA were able to raise just over £500 for the Haiti Hospital appeal, a local charity which has permanent  links with the country. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Our first ever Summer Dog Show was a bit of a gamble, but proved to be very popular and we were able to welcome many local people and their dogs to the school. We made double the profit from last year’s summer fair!

The 80’s night, organised by a sub committee was fun, out came the big hair, lace and bat wing jumpers! Hopefully the positive feedback will encourage more people to support the next one.

Cynthia continues to work hard running the thriving uniform shop; this generates a huge profit for the PTA and also benefits the sellers.

Amongst other things the PTA have funded are, medals for sports day and the swimming gala, also some more trophies for our expanding senior department.

The class reps continue to have fortnightly meetings with Mrs Hunter, Mrs Harries and Mrs Daniels. These are a positive time when general concerns are discussed in a constructive manner. We, as parents, want to thank the staff involved, for these opportunities.

As you can see, our most recent purchase has been these amazing, school uniform coordinated, black out curtains. I think you will agree, they look fantastic, and will really make a difference at evening performances. The new staging is also imminent, which will benefit every pupil here, from the tiny tots to our towering teens!

Finally, some thankyous…

Firstly to Mrs Harries, Mrs Hunter, Isabelle, Mrs Flannery, Mrs McKeogh, Meike and all the tolerant teachers ( who don’t lynch us when asking for finished Christmas cards in October!)
Thank you all of you, for your support with our events and ideas.

To Sharon and Tracey, our much loved new dinner ladies, who are so willing to support us. They continue to be a breath of fresh air.

Thanks to the parents, who are always willing to send in donated items, however bizarre the requests, to parents who come along to events, and to parents who step in to help, whether it’s serving coffee or manning a stall. We couldn’t do it without you!

Special mention to Becky who is also standing down this AGM as secretary and year rep. Thanks for all the letters you have put together, and for deciphering so many of mine!

Also thanks to Cynthia, who has helped me be a voice for our ever expanding senior department, we have both really enjoyed listening and being a voice for our teens here.

Finally, I would like to thank the rest of the PTA for putting up with me; I know what a pain in the neck I can be with tablecloths!! Thank you for your patience, your honesty, but most of all your unfailing commitment, I have loved being part of such an enthusiastic team.

It’s not easy to say goodbye, but I know I am leaving the PTA in capable and dedicated hands, and now its time for fresh ideas and a fresh outlook for this committee.

So, thank you.
Camilla Johnson  
Chair