Welcome to the Friends of Hemblington School
A warm welcome to our school. This booklet has been written by the Friends especially for you, as a new family within our school community. This booklet aims to set out all the information you will need about the Friends of the School which is a major part of our school life.
Why do we have the Friends of the School
We are very fortunate at our school to have a Friends association that is and has been such an integral part of the school community for many years. In its time we have raised thousands of pounds which have been spent on improving equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in school in general.
But the Friends of the School are about much more than just fundraising. We exist to provide closer links between home and school and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal.
All parents and members of the school community can get involved if they wish, even if they only have a small amount of time available. All parents are automatically members of the Friends when their children join our school.
We meet on a regular basis usually once a month on a Monday at 8PM in the school hall or staff room.
Our Annual General Meeting is held at the beginning of the academic year and this is an opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about events run, funds raised and how the money has been spent.
How we raise money
The majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular events are Summer and Christmas fayres, quiz nights, children’s bingo, children’s disco. All new idea’s are more than welcome!
There is always something going on to get our teeth into.
How we spend the money we raise
It is at our committee meetings that the decisions on how to spend the money are agreed. Sometimes our Headteacher will have a ‘shopping list’ of items that the school would like to purchase. At other times it will be for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or the school environment. In the main the funds are for the ‘extras’ not provided by the school budget, that make our children’s learning experience so much more fulfilling and exciting. There have been times when we have been fundraising for a large project. For instance this year our main funding has gone towards an outdoor quiet area where we have created a sensory garden and weather station, In addition the science and technology curriculum has been provided with K’Nex bridge building sets and pneumatics kits, we’ve also bought a huge noughts and crosses game.
How can you get involved?
There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the Friends. Offering to help before events or at other times during the year is so valuable – it really is a case of ‘many hands make light work.’ It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis. There are always little jobs that can be done from home if you have ½ hour to spare eg. preparing raffle tickets, wrapping gifts etc. We really couldn’t achieve what we do without the unseen ‘army of help’ that exists in school. You can help by letting us know if you have any contacts or skills we could use – everything is potentially valuable to us.
So we look forward to seeing you at our AGM and future meetings, you will be welcomed with open arms.
Thank you
